Loading

Welcome to the March issue of our COAST magazine packed full of news stories. To jump straight to our year group news click Y7, Y8, Y9Y10 or Y11. For subject news click Maths, RS, Food, Computer Science, Science, Geography, MFLHistory, PE. For our SEND update click here.

Dear parent

Welcome to our Easter COAST edition, which again recognises outstanding achievement from our students as well as an ever-growing selection of events, competitions and extra-curricular activities. Phoebe Patrick winning the regional cooking championship and representing the south in the forthcoming national competition and Zach Johnson participating in Barcelona with his in-line hockey team to name but a few.

We are also reaching that time of year where Year 11 students are in their final preparations for the summer exam series. At this time, we say thank you to the current senior student leadership team and welcome the new. On Tuesday Itchen College welcomed over 30 year 10 students who had applied for senior student leadership positions. It is a gruelling day for all and this year we benefitted from year 11 student support leading a number of activities. I am pleased to announce that the following students have been successfully appointed to the following roles:

Head Girl Millie Bennett

Head Boy Luke Groen

Deputy Head Girl Prabhjyot Kaur-Roath

Deputy Head Boy Layton Gillette

At the same time, I was also informed that as part of our Scholars Programme a number of Year 9 students who have recently graduated from the programme have been invited to Jesus’ College in Oxford. What an opportunity!

Thank you again to all our parents for your support and encouragement as without this partnership we would not have the continued evidence of success as seen in the COAST magazine.

Please enjoy the Easter break and hopefully some warmer weather is on the way.

Best wishes

Martin Brown

Rotary Club Young Chef Competition

Congratulations to Phoebe Patrick who has just competed in the national semi-final of the Rotary Club ‘Young Chef’ Competition at South Downs College. Not only did Phoebe produce her dishes flawlessly, but she also won the overall competition and the award for best laid table.

Phoebe has worked tirelessly for the past 6 months and is absolutely over the moon to win this award. Phoebe will now be competing in the national final in Warwickshire on April 29th. We wish her luck!

Scholars Programme

27 of our amazing, high prior attaining students have been working hard on their programme of study with Dr Yusuf Sulayman from the University of Portsmouth. The prestigious Scholars Programme gives young learners a unique opportunity to experience academic-style learning. After a detailed course of study, students then write and submit their 2000-word essay and at this very moment our fantastic Year 9 and 10s are awaiting their results. One of our students has given us permission to publish his assignment for you to see what they've been studying - we are exceptionally proud of Jack and all of our Scholar's Programme students and can't wait to share their results with you and celebrate their inevitable success.

Debate Club

Our outstanding KS3 and KS4 debate teams have been working tirelessly this term to prepare for the International Debate with Hart competition. Over the last term, our team of 7 have been preparing their motions: is society too reliant on technology and should humans be allowed to colonise other planets?

Our KS3 team arrived with some idiosyncratic arguments that looked at how society's reliance on technology has been at a detriment to mental health. The team of 4 (Chloe, Chloe, Doris and Bernardo) were celebrated for their well researched arguments and persuasive devices used by the judge. We won this round against a school in the North of England.

Our KS4 team had the difficult task of arguing that we should be allowed to colonise other planets. Their maturity with the topic, well reasoned arguments and persistent rebuttals, lead to a narrow defeat. Iza, Julia and Heidi worked extremely hard to formulate a debate that was not only emotional, but also persuasive.

Overall, our debaters have worked extremely hard to improve their persuasive speaking and are growing in confidence in each debate. Mrs Gale and Miss Mac are ridiculously proud of their hard work and are looking forward to our next debate against a school in New York City!

BOAST

BOAST (Brilliant Oasis Academy Sholing Talks) continues every Tuesday in the library and enables students, who are eager to expand their general knowledge, to explore a wide range of topics and issues they wouldn't get to dissect at length in the classroom. So far this term Mrs Rumsey explored if miracles really do exist, Miss Griffiths analysed the semantics behind "othering" and Mrs Gale questioned if sport and politics can co-exist on separate planes. If you'd like to join BOAST come and check it out on Tuesdays in the library at 1pm.

Book Fair

Oasis Academy Sholing in conjunction with Oasis Community Hub: East Southampton hosted a successful Scholastic Book Fair as part of the World Book Day 2023 celebrations.

Over 600 KS3 students visited the fair during their English lessons to browse 200+ gripping, moving and thought-provoking novels from the very best authors. With prices starting from just £2.99, students were also encouraged to use their World Book Day voucher to receive a further £1 discount.

Barbara Ridley, Librarian, reported,

“There was a real buzz about the Fair. Students were excited and delved right into the shelves to find new adventures to read. I’d like to thank the students and parents of Oasis Academy Sholing for their support and am proud to announce that we have secured over £300 of free books for our library!”

It is our hope to make this a regular date on the school’s calendar.

Year 7 Life at OAS

This term we have sent home the Year 7 Mid-Year Reports and held our Year 7 on-line virtual parents evening. Thank you to all those parents who made appointments, I know that many teachers were fully booked due to the high uptake. If you were unable to make an on-line appointment with your child’s teachers to discuss their Mid-Year Report, you can either contact your child’s tutor to request they collate some feedback for you, or you can contact your child’s subject teachers directly.

Year 7 have participated in their first World Book Day at OAS, fully involving themselves in the activities on the day and I am delighted to include a photograph of Teddy Shacklock and Hugo Dziaba who took the opportunity to dress up as Mr Brown from Oliver Twist and Cousin It.

