On Friday 8th December 2017 a group of approximately fifty Year 9 and 10 students travelled to Lille, France at 4:30 in the morning. We drove in a coach to the port of Dover where, after some duty free, we took the Eurotunnel to Calais.
The Grand Finale of the Spelling Bee competition took place on Thursday, 14th December and the competitors were absolutely phenomenal. I was beginning to run out of words to give to the last two spellers in the Senior Category. It was the word ‘Coulis’ that separated them.
The Junior European Open (first staged in 1993) in association with Sky Sports is widely believed to be the toughest test in junior golf in Europe.
Our intermediate boys swimming team of James Convery, Jack Eden, Billy Lee-Knowles and Max McGarvie had qualified for the National Relay Finals in the Olympic pool in Stratford. I believe that this is only the second time in Chalfonts’ history that we’ve had a team reach this stage of the competition – the last time was in 2015 with three of the same team members! To put this into perspective, they were already one of the thirty quickest secondary school swimming teams in over 3000 schools that could have entered the nationwide event.
The week commencing 20th November we fundraised in honour of Liberty Grace Schurer who sadly lost her life to cancer last month aged fourteen. Liberty had been a close friend of many of our Year 9 students and they were greatly
affected by it.
I took part in the Ability Games on Thursday 23rd November 2017, which took place at The Chalfonts Community College. There were many different sports in this competition. Some I have never heard of such as boccia, polybat, sitting volleyball, sports hall athletics, golf and curling.
On Tuesday 31st October Year 11 students were off timetable for the day to experience an Employability Skills Day. Students spent time in the main hall talking to individuals representing a variety of professions ranging from healthcare, retail, engineering, the armed forces, creative media, filmmaking, hair & beauty, the music industry, pharmaceuticals ….
On Saturday 11th November the team assembled at 8am outside the College to embark on the two day practice expedition. This was based in the idyllic surroundings of Ashdown Wood in East Surrey.
We’re delighted to hear that Phoebe Hedges, a recent ex-student who is studying Fine Art at Leeds Beckett, has had her work selected for exhibition by the Royal Society of British Artists (RBA).
This years Art and Photography trip was to Berlin, a modern city and a leading centre for the Arts, especially renowned for its contemporary architecture and museums. Dating back to the 13th century, reminders of the city's turbulent 20th-century history include its Holocaust memorial and the Berlin Wall's graffitied remains. Divided during the Cold War, its 18th-century Brandenburg Gate has become a symbol of reunification.
On Tuesday 3rd October Chalfonts again hosted the South Buckinghamshire Rotary Design Challenge.
Students from Chalfonts, The Beaconsfield School and Beaconsfield High School worked in teams of four to ‘Design and Build’ a ‘Pipeline Vehicle’ to a set specification. The students were grouped in their respective age groups aligned to their key stage; foundation, intermediate and advanced.
The day was very intensive with students having to produce a portfolio of design ideas; then making the vehicle from card and light modelling materials including an electric motor before having it tested in a ‘pipeline’ clearing bits of rubble.
The Rotary judges and stewards ensured fair play and scrutinised the finished entries. Some of the judges were STEM Ambassadors that volunteer to help at a range of events that the college offers to boost interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. These are the subjects which lead to careers where the country is very short of qualified staff.
At the end of the day the Beaconsfield School walked away with a prize in the foundation (KS3), Beaconsfield High took the intermediate prize (KS4) and Chalfonts’ students claimed the prize in the advanced section (6th Form). We are still trying to find the teachers entry!
Chalfonts is looking forward to more STEM challenges this year. Do encourage your children to get involved.
James Giles-STEM Lead
We’re very proud that one of our 6th formers, Sammy Farnfield was picked for the GB team to travel to the 19th Modern Pentathlon Biathle / Triathle World championships in Viveiro Spain. This event was attended by nearly thirty nations including the likes of Russia and South Africa with each team bringing in excess of one hundred athletes.
The U19 Triathle involves successfully shooting 5 targets, swimming 50m in open water and running 800m, all repeated four times. The top three places were taken by South Africa, Egypt and Russia, all girls who are members of their country’s Olympic teams, in fact the Egyptian competed in Rio, which demonstrates the standard of the competition.
Sammy finished 10th in 17 mins 44 seconds, a clear 3 minutes faster than her qualifying time and was the second of four Brits home. Although initially a bit disappointed, as she felt her shooting let her down, she brightened up when it was pointed out that she had just finished 10th, not at school sports day, or at county or regional champs, but in the world! To make life even better, the top three British girls did sufficiently well to come third in the team competition; you have to feel sad for the 4th team member whose place did not count towards the team competition. Sammy received a team bronze medal, which put a huge smile on her face.
The week in Spain competing was an amazing experience and will hopefully act as a great foundation for the future.
