NewsletterDecember 2024

I can't believe the Christmas break is here. 

We have had so many events and achievements over this last 6 weeks which you will read in this newsletter. 

I am so proud of all of our students and without our exceptional staff going above and beyond organising these experiences our students wouldn't have the opportunities they have had so far this year. 

We invited Lancaster Grange residents over to Suthers for a festive celebration. It was a great celebration and everyone enjoyed themselves. You will see some wonderful pictures on our Instagram page and our students once again did us proud as they entertained them with a variety of Christmas songs. Our orchestra performed beautifully too. This event was then mirrored to parents and carers showcasing our very special talent. We continue to grow our Creative Arts department and continue to receive some very special feedback about our students and their talent.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Aspens catering staff for their fantastic Christmas dinner. I enjoyed serving our festive meal to our staff and students. Students and staff sang Christmas tunes in the refectory wearing their Christmas jumpers and tinsel.

Miss Allen organised all of the rewards trips for our students along with the rewards day in school. I would like to thank Miss Allen for her time and effort to ensure students were celebrated for their achievements and attendance this term. We had some excellent feedback from the venues and the bus companies about the conduct of our students and how they were so polite, well-mannered and respectable. 

Miss Bentley was extremely proud of our Year 9s who attended Peer Mentor training last week. We had some fabulous feedback about this cohort and their ability to support others. They demonstrate 'The Suthers Way' by wanting to support and listen to other students across the school so they feel supported and listened to. 

Two of our exceptional musicians were invited to perform at the Nova Education Awards Ceremony. They were part of the orchestra who played a number of songs to many staff from all Trust schools. Alice and Abi were an absolute credit to our school community. They performed with other students from across the Trust and were truly phenomenal. 

The Suthers School won the Parental Engagement Award,  I thank you all for your continued support and partnership to help us continue our school improvement journey. 

Finally, we say our goodbyes to a number of staff. Miss Forbes, Miss Derham and Mr Carter. 

We would like to wish you all the very best of luck in your new roles. 

Merry Christmas to you all and I hope you share some special memories with your family and friends. 

Best wishes, 

Nic

To keep up to date with all events next term, please click this Link

From Monday 9th December 2024 to Monday 20th January 2025 The Suthers School is consulting on its 2026-27 admission arrangements. 

This consultation is required in line with the School Admissions Code 2021, which states that admission authorities must consult on their admission arrangements at least once every 7 years, even if there have been no changes during that period. The school is going out to consultation in order to be compliant with this requirement in the Admissions Code 2021.

Please see letter for full information.  LINK

                                                                                                                                        PE News

Girls' Cup Fixture

The girl's team played in a cup fixture last week in demanding conditions. Despite the rain, mud and pending darkness, the girls gave it their all. With a last minute equaliser by Layla, we were able to take the game to extra time and penalties. With some fantastic penalty kicks and saves from Aubrie, we won the fixture 7-6 on penalties. A massive well done to the girls involved as well as a big thank you to Oliver Day for supporting Miss Allen and Will O'Reilly for being a fantastic ref. 

Our Year 7 Netball Team had a big win at Toot Hill on the 9th of December. They showed our value of Respect straight away when Toot Hill were two players down, so offered to join their team, to allow us to play a full 7 a-side game. There was some amazing attacking play from Isabelle and Phoebe working their way up the court, Betty and Willow had some great interceptions on the court, allowing us to turnover a lot of the ball. All of this led us to a win and Miss Berrington is proud of the girls for representing the Suthers brilliantly in their first fixture.

Our Y11 Football team had their rematch fixture against Toot Hill just before the Christmas break, after a narrow loss on their first match, they went into this match with a lot of anticipation and excitement. A very early goal from both teams took the match to 1-1, but another goal from Suthers took the final score to 2-1. The goals were scored by Liam and Aiden. Mr Lynas and the boys thoroughly enjoyed their return to Toot Hill and look forward to playing their final fixture to decide the winners of the Toot Hill and Suthers derby.

Mr Sykes-Wood took our Y11 Rugby Sports Leaders to Newark Rugby Club just before the Christmas break to a Primary School Tag Rugby tournament. They were tasked with refereeing the games and taking on leadership responsibilities, such as warming the students up and ensuring they were game ready! The boys did a fantastic job at this and showed our TORCH Values impeccably all afternoon.

                                                                                                                         Performing Arts

Little Shop of Horrors

The cast of Little Shop of Horrors were incredibly lucky to take part in a workshop with West End star Alan Bradshaw. He led them in a physical and vocal warm up before watching the first part of the show. He was very impressed with the students’ professionalism and gave some wonderful advice to our performers. They did us very proud indeed.

