Academy Trust

Academy Education

Russian Dance and Accordion Group Concert

Two visiting Russian ensembles visited the College to perform  at a group concert.  The two visiting groups were the Yaroslavl Dans-Capella (dance company and choreography ensemble led by Lyubov Smirnova and Maria Drabovskaya) and the Yaroslavichi Bayan and Accordian Orchestra (conducted by Vladimir Druzhkov).

Flying Visit for Vernon Philander

South African cricketer Vernon Philander made a flying visit to the College on Thursday 19th April. Vernon, currently one of the best bowlers in the game, holds the world record for 50 wickets in just 7 tests. In July and August he will playing for South Africa against England in a four match test series. Vernon attended P.E. lessons and gave tips to students in a year 8 cricket lesson.  Philander commented "The College has great facilities and you could tell all the students were thoroughly enjoying their sport."

On Friday 27th April the College Cricket Academy will be visiting Taunton to watch Vernon play and have also been invited as guests of the South African team at one of their test matches in the summer!!

UK Mathematics Trust Intermediate Challenge

February 2012

The UKMT Maths Challenges are lively, intriguing papers designed to stimulate interest in maths and are aimed at able mathematics students in Years 9, 10 and 11 . They are tests of reasoning and mental agility which can be taken without any special preparation or revision. This year the Intermediate Challenge attracted over 200,000 entries nationally from over 4500 schools and colleges.

The top 40% of students participating nationwide receive certificates: a Gold certificate is awarded to the top 6 - 7% of all students; Silver goes to the next 12-13%; and Bronze certificates are awarded to the next 20%. This means that only the top 1.5% of students are likely to be awarded a gold certificate.

It is then reasonable to assume that a high scoring Gold winner is within the top 1% nationwide. 7 Students at Exmouth achieved Gold. Of the 163 Exmouth Community College students that took part this year across the 3 year groups, 7 achieved Gold, 6 Silver and 35 Bronze.

Three of our students who qualified for the follow-on European round which involves the top 2000 students nationwide with 30 other countries worldwide.

We were very proud of their achievements and await the results of the European round with anticipation.

Academy Excellence Awards 2012

College students reach next phase of the Academy Excellence Awards 2012

Exmouth Community College was celebrating today after hearing that the students they had nominated for the Academy Excellence Awards had been longlisted by judges.

Harry West, Claire Burgess, Nathan Doble, Oliver Marks, Behn Wright (Year 13) were selected to represent the College in the team category of the 2012 Awards.

Their work on 'Improving health and well-being through access to safe water and appropriate sanitation' has been chosen to go through to the next stage, where it will be read by by Sam Pinkham and Amy Voce, Breakfast presenters on Nottingham radio station Gem 106.

Mr Alexander, Principal said: "We're delighted that the team has progressed through to the longlist. This is a prestigious new educational awards scheme and we are thrilled to be represented. We are now keeping our fingers crossed that the team will reach the shortlist next month, but nevertheless this is a brilliant achievement."

The Academy Excellence Awards, now in its second year, is an initiative to celebrate academic achievement by students at academies. There are twelve subject categories this year – Art, Biology, Chemistry, D & T, Economics, English, Geography, History, Mathematics, Music, Physics and Politics – and students were asked to answer an essay question set by experts at The University of Nottingham. In addition, there will be a Group award for students who produce the best group project.

The Awards aim to provide a flagship initiative for the whole academies movement and are backed by an impressive steering group including Anthony McClaran, former chief executive of UCAS and now QAA; Kate Hobhouse, chairman of Fortnum and Mason; Rusty Elvidge, managing director of Credit Suisse; and Barbara Harrison, independent education advisor and former chief executive of the Girls Day School Trust.

The longlist was compiled by a filter panel of subject specialists who read all entries to the awards. A shortlist of five students per subject category, will be announced on 18th May. Shortlisted students will be invited to represent their academy at an Inspiration Day and Awards Dinner at The University of Nottingham on 4 July 2012.

For more information, visit www.academyexcellenceawards.co.uk.

Chemistry Olympiad

This year the College, for the first time, entered five year 13 students in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s annual Chemistry Olympiad. This national competition, aimed at the very top achieving students, consists of a two hour written paper with questions extending the student’s knowledge and application of chemical problems beyond the normal A level syllabus.

With over 3600 students taking part nationally the Exmouth students acquitted themselves extremely well with Edward Pearce and Abbey Swain achieving bronze awards, Jamie Heavens and Julian Ashwin achieving silver and Jacqueline Hughes achieving a gold award putting her in the top 7% of students in the country.

Although none of the students made the top 25 to take part in the second stage their performance is a great credit to them and with four of them planning to go on to study various science based degrees at Oxford (Abbey), Cambridge (Jacqueline), Imperial (Jamie) and Birmingham (Edward) it is something of which they should be very proud when they start their new courses.

