News

Recently, two of our Year 13 History students, Harry Appleby & Tom Miller (both 13Ridgeway) had the chance to visit Auschwitz Extermination Camp in Poland. The Holocaust Educational Trust’s ‘Lessons from Auschwitz Programme’ runs trips to this infamous site to help ensure that the memory of the horrific events that took place there are not forgotten. Below are their thoughts on the visit:

Year 12 Design & Technology students had the opportunity to visit the Global Technologies Racing team at their headquarters on Tuesday 21st November. GTR has decades of experience and success within high level motorsport. Their exceptional work has resulted in supplying to a broad range of industries, including Aerospace and Defence, which has led to them being at the forefront within their industry of composite materials. GTR produce exceptionally high-quality products that clients have come to expect. From Formula One chassis to wishbone covers, or ballistic resistant vehicles to aircraft lift rafts. Structural or non-structural parts - no matter how small or large the production, GTR work or design and develop to the exact needs of their clients.

On Wednesday 15th November, A’Level and GCSE Music students went to Glyndebourne Opera House to watch ‘Don Giovanni’ by Mozart. This was a fantastic opportunity for our students to experience a full scale opera with an orchestra. All students enjoyed the production and were impressed with the lavish set and incredible singing.

Congratulations to Blanka Maruszak (9Ridgeway), Jennifer Ruffle (10Story), Ksusha Demchenko (10Otter), Devon O’Donnell (12Burrows) and Anna Swain (9King) who won the Junior Ensemble class at the West Sussex Guitar Festival, having been awarded ‘very good’ from the adjudicator. Jennifer Ruffle also won the age 15 and under solo class. All performers are students of Linda Kelsall-Barnett who teaches guitar at Bishop Luffa School.

A round of applause is thoroughly deserved for everyone involved in the Sixth Form Fashion Show this year, whether they were helping behind the scenes, an enthusiastic performer, or the friends and families who came to watch and generously donated money. A record-breaking £12.2K will now be on its way to helping the Sixth Form’s three nominated charities: The Sanctuary in Chichester, The Sussex Snowdrop Trust, and Grassroots Tanzania.

Year 10 art students recently went on a fantastic art trip to The National Portrait Gallery and National Gallery in London. Currently in the middle of their 'Identity' project, the David Hockney drawings exhibition offered them the opportunity to see a contemporary master at his best. Students were inspired by the work of many other artists in the galleries and enjoyed having the time to explore. They will feed their experiences into their coursework in the coming months.

The Arkwright Engineering Scholarship is an engineering award given to engineering students within the United Kingdom and Channel Islands. The scholarships are awarded through rigorous selection to the highest-calibre students from all educational backgrounds to support them through their A Levels. Scholarships consist of an annual financial award to the Scholar and to their school, and a range of enrichment activities that increase a Scholar's understanding of their chosen field of engineering, such as mentoring and industry visits. To be awarded an Arkwright Engineering Scholarship, student applicants must go through a three-stage selection process. The first stage is an extended online application form, where students have to describe a technical project they have done and explain how engineering is an interest in their lives. This online application must include a reference from a relevant teacher at the applicant's school. Stage two is a two-hour exam, where applicants must set out the practical design and manufacturing methods of their proposed solutions to two stated engineering problems. The final stage is an interview hosted at a university renowned for engineering.

Our amazing Design and Technology Award winning Ambassadors took part in a terrific TeenTech Festival on Thursday at the Amex Stadium in Brighton. It was highly interactive and designed to inspire young teenagers about the contemporary industries shaping their future.

As part of our Remembrance Day preparations my classes in Year 10 and 11 designed and made their own personalised poppies. The students were able to engrave family member’s names onto their poppies along with pictures to help make them extra special.