THIS WEEK AT FRENSHAM
Friday 30th September, 2022
A MESSAGE FROM RICK
Dear Parents
Many of you will have noticed a change we have made this year to bring as many of our sports fixtures as we can to a Wednesday afternoon. One of the prime motivations for this is to strengthen the sense of community at the school, and to this end we now provide tea, coffee and cake in the Long Gallery in Main House for parents following the matches. It was great to catch up with some parents this week at our first big home fixture, and I look forward to many more, particularly as it is gets colder and we light the welcoming fire in the Long Gallery...
Frensham prides itself on a broad and balanced approach to education. This week Nick and his Junior School staff held a really successful Town Hall with parents where he spoke about the exciting work they are embarking on with the development of a skills-based curriculum, and on Wednesday we met with Year 8 parents to launch the new skills-based curriculum we have developed in Years 7 and 8. Together with the range of academic pathways available at GCSE, the wealth of trips on offer and the focus on outdoor education, we are confident that we are preparing your children to make a difference in the world. Couple this with the outstanding results our students recently achieved in GCSE and A Level exams (https://www.frensham.org/results), and we are confident that in the words of the recent ISI inspection ‘by the time students leave, they develop a skill-set that prepares them extremely well for the next stage of their lives’.
Tomorrow sees our Autumn Open Morning. With record numbers registered to attend, it promises to be a busy and exciting day for prospective families. If you are aware of any families who are interested in Frensham and who may not be able to attend tomorrow, do please ask them to contact the admissions office (admissions@frensham.org) to arrange a private tour.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Best wishes
Rick
SCHOOL NOTICES
MUSICAL INSTRUMENT TASTER SESSIONS
A couple of our peripatetic music teachers are offering free 20 minute taster lessons to potential new instrumentalists. These include:
Clarinet, Saxophone, Violin. If you are interested then please contact Sallyvivian@frensham.org
CAREERS AT FRENSHAM
An update from our Head of Careers, Lyall Reynolds (lyallreynolds@frensham.org)
Our careers programme is really taking off this term, and I’m struggling to hide my excitement! Here’s a quick run-through of what’s going – any questions (or volunteers for events and activities), email me.
LOST PROPERTY
Can all enquires going forward please be directed to Amy Lee by email or Teams. Please don't to to the housekeeping office as there isn't always someone there.
FEE INVOICES
A quick reminder that Autumn term fees are due on or before the first day of term. If you’ve yet to settle this term’s bill, please could you make a bank transfer as soon as possible. Our bank details can be found on the invoice
We want to remind you that we will never change our bank account details without plenty of prior notification. If you are ever unsure of the school’s bank account details or would just like to confirm them before you make a payment, please don’t hesitate to call the Finance Department on 01252 792299 or email us at FeesAdmin@frensham.org. We would also like to let you know that paying your child’s school fees by direct debit remains one of the safest and easiest ways to pay as total fees (per your invoice) will be taken from your chosen bank account on the first day of every term. If you do not have a direct debit set up and would like to arrange this for the Spring term fees, please do get in touch.
PARENT TALK ON HORIZONS LESSON - MONDAY 3 OCTOBER 4.30 - 5.30PM
Next week on Monday, Jack Talman will be giving a talk about our Horizons lessons and the Mindfulness lessons he is delivering here in school. All parents from Year 7 up to 13 are welcome to attend and there is no need to let us know in advance, just come along to the Ballroom in Main House on Monday at 4.30pm.
CHRISTMAS PUDDING LABEL DESIGNS
Friends of Frensham would like to ask Middle and Senior School students for their help in designing the labels for our charity Christmas puddings this year. They will be selling three types of pudding this year - traditional, sticky toffee and lemon. They have quite a tight timeline and have a closing date for all entries of October 12th. They understand that Yr11 and 13 students are very busy with their current coursework demands, but encourage all years to submit entries by 12th October if they can.
Here is the link for the template for students who would like to submit designs, and it gives the template and points to what standards of colours are required for a good print quality for the supplier.