College Student Creates Film for Exmouth

Dale Pendlebury has produced a film which makes the case of why Exmouth would benefit from £97,000 of regeneration cash.  Dale was asked to make the film by Geoff Morris, chairman of the Exmouth Residents and Traders Association to be entered into the Government’s Portas Pilot Project which is a scheme to help regenerate community areas.  Mary Portas (famous as being the Queen of Shops) tweeted “Here’s an unusual one submitted by students in Exmouth . . .”

EXMOUTH COMMUNITY COLLEGE: U16 DEVON RUGBY CHAMPIONS

Exmouth started the County tournament with an away 55 - 8 victory against King’s School Ottery. The 2nd round Exmouth again had an away fixture and this time they beat QE from Crediton.

The 1/4 final was a difficult away fixture against a strong Exeter School. Exmouth produced a fantastic first half display with skipper George Toomey and fly half Owen Flinn having particularly strong games in a 34 - 12 victory.

The semi-final was against last year’s losing finalists Okehampton. The Exmouth students showed great determination in an 7 -0 victory. This meant the Exmouth boys would now face Kingsbridge who have won the County cup for the last 2 years.

The final was played under lights at Paignton RFC and turned out to be an excellent game of rugby. The lead changed hands 5 times with Exmouth eventually securing the victory 15-14. A superb defensive performance from the full squad and massive commitment from all players ensured their success.

A massive congratulations to the full squad.

MATT HARRIS , CHARLIE GIBBINS, NATHAN FOWLER, CONNOR O SHAUHNEESSY, OLLIE DAWE, CONNOR GILBY, JAKE GILBODY, WILLIAM IRVING, SAM CONWAY, OWEN FLYNN, JOE WILLEY, GEORGE TOOMEY - Captain, MATT WELLS, JAKE GILLHAM, DAN BRADFORD JONES, BEN HOCKING, HARRY GRIFFEN, JOSH JULEF, JASON IANNIIELLO, JEVON BURNS, JOS URMSTON, CHRIS SKINNER

Inter-school American football takes first successful step

Despite appalling weather conditions, the meeting on the 25th April of the Exmouth Raptors and the Gillingham Stags – two genuine school start-up teams – was a small but significant step forward in the growth of American Football in schools. Despite the wet and windy weather both teams took to the field in positive and enthusiastic spirit and played four fast and exciting flag games. The Stags had received a training session from Coach Rooksby a couple of months ago and acquitted themselves very well. Raptor players were impressed with the Stags but still won three out of the four games played. Behaviour and attitude on and off the field was outstanding. Congratulations to all concerned!

A Visit to the Cells!

At the beginning of March, Mr Wilson's Post-16 BTEC level 2 public services group visited Exmouth Police Station, where PC Young and other staff showed the whole group some of the daily routine, equipment and why it may not be comfortable to end up in the cells. They particularly enjoyed wearing the riot equipment and shields! It was all valuable evidence to help them discuss the role of police in their coursework.

Youth Parliament

At the end of March a team of eight Post-16 students travelled to County Hall, Exeter to take part in the regional heats of the European Youth Parliament. The students had been preparing for three weeks before and our group had to take to the floor and oppose a motion halting renewable energy exploration in Europe. After excellent speeches from Chris Winrow and Behn Wright, the rest of the group were involved in actively opposing the motion. As a result of their submissions a vote was held and the motion was opposed by 67 to 11 (a clear victory for the team!). At the end of the day, although they did not win, they were commended by the judges as being the only team to really answer the questions of other groups fully. Special praise must also go to Harry West who co-ordinated the team.

The visiting groups were guests of the Exeter Children’s Orchestra, who previously had visited Yaroslavl in July 2010, which includes several students from the College.  The link between the orchestra and Yaroslavl has been in existence since 1990 when the orchestra first visited Yaroslavl, which included our very own Mr Turner, who attended this visit as a student member of the orchestra.

200 people filled the Main Hall to watch the high standard of music and dance performed.  Mr Turner and Julian Ashwin (Year 13) performed three pieces in the concert on the Balalaikas, one of which was accompanied by the conductor of the Accordion Group and the final piece involving many Russian musicians performing a well know Russian folk song ‘The Cresent Moon is Shining’.

Mr Turner presented the group leader, Olga Sokolova - Head of School Number One in Yaroslavl, with a Dartington Crystal paperweight as a memento of their visit to the College.

A Tree-mendous Visitor

Nobby Clarke (Senior Arboriculturalist) from Bicton College visited a year 9 enrichment class just before Easter to share his expertise, experience and knowledge with a group of students who have been learning about trees as part of an Enrichment project. Nobby was accompanied by Hannah Arbrehart (School Liaison Officer) and students shared a Manifesto for Trees with their guests. Nobby was impressed with the Manifesto and gave a very interesting talk about trees and careers in forestry.

The students then showed him around Green Close site and he helped identify some species (do you know we have a Coastal Redwood on site?). There was some discussion about where saplings (including an Oak from a Royal Park supplied by the Woodland Trust) could be planted. Mr Urmston is hopeful that some planting will take place before the end of the year and that the next Enrichment Class can take up Hannah's invitation to visit Nobby at Bicton College where he is using the Manifesto with Forestry students.

