|
|
You can follow us on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook
  
|
|
Headteacher Foreword
As we end of the Spring Term, I am delighted to share with you the highlights and achievements that have graced our school community in this newsletter.
Our students embarked on exciting educational journeys during this term. From historical explorations, geography trips and Duke of Edinburgh expeditions, these experiences enrich their learning beyond the classroom and give them some long-lasting memories. We would like to extend our gratitude to the dedicated staff who organised and accompanied these trips.
Amongst the other highlights of the term, thanks to the Old Carrensians Association, our Swap Shop initiative has flourished, and our budding biologists showcased their knowledge and passion in the A-Level Biology Olympiad.
The Year 7 STEM Day was a whirlwind of curiosity and innovation. Our students had the privilege of attending Science Live, where eminent scientists ignited their imaginations. Our artists poured their souls onto canvases. Vibrant landscapes, abstract expressions, and intricate portraits now adorn our corridors. Our talented animators brought stories to life through Stop Motion Animation. Their patience and diligence yielded captivating short films.
In the realm of strategy and miniature battles, our Warhammer enthusiasts conquered imaginary worlds. Their tactical prowess and creativity know no bounds, and they are into the grand final.
And, finally, we are immensely proud of Jack Green, who received the Child of Courage Award for his resilience and kindness. His indomitable spirit inspires us all.
As we go into the break, I would like to wish you a peaceful and relaxing one, wherever you go and whatever you do.
Mr Law
Headteacher
|
|
Term Dates
Term 5 - Monday 15 April 2024 to Friday 24 May 2024
Term 6 - Monday 3 June 2024 to Friday 19 July 2024
More Useful Dates for Your Diary
Tuesday 16 April - Geography Theatre Trip - Year 12 and 13
Thursday 13 June 2024 - UCAS Information Evening (at KSHS)
Tuesday 2 July - Giant Orchestra Music Day
|
|
Carre's has received an FFT National Award for student attendance.
Well done everyone - let's keep it up!
|
|
Jack has been presented with a Children of Courage Award for showing great resilience in the face of adversity (in his case, his ongoing medical issues).
The Award was presented by the Mayor of Sleaford and the Rotary Club of Sleaford at the William Alvey School.
Jack was one of 10 young people in the area selected for the Award, and Jack Appleby, Student Support, made a short speech to introduce him beforehand.
Well done Jack and Jack!
|
|
Carre's Grammar School and Kesteven and Sleaford High School held a spring concert featuring performances of: 'I Dreamed A Dream from Les Misérables, O Danny Boy sung by John, traditional folk songs played by Will on violin, music from Pirates of the Caribbean played by Luke on flute, Tiny Dancer by Elton John sung by Max, the Chamber Choir and School Choir, When I Was Your Man by Bruno Mars sung by Sophia, Dandelion by Ruth B sung by Jasneek and Isla concluding with the combined band and choir performing a Tina Turner medley.
Thank you to Mrs Quinton, Mrs Karumazondo, Mrs Stephens, and the lighting and sound engineers.
Well done to all the performers - we have some very talented students.
|
|
£944 was raised for Comic Relief by holding a non-uniform Day.
|
|
Swap Shop
Students in all year groups have really enjoyed their prizes from the Old Carrensians’ Swap Shop. It has created a real buzz around school!
Students requested a range of prizes, including stationery, card games, chess boards and balls they could play with at breaktimes.
A big thank you to The Old Carrensians for sponsoring the Swap Shop. The students are already looking forward to the next one!
Well done to all the winners.
|
|
NKDC Student Council Representatives
Recently, I had the privilege of attending an NKDC meeting at the Council Offices in Sleaford. This was a great experience for myself and the other two pupils, Raahil and Matthew, who attended.
In this meeting, the following topics were discussed:
-
Anti-social behaviour in our community and the effect it can have.
-
Quality of life, and the general feedback of life in our area, and the results of a recent survey summarising life in our area for the general public.
In this meeting, we were joined by students from other schools in the general area, such as Kesteven and Sleaford High School, Sir Robert Pattinson Academy, St George’s Academy (from both campuses) and many more.
