Latest News
 

Solutions for the Planet

Sixteen of Carr Manor’s brightest entrepreneurs recently attended the Yorkshire Region Solutions for the Planet conference. The pupils were split into teams of four and spent the day developing their social enterprise ideas with business people from all over the region. All the groups did a great job and interacted with people from a variety of organisations.
The groups have now submitted their business plans to the Solutions for the Planet committee, with the hope of taking their idea all the way to the Prime Minister at the Palace of Westminster.

Carr Manor pupils rub shoulders with England's best Rugby Union Players!

The PE department were lucky enough to secure 18 tickets to watch the England Rugby Union squad, during the build up to this weeks Six Nations opener against Scotland. The squad had been in Leeds for a week, training at West Park Rugby Club with their newly appointed Interim Manager, Stuart Lancaster (pictured with Haaris and Finlay). Stuart was asked to take on the role after a set of poor World Cup performances last year which meant a change of management was due. Leeds based Stuart has had great success with England's shadow squad (the Saxons) for the past few years and will be applying for the position when it is advertised permanently.

The pupils enjoyed watching the full training session that included some very impressive game play and   line-out practices with the likes of 6’ 7” Tom Palmer, showing great athleticism and skill and Chris Ashton with impressive speed and balance. The players then took time to meet the thousand strong crowd and sign autographs and pose for pictures for the excited fans. All from Carr Manor enjoyed this great opportunity, even if a little cold by the end of the morning. Thanks to all those that attended and the staff that made it possible. Keep an eye on the television over the next few months for the results of the forthcoming Six Nations Competition!

CMHS Pupils Report from the NEEC

A huge well done to Macenzie Cuthbertson, Jaskiran Mehmi, Ben Willis and Ameena Gye, who acted as roving reporters (on behalf of Radiowaves) at the North of England Education Conference. The pupils were involved in interviewing keynote speakers from the event and chatting / recording the thoughts and opinions of other delegates attending the event. Their interviews and blogs can be found at www.radiowaves.co.uk. All four pupils were a credit to themselves and the school and should definitely consider careers in reporting!

Dominick Judd Represents Carr Manor on the NEEC Question Time Panel. A further well done to Dominick Judd who represented Carr Manor and the pupils of Leeds, in a question and answer  panel at the Education Conference. Keynote speakers and  delegates at the event, were very impressed with Dominick’s answers and thoughts on a wide range of topics, affecting children living in Leeds in 2012. Well done Dominick!

Service Above Self Award

Well done to Dominick Judd from Year 11, who received the Rotary Club’s ‘Service Above Self’ Award, for his outstanding contribution towards the Leeds Youth Council. Dominick received his award at the Civic Hall in January, from the Lord Mayor of Leeds. Well done Dominick.
 

CMHS Break World Record!

Carr Manor High School pupils and staff attempted to break the World Record for the most amount of paper hats worn simultaneously!                                                                
Pupils made the hats out of white  paper during the recent Coaching Plus session, based on individual targets for the forthcoming year. Each hat contained pupil’s hopes, dreams and targets for 2012. Messages ranged from “get 13 GCSEs” to “get better at English.” We were aiming to break the previous World Record, that was set at just over 400. With over 800 people taking part, we have almost certainly smashed it!                                                             Pupils had a fantastic time completing the record breaking attempt, by wearing the hats for 10 minutes. Pupils gathered for the record attempt in the Forum, where Pupil Liaison Manager Mr Morton acted as MC and kept spirits alive during the countdown. The event attracted media attention from Calendar News and the Yorkshire Evening Post. Sohail Hussain from Year 10, was interviewed and when asked about his targets, he stated that he  wanted to go to university as part of his plans to become a pharmacist in the future. He said: “I like the sciences and university is good because it can branch off to a lot of things.” The event was a huge success and we are looking forward to the next. If you have any suggestions for the next record breaking attempt, please get in touch! 

 

Sing for Your Heart

Carr Manor High School pupils performed in the ‘Sing for your Heart’ concert and raised £505 for Heart Research UK. The show also involved performances from Carr Manor Primary School, Millfield Primary School, Meanwood CofE Primary School, LifeStage Academy of Performing Arts and the ‘Carol in the Park’ singers from Chapel Allerton Baptist Church. Mr Herringshaw, director of the production said, “I was really proud of all the performers. There was a creative balance, in the style of songs performed from all schools, with quality solo singers, amazing group pieces and a range of ages taking part, with both adults and children performing. The atmosphere was exciting and there was a very high standard of singing, with the audience showing real appreciation for the performers and pupils cheering each other on both during and after each performance! On top of that, we raised hundreds of pounds for Heart Research UK. It was a great evening! We will be doing this again next year!”
 

Exclusive Takeover Day from Tom Riordan Chief Executive of Leeds City Council

A huge well done to Dominick Judd for his involvement in the ‘Takeover Day’ of Tom Riordan (Leeds Council Chief Executive). As part of the day, Dominick met the Bishop of Leeds and had a one to one meeting with Tom Riordan himself. Dominick was a credit to himself and the school.  

Willow Young Carers Service

Willow Young Carers Service support young carers between the ages of 5 to 18. Schools play an important role in identifying and supporting young carers. Having a named lead person in school who understand the impacts of being a young carer will help in raising awareness of young carers in schools.

