Miss Doughty, winner of the best-dressed staff competition, pictured with Mrs Gibson, who took the PrePrep and Lower School award.
It’s all happening in Maths
Our Upper and Middle school pupils have had a successful term in maths. Top of the Mathswatch leader boards in each maths class are:
The highest-scoring pupil over the term is Juswan in year 10, with an amazing 1983 points from answering assignments and independent learning questions. Well done, Juswan!
Before the end of term, Year 11 pupils were given a revision pack for maths, including a full set of past papers. They also have a revision schedule timetable if they need support structuring their time. They can access the AQA Collins textbook online via Collins Connect (https://connect.collins.co.uk/school/portal.aspx). They can use Corbett maths videos and worksheets (https://corbettmaths.com/contents/) as well as Mathswatch videos and interactive questions (https://vle.mathswatch.co.uk/) to revisit and work through topics where necessary to help them prepare fully for the mock exams.
Years 7 to 10 have been given revision lists, and a revision exercise is set on Mathswatch. Year 6 has the revision list, access to the White Rose maths videos, and a Mathswatch exercise to support their revision. Pupils can work through the exercise to help them structure their revision and then use the videos and interactive questions to revisit any topics that require further practice.
In the new year, the GCSE maths booster will continue on a Wednesday morning 8am-8.45am for year 11 pupils. In addition, maths clinics will be offered for all pupils in years 7 to 10, where they can drop in to receive individual support. This can be revisiting topics from earlier in the year or gaining extra help with classwork. Further details on days/timings will be available in the New Year.
We are discussing the possibility of initially working with a nationally recognised Mathematics expert to develop our Key Stage 3 support. This would complement our curriculum and give our year 7 and 8 pupils access to a learning platform that provides personalised learning and AI-powered independent practice. This is being used by 19,000 schools worldwide to support pupil learning, address misconceptions and develop mathematical confidence.
Mrs King
Pupil and Parent Art Workshop
Miss Morris’s art extravaganza is coming very soon. We’ll send a ParentMail shortly after we return from the Christmas break. Be sure to sign up straight away.
Welcome Mr Brown
Mr Brown has only been with us briefly, yet he has already had a major impact on the music scene. He has introduced practice days on Mondays and Fridays, during which pupils can book a room during break, lunch, and after school to rehearse and practise an instrument.
He aims to nurture a love of music through activities such as body percussion and iconic notation games. He would like the children to receive an interactive, creative, and engaging music education. Pupils will learn music practically on instruments such as a keyboard, ukulele, and violin.
He also aims to make the children more technologically proficient by creating and recording their music on the computer (digital audio workstation), recording with live and VST instruments.
Best of all, Mr Brown wants to introduce a choir in Lower, Middle, and Upper School. I can’t wait!
Sophie Millican
Sophie (Year 8) was crowned the British Trampoline Champion in October and represented Team GB in November at the 29th FIG Trampoline Gymnastics World Age Group Competition in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Sophie regularly competes in categories above her age, and we wish her the best of luck for the World Trampoline Gymnastics Championship 2023, hosted by Great Britain.
Skills for Life
Our latest Model United Nations conference was at Queen’s School in Chester, attended by George from Year 10 and Sarah and Taylor from Year 11. We represented Ireland, and our pupils took part in debates on Afghanistan’s situation, food distribution worldwide, and women’s rights in religion.
These debates followed a fascinating introductory speech on issues around the media, propaganda and censorship, and how world events can appear very different from the perspectives of people from different countries. We were also reminded of how valuable communication, empathy, and listening skills will be for the changing jobs of the future – all skills that involvement in MUN helps develop.
In the afternoon, the delegates were presented with a fictional emergency situation involving an earthquake and tsunami, leading to a new refugee crisis. Our pupils participated effectively, and congratulations to Sarah, who won her second individual MUN award.
The latest news is that we’ve been invited to an evening MUN event at Cheadle Hulme on Tuesday, February 7th.
Mr Jack
Sports and Competitions
On Wednesday, 7th December, our Year 7s and 8s took part in their first Netball and Football Fixtures of the year against Hulme Hall.
Football
Although this was the first time some of our boys had played together, they quickly showed an ability to adapt and work together. Unfortunately, Hulme Hall scored to win 4-3 in the final minute. However, every pupil who participated had a standout performance, with Joel scoring a hattrick in his first game and Chibwe keeping us in the game with some amazing saves.
Netball
A brilliant performance from the Y/Y8 girls despite the 8-14 defeat – they are already excited for their next fixture. Some decisions did go against the girls, but all around, it was a fantastic game. The Girl of the Game went to Leighora with goals from Lola, Eve, Sophie, Leighora and three from Edith Kilshaw. All the girls represented Tower College to a high standard and showed excellent sportsmanship. This was their first time representing Tower College in a Netball Fixture for some girls.