Surrealism Seeds Success

Drama students performed a ‘Devised Piece’ called 'Elita' which was in the style of surrealism and took place in a purpose built theatre in Hall 3.  Staff and students have worked tirelessly on the piece since September last year.  Working with a fantastic technical crew, the students constructed a whole theatre for the performance in just one weekend.  The piece was performed only once for an exclusive audience, including the members of local professional clowning company 'Le Navet Bete': it was received with high acclaim from all those who were fortunate enough to see it.  The performance was part of the AQA Drama and Theatre Studies examination and, after consultation with the external AQA moderator, the students were delighted to be awarded a top band mark.

 Ex-Student Film Actor and Author visits College

Ex Community College student, Andy Robb,  visited the College on Thursday 10th May 2012.

He spoke to groups of Post 16 students about his work as an actor in such films as Woman in Black and the Da Vinci Code and also his TV work on Coronation Street! During period 5 he entertained year 8 students with a presentation about his latest book "Geekhood- Close encounters of the Girlkind!"

Visit Andy Rob's website: www.theandyrobbsite.co.uk

 Excellent Careers Fair

A great Careers Fair took place at the College.  Various businesses and voluntary organisations were there to advise and guide KS4 and Post-16 students.

Despite the weather the evening was a great success with a high attendance.

We would like to thank all those who were involved in this event and in particular the Careers Department at the College.

Sporting Heroes Celebrated

On Wednesday 9th May the College held its annual sports awards to celebrate our sporting heroes and heroines! There were local sporting celebrities in attendance and special guests including: Aaron Dawson, Shaun Taylor, Jamie Burchell, Steve Worth, Sandy Sutton and Caroline Atkins who has provided training sessions for our girl cricketers on several occasions.

The evening was opened with a brief introduction from Mr Thompson, Head of P.E. and a welcome from the Principal.

During the course of the evening two short films of sport at the College were shown. There was a dramatic gymnastic display by the College gymnasts.

The special award for sporting excellence was presented to Jack Findel-Hawkins and Ben Lane. The evening concluded with a few words from Mr Alexander.

Exmouth Community College was pleased to welcome the Secretary of State for Education on his visit to the College.

Mr Michael Gove was welcomed to the College by Mr Alexander (Principal), Mrs Elizabeth Lee (Chair of Governing Board) and Mr Hugo Swire M.P. who accompanied him on his tour.

Mr Gove visited Music, Art, Science, Humanities, Classics and the Library.  He then moved to the Sports Hall and Fitness Centre before moving on to the Nursery. In the Post 16 building Mr Gove met English and Computer studies classes.

Meeting the Students

Throughout the tour Mr Gove was keen to engage with students. The last part of his visit included some time with  9 students representing all age groups at the College which included 3 students who have been offered Oxbridge places.

Governors

The visit concluded with a brief meeting with representatives of the governors including Mrs L Lee (Chair), Mr R Davision (Vice Chair) Miss J Elson and Mrs L  Miszewska in Mr Alexander's office where Mr Gove was presented with a Book of Exmouth and other reminders of his visit.

Mr Gove said," A wonderful school. A great Headteacher. Delightful students - a pleasure to visit and a credit to State Education"

Mr Alexander said, "I am always proud to show any visitor around the college at anytime.  I am pleased that Mr Gove has come here to see what can be achieved in a fully comprehensive school with a dedicated staff.  As always, our students were the best advertisement for our approach: they were working hard,  behaved well , were polite and looked smart."

Minister of State for Education, Mr Michael Gove, visits College

Meeting Students

Visiting the Fitness Suite

A level English Class

Exmouth V St Peters

Confident

Staff who attended the Exeter and East Devon football final at St James' Park on Tuesday evening were treated to an exciting and dramatic match. After trailing 1-0 at half time our boys played a strong second half and equalised through Matt Smith. The Exmouth team were looking more confident and at that time it seemed likely that they would go on to win the match.

Exeter and East Devon Year 9 Cup Final Drama

Unconscious

Unfortunately, with five minutes to go our goal keeper was knocked unconscious following a challenge with an opposing player.  We are pleased to report that our Goalkeeper is making a good recovery.

Trophy to be shared

The tournament organisers, the referee and staff from both schools agreed it would be inappropriate to continue with the game, therefore, the trophy will be shared between both schools.

Commendable Team

Our players' approach, their conduct and response to the decision to abandon the match were all commendable and a credit to the College. Thanks to all who supported our lads and in particular Mr Taylor and Mr Bown.

Books Arrive at Idodi Scool in Tanzania

We sent over 2000 books to a school in Tanzania.  

The whole school (1000 students) was assembled to receive the books and Dr Dickman presented them on our behalf. It was quite an event!  The headmaster , Mr Mlasu, was thrilled, and thought that the books would make the students think and encourage them to learn independently. Not only will the books help the students gain qualifications but also help them understand the importance of saving wild endangered animals.

