THIS WEEK AT FRENSHAM
Friday 23rd June, 2023
A MESSAGE FROM LAURA
Dear Parents,
It has been another eventful week however, the highlight of the week for me has been receiving this wonderful article from Roy with regards to the photo book that I mentioned last week. A big thank you to Roy and Neil for their keen investigatory skills and this article. As promised, here is the article.
Best wishes
Laura
Edwardian life at Frensham Hill – by Roy Waight with research by Neil Pittaway
Thanks to Russ, who mentioned my book on More House School to her, the acting head-mistress of Frensham Heights invited me to the school on 13 June to discuss the possibility of writing a book about the school. In 1925 it will celebrate its centenary. Laura Griffiths, the acting head-mistress, and I sat in the extraordinarily imposing drawing room close to the entrance of the building discussing the history of the school. Then she astonished me with one of those delightful surprises that make the lonely life of the local historian liveable.
She told me that someone had, the previous week, approached the reception desk with a large photograph album. He said that he had discovered it thrown away in a skip and wondered if the school might want it. He had then left. I don’t know who he was. When Laura eventually found time to open it, it was to be transported into a magical past world of Edwardian grace, cricket, fashion and fun. The album contains hundreds of photographs dating from between 1907 and 1909 taken mostly, but not exclusively, at Frensham Hill, which had been completed just half a dozen years before. To continue reading, click here.
SAFEGUARDING UPDATE FROM JO AND JACK
This week we attended a DSL Network Event with Surrey Safeguarding Children’s Partnership where they discussed issues around online safety and also introduced the Locality Early Help Advisor team. Each school has an advisor allocated to them and we are already working with them to help some of our children in need of support. Their role is to suggest agencies, charities and services which could be of help to families who are dealing with their unique and different circumstances. We liaise with the advisors without naming any student or family, just giving them the details of what issues they are facing and they provide us with a list of suggested places the family can go for help. As parents ourselves we know that any ideas for support are always welcome! If this is something that you think could be helpful to you, please get in touch with us at dsl@frensham.org and we can see what we can find out!
SCHOOL NOTICES
A MESSAGE FROM THE MUSIC SCHOOL
A few useful things as the end of the academic year looms:
Timetables for the remainder of this term are now available on the Parent Portal under your child’s Real Time Timetable, and students in Years 7 and above have access via Teams too. Peripatetic teachers have prepared their own timings, so if you have any questions, please do contact them directly.
Please assume that unless you have given notice, lessons will continue in September (hopefully starting week commencing 18th September);
If your child would like to start having individual lessons with us the link is here: https://www.frensham.org/music
We offer a wonderful array of tuition including:
Piano, vocal coaching (classical, rock and pop, musical theatre etc.) guitar (electric, acoustic, bass) violin, viola, flute, saxophone, clarinet, trumpet, trombone etc.
We also organise taster lessons:
Free twenty minute lessons for children who are unsure of the music that they would like to pursue. It’s a great opportunity to have a go! Please contact Sally to organise: SallyVivian@frensham.org
Our teachers are fabulous, so please do get in touch!
LOCKERS
All lockers need to be emptied before the end of term. Please remind your children to clean them out over the next week.
SURREY YOUTH ARTS & CULTURE FESTIVAL
Calling all 11-16year olds that enjoy music, film, art and other creative industries to consider 2 workshops in July.
https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/culture-and-leisure/culture/festivals
MARK JERMIN SUMMER SCHOOL
World-class acting school and agency, Mark Jermin, are hosting an amazing Summer School and is offering Frensham students an exclusive discount!! Last year several children were cast in lead roles in shows for the likes of Netflix and HBO! Don’t miss this great opportunity. Residential and non-residential spaces are available but limited! Click here for more info.
RESIDENTIAL TRIPS - LOOKING AHEAD
We are very lucky that we have a large number of staff who are very happy to run school trips that enrich our school experience – including over weekends and holidays. We know that trips require a lot of planning and in general residential trips are scheduled a year in advance so that we can organise them and allow you time to plan/save as neede. Below is a live link to our working document that shows our plans so far. The further ahead the trip – the less details we may have – but hopefully it goes someway to help give the overview.
THANK A TEACHER!
The Thank a Teacher campaign recognises all staff working in UK schools and colleges; school leaders, teachers, teaching assistants, and all support staff such as lunchtime supervisors, caretakers and cleaners. If you’re feeling shy you can send a card anonymously! Click here to send a thank you.
POSITIVE FEEDBACK
Got something amazing to shout about? Click the logo to use our Parent Voice Frensham Heights positive feedback link.