Swimming
The ISA National Swimming final took place in the London Olympic Pool on Saturday, November 3rd, and seven pupils represented the North. After their performances, we now have some of the fastest swimmers in the country for their age groups. Tower College took home ten medals overall.
William S – 1st in 50m Frontcraw, 2nd in 50m Breaststroke and 3rd in the Medley Relay.
James D – 3rd in 50m Backstroke.
Joshua M – 3rd in 50m Frontcrawl.
Chibwe – Unfortunately, he missed out on two medals in both relays. The three Tower College pupils had incredible swims but were let down by the fourth swimmer from another school!
William D – 3rd in 50m Backstroke
Charlotte M – 2nd in Frontcrawl Relay and 3rd in Medley Relay
Jack D – 1st in 100m Breaststroke and 3rd in Medley Relay
An amazing weekend for all who took part, and now all eyes turn towards next year and the prospect of making it to London once again.
If our ISA national finalists have inspired anyone or if you have a keen interest in swimming, Tower College has links with some local swimming clubs and can point you in the right direction. He would be happy to assist if you would like to contact Mr Southward for more information.
Recruitment
We are recruiting a Maths teacher and a Chemistry teacher. Additionally, we seek to appoint an Education and Pastoral Support Co-ordinator to further support our pupils in and out of the classroom. They will work with pupils in Years 6-11 and offer in-class support to pupils with SEN (Special Educational Needs). In addition, they will also contribute to the pastoral responsibilities of our teaching staff.
While we advertise, interview, appoint and induct these new staff members, we have contacted several agencies and individuals to provide quality teaching in these subjects in the interim. This will be in place from January.
FOR PUPILS IN YEARS 10 and 11
Booster Sessions
From January, we will offer a full booster session timetable, including Chemistry and Biology. Year 10 Chemists will be invited to join their Year 11 counterparts and encouraged to attend the Chemistry Booster session on a Thursday after school.
Middle & Upper Schools Maths Clinic
Mrs King will offer a Maths Clinic to support Middle and Upper School – more details to follow.
Pupils studying for GCSEs – additional curriculum time.
For pupils in Years 10 and 11, and at a critical time in their studies, we are creating additional curriculum time for Chemistry, Maths and Biology. To achieve this, Pupils in Years 10 and 11 will no longer be required to attend assemblies and enrichment activities. This time will be spent in targeted intervention sessions with subject specialist teachers.
From January, Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE) for pupils in Years 10 and 11 will take place during the 25 minutes of form time each day, allowing pupils an additional study period.
As a result of these measures, pupils in Years 10 and 11 will receive an additional 3 lessons each week in the subjects that have felt the impact of staff absence.
Year 11 Booster Day
Year 11 pupils are invited to school on Monday, 9th January, for an additional day of Chemistry and Biology study with a subject specialist teacher. There is no extra charge for this, but parents must complete this permission form for their child to attend. Biology will run from 10.00 am until noon, and Chemistry from 1.00 pm until 3.00 pm.
Targeted Study Sessions
Mr Devine has recently worked as a Biology and Chemistry specialist with our pupils. He has previous experience delivering interventions and additional tuition to small groups of pupils, and we are exploring the possibility of offering this to Tower College pupils from January.
Pupil and Parent Workshops
Studies show that the schools that see the greatest behavioural change from their students involve the parent community. Following the success and feedback after a previous workshop, we met with Elevate Education, which will deliver a study skills workshop to pupils in Years 10 and 11. Following the pupil workshop, we would like to invite our parent body to a parent seminar to provide parents with strategies to get on the same page as their children so that the skills taught in class are reinforced at home. These workshops will take place in February; further details will follow.
GCSEPod
Pupils in Years 10 and 11 have access to GCSEPod, which will be rolled out to pupils in Year 9 in the Spring Term. As a subscriber, your child can access GCSEPod’s library of over 6,500 ‘Pods’, 3-5 minute videos designed to deliver knowledge in short bursts. GCSEPod makes learning and revision much more manageable: every Pod is mapped to your child’s subjects and exam boards and contains all the right facts, quotes, keywords, dates and annotated diagrams your child needs for GCSE success – neatly organised into topics and exam playlists.
For more ways to support your child using GCSEPod, please visit www.gcsepod.com/parents, where you will find lots more information, a specially created Parent Toolkit with information on making the most of your child’s subscription and links to their fantastic upcoming parent/carer webinars: https://www.gcsepod.com/podup-presents-parent-webinars/
Have a wonderful and relaxing Christmas and a happy New Year!
Mr Taylor and Mr Glover