FOF is looking forward to receiving your entries which can be left at main reception where there will be a folder to collate. Thank you for your support in our fundraising this year!
PARENT VOICE COFFEE AND A CALL FOR REPS
Stable & Ground coffee company are setting up in the Aldridge Theatre foyer this week to start serving coffee in the mornings. Some staff are still awaiting DBS checks but pop in and check, and we'll also update you via our reps on the Whatsapp groups to confirm that they are open.
Parent Voice Members Needed
Parent Voice are seeking two new reps to join their volunteer team to cover Sixth Form and Boarding starting straight away. Joining Parent Voice is a positive way to get involved at Frensham.
Parent Voice is made up of volunteers whose role is to provide a point of contact for feedback, to represent wider parent views fairly and without bias, provide help on general issues and develop opportunities to collaborate with parents and staff to support the joint interests of the school community. Click here for more info.
For more information and to put yourself forward, please contact:
FARNBOROUGH CONCERT BAND OF THE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION
Two of our teachers, Esme and Tamzyn, are part of the Farnborough Concert Band of the Royal British Legion. They are a concert band of approximately 35 amateur musicians who play for pleasure. They are joining up with a local charity choir to raise money for The Topic of Cancer charity to put on a concert on Saturday 29th October. They would love as many people as possible from the Frensham Family to come along. Please click here for more information.
ABF - THE SOLDIERS CHARITY (SURREY BRANCH) - ANNUAL SPEAKER'S DINNER
Friday 28th October 2022, 6:45 - 10:00 pm At Frensham Heights School
Before Dinner, Major General Mungo Melvin CB OBE will talk about The War in Ukraine: Causes and Consequences Click here for more information.
POSITIVE FEEDBACK
Got something amazing to shout about? Click the logo to use our Parent Voice Frensham Heights positive feedback link.
SCHOOL EVENTS - see all upcoming events here
WHOLE SCHOOL CHARITY WALK
Friday 14th October 2022
This year’s whole school charity walk will take place on Friday 14th October. We will all be taking to the countryside, suitably dressed for a long walk to enjoy the outdoor environment together.
On return – at the end of the school day, we will be selling ice creams and candy floss as a treat.
Monies raised will go to our school charity for this academic year which we are all currently choosing. Please click the button to choose our charity and encourage your child to do the same.
Following on from last year, we are again, selling hoodies in fire red, royal blue, ash grey or forest green to raise money and show everyone how much we care about other areas of society.
Please use the link below to order your hoodies. We have four colours and they will have a student design on the back to represent this year’s charity!
THIS WEEK AT FRENSHAM
HADRIAN'S WALL TRIP
Last week Year 7 spent four days away from home building resilience and independence on a visit to Hadrian’s Wall. We walked the Wall, visited a plethora of Roman ruins, dabbled with a little camping and – the highlight for most – had an evening stargazing in Northumberland’s Dark Sky Park, which is the largest in the UK. Seeing the moons of Jupiter and Saturn’s Rings was something we will all remember for a long time! The students were fantastic, grasping every opportunity offered, being kind and considerate when they saw a friend in need and all round just really good fun!
YEAR 11 PRE VISIT
On Monday, 24 of our Y11 students visited St. James’ Church in Rowledge to develop their understanding of Christianity for GCSE PRE. Students enjoyed having a go at bell-ringing (some with more success than others!), got to play the organ, and dressed in Revd. Russ’ cassocks, exploring the symbolism behind his robes and seasonal stoles. We particularly liked the stole which was adorned with a scallop shell and waves, selected to represent St James himself, a fisherman who was one of the first to follow Jesus. Students asked Revd. Russ and Adele lots of questions about worship, faith and morality, and they appreciated the honesty with which their questions were answered. We are really grateful to St. James’ for welcoming us with open arms, and look forward to taking Y10 PRE students later in the term.