YOUNG CARERS SUPPORT PROGRAMME AT CARR MANOR HIGH SCHOOL

Sheila first started working with our young carers at Carr Manor High School in 2010. We had decided to set up a support system within our school for identified young carers, but the problem was – how would we identify our young carers and how could we get this support system up and running? Working alongside Sheila, we decided the starting point was for her to deliver assemblies to all pupils, to raise awareness of what young carers were/what they did. Following on from these assemblies, Coaches were then able to start identifying pupils who acted as young carers at home – our support system was then founded.
After starting this support, the young carers, who Shelia met at the school, produced a ‘Young Carers Policy’ for their school. A copy of this policy appears in the 2011/2012 Pupil Planner and Information for Parents, Carers and Pupils booklet.Thank you to the young carers, Sarah Holdsworth and all pupils and staff at Carr Manor high School for supporting young carer awareness.
Shelia Davenport.
 

Year 9 Break Record on Audition Applications for YYD!!

Year 9 BTEC kicked off the success in dance this term with the group taking part in a 2 hour contemporary dance workshop with dancer and choreographer Matthew Slater, from The Northern School of Contemporary Dance (NSCD) Yorkshire Young Dancer scheme (YYD). The workshop enabled the students to learn the basics of contemporary dance techniques, learn some repertoire and create their own sections which they performed at the end of the afternoon. Many of the students showed great strengths and excelled especially in the creative section, creating innovative routines and showing off their personal skills, including acrobatics!
The students really enjoyed themselves and at the end of the afternoon, 8 of them were chosen to attend the NSCD open day in January, which is the next stage to being accepted onto the YYD scheme. This is the largest number ever Carr Manor has had accepted onto the next stage of auditions. Well done Year 9!
The YYD scheme aims to introduce young people to dance and gives pupils who wouldn’t normally be able to, a chance to train 3 times a week alongside other passionate dancers and to work with professional choreographers and artists. This scheme is a training platform for pupils to possibly go on to further education in the dance world.
 

CMHS Welcomes Hatty Keane!

Hatty Keane, the winner of the Open Mic UK 2010 competition, recently performed for Carr Manor’s Year 9 pupils. Hatty who is only 16 years old, beat around 9,000 acts in the nation wide competition.
She has performed alongside Tinchy Stryder and NDubz at the music event LiveFest and has even presented an award at Prince Henry’s Well Child Awards with Pixie Lott! Hatty is now working on a new album and has two singles out at the moment.
Hatty displayed her soulful voice to an audience of enthusiastic Year 9 pupils. Following her success in Open Mic UK, she has been offered a management and development contract by Future Music and BGM Music and has been touted as a massive potential future star.Carr Manor pupils were privileged to see a star in the making.
 

LUMINITES ILLUMINATE TALENT AT CMHS!

Who are the Luminites? If you are asking yourself this now, I promise you won't be in a few months. This new band of singers, beat-boxers and musicians dropped by on 3rd November to give our pupils a taste of a real pop concert and proved they have star potential. But the real stars of the show were, as ever, our pupils. Year 7, 9 and 13 pupils gathered in the theatre for an hour of first class entertainment, Q&A and of course because we're amazing... showing the professionals how music is done the Carr Manor way! Pupils got up on stage for a beat-boxing battle and singers shone performing as the band backed them. The atmosphere was electric and the would be stars were nearly mobbed when they offered to sign autographs!
The Luminites first single is out in January and I think ALL of us will be downloading it!
 

Synergies Visit

On 3rd and 4th November we hosted a group of teachers from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Spain who were visiting England to see excellent examples of teaching and learning. We were very pleased to have been chosen to host this visit as it shows that we are held in high regard far beyond the reaches of Leeds. The teachers were very impressed with the pupils and teachers that they watched and commented on the warm and welcoming nature of the school. On their bus journey to school on their first day they asked a group of pupils what the best thing about Carr Manor was and the reply was 'the teachers' so a big thank you to those anonymous pupils! They had lunch with pupils in the refectory and enjoyed a typical British lunch of fish and chips! On their return to their home countries, the teachers held workshops to share the good practice they had seen here so expect lots of Quality Audiences and Challenges across Europe.
 

100% Attendance Winner

As always, CMHS was involved in the March and November ‘Give it 100%’ event, in order to promote the importance of good attendance at school. Pupils were set the challenge of achieving 100% attendance throughout the whole month of March and November. Challenges were also set within coaching groups. This November 451 names were entered into the competition!In the past, pupils at Carr Manor have received some fantastic prizes for being involved in the competition. In the last ‘Give it 100% March,’ Bethany Johnson from Year 10 won a guitar signed by all the acts involved in Party in the Park this year. Previous prizes have included an iPod, go karting sessions, Go Ape tickets, exclusive McFly concert, Leeds United tickets and two signed guitars.
 

Sports Awards Evening

The annual Sports Award Evening was an enjoyable celebratory evening for all involved. The evening celebrates the sporting skills and dedication of many of our pupils. We were lucky to have Stephanie Wilson with us to present the awards on the evening, she is a super league netball player and plays for Yorkshire Jets (formally known as Carnegie). She spoke to the pupils and told her motivating story, the challenges she had faced in sport but also the positives she had accomplished. Each sports team was presented with medals and individual pupils were rewarded for being players’ player or gaining coaches colours. The players’ player is nominated anonymously by the players in the team and the coaches colours player is chosen by the member of staff responsible for the team. Demi Denison and Josh Jepson were very popular winners of the Sports Personalities of the Year Award and more than 100 other pupils were recognised for their individual talents and team contributions. The level of elite sports pupils in school is definitely on the rise. We have several pupils now signed with professional sports teams ranging from football, to rowing, to diving, to martial arts and some pupils competing nationally in different countries across the world. Well done to all involved!