MESSAGE FROM FRIENDS OF FRENSHAM
Glass of 2023 Sparkling Wine Collection
Thanks so much for supporting FOF’s fundraising and purchasing a Frensham “Glass of 2023” bottle of Hawkins Bros sparkling wine. If you had placed a pre order your wine will be ready for you to collect from 10am on Monday 26th June from reception in Main house. Please note this item must be collected by someone over 21 and signed for upon collection.
We will have some bottles available on Founders Day - perfect as a souvenir for parents of leavers, or to drink on the day!
Sports Day - a big thank you
Thanks for supporting the FOF Drinks stall and the ice cream van at the recent sports days. Thanks to your generous support we have raised another £540.57 towards the Outdoor Pod. Thank you!
Second Hand uniform
As the year is coming to a close, some of you are moving on, or children have outgrown kit just a reminder that we accept 2nd hand Frensham sports uniform (Sorry no sports bags). Please drop any donations you may have in to reception for us to use at the 2nd hand sale in September- we really appreciate any donations.
SCHOOL EVENTS
Programmes will be available on the day, but here's an outline of Founders' Day events:
10:00 | Staff v Student Mixed Netball
10:00 - 16:00 | Creative Arts Exhibition
11:00 | Speeches in the Aldridge Theatre
12:30 - 14:45 | Music on the Main Stage
15:00 - 16:00 | Performing Arts Programme
16:15 - 17:15 | Old Frenshamian Football Tournament
16:15 - 17:15 | Afternoon Tea
There will also be loads of charity stalls and activities running and food stalls.
As last year, the school charity stalls (including Malawi stalls) at Founders' Day will all be cashless. They will be taking tickets which can be bought in bundles of 10 (£5/bundle)
Here are some examples of charity stall charges to give you an idea of how many you may need to buy:
-
Ice creams - 5 or 6 tickets
-
Candy floss - 5 tickets
-
Inflatables - 5 tickets
-
Climbing tree - 3 tickets
You can purchase tickets in advance until THURSDAY 29th JUNE midday. Use the link below to purchase - it is set up for packs of 10, just update the quantity to purchase more than one pack. All pre-purchased tickets will be available for collection at Main House Reception on Friday 30th June from lunchtime until 5.30pm. They can also be collected from the Information Tent on Founders' Day.
External Food Stalls WILL NOT accept these tokens and will be a mixture of cash and card at their own discretion.
THIS WEEK AT FRENSHAM
YEAR 12 KNOYDART
As part of their Sixth Form experience, ten Year 12 students embarked on an adventurous week on the wild west coast of Scotland.
The first stage of the trip was a 2-day sea kayaking adventure, involving a paddle out through the beautiful surroundings of Loch Moidart. We made our way to the far western shores to a stunning wild camping spot, on a desolate beach, surrounded by small rocky outcrops and a sunset view of the islands of Eigg and Rum.
During the next phase, we were based at an outward-bound centre on the shore of Loch Eil. Activities included rock climbing on the rocky slabs of Glen Nevis, swimming in the cool waters of Loch Eil and in gorge walking up two rivers.
The expedition culminated in a journey to the wilderness of the Knoydart peninsular. The team began their journey with a 10km hike across hilly terrain to the isolated settlement of Tarbet. A short ferry ride later and we arrived at our final destination of Inverie, famed for being the most remote community on mainland Britain. The main aim the following day was to assist with the rangers from the Knoydart Foundation in building a woodshed for their campsite. All the material for this project were bought by the Foundation with the proceeds from fundraising by the students. In the words of the ranger:
“In awe of the efforts of Frensham Heights School’s lower sixth pupils who helped us put up a log shed for our campers at Long Beach in just a day……the group also teamed up to repair steps by the River Inverie making the path more accessible to visitors and locals alike. Despite contending with midges, horseflies and high temperatures, there wasn’t one word of complaint from the group – awesome work.”
The final evening of the trip was based around another campfire on the beach and the moment embodied the Frensham spirit, particularly the values of togetherness and courage to try. They were fantastic ambassadors for their school, and they should be proud of themselves. Well done Team Knoydart 2023!
YEAR 7 THE FLOOD
Last week, project week saw Year 7 immersed in a disaster management scenario: the Flood. Students were asked to work as tutor groups and were guided by a series of presentations and workshops, to reimagine society following a flood of biblical proportions. Students choose to work on different aspects, depending on what piqued their interests, be that governance or cultural legacy or shelter design. This was a truly cross curricular project and challenged students to develop real world skills. Working together as a team, experiencing leadership, clear communication, problem solving and being creative and dynamic in their approach. Our aim was to structure the project but give students the space to make mistakes and learn, so building resilience in their approach. The groups overcame difficulties, be they disagreements amongst their peers, or the changing dynamics introduced through our breaking news alerts. Tutors and teachers were incredibly impressed by the quality, ambition and creativity of the end product. All students took part in the group’s presentation in one way or another and the sense of pride in what the groups had achieved in a week was palpable. Hard work was rewarded with ice lollies and play time at the end of the day. Well done Year 7!