Drama Showcase Evening 27th November

For the first year ever, students took part in a Drama showcase. Students from Year 7, 8, 9 were invited to show an audience their current performance assessments, ranging from Physical Comedy, ‘Our Day Out’ and John Godber. GCSE students also performed their scripted exam pieces. LAMDA students performed their monologues, and the audience were also treated to the KS3 S29 Drama club performance, titled ‘The Cabin’. Christina Riley has been working hard to write an original performance with the students, showcasing their creativity and love for Drama. Lighting, sound and backstage was also run by our very committed and talented crew This informal event was well turned out and our Drama students thoroughly enjoyed showing parents what we do at The Suthers.         

On the 10th December we were joined by the residents from Lancaster Grange for a Christmas luncheon.  The cookery department baked a selection of delicious cakes and shortbread's which were greatly received by our visitors.  The Arts department then performed some of the songs from the Christmas Concert which culminated in a sing along to the Twelve Days of Christmas as the finale.  A huge well done to the performing arts students and the student leadership council who helped to make the morning a great success.  Forging relationships with the community is very important to the ethos of The Suthers School and we hope to grow this link with Lancaster Grange in the future.

                                                                                              The Suthers Christmas Concert 2024

We were delighted to be able to welcome a sell-out audience to enjoy our third annual Christmas concert during the last week of term. Our talented and professional student performers wowed an appreciative audience with a variety of acts including vocal and instrumental solos, dances, choral singing and ensembles - including the debut performances by the newly formed Suthers Collective Orchestra. The festive evening’s finale featured the traditional Suthers sing-along performance of The 12 Days of Christmas, led by head student Max Hemsley and included a chorus of 170 voices including our enthusiastic audience and left everyone feeling festive.

Douglas Sanger-Davies goes for red! 

For the first time in Suthers history, a student has earnt the highest possible star. Douglas, a Y9 student, who has a relentless work ethic and drive to succeed has been awarded his ruby star this week. A big well done to Douglas, keep up the fantastic work and showing 'The Suthers Way' every day. 

Christmas Reward Trips

It has been an absolute pleasure to take our students to various locations on their reward trips. We have had some fantastic feedback from the venues and Marshall's coaches, who have praised the politeness of our students as well as their behaviour and overall conduct on the day. We look forward to running more trips in the future and continuing to see our students thrive, not just in the building, but also when out in the community.

Year 11 Mock Results Breakfast 

Friday 29th November

Brilliant morning in school celebrating the Year 11 Mock Results. It was great to see students and staff interacting with each other and reflecting on their mock results. Already looking forward to the real thing in August 2025!

Mr Lynas

Remembering the Sacrifices of World War One

On Friday 6th December The Suthers School set off with 47 students for their first ever visit to the World War One battlefields of Belgium and France.

Day 1

Our visit started in the Belgian town of Diksmuide with a visit to the Yser Tower. The Tower was erected in memory of the Flemish soldiers killed during the First World War and is the tallest peace monument in Europe.

Our visit proceeded to take us to Langemark German Cemetery and Tyne Cot British Cemetery. The purpose of these visits was to make comparisons between the methods of remembrance by the British and Germans to their war dead.

The first day concluded with a visit to The Menin Gate in Ypres which bears the names of more than 54,000 officers and men whose graves are not known. Each night at 8pm there is a remembrance service and on this occasion three of our students had the honour of laying a wreath on behalf of The Suthers School.  On this first evening, students also enjoyed a quick trip to Leonidas Chocolatier for some real Belgian chocolate.

Day 2

Prior to leaving Ypres we made a special stop at Spoilbank Cemetery so that one of our students could visit the grave of his Great Great Grandfather and learn about his role in the war. Our second day was met with torrential rain and strong winds as we travelled to the Somme region of France.

On arrival in France our students got to stand at Sunken Lane which marked one of the deadliest mornings for British soldiers on the first day of The Battle of the Somme on the 1st July 1916. They had the opportunity to visit Hawthorn Crater and learn about the role of gas during the war.

Day 3

Our final day saw us return to the Ypres area of Belgium to visit Hooge Crater Museum where students got to try on British and German uniforms and participate in bayonet fencing.

We ended our three-day visit with a personalised memorial at Hooge Crater Ceremony, where several of our students delivered readings and laid wreaths on behalf of the school.

Our students had a fantastic, memorable and moving trip to Belgium and Northern France.  The students were an absolute credit to Suthers and our brilliant tour guides praised the group for their engagement and for demonstrating the TORCH values.  Many thanks to Mr Griffiths for organising and leading the visit and well done everyone for such a successful trip! 

Thank you to everyone who came to the Suthers Badge and Sticker Sale on Tuesday 10th December!

The sale, in aid of Newark Food Bank and the Photography Department, has raised over £550. Due to the generosity of staff and pupils, there will be a significant donation to the food bank, alongside a new camera for the photography pupils to use and enjoy. The sale was manned by an incredible group of pupil volunteers who dealt with the busy environment, quick sales and multiple questions like seasoned professionals! Thank you to everyone who took part and we hope that you enjoy your new badges! 