Year 7 Residential – Bramhope Scout Camp

3rd October to 12th October
One hundred and eighty Year 7 pupils were treated to a residential at Bramhope Scout Camp. Although the rain was incessant for three days, the many activities (mountain biking, day walk, team building, go karting and, the most exciting activity of all, the night walk) ensured that everyone enjoyed a very active time in spite of the weather. However, the sun did come out during the day at sometime and all staff and pupils had an enjoyable time.
 

Carr Manor High School achieves record results!

Carr Manor High School’s GCSE results are the best ever in the school’s history, with 69% of pupils achieving at least 5 A*-C GCSE grades and 43% of pupils achieving 5 or more GCSEs including English and maths. These results show a significant increase in our continuing trend of positive outcomes for pupils and are testimony to the hard work and effort that all pupils have made across a wide range of academic and vocational courses.
Almost all pupils have either met or exceeded their personal targets, with more pupils than ever attaining Grades A*, A and B in English and maths - the results in maths are particularly pleasing with 24% of pupils achieving higher grades of A*, A or B.
The school has introduced a number of intervention strategies in recent years to help each pupil achieve his or her absolute best. This ‘personalised learning’ approach has enabled staff to provide a range of targeted and specialist support for each pupil.

Simon Flowers, Headteacher said “As a school team we really know our children well, through coaching, monitoring their progress and ensuring that we target effective support. This approach is now paying dividends and we’re delighted that pupils can enjoy these well deserved results. We are also delighted for the staff and parents who have supported and encouraged throughout.”

There have been some excellent individual performances this year, including Connoll Borowski and Emma Booth who each achieved 15 GCSEs with 23 A*s and 7 Grade As between them.
Eliza Amoroso who joined the school at the start of Year 11 from the Philippines gained all 12 GCSEs at C or above. This was particularly impressive when trying to settle in to a new country and a new school and these results are testament to her hard work, determination and bravery.
Supun Dissanayake came to Carr Manor High School at the start of Year 9 speaking minimal English. His determined and conscientious approach to his studies has impressed all teaching staff and his results of 9 A*s and 3 As reflects this. Supun has now left the country to follow his father to Sri Lanka and has enrolled in to the British Council School to do 'A' levels, though ultimately he intends to return to the country to go to university. In addition to the Year 11’s performance, pupils in Year 10 have also been successful in taking some of their GCSE examinations early with several pupils already attaining A* / A grades.
Carr Manor High School receives children from over 30 primary schools predominately from the North East of Leeds. Results have continued to improve year on year and the school has been over-subscribed for the last 2 years.
43% of pupils achieving 5 GCSEs A*-C including English and maths, exceeds the school’s FFT D Target of 41% and represents an 8% increase from last year’s results. 91% of pupils achieved at least 5 GCSEs Grades A*-G and all pupils were accredited with at least one qualification.


Jane Tomlinson Events

 

24 pupils took part in the Jane Tomlinson Fun Run and they all completed the course. They received a 'finishers medal' and a goody bag. Pupils and staff also volunteered at the Jane Tomlinson 10K run water station. Both events had really positive atmospheres and were a pleasure to be part of. Well done to all involved.
 

One World Day 2011

As ever, the 2011 ‘One World Day’ event was a huge success. The day saw a huge range of activities such as, pupils holding stalls in the Theatre, many dance acts and henna body art. Delightfully cooked food was provided by Mr Alexis, Mr Rayat and their helpers. A big thank you must go to Mr Rayat for the overall well structured organisation of the day.

Love Music Week

Carr Manor High School recently celebrated our first ever ‘Love Music Week.’ Staff and pupils took part in a range of musical activities throughout the week. Music was enjoyed in all aspects of school life, from music being played in the PE changing rooms to bands playing in the forum at lunch time. The week was such a success that it will be made an annual event!

Football Tour

The Year 9 football team (with 3 youngsters from Year 8!) competed in the Mitre Ultimatch Wales Challenge Cup in Prestatyn over the first weekend of the half-term break. On the first day the lads managed to record 2 wins, a draw and 2 losses. The losses came via a last minute goal against the Teeside representative team and a defeat against the Welsh FA Cup boys champions Rhyl in the 5th game, where fitness proved to be the deciding factor.
One of Saturday's high points came in the 2-0 victory against local youth team Yorkshire Amateurs (sorry Adam Ware!) On Saturday night, after well deserved take-away pizzas, they all sat down and watched the Champions League final with the group divided in half, in terms of support. After watching the Barcelona master-class, they were all looking for some similar football on the Sunday! The day started well with a great win in the 1st game, with Dibar Hama pulling off some Messi like skills! They drew the final 2 games, which meant a 4th place finish. This was an excellent result, for the only school team taking part, out of around 120 teams throughout all age groups. The boys worked hard throughout and were a credit to Carr Manor High School over the four days away. A huge thank you goes to Mr Currie, Mr Orum, Mr Dixon, Mr Dyche and James Knowles (from Football Tours International) for their hard work and dedication. A thank you must also go to all of our sponsors who helped make the tour possible.
 

Year 11 Prom

This year’s Year 11 prom was held at the Hilton hotel in Leeds city centre. Pupils and staff enjoyed a three course meal, whilst admiring a collection of photos, old and new, that were displayed via the projector onto a large screen. Pupils and staff also voted for awards, such as ‘Best Dressed Member of Staff’ and ‘Prom King and Queen.’ Everyone involved felt the evening was a huge success and thanks go to Ms Barnett for all of her hard work and effort. 
 

Mini4m Take to the Stage!

