NORLINGTON SCHOOL and 6TH FORM
n Wisdom is strength n Winter newsletter 2018
Impressive results put school among the best THE school has been recognised as among the best in the country after a recordbreaking year for GCSE results. Our Progress 8 score of over 0.79 means Norlington is likely to be recognised in the top 100 schools nationwide for GCSE results, according to figures released by the Department for Education in October. The school is also one of the top three non-selective boys’ schools in London and among the best in the borough of Waltham Forest. The score means that Norlington outperforms the majority of Ofsted-rated Outstanding schools, which have an average Progress 8 score of plus THE TOP 0.47. The school has the second-highest GCSE score for attainment in the borough, with SCHOOLS 63 percent of pupils achieving a grade 5 or above in English and maths. The national average is just 40 percent. Progress 8, which is new government benchmark for measuring school success, charts pupils’ progress from when they start to when they leave school. Principal Mr Hernandez said: “Norlington continues to buck the national trend of boys underperforming, with 63% of students achieving the key GCSE Level 5+ English and maths measure, compared with 40% of all students nationally. “We are very proud to be recognised in the top three non-selective boys’ schools in London for Progress 8 figures.”
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Our stand-out GCSE results in 2018 n 30% of students achieved five or more 7-9 or A*/A grades n More than a third of GCSE grades at 7-9 n Level 4+ English and maths at 76% n All subjects achieved significantly above national expectations n GCSE Progress 8 score of plus 0.79 n Top three boys’ non-selective schools in London n Likely to be in top 100 schools in the country
Triumph: A successful group of Norlington students compare their exam results
Top award winner Hayden surpassed all expectations STUDENTS were recognised for high achievement and academic success at Norlington School’s annual celebration evening. Awards were handed out in individual subjects, as well as in categories such as leadership and gentlemanly behaviour. There was also an award for the school’s table tennis team, who won the borough championship this year. MP John Cryer and Waltham Forest Cllr Sally Littlejohn gave speeches and presented the awards at the event held at Walthamstow Assembly Hall. Year 11 Hayden Amarr won the Chair of Governors’ Award after he far exceeded expectations in his GCSEs.
He said: “It is such a privilege to win this award, considering the school had so many other pupils to choose from. “I think I was chosen because I have really demonstrated the values that the school strives for. “The school teaches you how to be a responsible person.” Year 10 Sheraf Ahmedzai won the Nabil Alam Cricketer of the Year Award, given in memory of the former student. Others pupils to scoop awards included Year 12 students Rayan Abhram, Umarfaruq Ali, Adnan Moghal and Swayfiyullah Exlburally, Presented awards: MP John Cryer who won the Principal’s Award.
Norlington School newsletter n Winter 2018
Young sports stars motivated for awards push THE school’s sporting stars have vowed to push even harder next year after they narrowly missed out on the borough’s top awards. Norlington School – an award winner for the last three years – saw its pupils named in the team and individual category, while Ms McPortland was shortlisted for coach of the year at the Waltham Forest Sports awards. Year 8 Kyle Finlayter-Lynch was up for the young sports person award while both our U16 and U13 table tennis teams were nominated for the team award after scoring victory in the borough championships for a fifth year in a row. But despite their exceptional sporting performances this year, neither staff nor students were selected for awards. Year 8 Saad Ali, who is in our U13s table tennis team, said: “It was disappointing not to win but at the same time I was glad we were nominated. Not winning the awards has made us all the more determined to come back next year and win.”
Minister visits for STEM day STUDENTS joined the Aviation Minister Baroness Sugg at a STEM challenge run by London City Airport (above). Professionals from top industry firms, including British Airways, NATS and Accenture were on hand to tutor our students. They learned about voice recognition, machine learning, artificial intelligence and virtual reality at the event held In November.
OUR sixth form students examined coastal erosion on a geography field trip in September.
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Close: The under 13 table tennis team Assistant Headteacher Mr Hobbs said: “The Young Sports Person was won by someone who had won medals in an international athletics competition and the team award went to a swimming team competing nationally.