Our next aim is to raise £900 for a scholarship for one local student to stay at the Idodi school from the age of 13 to 16.  The funding includes the student’s food, boarding and tuition fees for three years: a life changing event for not only the student but their whole family!  

If you would like to get involved please speak to Mr Kussel in room 519 or e-mail: website@exmouthcollege.devon.sch.uk

How to be Safe on the Internet

Ex Student delivers invaluable advice

Pippa Green (ex Head Girl) returned to the College in her new role as a representative of Childnet International for whom she now works. Pippa is pictured speaking to students at the College to raise their awareness of the importance of protecting their identity and security when using the internet. Pippa gave an engaging interactive presentation to both Year 9 and Year 10 students during the school day.

In the evening she gave a presentation to parents and described how to engage with young people and manage their safe use of the internet with particular reference to social networking sites.

These were invaluable talks presented in an engaging way by a young woman we are proud to have had as a student.

ShowStoppers attended the Devon County Show for a second year running last week. They performed on the main bandstand drawing in the passing crowds to watch the 3 numbers they had been working on over the last few months. ShowStoppers are always a credit to the College and did not disappoint this time with another highly energetic performance. Members of the public were 'amazed at their energy and exceptional behaviour'.  

ShowStoppers is run as part of the Youth Programme and since it started has grown in numbers every year. The 32 ShowStoppers from years 8 to 10 have been working on this years theme of 'Musicals From Across the Pond'; including 'Thriller', 'We Will Rock You' and 'Hairspray'.

As well as the ShowStoppers, students from SING and the College Bands gave fine performances during the day after being invited back yet again. Members of the public and show staff were exceptionally complimentary about the students and the quality of what they had seen and heard. As always they were a real credit to the College. They will be performing in Manor Gardens, Exmouth as part of the Exmouth Summer Festival. Thursday 31st May 5.30pm

Catch them next at the Summer Show Time next month.

Students Amaze Crowds at Devon County Show

Once In A Lifetime Opportunity

Cricket Students were given a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet one of the worlds best bowlers in South Africa: Vernon Philander and Ex-England international Steve Kirby.  Philander, who lodged with Mr Taylor in 2004, wanted to give something back to current students playing in the College cricket teams. The students were given a guided tour of the Somerset ground, playing facilities, changing rooms and also watched a training session in the indoor school with current England Cricketer Craig Kieswetter batting against the bowling machine.  Vernon and Steve then spent time answering questions which the students had prepared, with the number one question being to Philander, "What will the score be against England this summer?" Philander replied "2-1" to South Africa.

Mr Taylor would like to thank Somerset Cricket club for all their time and effort put into the making it a successful day.

In other Cricket news the current under 13 team are competing in three competitions. The squad have been using the winter to prepare for the new season in the ECB funded cricket facilities at the College. The team are preparing for a quarter final fixture away to Exeter school which will be a closely matched game.

Mr Taylor would like to thank "Ideal Cleaners" for their continued sponsorship for the College cricket teams.

Work Based Curriculum Students Celebrate 100% Success

Year 11 students from Exmouth Community College celebrated the achievement of their Level 1 vocational qualifications at Bicton College last week. There were 81 students at Bicton, and  Exmouth students won 4 of the ten, Best Student Awards! The students have been attending Bicton College for one day a week since September 2010, studying Animal Care, Agriculture, Horse Care, Outdoor Adventure, Construction and Motor Vehicle courses. Bicton 14 – 19 Curriculum Development Manager, Selena Burroughs said, “We’re thrilled to have achieved 100% success rate, it’s always been very high, but this year is exceptional.”

What A Performance!

Many different acts represented the College on Thursday night to mark the start of Exmouth Festival in Manor Gardens.  After a brilliant and exciting start by various Primary schools from in and around Exmouth, it was the turn of the students from the College to showcase their talents. They did not disappoint!  

Junior Band made the hills come alive with snippets from The Sound of Music. Guitar band did justice to the School of Rock; Swing Band played to impress; Weekend Rescue had the audience in the palm of their hands and Sing! performed in a vast array of musical colours. Also two Solo singers, Lauren Tucker and Josh Brown, took to the stage to get the audience on their feet.  It was a fantastic evening of which all should be proud.

Looking forward to seeing you at the joint Swing Band Concert at ECC, on 25th June featuring guest members of West Exe Swing Band.  Bring a picnic and a rug!

Students in Years 7 to 9 took part in the Great Green Close Jubilee Picnic. The Technology department provided patriotic cakes and staff joined students in enjoying the sun while sharing a variety of sandwiches, scones and cakes. There was an imaginative variety of additions to the College uniform, including hats, ties and sunglasses. Thank you to all staff and students who helped create such a great atmosphere.

