Posted on: 24/11/2021Train to Teach Opportunities - i2i PartnershipTrain to Teach Information The i2i Partnership is an alliance of highly successful secondary schools in Surrey and Hampshire. To find out more about the Train to Teach Scheme, please click the button below. i2i Partnership - find out more click here Teacher Training Bursaries for 2022-23 announced The Department of Education have announced the following bursary provision for teacher training programmes starting in September 2022 as follows: £24,000 for those training in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Computing £15,000 for Languages, Geography, Design and Technology £10,000 for Biology To find out more please visit the i2i Fees & Funding Pages Fees & Funding pages - find out more click here View Article
Posted on: 12/07/2023Students have once again been awarded a coveted Eco-Schools Green FlagStudents have once again been awarded a coveted Eco-Schools Green Flag. The Eco-Schools Green Flag is an international accreditation that recognises efforts to raise environmental awareness amongst young people, whilst taking action to make their school more sustainable. Amery Hill School is proud to announce that it has retained its status as an accredited Eco-School. The Eco-Schools programme was established in 1994 and is now delivered in more than 70 countries across the globe. The programme prompts young people to explore a variety of environmental issues, including climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. Students are then empowered to plan and deliver environmental actions in their school, local community, and beyond. This year, the Eco-Union has continued to build on the strong foundations set out at the start of the school’s Eco-Schools journey and in recent months has completed an Environmental Review. This has really highlighted the scope and positive impact of many eco initiatives implemented over the past three years. Promotion of earth day, numerous recycling initiatives, eco competitions and fundraising for key climate change charities are just some of the work the Eco-Union has spearheaded. “The Eco-Schools Green Flag award is an internationally recognised symbol of high environmental standards. The students and school staff are to be commended and deserve immense credit for their hard work, determination, and creativity to retain the school’s status as an accredited Eco-School. They are an inspiration to us all.” Mr Mann.View Article
Posted on: 4/09/2023Amery Hill School Students Do it Again!Many congratulations must go to the Class of 2023 who have, yet again, achieved some outstanding GCSE results. Against a backdrop of two years of disrupted secondary education due to the pandemic and then the Government's decision to engineer GCSE grades back to 2019 levels, our students have shown that tenacity, courage and hard work can overcome many obstacles when learning within a school environment which is supportive, caring and highly aspirational. The school’s core values of Independence, Creativity, Active Learning, Resilience and Empathy and our school motto ‘Education for Life’ has helped ensure that our students are well placed to embrace all the challenges of this ever-changing world, with each and every one of them in the very best place to take those positive next steps into college, apprenticeships or training. We are incredibly proud as a school community and the achievements of the Class of 2023. Our students are all exceptionally talented and inspiring young people who have demonstrated all the core values and qualities that Amery Hill School stands for. The resilience they have all shown over the last five years is remarkable and we wish them all every success, health and happiness for the future.View Article
Posted on: 26/04/2023Sicily 2023Amery Hill School Year 10 students returned to Sicily this year for an action packed five days of tectonics, rivers, food and culture. Setting off in darkness, 48 students and five staff flew direct to Catania Airport passing over one of the main attractions of the trip – Mount Etna, the most active volcano in Europe. It was clear from the steam clouds being generated by “Mamma Etna” (as Sicilians call her) that she was ready to greet us! The next day, after a coach ride up the mountain, cable car and four-wheel drive vehicle we were close to the summit of Mount Etna with a special guide to inform us. Conditions were perfect as we listened to information about past eruptions and took pictures off the huge caldera. Friday was a highlight for many students. The morning was a thrilling River Trekking activity session. Students got suited and booted in wetsuits, buoyancy aids, helmets and waterproof boots and entered the chilly waters of the Alcantara River, created from snowmelt on Mount Etna itself. Scrambling over rocks, students were presented with an increasingly challenging series of waterfalls to jump off in this two-hour activity. The final water fall was estimated at seven metres high! The afternoon was more sedate with an opportunity for some retail therapy and the chance to visit an Italian pizza restaurant. The twist here was that all the students were shown how to make their own pizza, from kneading the dough through to choosing toppings, all under the watchful eye of the restaurant staff. After a late night, the final full day involved a short ferry ride to the island of Vulcano, after which all volcanoes are named. There were a few green faces, after the slightly choppy crossing, as the challenge of climbing to the volcano summit was contemplated. No cable cars here! Fortunately, due to the volcano currently being seismically too active and consequently too dangerous, a smaller summit was scaled instead with a local guide. This was challenge enough for some students and still provided some spectacular views. On our final day, we revisited the beautiful town of Taormina. Students had a last chance to enjoy some Italian food and buy souvenirs before we headed to the airport for the flight home and the chilly reception from the UK, not from the parents waiting to greet the students, but from the weather, after we had been spoiled by 20 0 C temperatures! We are hoping to return again in 2024 with next year’s Year 10 students.View Article