Our Year 7 Tutor Representatives and our Year 7 Anti-Bullying Ambassadors met with Mr Brown and the whole School Parliament to share their experiences of Year 7 life at OAS. I am very proud to say that they represented themselves in a mature and articulate manner and they were a credit to the year group.

Year 7 continue to remain top of the school for the number of positive reward points earned per student . Year 7 have also remained top of the school for having the best attendance, with 7VN having the best attendance in the school!

Our top thirty Year 7 students with the most reward points in the year group are listed below.

I can confirm that due to the high expression of interest, the Year 7 celebration trip to Paultons Park will take place on Tuesday 11th July 2023. Information about how to pay has been sent out through MCAS.

Well done Year 7. Keep up the good work!

Mrs Rolls, Head of Year 7

Year 8 Life at OAS

And so we draw to a close the Spring term, I would like to wish all our families a joyful Easter Holiday. We have had some a very creative half term, with the Year 8’s producing some beautiful work in their art classes. They have had quite an aquatic journey, with their work focusing on underwater themes and practicing a range of techniques. Here are just a examples of their pieces – I am sure you will agree they invoke a sense of awe and wonder for exploring the depths!

We have some truly delicious dishes coming our way too – hopefully you will have the opportunity to have a taste! Promoting a dish rich in vitamins and minerals, the Year 8’s will be whipping up a culinary delight in the form of vegetable gratins

Our scientists have been having fun in the lab looking at some exciting reactions in their chemistry topics – one of our favourites has been Elephant’s toothpaste (a catalyst based reaction), alongside the ever impressive whoosh bottle (a combustion reaction).

We continue to strive to increase attendance. All studies and research have shown that higher a student’s attendance, the greater progress they make. To give our Year 8’s the best possible opportunities, both academically and socially, we must work together as a community to support them in attending school and their lessons.

I would like to praise our students who have managed to maintain 100% attendance since we started in September:

We have some smashing performances from year 8 and they are mounting up some impressive reward point totals. As a year group, we have surpassed 52800 reward points! Our top 30 so far are as follows (with our top scorer at over 490 points!)

For my parting message, I would like to remind you of the letter sent out for our celebratory Paultons Park trip! I hope to see as many of our 8’s join us as possible so do please register your interest.

Happy holidays to all

Mr Macdonald

Year 9 Life at OAS

It was great to see so many parents and carers out Year 9 Options evening in early February. Students have now been issues with their forms enabling them to pick the options that they would like to study In Key Stage 4. The return date for this is Thursday 30th March, please ensure all forms are returned on time.

One really pleasing piece of information I have to share is that the Year 9 attendance rate increased by nearly 1.5% in the half term January to February. This is by far the biggest increase in all year groups, so well-done Year 9. Another pleasing piece of information is our year 9 basketball team narrowly lost to Kings School, well done on getting so far in the competition.

We also had our year 9 parents evening on Tuesday 15th March. This was an opportunity to discuss your child in detail, knowing how they are progressing and what they need to do to make further progress. Please use this information, along with the information given to them in assembly to ensure they pick the right subject for them at Key Stage 4.

The final piece of information I wanted to share is that over half the year group have now had their school leaver booster, and the HPV (Human papillomavirus) these were administered a week a part.

I would like to congratulate the following students who have accumulated the most reward points this term, extremely well done.

Ella R, Olivia F, Taylan H, Callum J, Phocea P, Ethan J, Thomas M, Tiani B, Emily K, Bernard GM, Annika VL, Grace B, Sophie M, Reggie S, Emmanuella U, Laila B, Mason B, Jake C & Matthew C.

Year 10 Life at OAS

With the year 11’s approaching the end of their time at Oasis Sholing and soon to start exams we’ve launched the application process for students to apply for a place on the new student leadership team. I’ve been hugely impressed with the quality of applications we’ve received so far which show huge passion and commitment to the school. We will be interviewing the applicants at Itchen College and appointing students to roles including Head Boy/Girl and senior prefects with responsibility for areas such as year 6 transition, respect, environment, and inter-house competitions.

We’ve had a lot of students return the forms for their Work Experience placement which will take place in the week beginning 10 July, and the careers team are ready to help students who do need support with finding a placement – your child can speak to Mrs Jesson and Mrs Elliot directly, or ask their tutors to make an appointment for them if they need support. The deadline for completed forms is Wednesday 29 March.

I’m pleased to say we’ve arranged a reward trip to Thorpe Park on Monday 17 July for the students with the highest number of house points, and best attendance and behaviour. Letters will start going out to students invited on this trip after the Easter Holiday. At the moment, the students below have the highest number of house points in the year group – so it’s a big well done to them, but also it’s not too late for others to catch up!

If you do have any questions regarding your child’s education please do not hesitate to contact their tutor or email year10@oasissholing.org

Leo S, Grace B, Rodrigo GS, Iza K, Callum H, Libby N, Taya S, Skylah G, Mia H, Daisy M, Erin S, Charlie P, Jacob H, Konrad L, Stephi K, Elizabeth G, Ruby M, Luke G, Megan S, Logan O, Sienna C, Jack B, Matthew D, Charles F, Millie MZ, Guzal A, Suzy M, Karandeep S, Heidi B, & George C.

Year 11 Life at OAS

Year 11 have finally completed all their Mocks exams and now they are busy preparing for their GCSEs examinations which start on the 15th of May. I will be sending out a letter for parents with more details closer to this time.

We had a fantastic turn out for February half term revision, all the students once again showing a maturity beyond their ages. It was a pleasure to see such enthusiasm from our students and teachers alike.