We were very grateful to have guest speakers on the day knowledgeable on their respective topics, and we very much look forward to the next meeting.
Tom Melville
|
|
Biology British Olympiad
Congratulations to our Year 13 A level Biology students for their success in the British Biology Olympiad 2024. Between them, they won 6 medals:
Amelie and Oliver won gold.
Amy, Alissa and Daisy won silver.
Ruby won bronze
The competition required them to answer challenging questions on a wide range of biology topics, many of which would have been unfamiliar, requiring them to use not just their A level biology knowledge but also their problem-solving skills and intuition. Well done!
Mrs Johnson, Teacher of Science
|
|
Year 7 STEM Event
On the morning of Thursday 29 February, the whole of Year 7 took part in a STEM event run by PPMA. The year group had the opportunity to find out about careers in STEM with various inspirational speakers, including James Causebrook, the managing director of Grunwald, based in Blankney.
They then were given the challenge of using limited resources to create a ‘Roller Loader’ to keep a marble running for as long as possible. This gave them a small taste of the skills needed to be successful in engineering – problem-solving, time management, creativity, resource management, and teamwork.
The second task was to create an innovative new product in just 20 minutes. They then had to deliver a 40 second ‘elevator pitch’ to the whole year group.
All students should be proud of their efforts, and hopefully have got a small taste of where a career in STEM could take them.
Mr Scott Norris, STEM Co-ordinator
|
|
Science Live!
After arriving at Science Live! in Cambridge, we heard from various professors specialised in the field of science. One lecture was delivered by Professor Dave Cliff, and he spoke about the large strides made in computer science in the last 50 years – alongside the future of computing, with exuberant examples ranging from the size of computers to the astonishing progress we have made in computer technology. Especially here, it was definitely interesting to see an alternative perspective on computer science, with the lecture appropriately titled 'Computer Whizz: the best is yet to come'.
Later was a greatly perceived lecture from Dr Anna Ploszajski about the fascination of materials we use in our lives. This specifically delved into the niche details of formation of atoms and how they form specific compounds. The general focus was upon ‘smart materials’ and how these interesting compounds could shape our lives and the future. But surprisingly, was the fascination with the ability for smart materials being her aid to swim the English Channel, including the ins and outs throughout the lecture of how it linked to materials.
The next lecture was from Professor Robert Winston, who, as a medical doctor, gave a lecture on human fertility with intriguing dynamics and focused on the way the cycle of fertility works. From formation to embryos, to how it acts, the lecture again intertwined well with the GCSE course.
Afterwards, there was a speech from Dr Helen Czerski. In particular, this was surprising as it included the science behind bubbles. An experienced scientist, she included her excursions around the world to study the behaviour of ocean bubbles. Being one of the most unique lectures, it gave a new insight into science.
Professor Steve Jones, delivered a talk on gene science. The lecture included an examination of the variation in colour of an animal – such as a cat. The title being ‘Not just in black and white: how humans evolved’, which was in particular intriguing to hear and form links with the biology course.
In-between lectures, we experienced knowledge from the chief examiner on how to tackle GCSE exams, across all sciences. It was interesting to learn the finer ways of tackling the exams, strategies and methods of revision and answering questions. Certainly, these helped all of us, and will especially when it comes to the science exams.
In all, Science Live! was an interesting and intriguing trip and one for anyone with an interest in all the sciences.
By Dan Bentley, Year 11
|
|
Congratulations to Daniel Adams, Alexander Fletcher and Andrew Mamentovych for reaching the interview stage of the Arkwright Engineering Scholarship process. Well done on all your hard work so far and best of luck with the next stage of selection.
What is an Arkwright Engineering Scholarship?
An Arkwright Engineering Scholarship is the most esteemed scholarship of its type in the UK, designed to inspire students to pursue their dreams and change the world as an outstanding engineer of the future.
The scholarships are awarded to hard-working 16-year-old students through a rigorous selection process, supporting them through their A-Levels, Scottish Highers or equivalent qualifications.