Posted on: 9/04/2022Rights Respecting School AwardIn December we announced that we had begun our journey to become a school which is committed to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and were working towards the first stage of the RRSA accreditation with Unicef UK. I am excited to announce that since then, we have achieved our Bronze Award which means that we are a ‘Rights Committed’ school. This means that we have demonstrated our school’s commitment and shown how we intend to become rights respecting. The next step is working towards the Silver Award and being ‘Rights Aware’, which will involve the school’s activities and work on rights respecting being inspected by a UNICEF RRSA Professional Adviser. Our initial survey of students and staff last term appraised our strengths and current position and helped with our action plan for the Silver ‘Rights Aware’ Award which has been developed in consultation with our Student Voice Ambassadors and other staff members. We have also introduced the Rights of the Child in assemblies across all year groups explaining how and why our decision to becoming a Rights Respecting School is so important. A summary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child can be found here. Sharing knowledge with our students to help them learn about their rights and putting them into practice every day is fundamental to the award. As a school we already arrange events and facilitate discussions relating to the Convention, and will continue to raise the awareness of this within lessons, tutor time and in the day-to-day life of our school. The crisis which has unfolded in Ukraine, with devastating outcomes for so many people, including children, who have been forced to uproot their lives, make dangerous journeys and seek safety where they can, has been one topic discussed with students and incorporated into assemblies for all year groups. Article 38 (War and Armed Conflicts) of the Convention states that “Governments must not allow children under the age of 15 to take part in war or join the armed forces. Governments must do everything they can to protect and care for children affected by war and armed conflicts.” This, and the war in Ukraine, has been discussed in a variety of supportive ways with students as part of our RRSA and EfL activities. Students have also been able to contribute to a campaign promoted by the English Department which involves providing support for children displaced as a result of the conflict. View Article
Posted on: 7/04/2022Bar Mock TrialsMembers of the Jury, I stand before you to deliver the closing statement for the prosecution, my name is Mrs Pretsell and I represent the Crown in the case against Amery Hill. The charge is that the students of Amery Hill performed brilliantly at the Southern Region Mock Trials Competition, and brought prestige and honour to both themselves and the school. Members of the Jury, this is an occasion when the only credible verdict you will be able to return is guilty: they were brilliant. Let me remind you of the facts of the case; our barristers: Lucy D, Albie P, Isabel P and Chloe S were dedicated and clever lawyers who prepared their cases meticulously and questioned with an unerring dedication to clarity and precision. They were brutal - woe betide anyone who ever wants to take them on in an argument. Supporting the barristers were the four witnesses who were questioned in these cases. The Amery witnesses: Max J, Griff P, Aleya S and Orla T were guilty of knowing all the facts of their stories, conveying their testimony with great confidence and standing stalwart against fierce questioning. Running the court were another two students guilty of brilliance and coolness in the demanding courtroom drama. Anya F, our court clerk, was peerless and Sophie J (usher) was as cool as a very cool cucumber. Finally, other schools were kept on their toes by the brilliant and incisive services of jury members Sian L and Hazel R - nothing was going to get past them as they exercised their civic duty with true professionalism. Admittedly, the Amery Hill Team did not win the competition but in mitigation it must be noted that they were Year 10 students and they were challenging teams from 6th Form Colleges. They are David facing very many Goliaths. They might not have defeated Goliath but they gave him bruised shins, broken fingers and a nasty suspected concussion. So finally, members of the Jury, as you decide if this team from Amery is indeed guilty of being brilliant, I charge you to remember that these students worked so hard for five months preparing this case, they conducted themselves perfectly and they made Mrs Smith and me feel so incredibly proud to be their teachers. You must return a unanimous verdict of guilty.View Article
