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Latest
News |
| Year 10 trip to Didcot Power Station 17 March 2010 |
On Monday 8th March (10B) and Tuesday 16th March (10A), the year 10 separate science classes went on enriching school trips to one of the power stations at Didcot, which goes by the imaginative name of “Didcot A” (the name of the second station being “Didcot B”).
We set off in the freezing cold of the morning, and arrived at the power station at about 9:45am. We then waited in the coach for what seemed like hours before departing and making our way into a room, where we were told about how the power station works, and what materials are used to fuel it (coal, natural gas and blended palm kernels). We were also told that building started on Didcot A in 1964, and was completed in 1968 at a cost of £104 million.
After this talk, we were split into groups of five, and were given a safety helmet and high-vis. jacket before setting off on our tour of the power station. On the day that we were there, the power station was not operational as the company that runs the power station, N-power, had sold all of its energy for the next two years, and so running the power station would be a waste of the limited hours the station had left before it is to be demolished (this event is due to occur in between three and five years time).
On the tour, we saw the 1 million tonnes of coal that is stock piled at Didcot, the multiple generators the station has and the control room, which looked like something from Thunderbirds!
All in all, a thoroughly good day was enjoyed by all, and I think that the only thing I have left to write is a thank you to Dr. James, Mr. Buchanan and Ms. Harries for taking us on trips that allowed everyone to learn a huge amount about a subject which none of us really knew about before.
George Bridge, 10b Science
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| A trip to Culham 17 March 2010 |
On the eleventh of March, the school's Year 13 physics class visited the largest functional fusion research facility in Europe. Nuclear fusion, as anyone on the trip knows, is the process in which nuclei join to form a larger nucleus. And, as anyone on the trip also knows, fusion can release vast amounts of energy. The JET (Joint European Torus) project, with several other groups in the world, studies fusion. Their research has led the field for decades; some of their scientists anticipate a fusion *reactor* -- that is, a reactor which produces more energy than needed to control the fusion process -- around the year 2050. Arguably, it would be the supreme energy source for mankind: abundant, clean and sustainable. As such, it was a joy to visit JET.
Our trip lasted half of the day. We left in the morning, each equipped with some perfunctory form of photographic identification. Upon arrival we were directed to a conference room, where the project's spokesperson explained the workings, capabilities and advantages of JET. After brief questions we donned hardhats, our group being paired with a PhD student at the facility. Our tour included several control rooms (which were more interesting than they sound) and a replica of the chamber, where technicians practise maintenance using a gargantuan steel claw. Supposedly, their initiation as a full technician requires that they use the claw to play a game of Jenga. There was some uncertainty as to whether they must win. It was but slightly anticlimactic to learn that the chamber is under shutdown for another year; necessary to replace worn components. I was most interested by a video recorded while the chamber was active. It is amazing that human ingenuity has proceeded so far, and more amazing yet that it prevails. When finished at JET, we went back to school, immediately beginning a lesson of... physics. Thanks to Dr. James for organising the trip.
It seems fitting that, on this day so focused upon physics, I later visited the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the evening. For, as I had learned a fortnight beforehand, the school chose me to attend the awards ceremony for Oxfordshire Schools' Physicists of the Year and receive a prize as Matthew Arnold's top physicist. The Ogden Trust hosted this event and I thank the Trust (and the school) for an enjoyable night of discourse and discovery.
David Owen, Y13
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| Starry Night 17 March 2010 |
On Wednesday, February 10th, a group of 26 Year 11 physics students were kindly invited to the Denys Wilkinson building on Keble Road to observe some of the stars in the Milky Way through a specialist telescope called the Phillip Wetton Telescope. When we met on the cold evening, none of us really knew what to expect. It was an icy night, but the sky was clear of clouds for the majority of the time, which was perfect for star spotting.
Once inside the building, we were divided into three groups and we circulated between three activities. For the group I was in, the first thing we did was observe the night sky using just our eyes to pick out constellations. This proved to be both interesting and useful, as we learned to orient ourselves around the Pole Star. Our informants answered our many questions about the night sky and we learnt more about the constellations frequently seen in our hemisphere. We were also lucky enough to spot what we initially thought was a satellite that proved to actually be the International Space Station. It was amazing to think that the tiny dot above our heads was such an important base for space research. Some students also saw shooting stars, which are grains of dust burning up in our atmosphere.
The next activity that every group appreciated and enjoyed was the promised viewing through the high powered telescope. The telescope itself is mounted in a large dome on the roof of the building. The dome moves around to allow 360 degree viewing without letting us be too exposed to the elements. We each viewed the star cluster near Orion's belt and the clarity of the image was astounding as Oxford is not geographically the most suitable place of astronomy; the most sought after places are at high altitudes in less built up areas of the world.
The third and final activity was a talk in one of the meetings rooms where a physicist showed us in a presentation some amazing photos of powerful telescope images. The photos were of stars and other aspects of space and were really phenomenal! This trip really encouraged the students hoping to study physics at university, as it showed the hands-on approach taken. It also really helped us with our understanding of our current topic in Physics at school - Observing the Universe. On behalf of the group that went on this trip, I would like to thank Dr James and the physicists at the Denys Wilkinson Building.
Gabriella Salmon
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| Photography competition 4 March 2010 |
A photography competition was run at the end of last year. Here are the winning entries:
1st was Billy Jackson B-EMH:
2nd was Tara Ferguson W-SRW:
3rd was Sara Cosford H-GAC:
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| Yellow Fever win music contest 24
February 2010 |
Rock band Yellow Fever won Reading Rock Academy's Battle of the School Rock Bands. Band members and Matthew Arnold students Alexis Panidis, Joe Peskett, George Readshaw and Dele Adewuyi won the chance to record their music in a professional studio. They also won £5000 for the school's music department.
