High Expectation and Challenge for All
Dear Parent / Carer
Welcome to our last Parent News of this term.
I will be writing to you on Wednesday to summarise and celebrate the successes of this term. In the meantime please enjoy the lovely news from last week.
Jane Coley, Headteacher
PTA Quiz Night
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the PTA Quiz Night on Saturday.
A great time was had by all and we will let you know shortly how much money we raised.
Russell Group/Oxbridge University Evening 9/03/2016
On Wednesday 9th March Brakenhale welcomed Year 11 and 12 students from across Bracknell Forest for a university preparation evening. Around 280 people packed into the hall to hear speakers from Southampton University, Oxford and Cambridge explain what is required in terms of preparation for these respected institutions. Statistics such as there are 11.5 applicants for every place at London School of Economics made the attendees from across the borough sit up. The evening was made more prestigious by the attendance of Dr Sam Lucy, n
ewly appointed Director of Admissions at Cambridge, who went through the entrance tests that Cambridge will be using from this autumn.
It was great to see so many Brakenhale students attending this evening. A place at these elite institutions is obtainable to anyone prepared to focus and work and it was reassuring to hear that high attainers from a school such as Brakenhale will receive positive discrimination from these establishments.
Microsoft Inspiration Day 22/03/2016
Brakenhale School is delighted to welcome a team of 12 professionals from Microsoft to lead a day of technology and careers information next Tuesday.
Microsoft will be talking to Year 10, 11 and some Year 12s across the day giving students an insight into their business and what the future may hold! There will be a session on careers and career possibilities within a large global corporation such as Microsoft. During lunchtime there will be an X –Box competition with prizes for the quickest laps and the Conference Room will be a Device Studio with some of the latest technologies on display. In the afternoon smaller groups of targeted students such as the GCSE Computer Science students will be spending some time with the team to look at how the skills they are developing could help them in the future.
This is a real coup for Brakenhale and builds upon the excellent links the school has already developed this year with 3M and Cisco. We hope the students can use the clear messages that all these experiences will be giving them – the future is theirs for the taking if they are prepared to work for it!
UK Maths Trust Team Challenge 14/03/2016
On Monday 14th March Mr Hicks and Mrs Wilkins took four students from Year 8 and 9 to the University of Oxford to compete in the Regional Finals for the UK Maths Trust Team Challenge. Students have competed individually in school before but this is the first time we have taken a team to compete. We were competing against a mixture of high achieving schools, including private, exam-entry and fee paying schools. All students on the day were exceptional mathematicians and it is with great pride we can announce that our team came 8th out of 28 competing schools. The team maintained excellent scores throughout each challenge and were a credit to themselves and the school. Members of staff from other schools complimented them on their behaviour, attitude and teamwork. It was an incredible opportunity for the students to compete in such an event and visit the University of Oxford. As ever, we aim to raise the aspiration of our students and we are extremely proud of our team for their outstanding achievement on Monday. May their love of mathematics continue to grow.
Year 7 Cake Sale
Year 7 Cake Sale
Year 7 took part in charity bake sale between 1st and 4th February in aid of local charity Sebastian’s Action Trust. The year group worked incredibly hard to plan, advertise, bake and sell throughout the event. We presented a cheque for £367.18 to Sebastian’s Trust in the Year 7 assembly.
It was lovely to receive a Sebastian’s Action Trust letter from Sebastian’s Action Trust.
Vivo Points Update
More details about Vivo Rewards can be found here
Parents’ Coffee Mornings
PTA News
We are running a Student Easter Raffle this half term. There are Easter Eggs galore to be won, tickets cost 50p each, available from tutors. Prizes will be drawn on this week before the Easter holiday.
PTA Upcoming Events:
Tuesday 12th April: April PTA meeting
End of April: Recycling Clothes Collection – please start saving your unwanted items
Tuesday 3rd May: May PTA meeting
Sunday 8th May: Half Marathon Water Station
Tuesday 7th June: June PTA meeting
Saturday 25th June: PTA Race Night
Tuesday 5th July: July PTA meeting
Upcoming Dates
Saturday 19th March PTA Quiz Night
Wednesday 23rd March – Last day of term – School closes for students 12.05pm
Easter Holiday Thursday 24th March – Friday 8th April 2016
Inset Day – Monday 11th April 2016
Summer Half Term Monday 30th May – Friday 3rd June 2016
Summer Holiday Monday 25th July – Wednesday 31st August 2016
For a full list of dates please see our calendar page.
http://www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/schooltermandholidaydates