Carr Manor has been pretty quiet without the buzz of their resident dance crew, Uni4m, taking regular performances. With them all moving on to bigger and better things, the stage seemed empty here at the Trueman Theatre. But Uni4m were a dance crew that held a legacy; a trainee dance crew lay in it’s wake.
Mini4m, formed from selected dancers in Uni4m, was established as a training ground for new and upcoming talent.
The selected male and female dancers have been in training for 9 months, taking weekly class, working with a professional choreographer and learning new skills. July 7th saw them debut their first ever professional work, ‘Art Attak!’ outside of school, held at the new Northern Ballet Theatre and centre for dance excellence. This was an event put on by Phoenix Youth Academy and a handful of schools and colleges were selected to take part. Mini4m took to the stage well, showing that they can hold their own against pupils in year 12 and 13 and semi-professional artists from all over Leeds. They were the youngest performers there and were the opening act of the night. They performed with confidence and wowed the audience with their body popping and theatrical character playing. David Baer also showed off his beatboxing skills to great cheers.
The piece was well received and the pupils did the school proud. They went on to perform at Carr Manor’s annual ‘One World Day’ celebrations the following day. So here’s to another successful journey. Well done Mini4m!
Mini4m are looking for a crew name of their own – if you have any suggestions please email lopsy100@gmail.com.
 

Solutions for the Planet

Two teams from Carr Manor High School reached the semi final of the Solutions For The Planet programme. Each team thought of a current issue that concerned them and presented their solution ideas to a panel of nine judges, in a lecture theatre at Leeds University. The ‘SHANK’ (start helping and say no to knives) campaign targeted knife crime, with the aim of lowering victims of knife crime in the UK. The second team ‘Eyes Open’ wanted to raise the awareness of world issues, through the use of a web cast. The teams’ presentations were excellent and they were a credit to the school.
 

Start Project

Carr Manor High School and Northern Ballet Theatre have been partnered for 3 years as part of the ‘Start Project’, a scheme set up to introduce children to ballet and theatre in a fun and engaging way. Northern Ballet asked Mrs Clark to be involved in the project after their first visit to the school, when they were highly impressed with the standard and attitude of the children. As part of the project, the pupils took part in two workshops in school, lasting two hours each, a visit to the new Northern Ballet centre, with a tour and talk of costume and stage set up, as well as watching a run through of rehearsals by Northern Ballet. They also enjoyed two visits to the theatre to see two ballet performances by the company. The latest trip the group are going on is to see ‘Giselle’ at Leeds Grand theatre. "The kids love it and it’s really good to introduce them to ballet and contemporary dance” says Mrs Clark, “the experience of going to the studios and doing a ballet and creative class gives them a good impression of what it’s like to work in the dance industry, and helps them meet other pupils in other schools with the same passion. We hope it continues, as this year has been the most creative ever, and the children have made a real impression on the staff at NBT”.

The Big Deal
A group of Year 9 Business Studies pupils are taking part in the ‘Big Deal’ competition in association with the University of York. It is a 10-week programme that develops innovation, creativity and promotes the drive to make ideas happen. The group visited the University at the end of March to attend a special launch day, where they were able think of ideas and become creative. The group had a great day and have thought of some great ideas – fingers crossed for the final in June!

World Book Day

Thursday 3rd March was World Book Day, a day to celebrate the power of reading! All pupils received a £1 book token to spend on any book of their choice, which could be refunded in any book shop. Books were sold in school, with some costing just £1. There was also a treasure hunt around school. Staff were canvassed about their favourite book, photographed and then pupils had to go around the school looking for clues in the style of a treasure hunt. Pupils also took part in the Readathon, which was a sponsored read to raise money for charity. The Readathon raised money for the Malcolm Sargent Charity, which supports children with cancer and also the Roald Dahl Foundation.

 

Adventure Trip
 
The first Adventure Trip in March, saw a group of 28 Year 9 pupils spending two nights at Herd Farm. A second trip will be going in May. The aims of the trip were to help pupils build confidence and independence, a chance to do exciting activities that they can not do in school and further develop relationships/make new ones.
The pupils took part in a variety of activities ranging from archery, rope course, off road mountain biking, giant swing, bush craft and survival skills, night walks and team - building games. All pupils were responsible for making beds daily and cleaning of all meal dishes and cutlery, as well as cleaning the whole centre when they left.Once again, the pupils were a credit to themselves and the school and an enjoyable time was had by all. Well done to all the pupils involved and a big thank you to staff for all their help and support.


Singing in the Community 

During the Christmas period, Bethany, Katie and Amy took part in Carol Singing at three different venues (Waitrose, Sainsburys Local & Co-op) and raised a total of £286. This good work followed weeks of preparation and a lot of time and effort went into the whole fundraising event.
The money raised went to the Potternewton Club, which is a voluntary run club who hold a session every Thursday night for adults with learning difficulties. The picture shows the Carr Manor girls involved, who went to visit the club and hand over the money raised. The girls are already keen to think of the next fundraising event, to continue raising money for this group!
Well done Bethany, Katie and Amy!

100% Attendance Winners! 

A huge well done to Feyisayo Ogunade, for being a winner in the ’Give it 100%’Attendance Competition in November.
Feyisayo won two free sessions at ’Go Karting’ and received her award from Radio Aire and a group of Leeds Rhinos players.
Our second winner in the 100% attendance challenge was Jordan-Lea Woodhouse. Jordan won three tickets to see Leeds United play Norwich City.

Charity Skydive!