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| Renewable Energy 24
February 2010 |
At a recent meeting the school has agreed to partner a local community group, West Oxford Community Renewables (WOCR) in a major initiative to reduce the carbon footprint of the local area.
We agreed in principle to the installation of solar panels on the science block roof. These will generate about a quarter to a half of the school's consumption during term time. When supply exceeds demand, electricity will be fed into the national grid so that the local community can also make use of emission free electricity.
The installation and maintenance costs will be provided through grants. We will then buy the electricity produced at the same price as our mains supply. This means that we can reduce our carbon footprint at no cost.
WOCR has submitted a planning application for the installation of these solar panels, which will hopefully be in place ready for the sunny summer days we are all looking forward to.
WOCR has also installed an anemometer on site. This will enable us to make wind speed measurements so that we can see if it would be viable to use wind to generate electricity using a small wind turbine, similar in size to the one at Sandhills Primary School.
The anemometer readings will take place over a three-month period, during which we will consult with the local community over this and the solar panels.
A consultation event will take place at the school on 23rd March at 4.30. You are invited to discuss our ideas in more detail and to view the anemometer site. Depending on the outcome of the consultation and any subsequent planning application, we could be generating wind power this autumn too.
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| Parent Governor Election 2
February 2010 |
Matthew Arnold School has a vacancy for a Parent Governor from March 2010.
Being a Governor is a challenging and stimulating role. It gives you the opportunity to learn more about how the school is run, to support us in decision-making about the school’s development and to provide a critical role in ensuring that we continue to make improvements in everything we do.
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| Every Child Matters Survey 28
January 2010 |
Every student should complete this by March 19th.
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| National Poetry Day Competition 16
December 2009 |
| Congratulations to all the pupils who entered their poems for the National Poetry Day Competition. The theme for this year was Heroes and Heroines. Pupils were asked to consider: Who is your hero – a poet, an inspirational leader, a sportswoman or the local lollipop lady? Pupils took up this challenge with a range of inspiring responses and the following have been forwarded as entrants to the national competition:
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| 6th form RE Day: Conflict & Forgiveness 16
December 2009 |
Eva Clarke, a Holocaust Survivor speaks live on BBC radio Oxford with Miss Magee about coming into MAS to speak to our 6th form students about her story. Eva was one of several speakers who spoke to students about what forgiveness actually means. You can read more about the speakers in this term's newsletter.
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Anti-bullying week jingles 4
December 2009 |
Year 10 music group was chosen to produce jingles promoting anti-bullying week to be played on the local Oxford radio stations. You can hear the jingles here:
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Year 9 Options Programme 23
November 2009 |
On 18 November 2009, Mr Marshall (Senior Deputy Head) and other members of staff gave a presentation about the Year 9 Options Programme. The presentation slides can be viewed here:
Year 9 Options (PowerPoint) (6.16MB) | Year 9 Options (PDF) (931KB)
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Santas on the Run 18
November 2009 |
Matthew Arnold School will be running again in the annual Santas on the Run fun run in aid of Helen and Douglas House in Oxford on Sunday 13th December 2009.
Please sponsor the team by visiting the Santas on the Run web site:
http://my.artezglobal.com/TeamPage.aspx?teamID=32621&LangPref=en-CA
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Harriet makes England Squad 4
November 2009 |
Congratulations to Harriet Lymer-Smith
who has been chosen for the England Gymnastics Squad after a trial
in Ipswich. This follows Harriet's success in county, regional and
national level gymnastics and despite injury for the whole of last
year. Well done Harriet!
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Nathan is Karting Champion
4
November 2009 |
|
Congratulations to Nathan Harrison who
has become the youngest-ever British champion in a junior class of
karting. This was Nathan's third major win in a month, having become
the Southern Area champion in August and then landing the Midland
Championship a fortnight later. Well done Nathan!
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Matthew Arnold student excels at proms:
24 September 2009 |
|
Lawrence Dunn, who left the school in
the summer, made an appearance at the Last Night of the Proms after
winning a competition to write a new fanfare.
Watch the video clip
Top of Page |
School achieves
GCSE success again:
27 August 2009 |
|
Pupils at Matthew Arnold School have
recorded excellent results again, with almost 70% (69.5%) of pupils
achieving 5 A* to C grades including English and Maths.
In 2008 the school achieved easily its
best results ever and it is delighted to have matched these results
this year. Katherine Ryan, Headteacher, said, “We are showing
year-on-year that we are a successful school where everyone can
achieve.”
Outstanding individual performances:
Kochanski Kelly 12 A*
Frost Harvey 9A* , 1B
Bower Freya 8A* 4A
Coote Jonathan 8A* 3A
Warder Simon 8A* 2A
Endicott Peter 8A* 1A
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High A Level standards maintained:
20 August 2009 |
|
The high standards
set for the A levels at Matthew Arnold School in 2008 have been
maintained by the students completing their courses in 2009. Over
half of all the grades achieved (55%) were A or B grades.
Three-quarters of the grades achieved were C and above and our
overall pass rate was 98%.
I am very pleased that our students have been so successful in their
A level studies and that so many have had their university places
confirmed today. There were some particularly outstanding results
for some of our students. Greg Miller achieved 4 A grades
(Biology , Maths, Chemistry and Physics) and will be going to Surrey
University, Hannah Smith achieved 3 A grades (Biology,
Chemistry, Physics) and a B in Mathematics which enables her to take
up her place at St Hilda's College, Oxford University, Emma
Parry and Holly Warder also achieved 3 A grades and 1 B
grade and Michael Hooton and Tamsin Evernden also
achieved 3 A grades.
There were many more success stories and my congratulations go to
all the students for their hard work and to the staff for the
excellent teaching and support that they provide to every student
during the two years of sixth form. Miss Oakden, Head of Sixth Form
is delighted with the results and adds her congratulations for all
the individual successes.