What did the students say?
"It was good to get to spend more time with the people in my tutor group." "Making my own sport in the Health and fitness workshop was my highlight." "I enjoyed the workshops that we did, especially the governance and power." "The infrastructure & power and tribal dance workshops were my favourite." "Teamwork was a skill I developed; when we were playing capture the flag, we had to work together and be very strategic." "I learnt so much in First Aid, thank you." "I showed leadership in the shelter building workshop to complete our design." "This week has helped me think more creatively and made me listen more to other peoples’ ideas." "Our group could not agree on the powerpoin, so we used problem solving to make teamwork." "Working together to agree on the theme of the PowerPoint presentation was our most difficult challenge." "Our group didn't agree on what to put in the powerpoint so then we had a vote and it all worked out." "The Flood was a good challenge, I needed to think on my feet, I loved it."
BAFTA YOUNG GAME DESIGNER OF THE YEAR
On Thursday evening BAFTA streamed the final of the Young Games Designer of the Year Awards. Categories were Game Concept award (10-14 and 15-18) and Game Making award (10-14 and 15-18). Back in February, knowing he had the skills to do well, I set the very talented Arlo F (Year 10) the challenge of creating a game for the competition. He used his creative and technical talents to envision, design and develop an original game that he specifically made for the competition. He spent many hours in his own time out of school coming up with his game he called Bird in the Woods. The graphics, sound, idea and code are all designed by him and to make this achievement all the more incredible, all of this took him less than a month!
You can watch the moment he was announced the winner here:
BAFTA YGD Game Design 10-14 Final
BAFTA are also running a showcasing event at their headquarters in London on Sunday 2nd July. On the day, there will be facilitated Young Games Designer workshops so you can come up with your own game concept and receive feedback from an industry expert. All the finalists games are being showcased so you can play Arlo's game along with all the other finalist to see the sort of games our future games designers are creating. You can order your tickets to this free event here:
BAFTA Gaming Showcase Event 2nd July
Arlo’s game will also be showcased as part of the Power Up exhibition at the London Science museum from 27th July 2023.
SELF EXPRESSION SAFARI
Thank you to everyone who came and supported the Self Expression Safari event.
Whilst the sun shone, some of our youngest fashion designers paraded on the Art Plaza with “Cherry” a fun mascot for Cherry Trees charity.
More students entertained us with music on the outdoor stage and everyone enjoyed looking at the stalls, participating in Messy Play, Boogie Pumps Dance, face painting, Family photography, Personalising clothing and enjoying delicious refreshments.
At 4pm we were all treated to a fabulous finale in the Aldridge Theatre.
The “Fashion Showcase” showing all of the various adaptive clothing that had been designed, prototyped and realised had a real impact on the audience.
It was stunning! Seeing the student models come together from different schools, wearing clothes that they like, helped to design and looked cool wearing, It was emotional to see everyone coming together in this way and although some of the clothes were especially adapted to suit the specific needs of children, they were equal to everyone else-very moving and thoughtful …. But most of all, ther was an electric atmosphere and an auditorium of happiness.
Huge thanks to everyone that took part and supported this project, here is a link to the final showcase ….
YEAR 11 GCSE PHOTOGRAPHY
It was great to enjoy an evening with the Yr.11 GCSE photography students as part of the Creative Arts Evening. Their work will continue to be on display until Founders Day in the Studios Foyer.
Fantastic effort by all students ! Well done !
JUNIOR SCHOOL BUGS EXPERIENCE
On Thursday Years R-5 have enjoyed a Backyard Bugs Experience in the Junior School. The children had an amazing hands on, informative session where they met a baby boa-constrictor, scorpions, stick insects, blue death feigning beetles, cone headed Katydid, giant millipedes, a deadly centipede, hissing cockroaches, two tarantulas called Sally and Rosie and many more amazing bugs! The children were absolutely in awe of the amazing reptiles and bugs. The company said that they had never had such a well behaved, interested and wonderful group of children! What an experience!
SLAPTON LEA YEAR 12 TRIP
On Friday, 12th May, the Year 12 Geographers went on 3-day trip to the south-west of England to sample the delights of Slapton Ley in Devon.