As always it is imperative that Year 11 continue to attend weekly revision sessions after school based on evidence this will not only give them confidence, moreover, the necessary skills to succeed.

“The concept of spacing out a student's revision has been shown to be highly effective in boosting student's memory and performance in assessments. The importance of these extra sessions is to provide support for those students who need enhanced provision to achieve the best possible outcomes”.

Attendance at school is critical for all Year 11 students in the coming weeks. All lessons will be focused on the exams with tutor time and assemblies to support students as they approach their final GCSEs.

Year 11 also have the opportunity to attend Easter revision in the first week of the holidays and a copy of the timetable will be sent out to both parents and students alike.

Leavers Hoody 2023, don’t forget to order your hoody via MCAS, the uptake has been fantastic and with such a wide choice of colours I cant wait to see them very shortly! The closing date is 19th April.

On Tuesday the 21st, we are holding an Easter raffle to raise money for the Year 11 Prom, we have a selection of hampers up for grabs and with prices starting at £1.00 per strip be sure to get one, wishing everyone good Luck! The raffle will be held after school, and I will announce the winners separately. A massive shout out to Karen Dawkins and Hayley Broady for organising this for the school.

This Friday the 24th of March sees the annual challenge of staff v students in a dodgeball competition. This is such a popular event as the students love to have the opportunity to beat the staff, this draws a huge crowd from all the year groups and all the money raised will also be going towards Year 11 Prom.

Kate Vasey our Chartered Clinical Psychologist will be hosting two special assemblies this coming Friday 24th and Friday the 30th on Exam stress and how to cope, this is a wonderful opportunity for Year 11 students to gain the skills to be able to flourish in their GCSEs whilst taking care of their own wellbeing. Kate has lots of support techniques in place for our students and we welcome her expertise and experience.

SHOUT OUTS

A huge well done to these outstanding thirty students below who have the most reward points in Year 11! Well done to each and every one of you. Certificates will be on their way.

I will continue to ensure that students maintain the high behavioural expectations we have for them whilst supporting their wellbeing and resilience, especially as any exam pressures take hold. I will continue to be here to listen to students and to help and encourage them to be the best versions of themselves as they complete their final terms here at Oasis Academy Sholing. I am looking forward to a positive and successful outcome for Year 11.

Thank you for your continued support.

Miss H Sydenham

SEND

This section is written in the OpenDyslexic font to aid accessibility.

Southampton SENDIASS

We always strive to support our community, and parents/carers of young people with SEND sometimes need more than the help of school to navigate the processes that exist, especially if considering an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), or appealing a Local Authority decision about an existing application. The Special Educational Needs & Disability Information Advice & Support Service (SENDIASS) in Southampton are there to help as advocates for you and your child, and to give support and advice.
Local Autism Charity Re:Minds comes highly recommended by many of our families. They are holding a series of Autism, CAMHs, ADHD and Adult mental health Advice Clinics, as well as Adult Mental Health clinics. Dates as follows, these are held online, please book in for these the week before the clinic:

info@reminds.org.uk

Autism Advice Clinic

With Dr Anastassia Sedikides Principle Clinical Psychologist at Southampton Autism Service: 10.30am 19th April / 10.30am 17th May / 10.30am 14th June / 10.30am 12th July.

CAMHS Advice Clinic

With Satty Basra & Chantal Homan, from Southampton CAMHS: 10.00am 17th March / 7.00pm 22nd March / 10.00am 21st April / 10.00am 19th May / 10.00am 16th June / 10.00am 14th July.

ADHD Advice Clinic

With Consultant Nurse & ADHD guru, Cathy Laver Bradbury: 9.30am 26th April / 9.30am 5th May / 1.30pm 15th June / 1.30pm 5th July.

Adult Mental Health Advice Clinic

With Sarah Leonard, Head of Community Nursing: 10.00am 24th March / 10.00am 18th April / 10.00am 19th May / 2.00pm 8th June / 11.00am 20th July.

Free Legal Advice Clinic

With Hannah Adams from Shelton Solicitors: 12.30pm 23rd March / 12.30pm 20th April / 12.30pm 18th May

Emotionally Based School Anxiety (EBSA)

It was great to see parents at the events at our school and Mayfield, much was gained by those who attended. If you have a child who finds it difficult to go to school, would like to understand what makes it so hard for them, and would like to know more about ways that you can help, there are follow up discussions for parents/carers in conjunction with the Southampton Psychology Service and Oasis Academy Mayfield.

Dates as follows:

Follow up discussion evening: Wednesday 26th April from 5:30 – 7:00 @ Oasis Mayfield
Follow up discussion morning: Thursday 4th May from 10:00 – 11:30 @ Oasis Sholing

To book, please email SHO-SENDCO@oasissholing.org to book your place for one of the training and one of the discussion sessions.

Maths

Year 7

This half term Year 7 have been looking at coordinates and finding areas of both simple and compound shapes. They have been building on their work on coordinates at primary school and used their understanding from previous units, such as negative numbers, problem solving and knowledge of shapes. This knowledge has helped to find midpoints of a line as well as solve worded problems to find area.

Year 7 Stars

Year 8

Year 8 have been looking at different types of data and the importance of collecting data that is relevant, whether this be primary or secondary. They have been looking at writing effective questionnaires and ensuring that there is no bias in their questions or where they ask people to answer the questions.

Year 8 have also been looking at showing the data they have found in appropriate charts and graphs that are appropriately labelled in order for others to see the relevance.

Year 8 Stars

Year 9

Year 9 have been looking at the differences between expressions, equations and identities. They have then been using these differences to help solve both linear equations and inequalities. They are able to solve equations with the unknown on one side or on both.