Katherine Ryan
Headteacher
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Languages conference:
8 July 2009 |
|
On the 8th July, 12 Year 10
students from our school took a minibus to Cheney School for a
Business Languages Day. On arrival, we were mixed into 7 groups
containing an assortment of German exchange students from a partner
school in Germany, pupils from Cheney School and our students.
After an interactive presentation delivered by Alex Pickering of the
Goethe Institut we began an ice breaker activity of matching
companies to their countries of origin and what they sell. This
activity helped demonstrate how global our country actually is.
We then were briefed on the main task. Our task was to design a
laptop for teenagers and create a presentation and poster with all
the main sales points to advertise the laptop in different
countries.
Our presentation had to include three
languages, including English, however we couldn’t speak English!
This left us with the option of the German exchange students
speaking English, pupils from Matthew Arnold speaking French, and
Cheney students speaking a mix of French, Italian and German.
We had only two hours to prepare our
presentation before performing to the other groups. In this time we
also had to make the poster. Each group did their two minute
presentation to the rest of the group and panel of judges, who were
there to select, not only the best team, but the best company. This
was based upon how well we had worked as a team, the quality of
communication and how good our presentation and poster were.
We got a lot out of the day, not only practising our language skills
but also as the Cheney head teacher said “new friendships
blossomed”. We all enjoyed it greatly and for our contribution we
were rewarded with a certificate and a bar of chocolate.
Thanks to the Cheney staff and the
Goethe Institut for organising such a fantastic day and special
thanks to Dr Bown and Mr Shoenmackers for taking us. Well done
to Lilly Howells and Becky Shakespeare as their group won and
received a £10 HMV voucher each.
Georgia Howes H-SJB, Helen Owen G-CPW,
Ruby Beaupierre B-JMH & Ibrahim Razaq G-KFP
Top of Page |
National Success at Golf:
8 July 2009 |
|
On the 8th July in Thetford,
Norfolk, 27 counties from all over the country came together for the
final of the English Golf Union Schools Team Championship national
final. A total 0f 300 schools took part in the regional qualifiers.
A mix of boys and girls with various handicaps travelled to the
venue with the chance of becoming national champions. Oxfordshire
was represented by three students from Matthew Arnold School. Jake
Dines and myself from year 9 and Jamie Smith from year 8 had won the
county competition back in March.
On Tuesday the 7th, the three
of us we went down early so we could get familiar with the holes we
were going to be tackling the following day. Unfortunately, the
weather wasn’t great so we had to rush around and try not to get too
wet.
It was an early start on the Wednesday,
as the competition got underway just after 9 am. Thankfully, we
were not set to start playing until after 10 so we had time to get
in some last minute practice. Also we were able to get used to the
atmosphere of the competition that lay ahead. I didn’t choose the
order of play but I was out first of the team and I must say, I had
never been so worried about my golf game. The pressure was building,
but as big as it got, I was able to get underway without too much
damage to my score card. The same went for Jake and Jamie, both
were nervous on the first tee, but they dealt with the pressure, and
were both able to make solid starts to their respective rounds.
The scoring system meant the best two
out of three scores would count towards the final total for the
county, with the third score only to come into play in case of a
tie. So four hours into the competition, the leader board was
starting to take shape. We were still out on the golf course, so we
didn’t know what score was leading but we knew we needed to play
well.
Luckily we did! I was able to score 39
points with Jake scoring 36 and Jamie 37. This gave Matthew Arnold
and Oxfordshire a total of 76 points for the competition. Over the
day, teams were coming into the clubhouse and handing in their
scores. For a little while we were in first place, but then a team
from Sussex handed in a combined score of 83 points, which pushed us
down into second position. With only the last team to come in, we
were still in second place. The team from Norfolk submitted a score
of 76 points – the same score as us. This brought Jake’s score (36
points) into play - if he had beaten their third man’s score, we
would be second in the country. It had, 32 points wasn’t good
enough from Norfolk, so the final result was in. We had come second
in the whole country!
This was the best achievement of our
lives so far. We were proud to just represent our county at a
national event. We hope by coming 2nd, we have done the
county proud.
Dan Croad (Year 9 H-KJS)
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Year
11 Ball:
26 June 2009 |
|
Photogallery of the Year 11 Ball
On a warm sunny evening in late June,
the year 11 students attended their end of year ball at 333 Banbury
Road.
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Year 7
Science Day:
11 June 2009 |
|
Report by Cecile Flavin - Year 7
Photogallery of
the Year 7 Science Day
June 11th was an unusual day for the
year 7s at Matthew Arnold School. Lessons plans were thrown
out the window when we were visited by people from the
Science Oxford (formerly known as the Oxford Trust). They
explained what we would be doing that day, they did this with great
enthusiasm which was infectious. We were put into groups of
five and then allocated roles. The roles were: project
manager, finance director, marketing director, tower manager and
finally bridge manager. Once we had decided who was taking
which role we were given briefs on what we were aiming to achieve.
The project manager was responsible for
the final results and went around checking on how their group was
getting on. The marketing director was in charge of designing
a poster featuring the companies name, logo and slogan. The
finance director had to monitor the costs. The tower manager
had to build a metre tall tower using only roles of paper and nuts
and bolts. Each roll cost £1,000 and each joint cost £3,000 so
we were careful on how we used the materials. It also had to
hold a kilo in weight at the end. The bridge manager had to
make a bridge that opened up using only k-nex pieces and a bit of
string. The road had to be 10cm above the ground. We
could design it however we wanted as long as we used a pulley
mechanism to open the bridge.