                                                                                                                  Christmas Hamper Raffle

Just want to say a massive thank you to all Staff and Asda for the raffle donations and to everyone who bought tickets. The grand total for the Raffle is £270 with the cake bake total sales at £150.15. We are looking forward to buying some lovely new books for the Fern. Thank you again for all your support and have a magical Christmas.

                                         Prize Winners

        1st Miss D Dawlins 292 

        2nd Raisa G. 20

        3rd Gracie S 90

        4th Willow W 187

        5th Aiden D 111

It has been a really successful term for Enrichment, with over 150 students taking part in a wide variety of Enrichment activities, from Sailing to Baking, from Music Lessons to Boxing. 

A huge thank you to all our staff who continue to give up their time and energy to provide these opportunities for our students.

Please click this link for next terms Enrichment Classes

thank you 

Mrs Adams

Attached is the timetable for Active4Today’s Christmas Holidays Activities Programme. We have a range of fun activities happening to keep the children busy during the Christmas break at Newark Sports and Fitness Centre, Dukeries Leisure Centre and Southwell Leisure Centre.

We hope you find the articles interesting. Included in this issue:-

Managing allergies in schools

Encouraging students to read for pleasure

Engaging with your community to raise funds

Please click on the button below or paste this URL: https://www.flipsnack.com/tucasi/newsletter-secondary-december-2024/full-view.html

Mrs Redmond has arranged for our local Beat Officers to come into school on Wednesday 23rd January 2025 at 9am to carry out free bike marking for any students or staff who would like to register their bike.  We will need a parent/carer's email on the day so confirmation can be emailed directly to them. There may also be the opportunity to get some other free bike safety items (D locks, bike lights etc) as well as some other goodies to hand out too !

For more details please follow this link ... The National Cycle Database | BikeRegister, and here is a leaflet with more details.

For the Artisits among you, Open Doors is excited to launch its FREE season of SatARTdays

As a team, we recognise our responsibilities for safeguarding children and protecting them from harm. We follow the procedures set out by the Nottinghamshire Safeguarding Children Board (NSCB) and take account of guidance issued by the DfE. All these procedures are set out in our safeguarding policy. Please visit the information tab, Policies on our website for our latest safeguarding policy.

If you have any safeguarding concerns, please do not hesitate to contact one of the DSL team via the below emails:

Senior DSL - Mrs Redmond wredmond@suthersschool.co.uk

Deputy DSL - Mr Lynas dlynas@suthersschool.co.uk

DSL - Miss Bentley kbentley@suthersschool.co.uk

DSL - Mr Buckberry sbuckberry@suthersschool.co.uk

If you have urgent concerns for a child, or suspect that a child has been abused in any way, you can also report a safeguarding concern to Nottinghamshire Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub by calling 0300 500 80 80 (if you are a member of the public). If you require an urgent response outside of working hours (08:30-17:00), contact the Emergency Duty Team (EDT) on 0300 456 4546. In an emergency call 999.

https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/care/safeguarding/childrens-mash

There are also helpful links for further advice

For online safety- please see the E-safety section of our website

Childline www.childline.org.uk

Comforts, advises and protects children 24 hours a day and offers free confidential counselling.

Phone 0800 1111 (24 hours) Chat 1-2-1 with a counsellor online

ChatHealth. Easy way for young people to confidentially ask for help about a range of issues or make an appointment with a school nurse. The number to text is 07507 329952. The service will be available on Monday to Friday 9.00 am – 4.30 pm

Kooth www.kooth.com

Is an online counselling and emotional well-being platform for children and young people, accessible through mobile, tablet and desktop and free to access.

Young minds www.youngminds.org.uk

Advice and information about young people’s mental health including information on CAMHS and what the next steps to seeking support are.

Health for Teens www.healthforteens.co.uk offers a great content and of your health, from sexual health to your feelings, growing up, lifestyle and much more.

Samaritans www.samaritans.org

24 hour confidential listening and support for anyone who needs it. (Adults included.) Phone 116 123 (24 hours) Information and support for mental health issues

Harmless- www.harmless.org.uk

provides a range of advice and support about self harm, people who self harm, their friends and families. Phone 0115 934 8445

B-eat www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk

The UK's eating disorder charity. They have online support groups and a helpline for anyone under 18. Phone 0345 634 7650 (4pm – 10pm 365 days a year) Email fyp@b-eat.co.uk

The Mix www.themix.org.uk

Information, support and listening on EVERYTHING for young people

Phone 0808 808 4994 (24 hours), get lots of support online

Drugs and alcohol

Frank www.talktofrank.com

Confidential information and advice about drugs and substance abuse, whether it's for you or someone else. 0800 7766 00 (24 hours, won't show up on your phone bill)

LGBT

Stonewall www.youngstonewall.org.uk

The UK charity for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and their allies. They offer information, advice. Phone 08000 50 20 20

Nottingham LGBT switchboard

Nottingham chartity offering advice for LGBT and questioning, people, their friends & family. Phone line open 7-9.15pm Mon-Fri 0115 934 8485.