Posted on: 16/10/2018Forming friendships, making memories Over 150 Year 7 students and 14 staff have recently visited the PGL site at Liddington, which is situated just outside of Swindon. Taking the students away for an overnight stay is a great opportunity for them to bond with one another, strengthen their already blossoming friendships and have a lot of fun along the way. Students were able to take part in a range of problem solving and team building challenges, including abseiling and canoeing. A highlight was the sensory challenge where students were blindfolded and had to rely on their peers and their other senses to navigate over obstacles and through the woods. For some it was the first time they had stayed away from home and that independence is such an important part of growing up. We were incredibly fortunate that on the Friday the weather held for us with clear skies and blazing sunshine. On Saturday the weather was not so kind to us, with torrential rain and high winds, but that didn’t stop us from getting involved and all having a great time, even if the return coach journey was a little damp! Talking about the weekend, Progress Leader, Mr Owain Lewis said “It is weekends like this that the students will remember for a long time, and it’s been a great opportunity for staff to get to know the Year Group a bit better. Life-long friendships were formed, fantastic memories were created and a great time was had by all.”View Article
Posted on: 16/10/2018Forming friendships, making memories Over 150 Year 7 students and 14 staff have recently visited the PGL site at Liddington, which is situated just outside of Swindon. Taking the students away for an overnight stay is a great opportunity for them to bond with one another, strengthen their already blossoming friendships and have a lot of fun along the way. Students were able to take part in a range of problem solving and team building challenges, including abseiling and canoeing. A highlight was the sensory challenge where students were blindfolded and had to rely on their peers and their other senses to navigate over obstacles and through the woods. For some it was the first time they had stayed away from home and that independence is such an important part of growing up. We were incredibly fortunate that on the Friday the weather held for us with clear skies and blazing sunshine. On Saturday the weather was not so kind to us, with torrential rain and high winds, but that didn’t stop us from getting involved and all having a great time, even if the return coach journey was a little damp! Talking about the weekend, Progress Leader, Mr Owain Lewis said “It is weekends like this that the students will remember for a long time, and it’s been a great opportunity for staff to get to know the Year Group a bit better. Life-long friendships were formed, fantastic memories were created and a great time was had by all.”View Article
Posted on: 9/11/2018Amery Hill RemembersAmery Hill marks the Centenary of the First World War Armistice Students and staff at Amery Hill School have been involved in a number of different projects to mark the Centenary of the First World War Armistice. It is customary for the school to mark the Armistice but this year has seen a huge creative effort involving the whole school community, with the artwork produced now on display at Winchester Cathedral, the Winchester Discovery Centre, Gosport Museum and The Iron Age Museum in Andover. However, possibly the greatest honour for the school is to be involved in ‘The Nation’s Thank you – the People’s Procession’ which will see students place wreaths at The Cenotaph on Whitehall in London, on Remembrance Sunday. Hope, Peace, Remembrance The Art Department has led Amery Hill's contribution towards the county-wide Art project, ‘Hope Peace and Remembrance’ which was recently installed in Winchester Cathedral as well as a magnificent display at Amery Hill. The installation in the Cathedral included artwork produced by students from both primary and secondary schools across Hampshire. During lunch times, a number of students volunteered to produce ceramic doves which were decorated and glazed with the words - Hope, Peace and Remembrance. These were arranged on canes at the top of the hanging displays. The school installation was inspired by the artist Jennifer Collier who works using collage and in particular empty teabags. Over a six month period, both students and staff have produced a teabag containing images or words they associate with World War 1. Many even decided to link it to their own personal family histories which opened up discussions with families at home, discovering how previous generations were involved in the war. These have been added to collaged poppies and doves, all of which were made using WW1 poetry. The display is truly amazing and a poignant reminder of the events which occurred 100 years ago. The creativity of students has not stopped there though, with Year 7 and 8 students being involved in designing and creating wreaths. The Unremembered Year 8 students participated in a project organised by Big Ideas, entitled ‘The Unremembered’. This community engagement project was a national campaign which aimed to raise awareness of the contribution of the Labour Corps in WW1. Two students from each tutor group were selected to be wreath representatives. They chose a theme and created a design for their wreath, merging their creativity and knowledge of history to commemorate the dedication of WW1 soldiers and their families from across the Commonwealth. The students have worked well together, coming up with some amazingly creative ideas and designs; the wreaths all look wonderful. The wreaths will be taken up to London and will be placed at The Cenotaph on Whitehall as part of ‘The Nation’s Thank You - the People’s Procession’ on Remembrance Sunday. Year 7 Design and Technology students designed and made a wreath for display in the school reception to commemorate Remembrance Day on 11th November. Students found images and words to represent, remember and give thanks to those who served in the First World War and to those who never returned home. They used Computer Aided Design to engrave these onto a plywood base and poppies were laser cut from acrylic plastic, heated and shaped to create the unique wreath. View Article
Posted on: 16/10/2018Forming friendships, making memories Over 150 Year 7 students and 14 staff have recently visited the PGL site at Liddington, which is situated just outside of Swindon. Taking the students away for an overnight stay is a great opportunity for them to bond with one another, strengthen their already blossoming friendships and have a lot of fun along the way. Students were able to take part in a range of problem solving and team building challenges, including abseiling and canoeing. A highlight was the sensory challenge where students were blindfolded and had to rely on their peers and their other senses to navigate over obstacles and through the woods. For some it was the first time they had stayed away from home and that independence is such an important part of growing up. We were incredibly fortunate that on the Friday the weather held for us with clear skies and blazing sunshine. On Saturday the weather was not so kind to us, with torrential rain and high winds, but that didn’t stop us from getting involved and all having a great time, even if the return coach journey was a little damp! Talking about the weekend, Progress Leader, Mr Owain Lewis said “It is weekends like this that the students will remember for a long time, and it’s been a great opportunity for staff to get to know the Year Group a bit better. Life-long friendships were formed, fantastic memories were created and a great time was had by all.”View Article
Posted on: 19/10/2018Top 20 highest performing schoolFollowing the publication of the Government’s secondary schools’ performance comparison tables, Amery Hill School has been ranked within the top 20 highest performing schools in Hampshire for the second consecutive year. Our Progress 8* score of 0.12 (up from 0.08 in 2017) demonstrates the outstanding quality of education that is being delivered day in and day out at Amery Hill. It also clearly indicates that students of all abilities make excellent individual progress and achieve their personal goals. With the outstanding pastoral care and support that Amery Hill provides to all of its students, we are delighted that our school can stand toe to toe with the top performing schools in Hampshire. Talking about this achievement, Headteacher, Mr Mann commented, “Never has our motto of Care, Progress and Opportunity been more truly reflected and I, along with all the staff and governors, look forward to continuing this excellent journey and providing outstanding education for Alton and its surrounding community.” For more information and to compare these results with other schools, the Government’s secondary schools’ performance comparison tables can be accessed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/school-performance-tables *Progress 8 Score. This score shows how much progress students make between the end of Key Stage 2 (end of primary school) and the end of Key Stage 4 (GCSE), compared to students across England who got similar results at the end of Key Stage 2. This is based on results in up to eight qualifications, which include English, Maths, three English Baccalaureate qualifications including Sciences, Computer Science, History, Geography and languages, and three other additional approved qualifications.View Article