Now, back to how the day went. We
started at the usual time of 8:45am. Once everyone had been
allocated a role we got down to business. The first thing we
had to do was fill in a sheet giving all the details; companies name
and who was doing what job. Time flew by and before we knew
it, it was break time. Break came and went and we got straight
back to work. We were all working as quickly and as thoroughly
as possible. By the time it was lunchtime everyone had managed
to complete their structures. During lunchtime the instructors
went round and scored the towers and bridges.
We were back in the hall for the final
results. The instructors had conducted a little twist, instead
of weighing the kilo during lunch they gave us the chance to see
which towers held and which didn't. They did it in front of
us. There was also a huge bonus point if any of the towers
could hold 3 kilos or more. Some didn't reach that stage.
Finally, the results were given and
three groups came joint first. Overall, I think year 7s had a
brilliant day.
Thank you to Science Oxford.
By Cecile Flavin - Year 7
Top of Page |
Parent/Carer Voice Questionnaire:
9 June 2009 |
|
We are always striving to further
improve Matthew Arnold School in many ways. At this time of
year we are drawing up our School Improvement Plan for the coming
academic year. We would value your views about the school so
that our planning is informed.
Please take a few minutes to complete
our 'parent voice' questionnaire, letting us know what you think
about our school. There are 35 questions. All responses
must be received by 26 June 2009.
To validate your survey responses you
will be asked to enter a Questionnaire number. This can be
found ion the letter you received to inform you about the
questionnaire.
Parent/Carer
Voice Questionnaire
Top of Page |
School
Uniform Code:
20 May 2009 |
|
From 11th May 2009, school
uniform will be available from Price and Buckland as well as our
existing supplier, Shepherd and Woodward.
Price and Buckland, who already supply
our PE kit, will also be selling school jumpers and ties. These
will only be available by home delivery either using an order form
from the school’s reception or the link on our website. No
telephone ordering service is available.
There are links to both suppliers via
the Uniform page.
We hope that this will provide parents
and carers a bit more choice when buying uniform.
Please note that from now on, Price and
Buckland will only be delivering uniform or PE kit straight to your
home and not through school.
Top of Page |
School Newsletter:
19 May 2009 |
|
The termly school newsletter was
published today. The school runs off circa 1,200 paper copies
of the newsletter. Nine hundred copies are sent to students
homes, one hundred copies are distributed to staff, two hundred
copies are sent to year 6 children in primary schools in the area
and the remainder are kept in reception for distribution throughout
the next term. The newsletter is a major production and
contributions are received from staff and students.
An online copy of the
newsletter
can be viewed. (PDF
document, 5.01Mb)
Top of Page |
Year 9 trip to Krakow, Poland :
30
April 2009 |
|
The RE trip to Auschwitz , Poland took
place again this year during the Easter holdiays. 43 students went
with Miss Magee, Mr Hanlon, Miss Saunders, Miss Smith and of course
James. It was a great trip and here you can look at some of things
we got up to - including our meeting with a Holocaust survivor which
was an experience we will never forget.
A photogallery of the event.
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Rock Challenge:
25
April 2009 |
|
Students from years 8 through to Year 13
participated in a dance and drama competition staged in a
professional venue. The team had to organise an 8 minute drama
and dance routine and then perfoprm it in front of an audience of
800 people on the competition day.
A photogallery of the event.
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Year 8 historians:
27 March 2009 |
On Friday, 27 Mar 2009 Year 8 history
students enjoyed a visit by members of this re-enactment group. They
were able to learn about weapons used in the English Civil War and
to handle replicas of a musket, sword and craft items.
A photogallery of the event.
Earl Rivers Regiment of Foote are an English Civil War Re-enactment
Regiment in The Sealed Knot who re-enact the English Civil Wars 1642
- 1651.
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School Newsletter:
25 March 2009 |
|
The termly school newsletter was
published today. The school runs off circa 1,200 paper copies
of the newsletter. Nine hundred copies are sent to students
homes, one hundred copies are distributed to staff, two hundred
copies are sent to year 6 children in primary schools in the area
and the remainder are kept in reception for distribution throughout
the next term. The newsletter is a major production and
contributions are received from staff and students.
An online copy of the
newsletter
can be viewed. (PDF
document, 3.1Mb)
Top of Page |
MUNGA: 9 March
2009 |
|
On
Monday 9th March, a hoard of sixth form students, both
Year 12 and 13, ventured into the unknown territory of Kidlington to
take part in Oxfordshire Mock United Nations General Assembly –
otherwise known as MUNGA. Countries represented by Matthew Arnold
included United Kingdom, South Africa, Panama, France and Vietnam.
You can see a
photogallery of the event and a report by Tamara Silver (year
12). |
|
Top of Page |
|
Ski
Trip 2009:
February midterm break 2009 |
The annual school ski trip for our older
students took place in the February midterm break. You can
view a
photogallery of this
exciting trip.
|
|
Top of Page |
|
World Book Day and Book Grab event:
6
March 2009 |
|
On World Book Day the school library
held it's usual Book Grab event. The students had all brought
in their unwanted books and exchanged them for vouchers in the weeks
before the main event. On the day - the library was awash with
all the donated books laid out on the tables. Then the doors
opened and in came the staff and students, eager to find unread
books to exchange their vouchers for. The tables were cleared
and many students went away with armfuls of new books to read.
In addition to the Book Grab the
school also hosted a visit from the award winning author
Rick Riordan.
Our
photogallery of these
exciting events.
|
|
Top of Page |
|
School Production 2009:
2
March 2009 |
|
In early February 2009, the school
production 'The Inessential Romeo & Juliet" was performed. The
original dates 4-6 Feb were snowed off as the school was closed on 5
+ 6 Feb due to the adverse weather conditions experienced in
Oxfordshire. But, as they say 'The show must go on' and on it
indeed went the following week. The show was a great hit and
both students and parents praised the outstanding work done by the
cast and crew to put the whole event together. Please view the
photogallery of the event. |
|
Top of Page |
School Newsletter:
11 February 2009 |
|
The termly school newsletter was
published today. The school runs off circa 1,300 paper copies
of the newsletter. Nine hundred copies are sent to students
homes, one hundred copies are distributed to staff, two hundred
copies are sent to year 6 children in primary schools in the area
and one hundred are kept in reception for distribution throughout
the next term. The newsletter is a major production and
contributions are received from staff and students.