Once confident solving linear equations students have been looking at solving simultaneous equations—solving two unknowns in two equations at the same time!

Year 9 Stars

Maths Homework Club

Need help with your homework? Maths Homework club is on every Wednesday after school in the Library.

Year 10

This half term Year 10 have been working on their algebra skills, practicing factorising quadratics and drawing quadratic curves. Once confident with quadratics we have started a very different area of maths, looking at transformations of shapes. We have been looking at four different transformations: reflections, rotations, translations and enlargements. It has been difficult at times remembering that an enlargement can also make shapes smaller!

Moving on from transformations we are looking at the volumes and surface area of some difficult shapes such as spheres and cones. There are some equations that need to be remembered, such as the area of circle, whereas others will be given, for instance volume of a sphere and surface area of a sphere.

Year 10 Stars

Year 11

Year 11 foundation are now spending time practicing past papers, looking at different questions and ensuring they are confident establishing what is needed for each problem. They are continuing to use skills checks and have been given individually tailored pinpoint booklets to work on the quick wins.

Year 11 higher students have now finished the course and are completing revision lessons. Like the foundation students they have been given pinpoint booklets to help and are practicing past papers in class once a week.

Revision sessions are continuing on a Tuesday after school. These will be increasingly important as we are approaching the summer exams.

Year 11 Stars

Sparx Homework

Most students are continuing to engage with their Sparx homework. Many are watching videos and all are welcome to attend Maths club on a Wednesday after school in the Library.

Each year group is given a week to complete homework and homework is set on the same day each week. Year 7: Tuesday / Year 8: Monday / Year 9: Thursday / Year 10: Friday / Year 11: Wednesday.

Maths Puzzles

Using the numbers from 1-4, complete the grid

The numbers in each heavily outlined set of squares must combine, in any order, to produce the target number in the top corner using the mathematic operation indicated (+,-,x,÷)

1) Use each number only once per row and once per column

2) Cages with just one square should be filled in with the target number in the top corner

3) A number can be repeated within a cage as long as it is not in the same row or column

Religious Studies

Year 7 have been really enjoying exploring the concept of prejudice; which is focused on the life and achievements of Martin Luther King Jr. They have been excellent in applying their skill of empathy to the situations that black people in the Southern states of America endured in the 1960’s. They have gained a strong understanding of pacifism and how this approach links to the school habits of being self-controlled, humble and patient. We have also evaluated how Martin’s religion both inspired and supported him, to continue to fight for the rights of black people.

Year 11 RS GCSE students are only 6 school weeks away from their RS exam. We have taken then to the Hindu Temple and we are visiting the Holy Saviour Church in March. Both experiences will support their revision and help to bring the learning alive for them. We were so impressed with their respectful attitude and the thought provoking questions that they asked.

Our RS stars for Spring term 2, who have an amazing attitude to learning and produce exceptional work are:

Year 11: Holly Grant and Amber Willetts

Year 10: Sayeeda Shahin and Mia Trudgeon

Year 9: Sophie Lee and Evelyn Cox

Year 8: Demi Louise Harris and Sofie Priest

Year 7: Juliet Slater and Erin Bourne

Food

Year 7

Our Year 7 Food learners have been focusing on multicultural cuisine this term with a focus of British Cuisine.

We started the term making a Welsh rarebit by making a cheese sauce and using the grill, followed up by traditional Scottish potato scones and finished this week with an English Lancashire hotpot.

This terms Foodie Heroes are: Lilly Harris and Taylor Jaytin

Year 8

As the year progresses into Spring, we have been teaching our Year 8’s of the importance of seasonal foods and how we get food even when foods are out of season in this country. Pupils have also been learning about vitamins and how they keep us healthy and alive.

Our Year 8 learners have made pea and watercress soup, braised rice and vegetable gratin using a range of seasonal vegetables.

This terms Foodie Heroes are: Benjamin Cohen and Tippi O’Reilly

Year 9

With GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition on the horizon, our year 9’s have been learning about some of the functions of ingredients used in dishes. We have focused this term on raising agents, starch and batters.

We started the term learning about how raising agents like baking powder make pancakes rise, how steam makes Yorkshire pudding batters rise in the oven and finally how use of whisks can give a Swiss roll its soft texture.

This terms Foodie Heroes are: Reggie Somerville and Emily Colverson

Year 10

Food Choice was the focus for our Year 10 GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition pupils. They have learnt about what influences our choices in the supermarket and the varying ethical and moral food choices different groups of people make.

Alongside this exciting learning they have produced some great dishes to help show their understanding. They have made calzone, fresh pasta which they turned into a lasagne and Thai green curry.

This terms Foodie Heroes are: Lacie Eden and Joshua Denham

Year 11

Congratulations to our Year 11 cohort who have reached the end of their NEA controlled assessments. It has been a great pleasure to see how your work has progressed throughout the school year to the point where you are now submitting ready for marking.

Attention turns now to your end of year exam in June. Don’t forget you have your red and white revision guides and home and should be revising at least once a week.

This terms Foodie Heroes are: Izabelle Simpson and Samuel Pinnick

Extra-Curricular Food

Extra-Curricular has expanded very quickly this term in the Food department. Our KS3 cookery club have been producing a range of healthy fun food products using a range of ingredients. Anyone who’d like to join in can come to see Mrs Hobbs the Food technician on a Thursday or Friday to enquire.

Our KS4 cookery club have been challenging themselves with a selection of high demand skills. They have made potato gnocchi and hot cross buns with Mrs Rolls as well as stuffed chicken breast with Mr Ranger.