“We are very proud that our boys have been recognised. It is an achievement just to be at the awards, especially when you see the calibre of the competition. This will motivate our boys to push on to the next level.”
Ofsted focuses on family ethos OFSTED has hailed Norlington School’s the best in the borough of Waltham Forest. The “distinctive family ethos” in its latest report, inspectors said: “The school has maintained praising the good behavior of students and the the good quality of education since the last quality of education offered. inspection. Inspectors noted that results continued to “At GCSE, pupils’ outcomes have shown improve at the school and confirmed it remains further improvement. The progress of all groups rated Good. of pupils in key stage 4, including the most able, In the report published in November, the is strong. watchdog described behaviour at “Staff are supportive of your the school as calm and orderly, with THE TOP leadership and enjoy being part of the procedures to keep students safe said school with its distinctive family ethos. to be robust and effective. “The behaviour of pupils around They found students were challenged the school is calm and orderly. The to reach their potential and also said pupils enjoy being part of the school the sixth form was improving under SCHOOLS community. new head Mr Wadey. “Sixth-form students said that they were It comes as the school was likely to be proud of their school and they value the support ranked in the top 100 in the country for GCSE they receive from staff.” results, according to figures published by the The report added: “Students receive strong Department for Education in October. challenges in the sixth form. In economics, for The school is also in the top three non- example, students were given demanding work selective boys’ schools in London and among on the principles of supply and demand.”
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STUDENTS across the school have been fine-tuning their chess skills at the school’s popular club.
Norlington School newsletter n Winter 2018
Young problem-solvers keen for next challenge A REMARKABLE 14 Norlington students have been ranked among the top school age problem-solvers in the country. Our pupils finished in the top 10 percent from tens of thousands of competitors at the Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge. They have qualified for the next round of the challenge, which will see them facing off against the top young problem-solvers in the country at the TCS Oxford University competition in March next year. The competition is designed to raise awareness of computer science in a fun and rewarding way. Year 9 student Milo Byrnes said: “I am really proud of myself for doing so well. To be in the top 10 percent of students in the whole country is a really big achievement. “I had a strategy for the quiz, which was to focus on the questions I knew the answer to first. Luckily, I knew quite a few. “That gave me time to have a go at the tougher questions towards the end. It seemed to work quite well.” Year 7 student Mohammed Patel said: “I am proud to be in the next round. I will be giving it my all to do really well in the next stage.”
Mr Farrance said: “For the second year running, Norlington problem-solvers have really excelled themselves. “Last year we had five students who were able to reach the top 10% in the country. This
year having 14 boys hit the mark is something really special. The computer science department is extremely proud of the boys and let’s hope that more success comes our way in the TCS competition.”
Female students’ taster New Facebook group the best day was historic event place for news
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Find out more about Year 7 parent Nida Mayet’s new Facebook group for supportive friends and families of Norlington School...
‘ “It was different to how I expected it to be. It is an all-boys school so you have certain expectations but this was different. “All the boys are very polite and helpful and made us feel very welcome here.” Head of Sixth Form Mr Wadey said: “It is truly an honour to be able to welcome female students to Norlington School for the first time in 70 years. “We are very pleased to be able to offer students a taster of what life is like in our high-achieving sixth form. “These classes will allow students to make more informed choices when it comes to considering their post-16 options.”
Moving from primary school to secondary can be a daunting experience. Our children go from a small, familiar environment to the complete unknown. Through my sons, I had made lots of friends at the primary gates who I could turn to if I needed any support or advice. But that all stops when they leave. When your child joins secondary school, you have loads of questions. So who do you go to? That is the reason I have started an online community group for supportive families, which replicates the community we had at the school gates. I am hoping it will be a ‘go to’ place for news, information and queries, or if you want to celebrate your child’s achievements with supportive, like-minded parents. After joining, we encourage you to share, post and like as much as possible, as we depend on your support and contributions. To find out more, search Friends of Norlington School on Facebook and click to join.