Olympic Sports Days

With only a few months to go Olympic fever has started to hit the College with tutor groups busily organising their teams for the Olympic Sports days to be held at Exmouth Rugby club on the 19th, 20th and 22nd June. To encourage maximum participation new Olympic events have been added to the format including Volleyball, Basketball, Triathlon, Rowing and Cycling. The day will start with an opening ceremony with six students and a flag carrier representing their tutor group highlighting a country in the Olympic Games and a torch made by the Design and Technology department will be run into the arena to represent the Olympic flame.

Parents are very welcome to come and support the students in what will be 3 very active, enjoyable and competitive days. Continuing the Olympic theme 24 students will soon be nominated to run an original Olympic torch kindly donated from a parent from the College to Woodbury Salterton Primary school to begin the Olympic Torch Relay which will travel around all the primary schools in the area. A great idea to raise the awareness of the Games.

Raptor Girls Stand Proud Against Overwhelming Odds

The newly formed Year 10 girls’ team demonstrated their courage and potential at a unique flag event that saw a Community, University and a School team meet for the very first time in a Bafa competition. Dubbed the ‘Challenger’s Cup’, this ‘F.A.Cup’ type competition could be repeated next year. The White and Blue Raptors faced the might of the Coventry Jets Ladies (Senior Community Team) and the prowess of the Warwick Wolverines (University Team). A unique event and unique experience for the students – who despite only having 12 hours of training under their belts, acquitted themselves well against impossible odds but also learnt so much by playing against such superior teams. Well done!

Olympic Torch Arrives at College

On Monday 11th June Olympic torch carrier, Mr Colin Rowland, took his torch to Withycombe Primary School to officially hand it over to the legacy team.  Mr Miller from Exmouth Community College received the torch and walked it back to the Community College. He was accompanied by some of the student leaders from the College who work with primary students. This was a very special moment for the students - and Mr Martin Miller! The torch will be held by Exmouth Community College for a week giving a wide range of students the opportunity to come into close proximity of an historic object.

The torch will be passed from school to school covering all 14 schools in the Exmouth Learning Community. Many children will have the opportunity to touch the torch at each primary school before it is delivered in a multitude of exciting ways to the next school.

Littleham, Exeter Road, Withycombe Raleigh, St. Josephs, Bassetts, Drakes, Otterton, Woodbury, Woodbury Salterton and St. Peters took part in a ‘game show’ hosted by the 2 Steves. A willing pupil volunteered to be Captain Scoreboard and valiantly battled through adverse weather conditions, namely rain, to deliver the scores. Primary pupils and staff took part in a variety of activities, including dressing up, and much fun was had by all!

This visit was part of the College drive to engage young people in reading and to develop literacy.

Visit www.the2steves.net for more information on the authors and their books.

Visiting authors, Steve Barlow and Steve Skidmore, delighted Year 6 and 7 pupils at Exmouth Community College on Wednesday 13th June. The 2 Steves are among the cream of UK writers who provide brilliantly entertaining and inspiring visits to schools and libraries across the world and have published over 130 books together. Year 7 audiences were treated to readings from the authors’ Challenger and iHorror series. Excerpts from both ‘Return to the Lost World’ and ‘Zombie Hunter’ left pupils wanting more. The iHorror series, in particular, unusually puts the reader in control of the story and it is up to the reader to protect the world of humans from supernatural horrors in all their forms!

Stupendous 2 Steves

Success for Carnegie Shadowing Group

There was great excitement as a group of our most avid Year 9 readers took part in the Carnegie Shadowing presentations at West Exe College. This year, our students chose to champion Andy Mulligan's 'Trash' to win the prestigious Carnegie Medal for children's literature. They delighted their audience with an exciting dramatisation of the book and saw off competition from eight other secondary schools to win the public vote for best presentation. The students were congratulated by a previous award winner, Mal Peet, who hosted the event and presented our worthy winners with signed books.

Congratulations to Victoria Upton, Kelsey Marrott, Caitlin Damsell, Phoebe Holman, Chloe Murrell, Matthew Blood-Smith , Matthew Jackson, James Cockayne and Heather Hirst.

Mrs Burrows, said: “There was less time to prepare than ever this year, but these students were highly motivated by their love of literature and were full of enthusiasm and brilliant ideas. They can be extremely proud of this achievement and they are a credit to the College.”

Ex Student Musician Works with the Stars

Ex Student Tom White was recently asked by David Murray to be part of his Big Band, and - even better - he has been made up to lead trombonist!! David Murray has recently embarked on a new project and will be touring under the name of The David Murray Blues Big Band with Macy Gray (guest singer).
They're off on their international tour on July 5th and will be playing seven big jazz festivals in Finland, Holland (North Sea Jazz Festival), Switzerland, Italy, Turkey, Paris and London. They'll be playing alongside such performers as Wayne Shorter, Maceo Parker and Van Morrison, to name but a few.

Tom recently returned from two European tours, one with Gloria Gaynor and one with The Toasters, but the David Murray position is the one he has worked so hard for over the years.

Find out more about the David Marray Band: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Murray_Big_Band

The Torch Moves On!