Congratulations to Phoebe from Year 10 who entered the district round of the Rotary Club Young Chef Competition and came third place beating local Southampton schools as well as schools from Portsmouth and the Channel Islands. She then progressed to the regional final on 25th March 2023, where she won the round and will now compete at nationals! Well done and good luck!

Computer Science

Year 7

Recently Year 7 have learnt about the scratch programme language. They have used this to create a quiz and a counting game of their own.

Year 8

Year 8 have experienced the python programming language for the first time. They have built on their programming skills of the scratch language. This has allowed them to build codes to ask people their favourite film and give back an appropriate response.

Year 9

Year 9 have been learning about data science which has included discovering how many bins there are in Disney world and the best country to live in based on their own criteria. Did you know data scientists are learning to tell surprisingly accurate stories about people from that accumulation of information they gain from social media accounts!

Year 10

In Year 10 have been learning how to programme lists. This allows us to design simple picking games such as a random name or number generator you might see at the bingo!

Year 11

Year 11 have continued focussed preparation for their GCSE exams now. This has involved both recapping key concepts and tricky topics. Lessons continue to focus on key exam skills including lots of practise of exam questions.

In Creative iMedia, students have started investigating and designing comic books as part of their final coursework. This is including using our new software ‘comic life 3’ which allows students to produce their own comics from scratch.

Extra Curricular

In Computing & Robotics Club, students have continued to develop their scratch games, for example a platformer game like old school Mario games! The image shows one of the characters in the game. Other students have spent this half-term making more 3D models on a piece of software called TinkerCAD.

Our Pi programming competition entry is nearly finished now focusing on final assembly. Raul’s project on a sun following solar panel is nearly ready, we are very excited to enter this into the national competition! We will update you in the summer term as to how we get on!

Any student wishing to join these clubs should speak to their Computer Science teacher for further information.

Our Pi programming competition entry continues to develop. Raul’s project on a sun following solar panel is now working, the video shows the panel moving in response to light intensity.

Any student wishing to join these clubs should speak to their Computer Science teacher for further information.

Science

Year 7

Students have spent this half-term deepening their understanding of organs and organ systems in the human body. Students have learnt about the role of the lungs and the digestive system in getting oxygen and glucose into the blood. These two substances are vital for all living things as they are needed for respiration which releases energy. More recently students have been learning about why we all look different and what causes this variation including investigating the link between shoe size and height.

Year 8

Students have applied their knowledge of basic chemistry to reactions this half-term. They started by learning about why some metals are more reactive. We then used this knowledge to explain how scientist could extract useful metals. More recently students have moved on to understanding the structure of the Earth and how it was formed millions of years ago. We then finish the term by looking at the impact humans are now having on Earth and its atmosphere and its links to climate change.

Year 9

The term started with students building on their understanding of forces, including calculating the overall resultant force acting on an object. Students then moved on to studying how forces affect motion of an object including how journeys can be plotted on both distance-time and velocity-time graphs. The term will finish with students applying this knowledge to stopping including looking at how both reaction time and the condition of a vehicle can affect the distance it takes to stop. This links to our laws on drink driving, yearly MOTs, and why motorways have chevrons to help road users leave suitable gaps in front of them.

Year 10

This half-term students have learnt about electricity. This has included learning how basic circuits work and how resistance impacts a circuit. Students have learnt about how light dependent resistors and thermistors work. They can no explain how street lights switch off automatically in the day time and how cars provide the driver with feedback that their engine is overheating. Students finish this half-term by applying this knowledge to the national grid, explaining how electricity reaches our homes safely and then how it reaches our appliances, this will include learning and practising the skill of wiring a plug.

Year 11

After completing their mock exams, our Year 11s have finished the last few lessons of the curriculum. This included learning about how contraceptive methods work including both hormonal (like the contraceptive pill or implant) and non-hormonal methods (such as the condom) work to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Students then learnt about how science can be used to increase the chance of successful pregnancy including the process of IVF treatment. More recently we have returned to learning about waves looking at two methods of measuring the speed of a water and sound wave.

For the next 6 weeks in the run up to their exams students will be using lesson time to go back over key topics and concepts, this will be supplemented by weekly home learning and afterschool intervention. More information is to be sent to all year 11 students and parents in the next week so they have access to everything they need to prepare for their exams.

Science Capital

Science Club this side of half-term has involved a wide variety of activities. We first started off all things magic - students learned how to make a teabag take flight whilst on fire, pierce a skewer straight through a blown-up balloon without it popping, produce a carbon ‘snake’, recreate flames the colour of fireworks, suck an ‘egg’ into a flask with just matches, and make a can crush itself without using your hands. Recently, students took part in a Forensic Science murder mystery, using clues, facts, and scientific key skills to not only determine WHO killed Mr Hooper, but to determine WHEN and HOW Mr Hooper died. Students deduced from body temperature at the scene of the crime at what time Mr Hooper was murdered. They used chromatography to determine who wrote Mr Hooper a threatening note. Students further used fingerprint, hair follicle, and saliva analysis to further determine the murder’s height, blood sugar/protein content, and fibre trails.

Students at science club have worked incredibly hard this first half year and consistently impress and awe the science department at their in-depth questions and ever-expanding enjoyment within STEM. Any student wishing to join this weekly club should speak to their Science teacher or find Miss Waller for further information.

Geography

Our vision is to explore a sense of place, embed skills, spark curiosity and encourage empathy.

This half term Year 7 geographers have been learning about weather and climate. Students have studied weather forecasts and extreme weather events like the Australian wildfires and the Beast from the East. After the Easter holidays they will study Rivers.