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NORLINGTON School welcomed female students for the first time in 70 years for an historic A-Level taster day. Year 11 pupils from Connaught and Buxton joined their Norlington peers for a day of advanced classes at the school in October. They got the chance to participate in advanced classes in a wide range of subjects including English, maths, computer science, the sciences and design technology. This was the first time Norlington School had welcomed female students since 1948, when it became an all-boys school. Buxton School Year 11 student Natalia Bialukozowicz said: “The teaching is of a very high quality at this school. The sixth form students were very helpful and everyone has been really friendly. “Norlington is definitely one of my options for sixth form after today, it is a very good school.” Connaught School pupil Anika Achal said: “The best part was being involved in the experiments in chemistry class. “The facilities here are really good, which is very helpful for your education, particularly when doing A-Levels.” Prionti Das, also from Connaught, added:
Norlington School newsletter n Winter 2018
NORLINGTON REMEMBERS
Workshop brings home war impact
OUR Year 7 students visited the Shrouds of the Somme exhibition at the Olympic Park to mark the centenary of the end of the first world war. Each handmade 12-inch model represents one of the 72,396 British Commonwealth servicemen killed at the Somme with no known grave. Pupils also got the chance to meet the artist who created the work, Rob Heard, who spent the last five years hand-crafting the shrouds. In total, more than one million soldiers were killed or wounded during the Battle of the Somme in 1916.
Pupils’ poppy effort STUDENTS gave up their break and lunchtime to raise money for the Royal British Legion by selling poppies. Our students supported the Poppy Appeal, which helps service personnel and their families. The amount raised will be revealed later in the year. Year 8 student Ethan Coke said: “It was an honour to give up my time to help sell the poppies. I wanted to be involved. At Norlington we are taught to be gentlemen and to be respectful. No one deserves greater respect than the soldiers who died in the first world war. This is just one way of saying thank you.”
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in the first world war still has a big impact even today. If they hadn’t done what they did, the chances are a lot of us would not be here today. “It is our duty as young people to keep that legacy going otherwise the great sacrifice they made will be forgotten.”
Parade a key lesson for students Year 12 student Hayden Amarr (right) believes attending the Remembrance Day parade at the Chingford Mount Cemetery helped students realise the importance of British Values...
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On Friday November 9, I was one of a group of Norlington students to attend a remembrance service to pay tribute to those soldiers who lost their lives fighting for our country. During the service, Norlington students laid a wreath at the memorial at Chingford Mount Cemetery along with students from other schools and the local dignitaries. After the ceremony, the students remembered the sacrifice that the soldiers had made by visiting individual graves and laying flowers. Doing this resonated with the students
because it allowed them to put themselves in the shoes of the young soldiers; this was especially poignant when we visited the grave of a sixteen-year-old boy who was killed in action. This educated the students and made them realise the importance of British values in helping to prevent the past from repeating itself.
Club’s massive sacrifice BOARDS telling of the great sacrifice made by players from Leyton Orient football club during the first world war have been displayed around the school. Students learned how the entire squad and most of the staff joined the 17th Battalion Middlesex Regiment, known as the Footballers’ Battalion. A total of 41 men joined up from the club – then known as Clapton Orient – the most from any football side in the country.
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Moving visit to shrouds display
STUDENTS learned about the impact of the first world war during a history workshop before giving a presentation. Instead of normal classes, pupils from across year groups were taught about the role of women during the war and the great sacrifice made by a generation of young men. They also learned about medical advancement during wartime, the strategic importance of radio transmission and how prosthetic limbs were used to help injured soldiers reintegrate into society. In small groups, they were then tasked with giving a presentation on the impact of the war on modern Britain and how they would continue the legacy. Year 9 Szyman Brodzinski said: “It really helped us understand that what the soldiers did
Students baked “poppy cakes” in a Great British Bake-Off themed competition to raise money for the Poppy Appeal.