The trip formed a crucial part of their preparation for their Non-Examined Assessment (NEA), or ‘coursework’ (for the parents!), a project which forms 20% of their overall grade. The Geography A-Level requires the completion of an independent enquiry into a geographic issue that can be researched through primary data, allowing the students the choice of studying, in detail, any topic that piques their interest. And where better to get inspired, than the sunny Devonshire coast?
Hosted and guided by the knowledgeable staff at the Slapton Ley Field Studies Centre (FSC), the students were given insight into a range of different methods for collecting data in the field, shown how to record data on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and taken to a range of coastal and rural settings with interesting geographic features.
As well as benefitting from the intense focus on their geographic field work skills, the students were blessed with amazing weather all weekend, and enjoyed a Eurovision sweepstake competition, won by Bella.
A very pleasant trip was had by all! (Except the hay fever sufferers, who had a nightmare!)
WEST WITTERING YEAR 8 GEOGRAPHY TRIP
As part of their geographic studies on Coastal Environments, the Year 8s were taken on a lovely day trip to West Wittering, on Tuesday, 6th June.
The trip had two main elements, the first was to expose the pupils to a range of geographic field work skills and get them used to using scientific equipment. The second, was to enable the students to observe a number of coastal landforms and see for themselves the impacts of human intervention on coastal processes. The day included a short tour of East Head and the completion of an annotated map, the creation of a beach profile using ranging poles and clinometers, the measurement of the impact of groynes on longshore drift and an assessment of the merits of different coastal defences.
As well as providing a good grounding in geographic skills, we were blessed with clear blue skies, wide open beaches, and ice cream. You can’t go to the beach and not get an ice cream!
JUNIOR SCHOOL SLEEPOVER
On Thursday Years 3 and 4 went had a classroom sleepover. The children enjoyed the backyard bugs experience after school, dinner, a fun game of rounders, followed by marshmallows on the camp fire, bedtime stories and a ‘good night sleep’! Year 3 then went on a trip to Alice Holt and Year 4 enjoyed a trip to Ash Lock, followed by a well earned movie afternoon with popcorn.
YEAR 8 VILLAGE 2023: THE VIDEO
MATHS CHALLENGES
On Wednesday 21st Jack and Ranjani took a group of Year 5 (Aneela, Cassia, Charlotte and Elsa) and Year 10 (George S, Arlo F, Heidi and Millie) talented Mathematicians to the Alton Team Maths Challenge where they represented Frensham brilliantly. This involved lots of brain power, collaboration and teamwork. Our students were exposed to some very interesting and challenging problems. It was great to see the Junior school work so well and our Year 10 students were great role models throughout the afternoon.
In Maths lessons Year 10 have been applying their knowledge of Trigonometry to measure the heights of some very tall trees taking advantage of our beautiful grounds. They used Clinometers to measure angles of elevation - it was great to see them working collaboratively in the sunshine and then applying their skills in the classroom to produce some great work.
FRENSHAM FAYRE ART ENTRIES
Some of our Junior School children entered the art competition at the Frensham Fayre. The theme was British countryside and traditions.
Well done to Year 4 children Jack (Second prize) and Ethan, Amelie and Lila (all Highly Commended).
YEAR 7 CERAMICS
Year 7 have been learning about slip in ceramics and created these fantastic sgraffito sea-life pieces.
SPONTANEOUS PEFORMANCE
Some of our junior school children were treated to a spontaneous performance from our Year 9 helper in Music this week.
MORNING TALK
In Morning Talk this week Years 7,8 and 10 heard from Pierce from Futbol Lingo. Pierce is originally from Germany and spent his early life working towards a career as a professional footballer. He came close but after this ended up not happening he trained as a coach and now works at Burnley FC. He spoke to the students with passion and humour about the importance of languages if you want to work in the world of football or any international industry. The children enjoyed the talk, engaged really well, and many afterwards commented to me on how it was one of the best they had seen. As Pierce told the students “Learning is Earning”!
GREENPOWER
This week we undertook some last minute preparations for our upcoming race on Sunday at the Lotus test track in Hethel, Norfolk. We mainly practiced pit stops and we also filled in some important pre race forms and worked out and finalised who is doing what and when with pit stops and driver changes. More information to come in next weeks newsletter about our progress on Sunday!!
Written by Juno 7TJJ
LOST PROPERTY
Here's the current collection of lost property. Please contact amylee@frensham.org if you recognise anything.