Year 7 Geography Shout Outs:

Tyler Clune Osbourne - consistently demonstrates excellent knowledge and achieves purple for his consolidation task answers.

Erin Bourne - Great work ethic. Great intrinsic motivation to autocorrect and purple pen throughout every lesson.

Year 8 geographers have studied climate change this half term: in particular the causes and effects. In Summer term 1 the focus of study is coasts.

Year 8 Geography Shout Outs:

Oliver Hayward & Ruby Kent

In Year 9 students have investigated the question ‘why are deserts important?’. They have looked at the physical characteristics of deserts and also the human causes of desertification.

Two opportunities are coming up for Year 9. Firstly the BBC Earth Experience/Natural History museum trip in May. Secondly there will be a team of Year 9’s competing against other Southampton schools in the annual Worldwise quiz. Look out for details on how to join the team.

Year 9 Geography Shout Outs:

Alfie Wilde – hard working in every lesson.

Sophie Lac – Detailed, structured answers in all her work.

In GCSE geography, Year 10 students have focused this term on UK physical geography including Rivers and Coasts. Students have learnt about processes, landforms and examples of UK rivers and the coastline.

A date for your diary is the Year 10 GCSE fieldtrips to Lyndhurst and Highcliffe which are taking place on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th May. Please remember to return payment and consent forms.

Year 10 Geography Shout Outs:

Joshua Neary - hard working, polite, punctual and enthusiastic about learning.

Harvey Eldridge – hard working and always writes in good detail.

Year 11 have completed their GCSE content and are now revising for their mock examinations. To support Year 11 students there is intervention every Friday night 2.40 – 3.40pm in HE1 and HE2.

Year 11 Geography Shout Outs:

Caitlin Dries: Caitlin has a terrific work ethic. She completes all tasks to her ability and always strives to improve. Her attendance at extra revision sessions is a great example to her peers.

Jessica Trenwin-Parker: Jessica is working extremely hard in lessons and at home. In addition, she is completing detailed revision questions regularly to aid her in her future examinations.

In addition the BTEC Travel and Tourism students are having a busy term. Year 10 have just started their first assignment and have a trip to Paultons Park on 30th March to analyse customer service.

History

Year 7

In February’s addition of COAST I informed our readers how our Year 7 students had been learning all about the Crusades and how by 1099 the city of Jerusalem had been captured by the Crusaders. Since then we have learnt all about the kingdom of Mali under the reign of Mansa Musa and how his religious pilgrimage to Mecca between 1324 and 1325 literally put Mali on the map. Our focus is currently on a small village in England, Walsham Le Willows in Suffolk. The Black Death has arrived and students will be finding out how the lives of six individuals (Master John, John Wodebite, Edmund de Welles, Agnes Chapman, Olivia Cranmer and Lady Rose Saxham) will fair. Sadly, not everyone will make it but one thing is for certain their lives will never be the same again.

Year 7 stars are: Eponine Palmer and Joe Chick

Year 8

We have finally said farewell to our massive unit on the Power of the Monarchy. By 1701 the Act of Settlement massively limited the power of all future kings and queens. No longer could a monarch be Catholic and a whole host of limitations were introduced. We have recently started our new enquiry on ‘What can people, places and objects reveal about the Enlightenment?’ An early highlight was reading all about how Isaac Newton decided to place a bodkin (needle) in his eye to prove that the brain was responsible for creating colours. This proved Aristotle’s theory that the gods were responsible for the creation of colours to be wrong.

Year 8 stars are: Mylee Harris and Hayden Hunt

Year 9

Last time around I wrote that our Year 9 had been doing some local history by assessing the significance of the Spitfire to Southampton. We were so incredibly proud of how well our student took to this topic. Their answers to our enquiry question, ‘How significant was the Spitfire?’ were stunning. More recently we have continued with the theme of the Second World War and have been asking ourselves why President Truman ordered the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. Students have grappled with the complexities of this debate and have considered themes like hegemony as well as humanitarian causes. Once more students were only too willing to demonstrate their great subject knowledge as well as their personal views. Well done Year 9. We will make historians out of you yet!

Year 9 stars are: Laila Bonney and Lewis McGrath

Year 10

We are also so incredibly proud of our hard-working Year 10 historians. They have really taken to our study of Medicine Through Time. They have understood that medieval medicine was dominated by the ideas put forward by the Catholic Church including the ideas of Hippocrates and Galen. They have understood that the approach to medicine lacked a scientific approach and that even when they got onto the Renaissance period ideas had largely remained the same. Great comparisons have been made comparing the Black Death of 1348 with the Great Plague of 1665. Significant contributions in the development of our understanding of anatomy has been learnt. Soon, we will be learning all about how Louis Pasteur’s 1861 Germ Theory will be a major turning point.

Year 10 stars are: Holly Farmer and Ben Davidson

Year 11

Finally we would like to praise our Year 11 who will be ending their study of Nazi Germany soon. Revision is ongoing. Tasks are frequently set on Seneca and Teams and we would like to remind as many students as possible of the importance of attending revision sessions every Friday after school.

Year 11 stars are: Sophie Peters and Tony McGough

Myself (Mr Parsons), Mrs Jeffrey, Mr Smart and Mr Talaoui all wish you a very happy Easter.

Languages

Year 7: This half term Year 7 have been looking at the topic of School and building on the language they have gained in their first three units of Languages. Students have revisited verbs in the present tense and expressing opinions and have started to build complex sentences by including time and comparatives.