ELEVATE EDUCATION
Elevate Education came in on Tuesday, for year 10, and on Thursday for Year 11, to offer them guidance on how to revise successfully. Students engaged with the programme 'Study Sensai' which consisted of;
-
Utilising the syllabus to frame study
-
Structuring and reviewing organised notes
-
Conceptual learning to develop deep understanding
-
Utilising practice papers
-
Standing out through independent learning
We are confident that all students took something away from the session which will allow them to consider, structure and plan their revision more successfully as they head towards their GCSE's. This session will be supported by work done in Horizons and tutor time.
YEAR 12 PINHOLE PHOTOGRAPHY
Some fantastic results in Photography this week with Yr.12 pinhole beercan cameras!
YEAR 9 GERMAN COOKING
Year 9 German students this week made a delicious Flammkuchen as part of the celebration for European Day of Languages. They followed the recipe in German and they turned out very well - a tasty snack to end the day!
EUROPEAN DAY OF LANGUAGES
This week we celebrated the European Day of languages as a whole school community. Teachers and students came dressed for the occasion! In traditional attire or in the colours of a country. This day celebrates all languages of the world not just European Languages. As it happens, 26th of September is the day chosen by the European Union to Celebrate ALL the Languages in the World. Here at Frensham we celebrated our world’s diverse cultures and languages in the following ways:
On Friday, we welcomed Chloe from the Surrey Translation Bureau in Farnham, to give a morning talk about the value of learning a language and its impact on both personal and professional lives.
-
Masked linguist competition for all, in tutor groups
-
Lunchtime from 13h10
-
World Map competition in the Ballroom with Marta
-
Pétanque/Boules with Valerie on the Front Lawn
-
Bingo with Richard in the Long Gallery
-
Multicultural food and music in the dining hall
European day of languages in the Junior School
The Junior school have been celebrating all things languages this week with The European Day of Languages. They enjoyed trying new foods from across Europe in the dining hall followed by a lunchtime treasure hunt in the 4-6 playground. What noise does a Dutch sheep make? Or a Swedish bee? How many English people speak another language?!
We also celebrated the linguistic talent of the Junior school staff with “The Masked Linguist” competition- a huge thank you to all teachers who got involved so enthusiastically-the students certainly got to see you all in a different light!
We had such a lovely time and it was great to increase awareness of the languages we speak as a community. If you fancy taking it further at home you could consider watching a foreign film, listening to some music from another country or cooking up a European feast!
MORNING TALK - GREIG TROUT
On Friday morning, the Senior School from Year 7 up to 13 all had a really inspiring and motivational talk from Greig Trout about his life and how after surviving cancer and overcoming PTSD he found a way out of this mental health trauma by helping others. His talk focused on the charity he set up, called 101 Things to do When You Survive, encourages positive action and helps people to fulfil their dreams. Greig’s message that it is through kindness to others that we can boost our own mental health and wellbeing really came through and his positivity and compassion made this a really good Morning Talk to boost spirits and encourage us all to do our bit to help those around us.
FARNHAM FOODBANK
The Charity Outreach ECA meet every Wednesday and talk about what they can do to help the wider community. Farnham Foodbank rely heavily on donations, and we are aiming to deliver as much help as we can. Many more people are relying on foodbanks as the economic world changes.
The items that the Foodbank require are the following:
Tinned meat – ham, stew,pork
Tinned rice pudding
Tinned potatoes
Boxes of Chocolates
Boxes of Pringles
Please bring any donations to the Years 4-6 atrium on Wednesday 5th and 12th October where there will be a box for them to go in. There is also a box in Liv’s office.
Thank you in advance for your help.
FOREST SCHOOL
Reception and Nursery continued to thrive outside working on their restaurant theme, looking at different roles, how to ask politely and how to be respectful to everyone within the environment.
Year 1 enjoyed constructing a trolls den within the woods behind an overturned Yew Tree, using its open roots as a supporting wall to drape a tarp over to form a roof. This was great fun, required a huge team effort and was well used throughout the rest of the week.