SPORTS REPORT
U10 Mixed Cricket vs Duke of Kent
The game this week was played on another sweltering summer day versus Duke of Kent. The team was thrilled to be playing in another match and representing the school once more. We were up to bat first, which is always nerve-wracking for the team, but they all gave it their all and worked extremely hard the entire game. Luca and Albie, our first pair, played several excellent shots and showed excellent communication. Everyone had a fantastic batting innings, and it was wonderful to see how much they all improved throughout the course of the season. Louis and Rudy batted as our sixth pair, and they played some incredible shots, especially Louis, who struck some strong shots towards the boundary line. We had a brief team discussion before we took to the field. The first bowler up was Ruby, who had a fantastic over with her accurate and rapid bowls. It was a terrific start to the innings because Ruby's bowling was able to deny Duke of Kent from scoring any runs in the opening over. This season, everyone showed how much they have progressed, which was fantastic to witness. The U10 team found this week's game challenging because Duke of Kent had a very strong side with greater cricketing experience. It was wonderful to watch the team having fun during yet another cricket match. Congratulations to everyone who participated. We now go on to the season's final game.
U10 Mixed Cricket vs St Edmunds
Congratulations to Youmin and Cristian on winning the badminton trophies this week. In the final they beat Alan and Lotte 35- 16.
U10 Mixed Cricket v Duke of Kent
The U10 cricket team welcomed Duke of Kent on Wednesday afternoon. The team came up against some strong opposition but approached the game with a positive attitude, keen to take what they had learnt in the previous week into this fixture. Frensham won the toss and batted first scoring a total of 194 with Lillian and Isla and Eva and Ethan scoring 9 runs each in their pairs. The opposition had some big hitters and looked to attack the bowling, managing to score 275 and win the game. Scarlett, Herbie and Nathanael all picking up wickets in their overs. It's great to see the improvement everyone is making week on week, and we look forward to the last games of the season next week. Well done all.
U9 Quadkids Athletics
We took a team of eight U9 athletes, four boys and four girls to Bedales Dunhurst on Thursday afternoon to take part in a Quadkids athletics meet. The team faced nine other schools and were all competing individually to win as many points as possible for the overall team by getting the best possible times and distances. Each athlete competed in a 50m sprint, standing long jump, 400m and Vortex throw. Despite the heat and burning sun, all athletes gave it their maximum effort and it was brilliant to see them competing again following on from Sports Day. On the day, Amesbury School took the victory, and we are waiting for Bedales to send through the breakdown of results to see how we did individually. Well done to all involved in a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon of athletics.
U13s Cricket v The Royal
U15 Cricket v The Royal
U13 Cricket v Duke of Kent
U15 Cricket v Bedales
Fixture Calendar
A reminder that you can see all fixtures for the half term on the SOCS sport frensham website, team selection activates on Thursdays the week before matches. Website can be found here.
FRENSHAM KITCHEN
NEXT WEEK
Sunday 25th June
7.00 - 21.00 - Greenpower Lotus Test Track
Monday 26th June
13.55 - Year 7&8 School Notices (Ballroom)
13.55 - Year 9 to Year 11 School Notices (Theatre)
15.15 - U11 & U10 Mixed Cricket vs More House (Home)
16.45 - U15 Girls Cricket vs The Royal
18.30 – 22.00 - Year 11 Celebration Evening (Main House)
Tuesday 27th June
14.30 - U15 & U14 Boys Cricket vs St Ed's (Away)
18.30 - 22.00 - Sixth Form Leavers Ball (Main House)
Wednesday 28th June
8.15 Departure - Year 12 Photography Trip to London
8.15 Departure - Year 12 Design Students trip to London Museum
14.30 - U13 & U12 Girls Cricket vs The Royal (Home)
14.30 - U13 & U12 Boys Cricket vs Bedales (Away)
14.30 - U10 Mixed Cricket vs Bedales (Home)
16.30 - Staff vs Students Cricket Match (Field)
Thursday 29th June
Gold Qualifying Expedition Commences (Year 11 to Year 13)
8.30 - 14.30 - JS Judo Taster Session (Sports Hall)
13.30 - 15.30 - Junior School Move up Afternoon
15.30 - U9 Mixed Cricket vs St Ed's (Away)
17.30 - 19.30 - Year 10 Summer BBQ (Front Lawn) & Year 10 Parents Drinks & Canapes (Walled Garden)
Friday 30th June
9.00 Departure - Year 5 Trip to Haslemere Museum
8.40 - JS Assembly (Aldridge Theatre)
9.30 - Year 7 to Year 13 Morning Talk: Form Rooms (Review of the Year)
12.00 – 15.30 - Sixth Form Induction Lunch (Drawing Room)
Saturday 1st July
Founders' Day
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
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