They have also discovered that some school subjects aren’t taught in other countries and have been jealous of the numbers of holidays students are getting, however did not envy them when it came to timing of the school days!

Year 8: This half term Year 8 have been recalling some of their knowledge from Year 7 when they studied numbers and applying these to the topic of food shopping. We have been very excited in Year 8 discovering how describe the food we eat and their benefits on our health.

As part of our cutural awereness, we have discovered new foods, what supermarkets look like in other countries, how many meals people eat and their traditional food.

We have also started our countdown for our trip to Paris with less than 100 days left before we are off to discovering the French capital!

Year 9: Through our cultural awareness topic linked with our current French studies, our Year 9 have discovered what life after secondary school entails in French and Spanish speaking countries, the differences between our own educational system and the ones in France and Spain. We have also openly debated about pros and cons of part time jobs & apprenticeships using high level structures and tenses.

We have also started our countdown for our trip to Paris with less than 100 days left before we are off to discovering the French capital!

Fact: Students in France and Spain do not take a gap year, this isn’t an option for them. In France, over 3 millions students go to University to complete a degree.

Year 10: Students have studied the topic of Family, Friends and future plans this half term which resulted in some great discussions about relationships and what students wanted to do in their future life. Some mature approaches to the topic resulting in students being able to argue their point of view in French to a great extend for some starting to juggle 4 tenses with confidence.

Our cultural adventure this half term took us to Brittany where despite being a region of France have their own individuality and language.

Fact: Did you that Brittany was once its own kingdom before being united to the kingdom of France and is one of the 6 Celtic Nations (Wales, Isle of Man, Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall)?

Year 11: This final unit for our Year 11 has focused on covering key themes: Identity, Free time, Home town, Holidays, School & Post 16 from their GCSE course.

They have also completed their second full set of Mock exams (listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking). Some students were invited during their February half term for extra revision and some others will be invited during the Easter holidays for the final push before their actual GCSE exam after the Easter break.

Not long now…

Key dates for MFL

02/05/23 Parents information evening Trip to Paris

02/05/23 Start of GCSE Speaking (Paper 2)

23/05/23 GCSE French Listening (Paper 1) and Reading (Paper 3)

05/06/23 GCSE French Writing (Paper 4)

06/06/23 GCSE Spanish Listening (Paper 1) and Reading (Paper 3)

13/06/23 GCSE Spanish Writing (Paper 4)

26-28/06/23 Residential Trip to Paris

PE

Lessons - Athletics Season

Last week, our KS3 classes will began their Athletics lessons, certificates will be won for those who achieve the best results combined over the five disciplines: 50m sprint, 800m, Shot Putt, High Jump, Long Jump. In athletics, a five-discipline event is known as a “Pentathlon”. Achieve your personal best to hit national standards, our top athletes will win a certificate in assemblies, and the best athletic performances will lead to the chance to be selected for the Athletics team.

Hampshire Schools Championship X-Country

Stanley Shacklock ran an excellent race to come 38th place at the Hampshire Schools Championship in Basingstoke on Tuesday, in a very competitive race, Stanley managed to be the first Southampton Schools representative to cross the line, this is a credit to his hard work and training.

Southampton Schools X-Country Meet

The Shacklock brothers represented our Academy across three X-Country meets this term. Leo came in second place in each of his races in the Intermediate Race, with Stanley (a best of 4th) and Teddy (a best of 22nd) competing well in the junior races.

Athlete spotlight

Name: Zach Johnson

Year: 7

Sport: In-Line Hockey

Current teams: Hornets and Great Britain

Favourite team and player: Edmonton Oilers, Connor McDavid.

What is In-Line Hockey?

Hockey played indoors on rollerblades, similar to ice hockey.

How did you get into it?

My dad played it, and I started ice skating at 2 and training and playing at 3 for in-line hockey, so I have 9 years’ experience.

Which junior team have you played for?

Hornets, based in Gosport.

How did you get scouted there?

National trials were held across two days, and I was selected for the training squad. From there I was selected for the Great Britain team.

How old were you when selected?

10 years old.

What experiences have you had with Team GB?

We had a tournament last year in Barcelona, Spain. We played a load of local Spanish team and won the tournament, where I got the gold medal.

Have you got any tournaments this year?

Yes, we’ve got one in the Easter holidays, this is in Barcelona again.

What are your aspirations with Hockey?

To play professionally in Canada, playing ice hockey in the NHL. I’ve been to Toronto Maple Leaf’s stadium and got to see the Hockey Hall of Fame there which was inspirational.

Aspire Clubs

Badminton

A group of Year 8 Boys have been invited to the Aspire Badminton Club which will run on Wednesdays after school. Aspire clubs are invitational clubs which aim to extend student learning beyond lessons, and give them opportunities to develop their knowledge, skills, and expertise further.

We are going to be running Aspire clubs for cricket, basketball, and athletics in the summer term. Ask your PE teacher what you need to achieve to be invited to one.

Boys’ Basketball Update

Under 14 Final League Table

Wednesday 25th January

U14 Basketball

Hamble 0-62 Sholing

Squad: Will Jones, James Humby-Farmer, Jacob Bonney, Rafa Saboia, Mo Jamarainien, Junior Grant, James Stinchcombe, Freddie Buckingham, Andy Lin, Riley Gailor, David Alabi

Top scorer: Will Jones 18

Player of the Game: Jacob Bonney

A comprehensive win which should book our play-off position, Will Jones scored 18 points but it was the defence which shone, with excellent performances all-round, including our player of the game, Jacob Bonney. Riley Gailor scored his first points for the team after making his debut last week.