Well done to Aaron Sadiq who raised a huge £1200 by doing a skydive for charity. All money raised will go towards the Pakistani Flood Appeal, Islamic Relief and NSPCC. Well done Aaron!

Year 10 Work Experience - 24th January - 4th February 2011

Congratulations and well done to Year 10 pupils who have just completed a two week Work Experience. I have received some very positive and complimentary reports from employers about the way the pupils conducted themselves. A number of pupils have been given the opportunity of part time work due to their excellent roles and responsibilities. I would like to thank parents/carers and staff who have supported the pupils through this important stage of year 10.
C Roylance
Work Experience Coordinator
 

Backstage Past Performance by Year 8 Carr Manor Pupils

Recently, a selected group of twelve Year 8 pupils have been involved in the ‘Backstage Past’ project working towards individual Arts Award Bronze level for gifted and talented pupils.
Every Tuesday evening, they have been taken and shown elements of music hall and theatre, sessions at the Grand Theatre Learning Zone, trips to the City Varieties refurbishment site, as well as seeing a performance of The Nutcracker. The project has been to celebrate young people’s achievements and look forward to the           re-opening of the City Varieties Music Hall later this year. ‘Backstage Past’ is also a lottery funded project which apparently will not be running any more after this year, so they have been lucky to have had the opportunity this year. The culmination of this work was a performance on Tuesday 8th February. This involved dancing, singing and drama pieces, both group and individual. Well done to all involved.

Coaching Plus - Recycling Challenge

During Coaching Plus, pupils were set the task of creating a model that represented their coaching group or the school, made completely from recyclable materials. There were some fabulous creations and prizes were awarded to the best eight models.
 

BTec Performing Arts

Year 12 Performing Arts group has supported the local primaries and seized the opportunity to take a performance and a workshop, dealing with the topic of bullying, to local primary schools.

Eleven highly motivated pupils, all in their first year of a Performing Arts BTec (which is running for the first time in school), took care of all aspects of the production.

The project, which began in earnest at the end of September, saw the pupils start by collating ideas for what sort of educational show would be suitable for the age group that they had chosen to perform to.

They researched the concept of Theatre In Education, as well as the work of influential practitioner Augusto Boal. The majority of sessions were led by the group, as it is important that a qualification with such a vocational bias actually gives the pupils 'on-the-job' training.

Once the ideas were in place they then moved on to master the art of scriptwriting - including a film script workshop with a local filmmaker producing two versions of the script, one for a short film and one for a staged live version of the piece. Once this was done, the process of hard work actually began!

Rehearsals were used to fine tune an already exciting and interesting idea, which would hopefully captivate their young target audience; along the way different types of audience were considered and different ways of presenting the work was looked at until the final decision to couple the live piece with aninformative and interactive workshop were decided upon. One of their first performances was for the film actress Anna Popplewell, who stopped by at school, before promoting her latest appearance as Susan Pevensie in the Chronicles of Narnia film series!
Within three weeks it was time to perform and deliver a workshop to their audience.

Arriving early on a cool November morning, the group set up in St Matthews primary school’s main hall, dealt with pre show nerves and proceeded to captivate their large Year 5 & 6 audience, for the entirety of the 20 minute performance and the following workshop. The following day saw another show at in Chapel Allerton primaries echo laden hall – this was turning into a tour of sorts!
Finally the last show arrived a few days later at Meanwood primary school – a show which contained a workshop that really showed how powerful a message they were giving.

“They certainly got their message across about anti-bullying” Mrs Lacey St Matthews.


Play Pod Painting Sesh!!

During October Half term with two days spare, a number of young people including four Carr Manor High School pupils helped spray paint ‘grafitti style’ a cabin container, which is now more commonly known as the ‘Beckhill Pod.’

Efforts from all people involved made the two days a huge success and as you can see from the pictures they did a great job. Nicola and her team from Groundwork lead the sessions with an experienced graffiti artist to give a few ideas and help with the technical side of things.
The Pod will allow extra provision for young people and will be able to house equipment and even chairs and tables for somewhere to chill out! They turned it from drab and boring to bright and attractive!


ESPN Rugby Ben Kay Visit

On the Friday October 22nd, Ben Kay visited Carr Manor High School and coached pupils from the School.

Ben Kay is a professional rugby union player. Ben has played for England and Leicester Tigers, now retired; he works with children and young adults who enjoy rugby.
During his time in Carr Manor, he did various activities such as Gladiators, tackling and other rugby skills.

One of the activities was divided into two groups, tackling and charging. Some Year 8 Girls took part in the tackling activity. The activity included practicing and refining tackling skills and techniques. Chloe Elmslie said ‘I found tackling fun but it was a tad rough’. The boys also took part in this session. The one-on-one tackling was extremely good; Sulaiman Fell and Kai Barret did this extremely well. Some of the girls results weren’t quite as good. One comically reporting that she; “Broke her arm and no-one cared” but carried on nonetheless.

Overall, the experience was a great one, enabling us to indulge in different sports than the ones we normally learn at school.

Highlights of the day!

The day in ten words from Mr Skinner: ‘Really motivating, great introduction to how fun rugby can be’.
Unsurprising some people ,when asked how the day went, replied ‘Fun’ (Very Imaginative!)
One of the activities that were involved was Gladiators – involving crash pads and a heck of a lot of charging.