Year 2 found fun in the way of a rope swing. Sitting in pairs, back to back or lying down on the swing, Year 1 explored the sensory side of Forest school whilst swishing through the air.
Year 4 were so enthralled with their woodland games that time flew, and it was almost the end of the lesson. Highlights consisted of a game of Sardines and an imaginative game of ‘floor is lava’.
Finally Year 3 hosted the biggest event of the year; a woodland wedding. We created, designed and experienced everything a regular wedding would have. Ivy rings, written vowels and speeches, a sermon, music, mud pie cake, even a bouquet of leaves. With such a successful event, we are now taking bookings for 2023!
ESPORTS REPORT
This week Frensham students had their first chance to experience competitive esports at an interschool level. With three teams, substitutes and observers the esports suite was alive with energy Wednesday afternoon. For some of our students this was their first time playing as a team and it was wonderful to watch them develop their communication, teamwork and tactics throughout the duration of their matches. Facing some difficult opponents our students showed great resilience and positivity in the face of defeat however our youngest team comprised of Alfie, Alex and Artie was victorious defeating Truro and Penwith College 3-1!
YEAR 4 COOKING IN DT
Katie's Year 4 had lots of fun in their DT lesson making pizzas, using a tortilla wrap base and a variety of toppings.
THIS WEEK'S SPORTS REPORT
Under 9s Netball
It was the U9’s first netball game which they were all excited about but nervous for. After a quick refresh of the rules and positions they were ready to go. Frensham started really well and it didn’t take them long to find their feet. Alton got the first goal of the match which only led Frensham to work hard to gain possession and score goals themselves. The team worked really well together moving up and down the court which led to our first goal being scored and later our second. The team did not stop throughout the whole game and worked really well as a team. The final score was 2-1 to Frensham and our first win for the U9 Netball team. Well done to everyone who played and looking forward to the next match.
U12 & U13 Netball v Boundary Oak
This was our first experience of playing Boundary Oak and they were a strong school who clearly play a lot of netball.
The U12's worked hard in their first match and were particularly impressive in defence with a lot of turnover balls. A special mention must go to Maria for her excellent effort as GK and for Marnie who was voted player of the match by the other school. On this occasion Boundary Oak were just too strong for us but lots of potential to work with.
The U13 game was equally challenging, and it was a slow start before the girls started to play collectively as a team. There was some excellent attacking play with Mia debuting as GS (and GK when needed) and scored our goals today. Dulcie and Kathryn both worked tirelessly in the centre court, moving the ball quickly into the circle. The defence on this occasion was just too strong and despite the chances we just could not make all of our chances count. Georgia, always as asset, did a great job as captain, and happily versatile playing every position thrown at her!
A loss on this occasion but I was very proud of their resilience and determination - they will make a fantastic team. Player of the match, as voted by the other team, was Kathryn, who really was a superstar.
U12/ U13 v Alton
The girls worked well together during this game and were already making improvements in their teamwork. They moved the ball smoothly up the court and Mia and Clara did a great job scoring our goals. Maria was also incredibly effective as GK and intercepted the ball consistently. She has never played netball before, so I am really looking forward to seeing how her netballing journey progresses. It was win for Frensham on this occasion with an 8-2 victory. Player of the match was Clara for her fantastic movement and shooting today.
Well done girls, a great game to watch.
Under 14s Netball
Second game of the season for the U14’s against Ditcham Park. It was a very strong start for the U14’s with some great attacking play resulting in some good goals for Frensham. Throughout the whole game Frensham had the most possession and played some lovely passes into our shooting circle. The defense was strong and they were great at applying pressure to the opposition throughout the game. Everyone played really well and gelled really well as a team. Girls of the game were Maddie in defense and Jemima in attack. Final score was 39-15 to Frensham. Well done to everyone that played.
