March 2009

NEWSLETTER

Dear Parents/Guardians,

As the Spring Term draws to a close, I would like to bring the following information to your attention.

1959 – 2009 – 50th Anniversary Celebration

The school was officially opened by Princess Margaret on June 23rd, 1959. Plans are now in hand to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary next term.

Under the chairmanship of Miss Jordan, who is responsible for co-ordinating the celebrations, a Steering Group made up of staff, students, parents and ex-students has been meeting regularly to plan events.

Paul Birtwistle, the first Head Boy of the school, and a member of the Steering Group, is organising a reunion social evening, possibly will a big band sound, at St James’s on Saturday 13th June. On Saturday 27th June, the school will be open for people to look around and to view an exhibition of photographs and memorabilia. Further details on both of these events will be made available later. Should any parents or friends of the school have any old photographs which may be of interest in our exhibition, would you please contact Miss Jordan. I wish to thank Geoff Norman who has donated a unique set of professionally taken photographs showing the stages of construction in the present building and many photographs of the school on its opening day.

As part of the celebrations, various projects completed by students on the past fifty year will also be on show. I hope you will be able to join us next term as part of the celebrations.

New School Building

By the time we begin the 50th Anniversary Celebrations, we should know whether the States will have decided to honour an earlier pledge to rebuild Les Beaucamps High School. I would like to thank Ian Dorey and his hard-working group of parents who have been very active in the campaign to re-build the school. (If you wish to find out more about this, please take a look at our website www.lesbeaucampshigh.sch.gg ) I enclose a letter from Ian Dorey to parents with this newsletter. It would be great to celebrate fifty years of Les Beaucamps with the reality of a much needed new building. As I have said before, it is not just that the building is now in a poor state of repair it is more the fundamental issue that the ways in which we work to ‘deliver’ education today cannot be met by a design based on a view of education form the middle of the last Century. The Building Schools for the Future programme in England has lots of information on this topic should you wish to find out more about the concept of a modern building fit for purpose.

School Validation/Inspection

The school was last formally inspected in March 2003 with a follow up visit in 2004. As you may know, we had a very positive report.

A new inspection system for Guernsey is being developed and we have been asked to help pilot the new system next term. Please look out for a parental survey questionnaire asking for your views on how we are performing. This will go out to all parents early next term.

School Uniform & Logo Review

A decision will need to be made in the next few weeks on whether we are going to change our school uniform and/or school logo. Mr Beardsell has been leading the Uniform Review and parents of students in Years 8 and 9 who recently attended Parents’ Evenings have already provided some feedback. (Current Year 10 students who move into Year 11 from September will not have their uniform changed but, as a group, will need to decide the colour of their polo shirts, lime green this year!) If you have not yet seen the proposals, please contact Mr Beardsell for further information or view the photographs on your son/daughter’s virtual desktop.

Staff Changes

At the end of the Summer Term there will be a number of staff changes partly as a result of the re-organisation of secondary elimination (with the closure of St Peter Port) coming into effect. I will let parents know more next term but I wanted to let you know in advance that my two Deputies, Mr and Mrs Beardsell are both retiring in July. Mr Beardsell began his association with the school in and Mrs Beardsell joined the school as Deputy Head in 1991. Both colleagues have made a major contribution to the ethos and success of the school and will be sorely missed. As it is a little unusual to be losing two key people at the same time, the Education Department has agreed that one of the newly appointed Deputy Headteacher’s, Mr Gary Lambert, will be able to join us from next term with the other Deputy Headteacher, a local ex-Grammar School student, Miss Suzanne Young, starting in September, 2009. Mr Lambert will be the first Deputy and be responsible for the school in the event of my absence. This is very helpful as I am currently involved in a number of meetings regarding planning for the new school.

Other News

James Lihou and Tom Le Cheminant took first and second place respectively in the hotly contested Rotary Club’s Young Chef competition last term. The competition is in its third year and this is the second occasion on which two of our students have been awarded first and second places. Under the expert tutelage of Mrs Brice these students went on to perform well in Eastleigh in the next round of the competition but were not successful in going on to the larger regional final.

Emilia Bianco delivered a very assured speech, ably supported by Adam Trump and , in the Youth Speaks Competition at St James’ earlier this term. The Grammar School team which won went all the way to the National final. Once again, the local competition was of an unbelievably high standard.

Many parents came along to the recent public presentation at Les Beaucamps on why we need a new school (Thank you for your support). I was especially impressed with the presentation made by three students at that event: School Council Chairman, Ethan Hitchon with ‘veteran speakers’ Adam Trump and Emilia Bianco. They were great ambassadors for the school.

Students took part in Comic Relief activities including class submissions of jokes to be told by students in Assembly. The ‘wear something red’ idea and cake baking by a number of students (and, no doubt, their parents!) resulted in a total of £ for the charity.

Year 10 student Craig Bourgaize had the experience of a lifetime when he accompanied ARC leader, Linda Garnham, to Sri Lanka recently. Craig was asked to represent the school and to help select a new family for us to support. (The family we have been supporting for several years are now more self sufficient with Lalith, the main breadwinner, working as a nurse in a Sri-Lankan hospital and able to provide for his family). Craig has identified a family who currently live in a small bamboo hut in the Sri-Lankan interior. Further fundraising events by the school are planned to assist this family.

I would like to thank Specsavers for kindly sponsoring the costs of Craig’s journey and accommodation and for providing resources for some of the children Craig met. Specsavers has always been ready to help out with students, subsidising trips, for example, and this is all done without looking for any publicity. Thankyou Dame Mary Perkins and you team!.

End of Term Arrangements

Term ends at 1.25 p.m. on Friday, 3rd April. Lunch will be from 12.15 until 1.00 p.m. Once again, no buses are available to take students home at 1.25 and, therefore the following arrangements will apply. Students are asked to make their own arrangements to make their way home. We will use the lower playground (through the Staff Car Park) for anticipated additional parking. Car sharing would be helpful. A ‘one-way’ traffic system going around the back of the school with entrance through the Staff Car Park will be operated again. If everyone is patient the system usually works well!

Summer Term starts on Tuesday, 21st April at 8.40 a.m.

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy Easter.

Yours sincerely,

P.D. Le Cheminant
Headteacher