Surprisingly, not many people were injured, considering how much charging, falling, running, and tackling was involved…( Remind me to never become a rugby player…)

By: Rachel Horner, Jaskiran Mehmi, Alex Bald, Megan Booth and Chloe Elmslie.
Year 8 (Sports Journalists)

 

Inclusion Chartermark

Following a recent inspection from the Inclusion Chartermark team, Carr Manor High School received the Inclusion Chartermark Award! The award recognises and celebrates that we provide high quality flexible, specialist educational opportunities that meets the needs of all of our pupils.

 

Robinson House Launched at Carr Manor

Carr Manor High School have introduced a fourth House to run along side the three existing Houses-Trueman, Tomlinson and Bremner, which are all named after local sporting heros. Jason Robinson, arguably the best rugby player England has produced, spent a day in school to launch the new Robinson House.

Mr Skinner (Head of Robinson House) said: it takes quite a bit to make me nervous, but on the day that Robinson House was launched, I was certainly shaky! Jason Robinson is one of my all time heroes and someone that is a great figurehead for Carr Manor’s newest House. Jason knows what it is like to come from a challenging background and make it to the top of one of the world’s most competitive sports.

Jason spoke to a number of pupils, not only in his excellent speech in the Theatre, but to many more on his tour of the school. He dropped into lessons, met with the Sports Council and had lunch with pupils. When Mr Flowers was planning the day Jason asked to have as much time as possible to talk to pupils. I hope many people got the chance to talk with him and found him as an inspiring person as I did.

Talking to Jason at the end of the day showed me how important this has been to him and how rarely he does this type of visit. Jason made connections with many of the challenges faced by young people and similarities with his life. I genuinely believe that this is not only the start of a great relationship between Jason and the school but a wonderful start to Robinson house.
Thanks to all involved in the planning and success of this day.

 

Breakfast Club
CARR MANOR HIGH SCHOOL WINS NATIONAL AWARD

Local MP Fabian Hamilton visited Carr Manor High School in Leeds this Friday to present the school with a national award in recognition of the outstanding breakfast club that it provides for pupils.
Carr Manor was chosen by judges of the National Breakfast Club Awards as the best club in England. The awards, which are supported by Kellogg’s and learning charity ContinYou, recognise the great breakfast clubs that take place across the UK, which give thousands of children the best possible start to the day.
Prior to the breakfast club opening, teachers at Carr Manor had become concerned at the lack of focus and increasing tiredness of pupils.
Andrea Thatcher, from Carr Manor High School says’ “It was apparent that many of the children were going to bed late, getting up very tired and not having any breakfast before they arrived for school. This was affecting concentration, causing disruption in class and was therefore impacting all of the pupils at the school.”
But since the ‘Kool Klub’ breakfast club was formed in 2003 the school has never looked back.
“Since we set up Kool Klub, there has been a noticeable improvement in attendance and performance. Lots of our families live in deprived areas and life in the morning can be a little chaotic with breakfast rarely on offer. Kool Klub has provided a warm, safe and sociable environment for all of the children to get a healthy start to the day,” added Andrea.
Kwame Westerman, who manages Kool Klub says’ “I’m proud of the supportive atmosphere at the club. There is huge variation in age and culture but all of the pupils have become friends. When you consider that there are 44 different first languages at the school, it is quite an achievement to bring everyone together and create the family feeling that we have.”
Research in 2009 revealed that children in the UK are spending £690m a year on a breakfast of sweets, crisps and fizzy drinks on the way to school. Since 1998, Kellogg’s has invested more than £1 million in helping ContinYou to develop and support breakfast club initiatives nationwide through the Breakfast Club Plus programme. Together, Kellogg’s and ContinYou have helped to set up hundreds of breakfast clubs across the UK, that serve well over 500,000 breakfasts every year.
Bruce Learner Corporate Responsibility Manager at Kellogg’s said: “Kool Klub really inspired the judges. Clearly loved by pupils, the club offers both a nutritious breakfast and somewhere safe for children to chill-out before the start of the school day, a real winner for everyone!”
Tony Apicella, National Programme Director from ContinYou says’ “The national awards have once again demonstrated the tremendous benefits that breakfast clubs bring to children, young people and families in our schools and communities across the UK. Breakfast Clubs, as a whole, make a huge contribution to the population’s healthy eating behaviours and these awards demonstrate and recognise their versatility, innovation and most important of all, what works well!”
 

The Great Debate at Carr Manor

Fabian Hamilton, Matthew Lobley and Brenda Lancaster visited Carr Manor Specialist Sports College, giving pupils an insight to democracy with the opportunity to form their own opinions and vote for their chosen MP.

The pupils grilled the two prospective MP’s (and Brenda Lancaster a local councillor representing Lib Dem prospective MP Aquila Choudhry) in a two hour question and answer session. A wide variety of topics were covered such as, environment, education, immigration, crime and punishment.
The questions from the pupils included:

‘How could you and your party help me as a student when I move onto a University course? Is it worth me going, or will I just end up in debt?’

‘Is it fair that some cancer drugs are only available to people who live in particular post-code areas? How would you feel if a family member was refused treatment, because they lived in the ‘wrong’ area?’

‘British soldiers continue to be killed almost daily in Afghanistan. What assurances can you give for their safety? Isn’t it time that Britain withdrew their troops and let the Afghan army get on with it now?’

‘British soldiers continue to be killed almost daily in Afghanistan. What assurances can you give for their safety? Isn’t it time that Britain withdrew their troops and let the Afghan army get on with it now?’

The pupils thoroughly enjoyed the session and it gave them a fantastic introduction to politics. The visit took place as part of one of the Personal Effectiveness Days that are timetabled into the curriculum.
 