U10 Netball – St Nicholas
It was the U10’s first netball game of the season which they were all very excited about. After a quick recap of the rules and their positions was they were ready to go. Once the game had started the girls got stuck in straight away, trying to win the ball back and go towards our goal. There were some great passes between the team and some good movement on court. All the girls were being supportive of each other and showed great teamwork. In the first quarter Frensham scored their first goal which led to another three goals being scored throughout the game with a final score of 4-1 to Frensham. Well done girls on your first win.
U10 Netball – Boundary Oak
Straight after the first match the U10 team had another fixture against Boundary Oak School. With the first game under our belt we were more comfortable going into the next game. The team started to understand their position roles and where they needed to be when on the court. During the game there was some lovely attacking play with moving the ball up from the defensive quarter. Our defence also showed some lovely interceptions stopping the ball from coming into the D. Frensham scored their first goal against Boundary Oak in the first quarter and then scored another goal in the last quarter with the final score being 5-2 to Boundary Oak School. Well done girls and on to next weeks match.
U13s Football Tournament at Dunhurst
We had six teams in our group and our first game was against a physical Box Hill team. We played some magnificent quick passing football and won 3-0 with goals from Alfie, Ben and an amazing team goal finished off by Elijah. Our second game was against a very strong and physically dominant Meoncross team and our predominantly Year 7 team struggled to match their year 8 opponents and we lost 3-0. We then won our next two games with an excellent comeback win against Ditcham and a 2-0 victory over Dunhurst. All the goals coming from the excellent Ben S. We therefore needed to win the last group game to go through. Unfortunately, we faced the strongest team in the tournament and lost 4-1, but I was delighted with the teams togetherness and determination throughout. A special mention for Alfie H in goal who was exceptional throughout the tournament saving many attempts on our goal.
CAREERS UPDATE
CAREERS AT FRENSHAM
Careers guidance programme
Before Covid the school used to offer careers’ guidance and psychometric profiling to help students in the upper years better understand their options and potentially explore future jobs and qualifications. I’m rekindling the partnership with the provider and have emailed all parents of students in Years 10 to 13 inviting them to register their interest.
Just as you might want a fully-qualified advisor when discussing financial matters, this independent consultancy provide qualified advice and guidance and follow up on the report generated from the Morrisby profile test. Morrisby testing costs £25 and the guidance interviews are offered at £50 (combined total of £90 with VAT). Parents can sign up for one or both (or neither) and the school does not receive payment nor commision for the service. Morrisby offers lifelong access to their portfolio of services.
At this stage, we would look to run the assessment for Year 10s later in the year, while the Year 11s, 12s, and 13s can do it sooner (the tests can be done in their own time). Email Lyall to register your interest.
Careers in MFL and Computer Science
Already this year we’ve had a great Morning Talk from a professional interpretor and translator who explored the opportunities for students who wish to take their passion and knowledge of languages into future careers. Today (30th September) we welcomed a team of cybee security experts to show students about the incredible world of hacking (for good!) and the pathways to this intriguing world.
Tea and Biscuits with…
This is a series of talks aimed at Years 10 to 13 wherein an industry expert comes in and gives a 15-20 minute talk in a small, “intimate gig” style setting to students who may wish to follow that career path. We end the session with a Q&A. Details and a booking form (limited spaces for each) will follow soon on Teams. We have an actress, an engineer, an investment manager, a cyber security manager, and a gaming guru possibly in the pipeline to come and talk to us.
Young Enterprise
My ECA this year is focussed on drawing and nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit of Years 7 to 9 as they compete in our Tenner Challenge. Students have already had a quick session on recognising what an entrepreneur is and have formed teams; each team now has the task of turning a £10 investment into a successful business before Christmas. They may wish to see how much profit they can make, or to provide a service to support the community… if you can, and they ask, see if you can facilitate their ideas (which range from selling product to putting on a magic show). I cannot wait to see how they progress.
Rawr!!!! Here comes a dinosaur!