An online copy of the
newsletter
can be viewed. (PDF
document, 6.2Mb)
Top of Page |
|
Dragons' Den for MAS students:
23 February 2009 |
|
Mrs Ryan, Mr Whymark
and eight students attended the launch of Oxford Business X at the
Saïd Business School before Christmas. They received lectures from Matt Kepple (a
budding entrepreneur), Writhlington School (set up a world-famous
orchid selling project), and Mick Waters, (curriculum director of
the QCA). Students also had to come up with their own business ideas
and network with entrepreneurs in the halls of the Said.
Dubbed as Dragons’
Den for Oxford schools, this initiative is designed to promote
creativity and teamwork among participating teams. Thirty thousand
pounds (£30,000) is available for investment, put up by members of
the local business community. The idea of the competition is that
participating teams come up with a business idea which they pitch
first to MBA students at the Said Business School. Having persuaded
the MBA students to help, the students work to prepare a business
plan which they pitch to a panel of business investors to secure
funding. If they are successful, they run the business as an ongoing
concern.
The project has a
working title of The Real Business of Learning and is designed to
give pupils real life experiences which will stand them in good
stead for challenges which will face them in the 21st century. There
are five schools participating: Oxford School, Cherwell School, St
Gregory the Great's School, Matthew Arnold School, and Magdalen
College School.
The Matthew Arnold
proposal will be built around an idea for a “puzzle cube” created by
the team of (then) Year 9 students last year. The participating
students are: Year 10: Adam Newport, Toby Marshall, Sam
Maddrell-Mander, Tom Bradley, Alex Roberts; Year 12: Adam Johnson,
Jack Piccaver, Holly Campbell.
Mr Whymark
Curriculum Leader - Business Studies |
|
Best
ever results for GCSE:
15 January 2009 |
 Oxfordshire
pupils have been ranked 53rd out of 148 authorities in England for
their performance at GCSEs. Figures released yesterday also
showed eight of the county’s 32 secondary schools were among the
top-performing nationwide in 2008.
Matthew Arnold School, in Cumnor, was
rated in the top 25 per cent in England in terms of percentage of
pupils achieving five A*-Cs including English and maths. It was also
in the top 25 per cent in terms of how much pupils improved from 11
to 16 – known as a value added score. Headteacher Katherine Ryan
said: “It was the highest result we have ever achieved as a school
and, if you look back over the last 10 years, we have just gone up
and up. What we are focusing on is the students and making
sure every single one is successful.”
Overall, 50.5 per cent of students in Oxfordshire achieved five
A*-Cs, including English and maths, above the national average of
47.6 per cent and an improvement of 2.4 per cent on 2007.
The full story can be read on the
Oxford Mail website. |
Sixth Form Applications:
12 January 2009 |
The Sixth Form Open Evening was held
last week and was very well attended. Candidates interested in
applying to Matthew Arnold School for entry to the Sixth Form in
September 2009 should visit the
Sixth Form page of the website.
Copies of the Sixth Form Prospectus, Course Brochure and Application
form are all available there.
Top of Page |
School Newsletter:
17 December 2008 |
|
The termly school newsletter was
published today. The school runs off circa 1,300 paper copies
of the newsletter. Nine hundred copies are sent to students
homes, one hundred copies are distributed to staff, two hundred
copies are sent to year 6 children in primary schools in the area
and one hundred are kept in reception for distribution throughout
the next term. The newsletter is a major production and
contributions are received from staff and students.
An online copy of the
newsletter
can be viewed. (PDF
document, 6.2Mb)
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Sixth Form trip to New York:
2 Dec 2008 (trip dates 23-27 Oct 08) |
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Matthew Arnold School took learning to a
new level when we organised a trip to New York for sixth form art,
photography and other students. The trip was an amazing cultural
experience for all, and one that we will never forget.
The architectural splendour of this city
allowed our photography students to produce incredible pictures and
our art students a chance to become inspired.
The Guggenheim museum perplexed all
members of the group, particularly Mr Rosenberg in the Catherine
Opie exhibition. The structure of the building was totally wonderful
and all of us loved Frank Lloyd Wright’s design.
Students also got a chance to see the
City from above, and at night, from the viewing tower of the Empire
State building - Mr Mullender braving the sight despite fearing
heights!
The weather was beautiful overall, but
on the day we decided to go to Battery Park and board the boats that
take you to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island the wind and rain
descended upon us. A few of us braved the top deck of the boat, and
we almost lost Emma Livett as she took off in the wind!
It was with a more sombre mood that we
visited the site of the Twin Towers. It was very hard to believe
that the towers once stood three times higher than the largest
surrounding building, and the vast hole in the ground where so many
lost their lives shocked and moved us all.
There were so many amazing sights for
the students to see that our senses were in overdrive. From the
enormous portions of food, sparkling lights of Times Square, shops
everywhere you looked, the tranquillity of Central Park to the sheer
beauty of the City and its buildings.
I would like to thank everyone who went
to New York for their mature and excellent behaviour. BA said we
were the best school trip they had ever had aboard their planes!!!
A special thank you to Mr Rosenberg,
Miss Hampton and Mr Mullender for all their hard work as without
them I could not have made this trip happen.