On the 15th of June cross country runners from Exmouth Community College ran an actual Olympic torch from Exmouth to Woodbury Salterton Primary School. Each student ran a segment of the course and the relay ended with all 24 students running together for the final leg to the school.

Beach Relay

On the 29th June at 10.30am on Exmouth seafront, at the beach in front of the Harbour Cafe all year 6 students from the 14 primary schools in the Exmouth Learning Community will gather to engage in a giant beach relay. The students will be wearing their special T Shirts with logos. Thirty student leaders from the College will assist in the organisation and will cheer on the participants from the schools that they have been working with.

Year 7 Jingle Competition

Last week we had the Year 7 Jingle Competition Final in the Music Department.

It was an entertaining day watched by judges Mr. Lomas, Mrs. Edwardson, Mrs. Duval-Steer (a governor of the College), Mrs. Parkin and Mrs. Lees. After much discussion the judges chose Jess Davey and Georgia Dilling from 7ED as worthy winners with their catchy jingle "Boom Ball".

Watch out for future performances in an assembly near you!

Three fantastic Olympic Sports Days took place at Exmouth Rugby Club in June. Students from Year groups 7 - 10 competed against each other in a range of Sports.

Students supported from the side lines as races were won and lost by seconds.  The atmosphere created by the students was fantastic as each tutor group represented an Olympic nation.

“Its delightful to see the students support each other,  the atmosphere is wonderful and there were some really tough races.  I commend the P.E. Department for all their hard work in organising these fantastic Sports Days.  Credit must also go to GCSE and A-Level P.E. students who helped to run the events on the day,” said Mr Alexander.

Going for Gold

On the 29th June Year 6 students from 14 different primary schools in the Exmouth Learning Community gathered at Exmouth seafront for a giant beach relay.

The students wore their special T Shirts with logos. Thirty student leaders from the College helped to organise the event and assisted the primary school pupils in their relay. Crowds cheered the participants as they competed in the events along the seafront.

As well as highlighting the Olympics this key event also helps the transition for Year 6 Pupils from Primary to Secondary School.

Olympic Beach Relay

Olympic Beach Relay

Year 11 Students were together for one last time before they move on from their GCSE Studies.  A final assembly was called to celebrate their time at the College and awards were given for their progress over the last year.

Although the majority of the students will be moving onto Post-16 at the College, others have decided to take a different career path into industry, apprenticeships or other education.

Year 11, the College wishes each one of you all the best for the future and hope you live your dreams.

Students Say Farewell at Final Assembly

“Reporter” Reels In Awards

The College newspaper, The Reporter, has been awarded two prestigious national awards against stiff competition from other entrants, the majority of which were grammar or private schools.

The National Shine School Media Awards are organised by the Stationers' Foundation to encourage and recognise the work of young people working in some form of print media. The awards are sponsored by top companies who are in some way associated with the media: The BBC, CLA and Quark are amongst the sponsors. The awards are presented in London and at a dinner held in Stationers' Hall.

Our College newspaper, The Reporter, which is published twice a year and distributed by the Exmouth Journal, won highly commended in The Best Editorial Content category and The Best Newspaper overall category. In each case the first prize was missed by a "whisker": Caistor Grammar School won first prize for best newspaper and City of London School won the first prize for editorial content. These are very good schools so we have reason to be proud to have given them stiff competition.

The Reporter is written by students studying media at sixth form level overseen by Head of Media, Mr O' Mahony. Invaluable guidance is provided by the Journal to the young people involved.

The next edition of The Reporter is published in the Exmouth Journal at the end of July.

A-Level Art and Photography Exhibition

Every year the A level Art and Photography students display their work in an exhibition at the College. This exhibition is open to the public and is part of the examination process. This year the photography exhibition was stunning with some wonderful images from the students: it is interesting to see how the images are growing in strength and expertise as the course becomes established. The Art exhibition has proved popular and is again a delight and challenge to tour. Certain pieces in the exhibition have proved popular with potential purchasers! If you have not yet visited the exhibition please take the chance before it closes on July 6th.

Enigma Schools Project

The Enigma Schools Project visited Exmouth Community College with a genuine WW2 Enigma machine.  Doctor James Grime from Cambridge University gave a presentation to Year 10 students.  They were given a talk on the history of codes and code breaking and were then given the opportunity to break some codes for themselves. Inspiration and motivation were the order of the day and students found it both fascinating and fun.

The Enigma Presentation was also given in the evening to parents and members of the local community who came in to College.  They found it to be a wonderful insight into both the historical and technical aspects of code breaking. Everyone was very enthusiastic about the event and found it extremely enjoyable.

“Falcon of Fury” A Short Film Production @ ECC

“

A short film is currently being developed with the nationally known scriptwriter David Quantick (Harry Hill’s TV Burp, The Rob Brydon Show, Grumpy Old Men). The film will be directed by Film Studies teacher John Panton.   It will be filmed at Exmouth Community College on July 14th, with some shorter sequences filming during part of July 12th. Student actors from Yr’s 8-10 are participating, as well as a few Yr. 11 students before they return to Post-16. Some short sequences are being shot at the green screen studio at Honiton College and on Woodbury Common.