Every scholarship is sponsored by a commercial company, trade association, university, professional institution, armed service, government organisation, worshipful company, charitable trust or personal donor. This means that support is offered in various different ways, for example, valuable hands-on work experience, support for your curriculum project and a personal mentor who can help you with aspects of your studies and career planning.
|
|
GCSE trip to Snipedales near Horncastle.
We were measuring how river variables change downstream.
The weather was very wet, and we had a few soggy Year 11s by the end of the day.
|
|
Well done and thank you to everyone who entered the ‘Year of the Dragon’ Art Competition.
Congratulations to our runners up… Reuben 9C, Archie 8.3 and Charlie 7L and to our winner - Archie R in 7L
This term's competition details will follow soon…
Miss Angus, Head of Art
|
|
Kier 7W
Aiden 7B
Zack 7B
Damir 7C
George 7C
|
|
Some great work from 9B with their Stop Motion Animation films
|
|
Years 10 and 11 students attended a Careers Fair at St George's Academy.
Many businesses were available for students to investigate the opportunities that are available, including:
Abbey Access Training, the Army, Anglian Water, BAE Systems, Harlaxton Engineering, Inspire +, Lincolnshire Police, NHS Talent Academy, North Kesteven District Council, Project Trust, Ringrose Law, the Royal Air Force, the Royal Navy, SHD Composites, Siemens, Sleaford Voluntary Services and Specsavers.
|
|
Chess
Students from Carre’s visited Boston Grammar School for Round 2 of the Lincolnshire Schools’ Chess League.
The boys played 3 rounds of rapid chess in the fantastic setting of Boston’s historic library.
They all played some great games and George Anderson and Oliver Whitelaw from Carre’s currently sit joint first in the league with 5 ½ points from 6.
Round 3 will see Carre’s act as the host school.
Fantastic achievement to all involved!
|
|
Warhammer Alliance
On Thursday 21 March, the next series of the Warhammer Alliance tournament began – given our top placing at the previous tournament, we were able to add another two members to our roster.
Fortunately, we arrived with plenty of time and did not get lost! We were competing against schools from the Nottingham area, Norwich, Kettering and even as far as Bath!
A much more competitive field with 62 students involved, our reigning champion James fell to a shock loss in his first match of the day, whilst veterans such as Captain Aaron C, Will, Sam and Alex were able to weather the storm throughout – going unbeaten to the final round.
The students all enjoyed access to the exhibition hall as well as being able to see the range of Warhammer models on display. Mr Baker managed to accumulate over 10,000 steps during the tournament, patrolling back and forth to ensure morale stayed high.
Sam and Alex were drawn against each other in the final round and played a back-and-forth match whilst Will continued his winning streak by the finest of margins. Ultimately, Aaron C came out first overall, taking top prize and the trophy as he’d managed to lead throughout the games, despite tough opposition. Will and Sam were able to finish in joint 2nd place and both took home some Warhammer-based prizes.
 
We now prepare for the Grand Final in July. We will know how many places have been allocated based on our recent performances. I am hopeful we should be able to take a mostly unchanged roster.
Our roster consisted of:
John, Will, James, Aaron, Alex, Conall, Jack, Oliver, and Aaron
Thank you to Mr Baker and Mr Scholefield for accompanying the students to this tournament. We are looking forward to July!
|
|
Austin, Year 9, has had a very good cross-country season, representing Carre’s, Kesteven and Lincolnshire at increasingly difficult levels of competition.
Belton Park was where it all began back in November when he finished 6th running for Carre’s in the Junior Boys’ race at the District Championships. This secured a place in the Kesteven team at the Lincolnshire County Championships at Burghley Park, Stamford on Saturday 13 January. Austin was also selected for the Lincolnshire team competing at the Anglian Schools’ event at the same venue on Saturday 3 February.
Austin’s impressive season culminated with two national competitions, running for Lincolnshire at the UK CAU Inter Counties Cross Country Championships at Wollaton Park, Nottingham on 9 March and again at the ESAA National Cross-Country Championship at Pontefract Racecourse the following week.
A fantastic set of achievements and testament to Austin’s resilience, commitment, and talent.