Innovative ways to help pupils learn: Teacher Learning Academy

Carr Manor High School Specialist Sports College is the first secondary school in Leeds to be accredited as a Teacher Learning Academy (TLA) School.
All members of teaching staff at Carr Manor are currently working on a piece of research as part of their TLA accreditation. The main focus of these pieces of research is to impact on pupil progress to ensure that they do as well as possible in English, Maths and a whole range of other subjects.

TLA involvement helps to create an open learning culture in schools, where staff talk about and share their learning.

James Dunford, an English teacher at Carr Manor High School is working on a project titled ‘Spaced learning and its impact on C/D borderline pupils in English Language’. James is directing short intensive learning followed by participation in sporting activities. He feels the project will ‘engage pupils who enjoy sport and more active styles of learning and ultimately raise their English grade to a C or above ’.

Other research titles include:
• Raising the profile of the specialism to impact upon learning whole school.
• Strategies for differentiation and how this impacts on learners
• Strategies to promote pupil led independent learning and demonstrating pupil progress in lessons
• To use the quality worker disposition to encourage pupils to set success criteria and develop the desire to continuously improve.

Katharine Needham, Assistant Headteacher at Carr Manor High School said: ‘Engaging with the TLA is proving to be a good vehicle for encouraging staff to reflect on their practice. Consequently this is improving the quality of teaching and learning and therefore the outcomes for pupils.’

Carr Manor staff feel that engaging with the TLA has a demonstrable impact on teaching practice, school improvement, pupils’ learning and the overall learning culture of school.

Being the first school in Leeds to become a TLA school is an excellent achievement for Carr Manor. The school is constantly striving to improve outcomes for pupils, parents, staff and the community- the TLA accreditation is another example of this. The school hopes to become a TLA Centre in the near future and to support other schools and teachers in engaging with the TLA.
 

Slam Duo Victory

Nick Leadbeater and Adam O’Grady took part last Monday in the 7th annual poetry slam competition run by Leeds Young Authors.
They were competing against 7 other teams from Leeds and Sheffield, all made up of at least 6 team members, many of whom were 6th formers.
The slam involves writing and performing poems of no more than 3 minutes long. Our team of 2 wrote 3 poems and performed them on stage in front of a crowd of around 200 people!
The Carr Manor boys’ performances were outstanding. Their first piece was one of the first performances and really set a high standard which some of the other schools found impossible to match.
Adam’s solo piece was the only solo of the show and absolutely raised the roof.
The boys took 3rd place in a very close top 3 – an amazing achievement and testament to their hard work and commitment.
 

Carr Manor’s Got Dance Talent!

Well done to all the teams who entered the North East Leeds Dance Competition. The pupils worked very hard for the performances, and what a spectacular performance by Carr Manor it was, taking no less than 8th place out of 13 performance groups, and winning the top spot!
8th PLACE: Y7 - Andrew Walters, Dyrell Caesar, Ghyraiss M’Poussa, Princess Mubaiwa, Beatriz Grilo, Luke Webbe, Owen Stolycia, Kani Crosby.
The Yr7 boys and girls had only been together for only a short time, and have worked hard to put together a routine using break-dance, popping, and some acrobatics. It was their first time for some of them to perform in front of an audience, and they were the youngest performers there, competing against Yr10 and 11. They showed off just the beginning that Carr Manor is capable of, and did a brilliant job!
5th PLACE: Y8 – Tahlia Hercules, Taylor Francis-Brown, Kiya Shannon, Temi Oguntade, Ashleigh Manda-Shorte, L’Shay Smith.
These girls had worked tirelessly for weeks on their own choreographed routine to different pieces of music, and had good rhythm and timing in all the different styles to take 5th place!
2nd PLACE!: Y10/11 – Dominique Odain Hamilton, Karis Levy, Samantha Wiltshire, Rekaya Jeffers, Darvoncia Connor, Jamal De Peana, Akua Kwarteng.
These pupils blasted the stage with originality, creativity, and a high technical standard. Their routine was interesting and fun and it won them 2nd place!
WINNERS!: Y11 – Uni4m – Daunte Wint Angus, Nathaniel White, Cheng Ngo, Mugi Zama, Ahmed Zaman.
These lads are going from strength to strength with 4 performances already under their belt since Christmas, and 3 more coming up, but they stole the show with their performance of ‘Octopus’, showing off both technique, risk and theatre. They won the show and will be representing Carr Manor and West Yorkshire in the Garforth Community Dance Festival in June. Well done everyone!

Visit to Poland

In February half term Miss Dodd and Miss Thatcher had a very different experience to most other teachers...
We were invited on an educational research visit to Poland! Along with 10 other teachers, from 5 other schools in Leeds, we visited Krakow and Warsaw, learning much about how the education system works in Poland.
There was a particular focus on the Key Stage 3 curriculum, which in Poland begins in Primary School, where children remain until they are 13 years old. We also looked at how creativity was used in lessons, creative writing, drama, dance,
music, art, physical tasks, ICT, challenges and lots more.
The schools visited were incredibly friendly, the staff and students made us feel very welcome. We also visited an ICT specialist institution and met people who worked in the British council. Unsurprising, we enjoyed visiting the schools and meeting the students the most. We saw lots of good practice and were quite surprised at how very different their school system is (days, lesson length, uniform, staffing systems). We really loved being in English lessons and were amazed at how fantastic the students understanding and use of the English language was, from a very early age. The whole lessons were taught in English, from beginning to end and the students were not allowed to use their own language at all. A particular lesson we enjoyed was one where a Beatles song was played and the children had to listen to the words and write them down. Have a look at the picture and see if you can guess what we were singing!
Poland was very, very cold and there was a great deal of snow. We were amazed by how beautiful the scenery was and the incredible architecture. We were also very happy to have met some wonderful people and eat a great deal of fantastic food. We had a great time making friends with the colleagues that were there with us and we are hoping to go and visit them in their schools to see what we can learn from each other in this country as well as abroad. A great learning experience for us both in an amazing country!
 