One of my key measures of success is to provide students across the school with access to the world of work and an opportunity to see what jobs exist. So I thought, why not show them the fascinating realm of paleontology! In November we’ve got a team from a dinosaur museum coming to visit the school and run workshops in both the Junior School and Year 8. A full report to follow – hopefully written by our students – after the event.
Unifrog at tutor time
Coming soon to afternoon registrations in the Senior School and Sixth Form, I’ll be posting a regular age appropriate task that develops students’ understanding of careers and how to explore their own potential opportunities. This uses the Unifrog website which all students have access to. Though I’ll send details to tutors and post on Teams, why not encourage your child to dig deeper and complete any tasks.
NEWS FROM FRENSHAM KITCHEN
Theme Day
We celebrated European language day this week, with paella, Hungarian goulash, French onion soup, pork schnitzel and Frenshams favourite churros.
Tasting Table
Our beetroot tasting table was full of goodies this week. We had salad, juice, pasta, hummus and cake.
Food Waste
Anna from Holroyd Howe came to visit us on Monday. She spent time with years 3-6 talking about sustainability and food waste. We made some brownies with sweet potatoes and tomato hummus showing how you can refresh foods. She is looking forward to coming back next term to meet with the Eco heights committee. We now have a display showing the daily plate waste in kilograms, with bags of potatoes and flour to help compare the weights.
WHAT'S ON NEXT WEEK
Sunday 2 Oct
Netball Tour to Cardiff Returns
Monday 3 Oct
Junior School Feel Good Week
Year 10 Horizons Day (Mental Health) (Periods 1-4)
16.30 - Parent info session on Horizons topic (Ballroom)
16.40 - U16 Football v Alton (Home)
Tuesday 4 Oct
Feel Good Week in Junior School
8:30am - Year 12 Geography Field Study Day: Brick Lane
14.15 - Year 12 and Year 13 UKMT Senior Maths Challenge (ICT1 & ICT3)
14.30 - U15 & U14 Football v Ditcham (Home)
15.15 - U15 & U14 Netball v Heath End (Away)
Wednesday 5 Oct
Feel Good Week in Junior School
Year 11 BTEC Business Exam (various times through the day)
8.30am – 3.00pm - FOF Meeting (Aldridge Cafe)
14.30 - U11 & U10 Football v St Eds (Away)
15.30 - U11 & U10 Netball v St Ives (Away)
14.30 - U13 & U12 Netball v DOK (Home)
14.30 - U13 & U12 Football v Ditcham (Home)
16.30 - U18 Netball v Alton (Home)
Thursday 6 Oct
Feel Good Week in Junior School
Year 11 Horizons Day (Mental Health) (Periods 1-4)
14.30 - U16 Football v Bedales (Home)
15.15 - U9 Netball v Boundary Oak (Home)
15.30 - U9 Football v St Eds (Home)
15.40 - U16 Netball v Weydon (Away)
Friday 7 Oct
Feel Good Week in Junior School
9.30 - Year 7 to Year 13 Morning Talk: Tutor Time in Form Groups
9.30 - YouHQ (Ballroom)
Saturday 8 Oct
Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Expedition
10.00 - Yr7-13 Photography Workshop
Sunday 9 Oct
Year 8 Greenpower Race Day (International Final at Goodwood)
Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Expedition
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
You can follow us on Instagram and Facebook. We also have several Twitter accounts around the school where you can find resources and school info:
Main School account - @FrenshamHeights
Rick - @rickclarke72
Becks - @becksscullion
Business/Economics - @getontheeconbus
Careers - @FrenshamCareers
Creative Arts - @ArtsFrensham
Charity, Outreach and Community - @FrenshamCharity
Design & Technology - @FrenshamDT
Junior School - @FrenshamJuniors
Geography - @FrenshamGeog
Maths - @Frensham_Maths
Modern Foreign Languages - @Frensham_MFL
Music - @FHMusicSchool
Outdoor Ed - @Frensham_OE
PE & Sport - @Frensham_PE
PRE - @FrenshamPRE
PSME/PSHE - @FrenshamPSME
Science = @FrenshamScience