Here is the synopsis written by David Quantick:

Falcon of Fury

Chao is the new boy at school, with all that goes with it. Very much the underdog, he discovers he has a unique skill, thanks to his teacher, the enigmatic Mr Ball. Chao becomes a master of table football, a game where the mind and body mesh in a Zen-like state of perfection. And when Chao plays table football, extraordinary things happen…

Falcon of Fury is part comedy, part action and 100% tribute to one of the greatest games of all time.

This is a great opportunity for any student interested in pursuing a career in drama or the media industries. The intention is to submit the film to international film festivals as well as being available across the internet. The film will also be officially registered with www.imdb.com so any student involved will have an official credit on the film – a great additional piece of information on any CV.

The College is being supported by the Director of Photography Carl Shanahan (of Cade Films www.cadefilms.com and now freelance), the artist Moose Allain who will be helping design transitions and backgrounds www.worldofmoose.com , the actor Michael Spicer and Sound Canvas for an original soundtrack www.soundcanvas.co.uk

Sunshine, Stunning Sparkling Dresses, Smart Suits and Smiles

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Year 11 arrived in style as they said their final goodbye to their compulsory education.  

Students turned up in a variety of vehicles including fire engines, limousines, motorbikes, tandems, Aston Martins and VW Campers.  However, credit must go to the group of boys who turned up being pushed in wheelie bins (a Prom first).

The girls wore stunning dresses that wouldn’t have looked out of place at the Oscars, whilst the boys were true gentlemen in their James Bond style tuxedos.

Awards were given out at the ceremony, including the prestigious title of Prom King and Prom Queen. Students then partied into the evening and were even capture performing to songs such as the Casper Slide, Macarena and Y.M.C.A.

Future Olympians?

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Twelve students from Years 8, 9 and 10 experienced the thrills (and spills) of track racing at the Newport Velodrome last week. In the build up to the Olympics, our students set some blistering times in an event that is expected to be one of our top medal prospects in July.  Who Knows, one of our students may be a future Olympian in the Sport.

A stunning cabaret concert was held at the Pavilion in association with the Rotary Club.

Talented students wowed the packed crowd with dance, musical and dramatic pieces.

“Its been a wonderful evening that has showcased the talents of the students at the College. It was wonderful to see so many members of the community enjoying the performances.  The College continues to thrive in the community which is down to the hard work of students, staff and parents.  

I am very proud of the students who represent the College in a wonderful way,” said Mr Alexander.

Summer Showtime

Photos taken by Post-16 Student Alan DeBreo

ACADEMY EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2012

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During the day they attended workshops and activities hosted by the David Ross Foundation and including inspirational speeches by business leaders and an enterprise challenge and presentation. This was filmed and will be soon available along with all the entries on the Academy excellence Awards website www.academyexcellenceawards.co.uk

In the evening Mr Matthew Wilson, the team's teacher, and the students attended a Gala Awards ceremony with a red carpet welcome, a four course table meal where they were priveledged to sit on the same table as Professor Greenaway, the Vice Chancellor of Nottingham University.  The awards were Judged by celebrities such as Evan Davies (Dragons Den) Jamie Cullum (Jazz pianist) Kate Humble (Wildlife Presenter) and Jon Sopel (Politics presenter). The awards were hosted by stand up comedian and Mathematician Matt Parker and Susie Dent (from Countdown).

The awards were presented with great fanfare and all three students waited with baited breath for the announcement of the final award , the team award: The Prize : 1000 pounds and an all inclusive 7 day trip to Nottingham University’s Malaysia Campus. The winners were KEVI Camp Hill School for Girls but the Exmouth team were runners up from a national field.

Speaking to the judges later it was clear that the College entry and presentation were considered outstanding and they thought that the DVD and research submitted were worthy of broadcast. The judges also commented on the maturity and professionalism of our group and said that they were a real credit to Exmouth Community College.

The most important thing, however, is how this process has motivated the students who all said that they never thought they would ever walk up a red carpet, be treated like royalty and share jokes with a Vice Chancellor of a major university.

On 4th of July 3 year 13 students attended the Academy Excellence Awards Inspiration Day and Awards Evening at Nottingham University. Behn Wright, Oliver Marks and Claire Burgess were a true credit to the School!!

They had qualified for the awards as one of the top 5 teams in the country through their video essay exploring ways to tackle ways of funding better water supplies for an African Village.

Animation 12

We saw the BABY, a computer made in 1948. Compared to today’s standards the BABY is extremely primitive, however, at the time it was a major breakthrough because it had 128 bytes of storage, where as today’s computers have roughly 5,000,000 bytes. A games developer from the BBC showed us how to create games using Flash for playing on the Web. He advised us that if we wanted to become games developers in the future that we should put together a portfolio of games work to demonstrate our abilities.