BMMA: Carr Manor Pupils Praised

On Sunday 14th February Carla Belk and Eimantas Ausraa joined a small team of 10 competitors who travelled over to Telford, Shrewsbury for a competition.
They each performed absolutely amazingly. Carla earned a Gold medal and Eimantas a Bronze. Overall it was a great day and I hope that you are just as proud of them as I am. We went on to win another three Silvers and two Bronze medals out of a small team of 10 so there were exceptional performances overall.
I am sure that next time we will have a bigger team and more medals. We have a few more pupils from Carr Manor that attend and will be grading for their Yellow/Orange/Red Belt soon. All of them have shown incredible discipline, hard work and spirit.
Instructor Charlotte Thomas
British Military Martial Arts
 

Intergenerational Cooking Project- Asdan

For the 2nd year running, the Y10 Asdan group are taking part in an intergenerational cooking project. Their task is to learn how to cook a healthy 3 course meal and then work with some elderly people at a residential home and teach them how to cook each part of the healthy meal.

This year the pupils are working at Bentley Court Residential Home.
The first week saw our pupils working with 20 residents making Leek and Potato Soup. The pupils will show them a main course and desert before we have a celebration meal, inviting the residents here to school.
The residents have loved working with our pupils and this will hopefully be a partnership for the future.
 

LifeStage Academy of Performing Arts at Carr Manor High School

Every Wednesday evening a group of very talented and gifted children and young people come along to LifeStage Academy Leeds and have a fantastic time singing, dancing and acting for two and a half hours (5:15 to 7:45pm). Over recent weeks and months, with help from three professional tutors they work to develop skills and abilities, preparing them for performance. Over the past year LifeStage has done two great shows as well as other performances.
LifeStage Academy only started in September 2009, yet over the past 12 months has gone from strength to strength, with academies now running in Leeds, Otley and Skipton. In July 2010 all three academies came together for a big summer show in Otley which was a huge success. LifeStage Academy has a positive life ethos: “Life is performed on a Stage, and the Stage is a place where we often learn about life, how to live it, and how to be successful”.
Performing Arts gives young people self-confidence, self-belief and self-awareness. These skills can help people in whatever they choose become in life, whether a dancer, actor, singer, but equally any other profession – such as an accountant, lawyer, or salesperson. LifeStage provides teaching for students to become professionals in any of the three main areas of performing arts, but also aims to equip them with skills for life, through positive tuition, skill development, group work, and an encouraging and professional teaching environment.
 

National Schools Sports Week

Jason Gardiner came into school the week prior to National school sports week to promote and encourage pupils to get involved. He was greeted by the sports council where they were able to ask him some questions. He then presented at an assembly with all of year 7, the BTEC sport groups in Years 10 and 12. He was inspiring to us all and told us his story of how his hard work and dedication finally paid off when he won his Olympic Gold medal for the 4x100 relay. We were able to touch the medal and many had photographs and autographs from/with him. As Jason Gardiner left he said he had had a lovely day with us and that the school was friendly and welcoming. All pupils who were involved were a credit to the school. National School Sports Week was the week of the 28th June. This is a week when schools all over the country focus on sport, it is sponsored by the bank Lloyds TSB. There were many activities on offer for the pupils during the week along with a very important visit from Jason Robinson. The post 16 BTEC sport group organised events for Thursday 1st throughout the day for anyone to join in. We took pupils bowling to Hollywood Bowl which the pupils enjoyed and also pupils went biking to Adel woods. In addition to sporting activities we linked the sport week to focus on heath. Throughout the Thursday all pupils visited a healthy market place in the theatre to see stalls varying from smoking to eating to drugs. Pupils were able to see a variety of models and interactive equipment to make it not only informative but interactive as well. 84% of pupils in school enjoyed the market place and felt they learnt something new. To complete the week a group of year 10 and 11 pupils competed in a National dance competition down in London. They came fourth in their heat and were an asset to themselves and the school.

 

Leeds Schools Athletics Championships        

Carr Manor High Schools Junior Boys athletics team competed in the final of the city finals last Tuesday afternoon. Even qualifying for the final, was a great achievement and the boys knew it would be a lot tougher competition in the final. They showed great determination and the practise they put in, helped them produce some excellent performances.

In the end, only 1/2 a point separated 1st and 2nd place. The announcer read the results in reverse order and Carr Manor High School was the last school name to leave his mouth; meaning the Junior Boys were the new Leeds Schools Athletic Champions!!!
A massive well done to all students involved. They all behaved impeccably and they were a credit to themselves and the school!!

 

Leeds Met Event Week

In late April we have an annual Leeds Met event week where we give project ideas to students studying for their degree at Leeds Met and they select which ones they would like to organise and lead for us. This year we had some fantastic events organised for our pupils, they ranged from trialling unusual and minority sports to linking English to sport to help raise literacy levels. Pupils in year 7 were able to try the Ronny the Rhino suit on and listen to what it takes to be an elite athlete. There were competitions and days out for some pupils to attend university along with prizes and rewards for pupils to gain. This week in the Carr Manor calendar brings something new to PE each year and allows the pupils an enrichment opportunity to further develop their interest in sport.