With all the league fixtures completed, we await any games being played elsewhere next week to confirm who we will play in the play-offs.

Thursday 11th February

U14 Basketball

Sholing 28 -63 Bitterne Park

Squad: Will Jones, James Humby-Farmer, Jacob Bonney, Rafa Saboia, Mo Jamarainien, Junior Grant, James Stinchcombe, Freddie Buckingham, Andy Lin, Riley Gailor, David Alabi

Top scorer: Andy Lin 14

Player of the Game: Junior Grant

A tough game against a very tough Bitterne Park team who will go on to compete for first place ranking in the league, our team performed excellently and looked an offensive threat throughout with Andy and Will playmaking. Junior and James marshalled the defence very well against a skilful opponent, and Riley made a very assured debut.

Under 14 Boys Basketball- Play-off Semi-Final

Sholing 46-65 Kings

Players of the game: Will Jones and Junior Grant

Top Scorer: Will Jones- 20 points

Squad: Will Jones, Freddie Buckingham, James Humby-Farmer, Andy Lin, Riley Gailor, Junior Grant, Michael McManus, David Alabi, Jacob Bonney, Mohammad Jamaranien

Match report: A thrilling game which ultimately ended in defeat for our U14 team against a very good Kings team. A frantic first quarter saw the lead change multiple times as both teams delivered blows to each other’s defence. Kings’ intensity began to show cracks in Sholing’s defence and their fast break tactics were causing us problems which would persist throughout the game. Will Jones got into an early scoring groove, with James Humby-Farmer being effective on both ends.

The second quarter saw Kings open up a sizeable lead and frailties in our defence led to some easy points. However, a fight back in the third quarter, led admirably by the tenacious offensive play of Junior Grant, breathed new life into our play-off final chances, David Alabi and Andy Lin were having particularly explosive performances.

As the game crept into the fourth quarter, the pace of the game showed no signs of slowing, and with Sholing having to make more offensive risks to close the gap, Kings were able to pick us off, with their fast break tactics again proving decisive.

And so, a 46-65 loss to end their campaign, a team with very little competitive experience before the season began have shown incredible improvements over the last 9 games, and a team spirit that will hold them in good stead going into next season.

Under 16 Final League Table

Unfortunately the team just missed out on the play-offs but had a fantastic year full of great performances and improvements.

Wednesday 25th January

Sholing 37-23 Wildern

Squad: Dan King, Rodrigo Nunes, Nicky Lin, Patrick Moczynski, Rodrigo Saboia, Callum Hutchins, Daniel Froud, Owen Batchelor, Jack Pracy

Top scorer: Pierre Oakley

Player of the Game: Pierre Oakley

An entertaining game between two play-off hopefuls, Sholing took control early through the playmaking of Nicky and Rodrigo. Plenty of opportunities were missed which kept Wildern in it, but Pierre Oakley started to dominate the boards and rack up the points, with Dan King scoring a ferocious dunk as well. With the lead stretched, the team was able to be rotated, notably Owen Batchelor making a fine performance on the defensive end with Callum Hutchins and Rodrigo Saboia. In the end, a comfortable win which puts Sholing at an advantage over Wildern to make the top four play-offs positions and into second place.

Wednesday 18th January

Wyvern 36-28 Sholing

Squad: Dan King, Rodrigo Nunes, Nicky Lin, Jack Smith, Rodrigo Saboia, Callum Hutchins, Daniel Froud, Owen Batchelor, Jack Pracy

Top scorer: Daniel King 20

Player of the Game: Daniel King

Wednesday 11th January

Swanmore 50-23 Sholing

Squad: Dan King, Rodrigo Nunes, Nicky Lin, Jack Smith, Rodrigo Saboia, Callum Hutchins, Daniel Froud, Owen Batchelor, Jack Pracy, Patrick Moczynski

Top scorer: Nicky Lin 14

Player of the Game: Nicky Lin/ Jack Pracy

Football Update

Year 7 Boys Football

Under 13 Girls

Year 8 Boys Football

Year 9 Boys Football

Year 11 Football

Credits:

Created with images by PiyawatNandeenoparit - "Book stack on the table in the library room and blurred space of bookshelf background" • david_franklin - "Two old vintage movie tickets isolated" • Rawpixel.com - "Group of Human Hands Holding Together" • Nuthawut - "Flat lay or top view of black pen with calculator on vivid yellow background table with blank copy space, math, cost, tax or investment calculation" • myviewpoint - "stack of almond flour pancakes, top view" • Emre Akkoyun - "Rummikub tiles on yellow background. Colorful wallpaper. A board game widespread in Turkey." • trongnguyen - "Infrared image of Hurricane Maria bearing down Caribbean islands, about 400km east-southeast of the Leeward island of Dominica. Elements of this image furnished by NASA." • Nomad_Soul - "Panoramic view on Death Valley National Park" • Nicola - "A panorama of Stack Rocks with a colony of Guillemots on the Pembrokeshire coast, Wales near Castlemartin in early summer" • Philip Birkitt - "Three Spitfires" • Artur - "Handwriting text writing Revision. Conceptual photo action of revising over someone like auditing or accounting Thick pages notebook stationary placed above classic look wooden backdrop" • LP2Studio - "Paris skyline with eiffel tower at sunset" • Vasyl - "Children at school" • takoburito - "Woman with shopping cart." • Günter Albers - "Eiffelturm - Weitwinkel Aufnahme" • javiindy - "Happy young family in a urban park" • chinnarach - "close up student hand using pencil for doing text exam after finish course online learning , self study education concept" • lersan - "The football field with spotlight in stadium"