Mrs Corley |
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Year
7 Disco:
21 November 2008 |
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The year 7 students held their annual
disco in the school hall today. Following is a report on the
event by Kate Leggett, Amelia Gilio, Katie Charles,
Lydia Carter, Emma
Kowal-Cooper, Amy Livesey, Anna Murphy and Elizabeth Dymock:
"On 21st
November there was a year 7 disco in the school hall. There
were lots of good dancers and some where excellent and won a prize.
The boys winners were Nigel Salt and Francis Krajewski and the girls
were Abbi Stanley and Imogen Haslam.
We all had something to eat and drink and a whole lot of fun. We all
had a great time and really enjoyed the evening!"
A
photogallery
of the event is available now. |
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Year
7 Drama - Greek Plays:
17 November 2008 |
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The children in Year 7 were studying
Greek plays in their drama lessons. They used masks to
re-enact scenes from the Greek plays and a
photogallery of the lesson is
available here. |
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The
Oxford Sleepout:
15 November 2008 |
On 15 November 2008,
more than 100 people braced a cold November night and bedded down in
an Oxford churchyard to raise money for the city’s homeless. People
camped out with sleeping bags, blankets, tarpaulins and even
cardboard boxes in the grounds of St Clement’s Church in Marston
Road on Saturday night. The Oxford Sleep Out was first launched in
2005 to raise awareness of homelessness in the city. Since then it
has raised more than £200,000 for Oxford-based projects. The
projects standing to benefit this year include The Gatehouse, Oxford
Night Shelter, The Gap Project, Simon House, Steppin’ Stone, the
Substance Misuse Services, Street Services and Elmore. Although
weather conditions were milder than in previous years, temperatures
still dropped to 8°C.
Angus Ricks, 17, a
year 13 pupil at Matthew Arnold School, was one of eight friends
taking part. He slept in a long cardboard box and was thankful it
was only for one night. He said: “This is the first time I have
ever done this. It reminds you how lucky you are. I will get to go
home, have a nice hot shower in a nice warm house, but there are so
many people that don’t have that option.”
Angus said he and
his friends had raised about £700. He added: “It was good to come
down and get involved. It’s for a really good cause.”
For more details
about the Oxford Sleep Out you can read the full story on the Oxford
Mail website (http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/headlines/3852488.Rough_night_for_good_cause/).
People can still donate to the appeal by visiting
www.oxfordsleepout.moonfruit.com
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Oxfordshire Schools sixth form chemist of
2008:
23 October 2008 |
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 Hannah
Smith (year 13) attended the Sixth Form Chemist of 2008 Award,
hosted by Oxford University, The Society of Chemical Industry and
the Oxfordshire Independent
and State Schools Partnership (OISSP).
Prize-winners were presented with
certificates and book tokens at the University of Oxford Physical
and Theoretical Building, South Parks Road, on Thursday 23rd
October. Parents and teachers joined students for the evening, which
included a guided tour of the Central Research Laboratories, an
intriguing display of ‘Chemical Magic’ by Dr Hugh Cartwright, and
the presentation of awards by Professor Peter Atkins.
The Sixth Form Chemist of 2008 Awards is
a joint project in increasing scientific awareness and achievement
in the community. OISSP is a local collaboration of Independent and
Maintained schools in Oxfordshire, working together to raise
achievement by sharing information, resources, and partnership
activities and events. Tom Kempton, Project Director of the OISSP,
said, ‘the event is a chance to celebrate the talent of exceptional
students within our county’s schools. The University and SCI’s
involvement will raise aspirations and encourage students to apply
their Chemistry skills in higher education and in industry.’ Well
done to Hannah for representing Matthew Arnold at this event. |
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School Newsletter:
21 October 2008 |
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The termly school newsletter was
published today. The school runs off circa 1,300 paper copies
of the newsletter. Nine hundred copies are sent to students
homes, one hundred copies are distributed to staff, two hundred
copies are sent to year 6 children in primary schools in the area
and one hundred are kept in reception for distribution throughout
the next term. The newsletter is a major production and
contributions are received from staff and students.
An online copy of the
newsletter can be viewed.
(PDF document, 6.5Mb)
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GCSE
Results 2008 - our best ever results:
21 August 2008 |
Outstanding results for our Year 11
students
81% of our students achieved 5 or more higher (A*-C) grades.
97% of our students achieved 5 or more A*-G grades.
This is an exceptional set of GCSE results and the cause for great
celebration in Matthew Arnold School. My congratulations go to all
our students for their hard work over the past two years, and to our
staff for their excellent teaching and support for all our students.
Working together, we have achieved these - our best ever - GCSE
results which are 10% better than our previous best.
Two students, Jane Allwright and Sabrina Gardner, achieved A* grades
in all their subjects and a further six students achieved a
combination of all A* and A grades across their subjects. There were
many students who achieved very high grades, too numerous to list,
but they, their teachers and their families know who they are and
how hard they worked to achieve these outstanding results.
We are also immensely proud of the fact that 99.5% of all the
entries were awarded a G grade or higher - there were virtually no U
(unclassified) grades at all. This reflects the hard work that every
student put into the examinations, ensuring their individual
success.
We are particularly delighted to have achieved such outstanding GCSE
results only a week after our best A level performance ever.
We look forward to welcoming these very successful students into our
Sixth Form. Enrolment takes place on Friday 29 August, in the Sixth
Form Centre from 9.00am
Katherine Ryan
Headteacher |
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A
level results summer 2008:
14 August 2008 |
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We are pleased with the A level results
for Year 13 this summer, which continue to show increasing
improvements over recent years and are our best A2 results yet:
57% A - B
grades
75% A - C
grades
98% A - E
grades.
This is a comprehensive school sixth
form which was rated as “outstanding” by Ofsted in February 2008.