Great effort Austin!
|
|
Fulbeck Sprint Series Championship 2024
Jakob has been karting competitively in the Fulbeck Sprint Series for 2.5 years. He won the 2022 Honda Cadet Championship in his first full year. In 2023, he moved to an adult chassis in preparation for this year. He is now in the 125cc Junior Rotax class, designed for ages 12-16 years old and capable of over 75mph.
He has had an excellent start to his 2024 campaign, in partnership with Passion Karting; Liam and Dan Atkin, who coach him and help with the setup of the kart on race day.
In Round 1 of the Championship (February 2024), and the first race of the year.
Heat 1: P5 to P1 on a wet track.
Heat 2: P11 to P4 (wet)
Heat 3: P3 to P5: However, a warm-up lap incident meant Jakob was unable to get back to his starting position.
Final P2 to P1: An excellent drive in the final, resulted in his first Junior Rotax race and final win all in one day.
Round 2 (March 2024)
Heat 1: P1 to P4 (wet)
Heat 2: P9 to P2 (wet)
Heat 3: P15 to P6
Final: P2 to P3
Running in the wet and the dry, the Junior Class was again hotly contested all day. Steady in P2, he pulled 2 second gap to P3 in the final, but a late race accident saw the pack bunched up. This resulted in a two-lap shootout to the finish. A great battle ensued, finishing P3 out of 20, with a good haul of points for the championship.
In a season with ten race weekends, finishing in November, Jakob has got off to a great start.
There is still a long way to go, and Jakob needs to work hard and push on to maintain the level of success he has found early in this season.
Great achievement Jakob!
|
|
Ben Jones, Year 13 – Tour to the UAE
-
A 10-day tour to the UAE with Leicestershire Academy and the Elite Pathway Squad.
-
Played five matches (3 * 50 Overs and 2 T20s), One under floodlights.
-
Played an inter squad match at Sharjah International Stadium which was used for the ICC Mens World Cup in 2021 and Ben was the player to hit a 6 in his 33.
-
Ben averaged over 50 in all the matches he played and, in the first match, scored 58 before eventually being run out.
-
Played against the UAE U18 National Side who recently beat Pakistan in the Asia Cup.
Great effort Ben!
|
|
Young Journalist Academy Workshops
Students have been involved in a workshop with the Young Journalist Academy. The first job is to review the stats from earlier in the year. These are impressive with one article having in excess of 11,000 unique views.
|
|
The Year 11s recently enjoyed a trip to Stamford to watch a production of Macbeth. They all enjoyed the experience and found it enhanced their understanding of the play.
|
|
World Book Day Activities
Students matched photographs of teachers as children with their favourite childhood book, did the 'The Great Big Footy and Booky Quiz' and raised funds to provide books for children in hospital in a Readathon.
The Good Readathon is organised by the charity Read for Good, which encourages children to read through its unique motivational approach that inspires reluctant readers to give reading a go and keen readers to read more widely. Students can choose whatever they want to read - from comics to classics and audiobooks to blogs - they are not being assessed; it’s all about reading for fun! Also, they are motivated to read because the money they raise in sponsorship helps to provide a regular supply of brand-new books and a resident storyteller to every major children’s hospital in the UK.
|
|
|
History Trip to Berlin
Berlin was a brilliant trip! We had the opportunity to find out more about Berlin in the Third Reich and Berlin during the Cold War through a variety of visits and museums. Highlights included the Cold War walk where we got to touch the Berlin Wall, meet tour guides whose families had been directly affected by the Cold War and see the escape tunnels.
We also had a morning in the DDR museum where we found out lots about daily life under Communism as well as having a go at surveillance.
A trip to the Reichstag as well as a visit to the Olympic Stadium brought our History GCSE course to life – there is something about seeing the places that we learn about that makes it all seem so much more real!
We also had the opportunity to visit Sachsenhausen, which was just as chilling as we had been told. There was no bird song, and we were all daunted by standing in the concentration camp where Georg Elser, Niemoller and thousands of other people had been held during the Third Reich.
As well as the history, we had the chance to sample German food, visit East Berlin shopping mall, see the TV tower in Alexanderplatz and, of course, become experts on the Berlin transport network!