We had two fantastic days and saw lots of brilliant ideas that will inspire us for next time, so thank you to all the staff at ECC who organised and helped us on the trip. Watch this space as we are all looking ahead to Animation13!

Article written b Tom Burrows and Harvey Balsdon - Year 7 Students.

On Thursday 12th and Friday 13th July, ten Year 7 students and one Year 5 pupil from Brixington Primary School went to Manchester to attend the Animation12 awards festival. After an enjoyable night at the Youth Hostel, we woke up to a lovely cooked English breakfast, and then set off to Manchester University.

The awards festival was brilliant and we got to see all of the winning animations in a cinema style theatre. There were 1000 entries to the competition and lots of IPads were given out as prizes. Although we didn’t win anything, we had a great time. The John Thaw theatre was amazing. There was a 3D flight simulator, moving and talking robots, Raspberry Pi demonstrations and lots of other exhibitions and hands on activities. We enjoyed meeting NAO, which is an incredibly clever robot which can be programmed to walk, talk and even salute.

Cadets Pass Out Parade

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On Tuesday the 10th of July the Community Cadets demonstrated all the skills they had learnt over the past year in an exciting and dramatic pass out parade. In front of friends, family and local dignitaries the Cadets completed a scenario which showed them arriving at a scene of an arson attack, putting out a fire, rescuing trapped victims, administer first aid and CPR and finally arresting a potential  suspect.

All cadets received a certificate to acknowledge the completion of the course and also received their first aid qualifications.

The Cadets and the college would like to acknowledge and thank everyone who made the scheme so successful. Special thanks must go to the PC Young and the Exmouth Police Station, Gareth Sydenham and the Exmouth Fire Station, Mr and Mrs Tribble, Tim Mock and the local RNLI and finally Exmouth Town Council for their kind and generous donation which enables the course to be funded.

This year’s Cadets now have the chance to apply to become Senior Cadets to support the new Cadets which will start in September.

Yr 9 students can now apply to become Cadets by collecting an application from either Miss Westcott or Mrs Butcher in the Key Stage 3 office.

The College is pleased to be able to engage in a great deal of improvement work during the August break.

Elizabeth Lee, Chair  of Governors, said, “During the summer holiday a great deal of work will take place to maintain and improve the working environment for students and staff.  This work includes painting classrooms and buildings, re-surfacing the car parks and many other important tasks.  For example, following our successful bid for a grant a new heating distribution system will be installed to the Green Close site.  This represents a significant investment in the working environment at the College.”

One area which will be of particular interest to students and parents is the Governors decision to bring catering services under the direct control of the College so that the quality of catering can be further improved.  Jill Elson, Governor and Chair of the Premises Committee, commented, “Following our decision to move catering ‘in-house’ we welcome the appointment of the new executive chef and catering manager, Lloyd Wakling.  Mr Wakling brings new ideas, energy and an infectious enthusiasm to the post based on extensive experience in the industry.  One small part of the development of the catering services will be an additional canopy in the Languages Quad together with a new additional ‘Grab & Go’ food outlet in that area.”

Whilst there will be extensive work taking place on site the team are also preparing bids for further grants to support the development of classrooms and the College as a whole.

Mr Alexander said, “We always strive to provide the best facilities for our students.”

For more news see below , Recent News and the College newspaper, The Reporter, published in the Exmouth Journal at the end of July.

Summer Work to further improve facilities.

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Digita Software has donated a life-saving defibrillator to the College thanks to  Exmouth mother, Helen Buck’s campaign, Defibz4kidz. The company are also paying for eight members of staff to be trained in the use of the defibrillator. The College would like to express its thanks to both Digita and Helen Buck. If you wish to donate to Helen’s campaign, visit www.justgiving.com/defibz4kidz  

Readers Reap Rewards of their Efforts

On Tuesday 11th September twenty eight students, accompanied by Mr Jenkins, Mr Wright and Mr Taylor, embarked on a trip to London. The students were taken to the Emirates Stadium and White Hart Lane and then attended the England match at Wembley Stadium. The trip was a reward for the students taking part in the 'Premier League reading Stars' programme. An incentive designed by the Literacy Trust and endorsed by the Premier League to engage boys who would previously have displayed a negative attitude towards reading. The boys were encouraged to try different styles of books, from thriller novels to non-fiction books through football related activities, challenges and positive role modelling from some of the stars of the Premier League.

As a reward for completing the scheme, the boys were taken to London and shown around the stadiums of two of the Premier League's biggest clubs. they were shown around the clubs' trophy rooms, executive boxes and press rooms. They had the opportunity to sit in the seats of their heroes in the clubs' dressing rooms and then live out their dreams of walking down the tunnels and into the stadiums. The boys then had the chance to see some of their heroes in 'real life' as we attended the England v Ukraine World Cup Qualifying match at Wembley.

With such a varied trip, there were so many highlights that it would be impossible to pick just one out. Suffice to say the boys had a fantastic time and went home with many incredible memories.