Students work hard and very much deserve their examination
successes. Every student who sat A2 examinations achieved at least
one exam pass and we are delighted with some exceptionally good
individual performances: Llewellyn Kinch achieved 4 A grades ( Bi,
Ch, Ma, Ph) to secure his place to read Natural Sciences at Jesus
College, Cambridge; Nicky Freeman (3As: Bs, Ec, Ma); Emma Jackson
(3As: Bi, CH, Ph); Jason Hillis (3As: Bi, Span, PE); Lewis Taylor
(3As: Bi, Ch, Cm). Ben Trinder (3As: Bi, Ec, Ma). Out of the 70
students in Year 13, a further 11 students achieved at least 2 As
and 1B grade.
I thank the staff at school for their
commitment and effort to make possible the opportunity for so many
students to achieve highly again this year and for most to gain
access to their preferred universities.
We find that students who are well
organised and use their time wisely, who listen to advice and act
upon it promptly and who work consistently over the two years will
generally be rewarded with deserved exam results. Success in the
sixth form is more than just pleasing exam results, however, and
students get fully involved in the life of the school, perhaps in
music, drama, sport or Duke of Edinburgh Award, they take on
positions of responsibility such as work with the school council,
with peer reading schemes or cleaning with the site team and they
put something back into the school and community which have
supported them often for many years.
We value this involvement and it adds to
the good atmosphere around the school.
Giles Marshall
Senior Deputy Head August 14, 2008 |
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Year
11 Leavers' Ball:
27 June 2008 |
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On 27 June, the Year 11 Leavers' Ball
was held at 333 Banbury Road. The event was very well attended
with all students and staff looking resplendent in their evening
wear. A photogallery of the
event can be seen here. |
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Year
9 Student Exchange Trip to Vannes, France:
24 June 2008 |
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In cooperation with Bartholomew's
Secondary School, Witney, fifteen students from Matthew Arnold
School went on return visits to France with the students they had
hosted in early May. The students were from Sacre-Cœur College
in Vannes. The trip was a great success and there is a short
photogallery here. |
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Vertical Tutoring Goes Live:
17 June 2008 |
Vertical tutoring was launched at the
school on Tuesday 17 June . The atmosphere in school was great as
students attended tutor sessions in their new houses.
All students in the school are now organised into 35 new tutor
groups which contain a mixture of students from different year
groups. These are known as ‘vertical’ tutor groups.
- Every student
currently below year 11 is in a new vertical tutor group
consisting of 5 or 6 students from each of years 7 to 10.
- Each tutor
group belongs to a new house, with 7 tutor groups in each house.
- Each house is
led by a House Leader instead of a Key Stage Leader.
- The new year 7
students will join these groups in September 2008
There are five houses and the
houses are called Bannister House, Golding House, Halley House,
Morris House and Wren House. The houses have all been named
after famous people who have connections with Oxford and who
represent a wide range of subjects we study in school.
More information about Vertical tutoring is available on our
Vertical Tutoring Information page. |
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Parent/Carer Voice Survey Results:
9 June 2008 |
Thanks to all parents who took the time
to share their perceptions of the school with us. The more responses
we get, the better the picture we can form of our performance. This
is especially useful to us in highlighting areas for inclusion in
the annual school improvement plan.
This year's response was a record, reflecting the interest of
Matthew Arnold parents in the workings of the school. An
analysis of the feedback received from parents/carers can be viewed
here. |
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Examination Results:
9 June 2008 |
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Results will be
available on the following dates:
AS & A2 Thursday 14 August 2008
GCSE Thursday 21 August 2008
They can be collected from A6 between 9.30am and 11.30pm. They will
be in sealed envelopes. If a student is unable to collect his/her
results in person, they should bring in or send a stamped addressed
envelope to the exams office and the results will be posted out to
them. If a student would like someone else to collect them, the
Exams office will require a letter signed by the student to
authorise the collection – even if it is the parents/carers who are
collecting on their behalf. We cannot give out results over the
telephone.
Full text of the letter sent home can be seen on the
Letters Home page.
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365
Alive:
2 June 2008 |
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  On
Monday 2 June, Bob Patterson, a local fireman set off on
a 365 mile bike ride around the whole of Oxford. He set off from
Matthew Arnold School. The whole of years 7 and 8 were outside the
front of the school to see him off on his journey.
 POSTER/POEM/STORY
COMPETITION
‘365 Alive’ is a
charity set up by Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue service firemen that
promotes saving lives. It is not just about saving lives in fires,
it is about the day to day precautions that we can take to help us
live more safely. For example, always wearing a seatbelt and
checking fire alarms in our homes weekly to ensure they work. The
charity would like to make a book of Matthew Arnold students’ ideas
about ways ‘365 Alive’ can help save lives. You need to make a
poster, write a poem or rap, or write a story about all the ways
that firemen can help save lives.
The winner of the
competition will win a day in a fire station with Bob Patterson.
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School Newsletter:
23 May 2008 |
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The termly school newsletter was
published today. The school runs off circa 1,300 paper copies
of the newsletter. Nine hundred copies are sent to students
homes, one hundred copies are distributed to staff, two hundred
copies are sent to year 6 children in primary schools in the area
and one hundred are kept in reception for distribution throughout
the next term. The newsletter is a major production and
contributions are received from staff and students.
An online copy of the
newsletter can be viewed.
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Year 8 Trip to
France:
25 - 28 May 2008 |
In the May midterm break, Year 8 students travelled to
France with Mr Bown and Mr El-Baz for a school trip. A photogallery of
their trip can be viewed
here.
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Sixth Form Ball:
5 May 2008
On 5 May 2008, the Sixth Form ball was
held at the Randolph Hotel in Oxford city centre. The event, well
attended by students and staff, was a huge success and a key event
in the sixth form calendar.
A photogallery of
the evening can be viewed
online.