Norlington School newsletter n Winter 2018
Charity chief’s words of advice The Chief Executive of the UK’s leading charity for parents, NCT, talked to students in November as part of the Speakers for Schools programme. Nick Wilkie spoke to the pupils about career choices and his previous jobs, including his role as director of UK Programmes at the charity Save the Children. He also talked about his time working with the homeless and rough sleepers as a youth and community worker. He discussed the importance of hard work, having a healthy lifestyle, eating well, exercise and getting plenty of sleep.
Tweet of the term
New labs enhance science lessons Students have been enjoying the benefit of the school’s new science labs. Head of Science Mr Wahid: “We have benefitted from having a full renovation in our science labs which means we have added an extra laboratory to meet the demand of our increasing number of students in triple science GCSE and A-Level sciences. “Our staff and students are proud of the new facilities. Having new labs and facilities is having an impact on the teaching and learning in the department, enhancing the love and passion for science in the school.”
First aid sessions Year 9 students were given lessons in life-saving first aid in December and learnt techniques in CPR.
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Students look at satellites and telescopes OUR budding engineers took part in an Out of This World STEM challenge in December. Our team competed in the Faraday Challenge themed around satellite technology and space telescopes. Students learned about space engineering before developing their own product and prototype. Pupils had to present their ideas to a panel of judges in a Dragons Den-style event where they were asked questions about their product.
Norlington School newsletter n Winter 2018
THE school’s percussion band gave a performance at the Grove Green Community Concert in December. Students also entertained the crowd with magic tricks at the concert.
OUR school choir were on good form as the performed at the Christmas concert at St Katherine Cree church.
University duo in return to mentor sixth formers FORMER students now studying at the one of the country’s top universities returned to the school to inspire our current cohort of sixth form students. Amin Dirie and Mahir Miah left Norlington in 2014 and are now studying the same bio chemistry course at University College London. The pair took time out of their busy schedule to visit the school to give a talk and mentor our Year 13 pupils. They took part in one-on-one sessions with students giving tips on personal statements, UCAS forms and A-Level exam revision. The visit was organised by Sponsor for Education Opportunities, which help under-represented groups win places at top universities. Mahir said: “It is so important to give something back to your community. This school
Visit: Former students Amin and Mahir returned to give students advice was crucial in helping me get where I am today and I feel it is my duty to help wherever I can. “Having someone like myself come back
shows the students that people like them, from their school and background, really can access these top universities.” Amin added: “I really hope that our talk today and mentoring sessions will help inspire students at Norlington. “We want to get across how important it is to really knuckle down and revise hard for your exams. It is such a crucial time.” Year 13 Tyreke Fredrick is planning on applying to Birmingham University, which is part of the Russell Group. He said: “These two former students have very recently been in exactly the same position that we are in now, so their advice is really helpful. “They are also like us – they live in this area and came to this school. It is very inspiring that they have gone to one of the best universities in the country.”
Quiz will help fund minibus THE school’s recently formed PTA raised more than £350 towards the cost of a new minibus by holding a quiz night. Quiz master Mr Duberry posed a range of questions to around 50 parents and teachers during the event held in November. There was fish and chips on offer, as well as prizes for the winners, including a meal for two at Marco Pierre White’s restaurant at The Shard. Thanks to Arthur Communications, The Yard Arm, Saffron Kitchen, Venners, Tesco Leyton and Leytonstone, Phlox Books, Leyton Orient FC, Essex CCC, Horizon Café, Oh My and Primrose Florist, who all kindly made donations. Look out for the next event in the New Year.
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Norlington School newsletter n Winter 2018
Science magazine is a real credit to students Science teacher Dr Saadoune urges parents to check out the latest edition of our Furthering Minds Group magazine... Our Furthering Your Mind Group (FMG) editorial board, namely Hayden Amarr, Cheng, Hassan and Hisham, have worked extremely hard to put together exciting, informative and mind-blowing science into the autumn issue of our magazine. They went further by interviewing a leading physicist and asking him some challenging questions. We the science team are very proud of this work and we are keen that it is published on our school website alongside previous editions. The boys are in the process of brainstorming ideas for the winter issue. We welcome your feedback and we hope that more boys join our tremendously talented editorial board. We want to engage the community with cutting edge science and ideas.
