Mrs McKenney is delighted that the hard work of both students and staff has been rewarded with A-level success:  “This will allow students to progress to the next stage of their academic careers at a range of universities and colleges.  The growing appeal of Netherhall’s Sixth Form in its new accommodation has been validated by this ongoing success.”

A Level results are not the only cause for celebration. “We are delighted that the hard work at GCSE level has been rewarded with a near 10% increase in the A* – C rate.

This successful outcome will allow the students to progress to their chosen Post -16 options. As Netherhall School begins the academic year in new accommodation on one site, these results will provide the springboard for future success.”

GCSE results breakdown

% 5+ A* – G              96.2%

% 5+ A* – C              68.4%

(% 5+ A* – C including English & Maths – 59.3%)

27% of all grades achieved were A* / A grades

‘It’s not just a load of old rubbish’

The Art department is very pleased to open Netherhall’s first Sculpture Garden called ‘G507’ situated in the C block courtyard. The sculptures currently exhibited are made by A-level students from recycled building materials left over from the construction of the new build (thus the name G507, the project number for the new build). The sculptures were highly influenced by the work of artist Janet Nathan who uses reclaimed and recycled materials to create bold and interesting sculptures. The Art department would like to thank both Janet Nathan and also Wilmott Dixon for their support in this project.

http://www.janetnathan.com/

(The Netherhall School is not responsible for the content of external websites)

sculpture gdn DSC_0014

The return of the year 8 trip to Liddington has been delayed slightly, the trip was expected to return to Netherhall (Lower School) at 5:00pm but is now more likely to return near 6:00pm.

As the summer term draws to a close, Netherhall has recently taken over the final phase of its multi-million pound new build project.

The final block contains 5 brand new science laboratories with prep rooms, 2 food technology classrooms, and a fully air conditioned ICT room. There is also a nature area for the biology department complete with pond .

Technology and science departments will be starting to move in to their new facilities over the next few weeks as we exit the Lower School site, with the rooms in use from the autumn term. The ICT room is already in use with positive reviews from staff and students! phase2_7 phase2_6 phase2_5 phase2_4 phase2_3 phase2_2 phase2_1

Our students have recently had a unique experience with amazing insight into the legal profession and procedures of a courtroom.

Fourteen students from the Netherhall Sixth Form attended this year’s Cambridge and Peterborough Bar Mess Mock Trial, which took place at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday 23^rd June 2010.   Our students joined with students from The Stephen Perse Sixth Form to take part in a prestigious event involving leading representatives from the legal world.  We were all very lucky to have a famous judge in this case: the eminent criminal barrister, Karim Khalil QC.

The students took on a wide variety of roles in the courtroom: a variety of witnesses, the accused, members of the jury, court clerk, usher and defence barristers.   Some of these roles required close reading and acting skills; other roles required excellent organisation and the ability to cross-reference multiple pieces of complex information.

Students were able to use the original legal papers from genuine criminal cases (with all names changed, of course) to form the basis of the trial and all the legal team were issued with extracts from the enormous ‘Archbold’ legal reference book, so they could back up their ideas with real points of law.

The case was quite a complex one, with two defendants ‘Smith’ (Adam Bond, Netherhall) and ‘Roberts’ (Harriet Baker, Stephen Perse L6th) who were charged with possession of class A drugs and also the intent to supply.  The case was laid out before the court, witnesses were called and cross-examined, the accused parties gave their evidence and finally the barristers summed up their cases with closing speeches.

Our defendant ‘Smith’ pleaded guilty to possession but the jury was convinced by the prosecution’s argument that the amount he was holding was, beyond reasonable doubt, for supply.  The defence team had worked hard to get him off the hook, with Charlotte Bowden-Pickstock receiving a commendation as an outstanding defence speaker.  However, even her oration wasn’t enough to prevent ‘Smith’ being given a 7 year minimum custodial sentence by the judge!

Our team were very grateful to receive guidance during their preparations from a team of volunteer barristers from the Cambridge and Peterborough Bar Mess and we would like to thank them for their time and guidance.

We would also like to thank Karim Khalil, His Honour Judge Hawkesworth, who kindly allowed use of his court, and Sally Hobson, for making this fascinating and unique experience possible.

Matt – the Court Clerk

Reyshandrao and Callum – Court Artists

Claudia  - Opening for the Defence

Charlotte and Adam – Defence Barristers

Abimbola – Court Usher

Karim Khalil QC and Simon Armitage, head of Stephen Perse Sixth Form

]]> http://www.netherhall.org/2010/07/bar-mess-mock-trial-at-the-cambridge-crown-court-2/feed/ 0 http://www.netherhall.org/2010/07/netherhall-sixth-formers-commended-at-national-enterprise-awards-2/ http://www.netherhall.org/2010/07/netherhall-sixth-formers-commended-at-national-enterprise-awards-2/#comments Fri, 02 Jul 2010 08:54:40 +0000 admin http://www.netherhall.org/?p=3922

Matt Rees, 17, and Abimbola Ariyibi, 16, are co-directors of Solar Eclipse, a venture they launched at Netherhall Sixth Form that produces and sells reflective cycling safety wear. In March they were shortlisted as finalists in Enterprise UK’s Enterprising Young Brits competition after pitching their product to a panel of judges that included Miles Templeman, Director General at the Institute of Directors, and Penny Newman, Chief Executive of Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Foundation. Despite narrowly missing out on the top prize, the judges awarded the talented duo a special commendation for “teamwork”, and “innovation” at a special event at London’s Institute of Directors on Tuesday.