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The London Marathon report: |
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Tom Freeman (Year 13) ran the London
Marathon on 13 April 2008. He says:
The London Marathon took more out of
me physically than anything I’ve ever done. But it was definitely
worth it when out of it I have raised a huge amount of money (I’ll
update you on that when all the money is in) for a charity close to
my heart. The memories it has given me will last a lifetime,
memories I would urge others to pursue. Thank you for your support,
support which helped me immeasurably.
Oh, and it’s not too late to donate, just go to
www.justgiving.com/tomfreeman
You can read the full story of Tom's
adventure here: Tom's Marathon Story |
Year 9 Trip to Poland:
April 2008 |
In April, Year 9 students travelled to
Poland with Miss Magee for a school trip. A photogallery of
their trip can be viewed
here.
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Parent/Carer Voice Questionnaire:
23 April 2008 |
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"We are always
striving to further improve Matthew Arnold School in many ways. At
this time of year we are drawing up our School Improvement Plan for
the coming academic year and would value your views about the school
so that our planning is informed. I am asking you to help us
by taking a few minutes to complete our “parent voice”
questionnaire, letting us know what you think about the school. In
order to save resources and speed up processing of responses, there
is an on-line version of the questionnaire which I invite you to
fill in. Here is the link to the questionnaire (Parent
Voice Questionnaire).
We aim to publish
the results of the questionnaire during term six. In order to do
this, all responses must be received by 23rd
May. I look forward to receiving responses from as
many parents as possible so that we get an accurate view from the
majority of parents."
Katherine Ryan
Headteacher"
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Year
11 Preparing for GCSE evening:
will be held on 30 Apr 2008 at 7-8:15pm |
Mr Marshall will be
giving a presentation to parents and Year 11 pupils, on 30 April,
about preparing for GCSE. A copy of the
presentation
is available in advance.
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School Newsletter:
2 Apr 2008 |
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The termly school newsletter was
published today. The school runs off circa 1,300 paper copies
of the newsletter. Nine hundred copies are sent to students
homes, one hundred copies are distributed to staff, two hundred
copies are sent to year 6 children in primary schools in the area
and one hundred are kept in reception for distribution throughout
the next term. The newsletter is a major production and
contributions are received from staff and students.
An online copy of the
newsletter can be viewed.
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Vertical Tutoring: 27th March 2008 |
A letter was issued
to all parents of pupils at the school advising them of an
important initiative that we plan to introduce to our system of
student welfare, which we believe will contribute greatly to the
continuing success and improvement of Matthew Arnold School.
The full text of the letter can be seen on the
Letters Home page.
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OfSTED Report: 3rd March 2008 |
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On
February 13 2008, the school was inspected by OfSTED. The
inspectors’ overall
judgement
of the school’s effectiveness is that “Matthew Arnold is a good
school with an outstanding sixth form”.
We are
delighted with this outcome because the inspectors confirmed that we
have “very good capacity to improve” from this strong position and
it reflects our own self-assessment of the quality of education that
we provide for all our students.
The
inspectors investigated a number of aspects of school life,
including looking at the outcomes of external examinations at Key
Stage 3, Key Stage 4 and in the sixth form and our own
self-evaluation judgements
of our
provision.
The next inspection in the cycle will be in approximately three
years’ time.
The
full Ofsted report is available
for download
here
and
will be published on the OfSTED website on 6 March 2008. If you
would prefer to receive a paper copy of the report, please contact
Miss Marie Holmes at the school.
Further information is available on the
Matthew Arnold School OfSTED web page and
on the
OfSTED website.
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Year 7 Homework system feedback analysis:
28th February 2008 |
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In January all year 7 parents were
contacted via letter to ask them to fill in a questionnaire to help
us evaluate the effectiveness of our new on-line homework system.
Over 50 responded. Some parents gave detailed comments on the
system and on homework generally. These have been passed on to
staff.
The feedback on the system from parents
was overwhelmingly positive. As a result, we have decided to
continue with this system for the rest of year 7 and to extend it to
year 7 and 8 next year.
Typical comments:
“I have found the system invaluable”
“I think this is an excellent system”
“ We have found it very useful for
clarification of homework”
A full analysis of the feedback can be
read here.
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Grease Production:
14th February 2008 |
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The school production this year was the
musical GREASE. The show was held on three consecutive nights
in the first week of February. The cast hit the stage in a
riot of colour and high jinks! An amazing array of talent
refreshingly covering all age ranges. Everybody acted their
socks off in a high octane production that left the audience wanting
more!
You can see a photogallery of the
production here.
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School Newsletter:
13th February 2008 |
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The termly school newsletter was
published today. The school runs off circa 1,300 paper copies
of the newsletter. Nine hundred copies are sent to students
homes, one hundred copies are distributed to staff, two hundred
copies are sent to year 6 children in primary schools in the area
and one hundred are kept in reception for distribution throughout
the next term. The newsletter is a major production and
contributions are received from staff and students.
An online copy of the
newsletter can be viewed.
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Year 9 Options Programme:
17th January 2008 |
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On 17 January 2008,
at the Parents' Evening for Year 9s, Mr Marshall (Senior Deputy
Head) gave a presentation about the Year 9 Options Programme.
A copy of Mr Marshall's presentation can be viewed here....
Year 9 Options Programme
Presentation
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Year 7
Homework system feedback survey:
15th January 2008 |
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In September you
received an invitation to use the school on-line homework system.
Since then we have made various adjustments to this system and we
would now like to know your views on it.
In order to give us your feedback, please fill in our
on-line questionnaire. Please enter
the code number at the top of the letter you received about this
matter in the survey number field. This code is used simply to
validate responses as coming from parents of pupils at the school
and will be removed from the dataset before it is analysed. The
responses will be treated anonymously. We will use your responses
to evaluate the effectiveness of the system and to plan future
developments.
Andrew Webster
Assistant Head
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