We had an amazing trip and would like to say a big thank you to the staff who came with us. It was an eye-opening trip, and we were reminded time and time again why it is so important to study history if we are to understand the world that we live in today.
Year 10 and 11 History students
|
|
Ski Trip to San Martino Di Castrozza ‘24
39 students and 5 staff had the privilege of spending half-term skiing in the Dolomites, Italy. There were several logistical issues with the trip, which came off the back of a late switch of resort. However, the excellent behaviour of the students along with 5 out of the six skiing days being in blue skies and sunshine meant that all had an enjoyable time.
When we arrived, it was raining in the valley. This is not great, but luckily, this meant that it was snowing at the top of the mountain. The snow carried on into the first day and this set us up for the week with enough snow. It was starting to disappear by the end of the week, but they have since had a huge amount. Global warming is a concern for these European resorts and certainly conditions are different to what the locals are used to.
The students progressed well through the week and the students seem to really have the ‘bug’ for skiing now. Questions about the next trip (likely Feb ’26) were regular.
Luckily, the skiing on show by the students was of a far higher standard than their ice skating. Mrs Phoenix certainly led the field in that respect!
Snow Shoeing was a new experience for all on the trip. Even Mr Offer on his 28th ski trip had never done it. Walking through the mountains with just the reflection of the snow and the stars to see our path was great! It was hard work at times, but the sights were incredible!
Hopefully, the students realise how lucky they are to have experienced this great opportunity!
|
|
Notices
Please remember to label all PE kit and school property - as we regularly have a large collection of unnamed and unclaimed water bottles, lunch boxes, shoes, trousers, coats and PE kit.
If your son/daughter has lost any items, please ask them to come to the office to look through the lost property boxes.
We regularly hold a lost property amnesty. Any unnamed and/or unclaimed items following the amnesty are donated to charity, put into our 'pre-loved' shop, or thrown away.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Sickness/medical absence can be notified to the school office by telephone call 01529 302181 (we have an answer machine for outside office hours), the MCAS App, or via email: enquiries@carres.uk.
Please do not send voice text messages to our landline as these are often jumbled and unclear.
* * * * * * * * * *
If your son/daughter is poorly/injured during the school day, they should come to the school office for assessment/treatment. Office staff will then make the decision to contact parents and arrange for collection. Students should not call home if they feel poorly.
* * * * * * * * * *
A polite reminder that the front car park should not be used to drop students off in the morning or at the end of the school day. This is for safety reasons due to the number of students and staff arriving/leaving the site.
If your son/daughter needs to be collected during the day for an appointment/is injured or poorly, you are welcome to use the front car park.
Thank you for helping to keep our site safe for everyone.
|
|
Free School Meals
If you receive any benefits, you should tell your school as they can get extra funding called the Pupil Premium grant. This includes:
Universal Credit - your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get)
Income Support
Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
The guaranteed element of the state Pension Credit
Child Tax Credit (provided you're not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more £16,190)
Working Tax Credit run-on - paid for four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
Children who get paid these benefits directly can also get free school meals.
|
|
Holiday Camp – for school Years 1-7
Do you have primary school aged children that would enjoy our holiday camp held here at Carre’s throughout all school holidays?
Contact outreach@carres.uk or 01529 308746 to book them a place.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
22 Mar 2024
Students in Year 9 attended a variety of workshops as part of their personal development programme.
|
 |
07 Mar 2024
We are excited to invite musicians to Carre’s Grammar School for the relaunch of our ‘Giant Orchestra Day’ on Tuesday 2 July 2024.
|
 |
06 Mar 2024
Year 11 students carrying out their fieldwork studies at Snipedales Country Park and Nature Reserve.
|
 |
04 Mar 2024
Year 7s took part in a STEM event run by PPMA. The year group had the opportunity to find out about careers in STEM with various inspirational speakers, including James Causebrook, the managing director of Grunwald, based locally in Blankney.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
02 Apr 2024
We are looking to appoint a Teacher of Science - Physics or Chemistry
|
|
18 Mar 2024
We are looking to appoint a Head of Science
|
|
01 Jun 2023
We are looking to appoint a Relief Catering Assistant
|
|
|