Enterprising Young Brits shines the spotlight on talented young people who are bucking the recession by seizing opportunities to turn their ideas into successful businesses, generating jobs and wealth within their communities. Run by Enterprise UK and supported by the Institute of Directors, the Daily Mail, and the Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills, the competition highlights that age is no barrier to turning ideas into successful businesses.

Commenting on the Cambridge duo’s success, Scott Cain, Deputy Chief Executive of Enterprise UK, said: “Once again these awards have shown that young people have more than enough creativity, determination, and entrepreneurial talent to succeed in business. I hope that Matt and Abimbola’s example will show Cambridge’s aspiring entrepreneurs that age is no barrier to turning their ambition and passions into something that makes money and makes a difference within their community.”

Miles Templeman, Director General of the Institute of Directors, said: “Entrepreneurs are the engines of the UK economy, and recognising their achievements and inspiring others to follow in their footsteps is vital for the country’s long-term prosperity. This year’s finalists have demonstrated ingenuity, talent, and determination in making their ideas happen. Their achievements signal a bright future for British business, and I would like to wish them all the luck in their future endeavours.”

Now in its sixth year, Enterprising Young Brits has discovered some of Britain’s finest entrepreneurial talent, including Jamie Murray Wells, founder of the award winning Glasses Direct, Ali Clabburn, who won the Social and Community category in 2005, and Priya Lakhani, who gave up a successful career in Law to launch her range of Masala Masala cooking sauces and who triumphed in the business category in 2009.

Next year’s competition will open for entries in January 2011.

Year 10 and Year 12 Drama students went to see “Henry IV part one” at the Globe on Friday 11th June.  Their comments on their experience as groundlings (standing in the yard) at the Globe were: “very atmospheric”, “drama but up close”, “really good especially because we felt involved”. Comments on the play included:   “Really bouncy!” “Shakespeare made interestng”, “Falstaff excellent in every way”,  “great makeup – especially Bardolph’s purple nose”. “Amazing acting – especially the old man drinking in the gallery throughout the play”.

It was a great night out and a steward described the Netherhall students’ behaviour as perfection! Some are hoping to arrange their own trips to see Part Two in the summer.

Follow the link below to go to the performance website.

The Netherhall School is not responsible for the content of external websites

Two of the world’s greatest sporting events came together recently as students at The Netherhall School celebrated the Olympic & Paralympic Games through their own PRIDE World Cup.

The event saw in excess of 200 young people take to the football pitch on the day England faced the USA in a celebration of the school’s cultural diversity. Over 45 different languages are spoken at the school and the PRIDE World Cup reflected the many nationalities that are present within the school. The event also reflected the Olympic and Paralympic values that the school is promoting through its PRIDE initiative.

Groups of friends joined together to form teams, with each team representing a country that was randomly drawn. Teams then had to represent their chosen country in the best way possible in their team kits. A variety of interesting and crazy dress was on display, including the German team of Year 9 Girls who displayed the German flag in the shirts, shorts and socks whilst also having their faces painted in the flag. A number of other teams also put in some fantastic effort with their dress, with stencilled and printed t-shirts, crazy wigs and face painting the order of the day. The best dressed team prize was won by the USA who arrived with ‘I love NY’ t-shirts, Stars & Stripes sunglasses and baseball caps, each carrying the USA flag.

The football itself turned out to be highly entertaining, with some excellent displays that maintained the Olympic values of excellence, respect and friendship, yet also displayed the Paralympic values of determination, courage, equality and inspiration.

Year 10 Leaders maintained discipline on the field, acting as referee’s throughout the day.

After some hard fought group games, several teams progressed to the knockout stages, which consisted of a semi-final and a final. In the Year 7 tournament, Poland emerged as the winners, whilst the Year 8 Boys vent was won by Phillipines. The Year 9 Boys winner was won by Australia with Korea emerging as the Year 8/9 Girls champions.

Event organiser Andy Schofield commented “It was another fantastic PRIDE World Cup. The efforts that all of the teams went to with their dress was superb, and the Olympic and Paralympic values were displayed constantly throughout the day.”

Netherhall recently opened its doors to host the A Level Art & Photography exhibition. This event showcased the talents of Key Stage 5 students taking art and photography courses at the school’s sixth form centre.

Work on display covered a variety of formats including digital art work created in Photoshop, stop gap animation created in iMovie as well as sculpture and paintings.

Here you can see a photo gallery featuring some of the pieces at the exhibition:
alevel_01 alevel_02 alevel_03 alevel_04 alevel_05 alevel_06 alevel_07 alevel_08 alevel_09 alevel_10 alevel_11 alevel_12 alevel_13 alevel_14 alevel_15 alevel_16 alevel_17 alevel_18 alevel_19 alevel_20 alevel_21