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Picture gallery
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Norlington students put their debating skills to the test at a competition hosted by City law firm Pinsent Masons in December.
OUR Year 7 students took part in a number of educational activities during a visit to the British Museum.
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YEAR 9 and 10 Drama got an acting masterclass at an after-school workshop with tutors from world-famous Old Vic Theatre.
STUDENTS were honoured for their contribution to the school and their community at the Jack Petchey Foundation awards in October.
Norlington School newsletter n Winter 2018
Rayan among best in country TABLE TENNIS star Rayan Ansari is one of the top 100 players in the country for his age group. Victories in matches in a series of local competitions has seen him shoot up the nationwide rankings. Rayan (right), who is also a member of our borough championship-winning table tennis team, is also ranked 16th in Essex. He thanked PE teacher Ms McPortland for helping
to improve his technique and added: “It is great getting support from Ms McPortland because she has played internationally for England at table tennis. “To be ranked in the top 100 players in the country for my age is a great achievement but it also shows I still have a long way to go. “At Norlington they teach you to aspire to be the very best so that is what I am aiming for.”
Watchful eye on students’ health OUR new youth health champions say they hope to break the taboo of discussing mental health as well as promoting ways their fellow students can look after their general health and wellbeing. Eight pupils from Years 10 and 12 have become qualified health champions following a two-day training course in October, which covered a range of topics. The students plan to hold assemblies in the coming months, as well as putting up posters
around the school and setting up an online resource. On the issue of mental health, they learnt how to spot a person suffering from problems, how to offer support and provide resources for those in need. Year 12 student Rayyan Abraham said: “There is still a big taboo about talking about mental health in the community. We want to educate people to understand that this is a problem we have to tackle head-on.”
Lessons to be learnt at camping STUDENTS learnt the importance of responsibility, teamwork and leadership during a camping trip. Year 7 pupils were shown how to set up tents, start a fire and build a shelter during an overnight trip to the Suntrap Centre in Epping Forest. They also took part in team building and bonding activities and an obstacle course during the visit in September. It was also an opportunity for new starters to develop friendships and get to know their teachers. Student Tahmid Chowdhury said: “I learnt that setting up a tent on your own is a very hard thing to do but if you have people to help you then it is a lot easier. “That is why teamwork is such an important skill to learn. It will help you for the rest of your life.” Student Mohammed Iqbal said: “When you start at a new school it can be a little bit scary because you don’t really know that many people but this trip has really helped me to settle in at Norlington. “Being at Norlington now feels like being at primary school because I feel so much at home here and have made lots of new friends.”
Trip tested teamwork skills in busy week of activities STUDENTS unleashed their inner Bear Grylls during a week of rock climbing, caving and orienteering. They spent seven days camping in the beautiful surroundings of the Welsh valley of Trewern in September. During the trip, the students – from Years
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8 and 9 – took responsibility for serving and clearing away all meals, keeping their living space tidy and getting themselves ready in the mornings. Their teamwork and leadership skills were put to the test in a series of activities which also included BMX bike riding, gorge walking and caving. Year 8 Faisal Shaikah said: “The type of activities we took part in during the trip to Trewern is the sort of thing you can’t do in London, so it was a great trip in that respect. “We were responsible for serving and clearing away dinner and all the sort of things our parents would normally do for us at home. It felt good to have some independence.” Fellow Year 8 student Muneeb Ahmed said: “The caving part really helped us understand the importance of teamwork. In a cave you need to work together to make sure everyone gets through the cave and is okay.”
Jon leads the way in race YEAR 10 Jon Munt crosses the finishes line (above) in first place at the Waltham Forest cross country race in October. Ronan Edwards, who finished third in his category, led our Year 8/9 team home for a fourth position overall while Year 7 Nathan Joseph was the first Norlington student to complete the course.
Norlington School newsletter n Winter 2018