Following the publication of this year’s GCSE examination results, the staff and Trustees of Newent School and Sixth Form Centre would like to say a huge congratulations to our Year 11 students. Our English and Maths results are in line with last year with those students who achieved a passing grade in English and Maths (Grade 4+) increased.

At a time when much is being made of the fall in standards it is easy to become distracted and lose sight of the individual successes secured by students. This is not a new phenomenon as it happens at this time every year, but we are delighted to share the results achieved by our fantastic students in this year’s GCSE examinations.

Note should also be made of some of our students who attained multiple qualifications at grade 9. Really well done!

Within them are stories of phenomenal success, triumph over adversity and, put simply, students who have worked hard. With the support of their parents, teachers and the entire staff team here at Newent, they are able to continue their education – either with us or elsewhere.

These results place our community in a strong position moving forward and lay the foundations for more success in years to come. Having negotiated their way through a challenging few years in education, with much disruption, as well as the shifting goal posts, we are not only proud of their success but confident this is only the start for them. These results are a testament to the resilience and strength of character developed by this year group through challenging times. We continually ‘Strive for excellence’ ensuring each student is able to ‘be the best they can be’ no matter what their starting point when they join us. This mantra, along with our support and guidance, has served our students well.

Kirsty Gordelier (AP Achievement and Progression) commented,‘Congratulations are in order for our exceptional GCSE students on attaining their well-deserved results! Your dedication to your studies and the enthusiasm you have exhibited throughout this journey have culminated in this achievement. As you embark on the next chapter of your education, remember that these results are a testament to your hard work and a solid foundation for your future aspirations. We look forward to supporting many of you as you continue to excel within our own Sixth Form and wish the very best to all of you in your future endeavours.’

The Art Department is thrilled to highlight the impressive accomplishments of its students, where students have achieved on average over a grade above the national expectation. In doing so they have also been addressing important social problems through their work. This year’s GCSE results are in part due to an outstanding collection of art pieces with some focusing on specific areas that have impacted their lives, such as knife crime. These impactful artworks not only display the incredible talent of our students but also demonstrate the teamwork between our school and the Hollie Gazzard Trust.

The Drama team have also again shone after their A-level success with a similar trend in their results, with 74% of students achieving a Grade 5-9 and 27% achieving a top grade between Grade 7-9.

We are also thrilled to celebrate the impressive accomplishments of many of our students with English as an Additional Language (EAL) on this special GCSE Results Day. Their hard work and resilience in overcoming language challenges has been truly inspiring. These students have shown exceptional dedication, tackling language hurdles while excelling in their studies. Their achievements not only motivate their peers but also showcase our school’s diverse and inclusive atmosphere.

We wish all our students well as they strive forward in this ever-changing world and offer them any help they need, as well as asking them to stay in touch to help those who follow them in the coming years.

Principal Dawn Burke said: ‘It has been a pleasure working with the Year 11. They should be proud of the way they have pulled together to support each other, as well as the work they have clearly put in over these last two years. I am looking forward to getting to know the majority of them better as so many of our young people coming back to us for their Sixth Form studies. Huge thanks too, to all the staff and families in our community that have support these students along the way. Well done, class of 2023!’

We are delighted to announce another excellent year of results and progress from students at Newent Community School and Sixth Form Centre.

80% of students achieved grades 4+ (A*-C equivalent) in GCSE English and 74% achieved grades 4+ in Maths. Over 12% of all grades achieved by our students were either a grade 9-7 (A*-A equivalent). These excellent results are mirrored in many of the subjects in our wonderfully broad curriculum.

We are exceptionally proud of the students for performing well in these new more challenging GCSEs, with the majority of subjects now graded on a new numerical 1-9 grading system.

Our students have made excellent progress from their KS2 starting points. Superb results were achieved by many students in the traditional, academic subjects that make up the English Baccalaureate as well as in our vibrant practical, creative and performing arts departments.

The overwhelming majority achieved the grades they required to take the next step in their lives, whether that be studying A levels with us at Newent, attending college, taking up an Apprenticeship or entering the world of work.

Within this global success there have been many individual performances worthy of special mention. Many students have made extraordinary progress since joining Newent Community School and have achieved the remarkable outcomes listed below:

• Sarah Bilsby achieved five grade 9s, four grade 8s and one grade 7
• Isobel Balmer achieved four grade 9s, four grade 8s, one grade 7 and one grade 5
• Helen Davis achieved two grade 9s, six grade 8s and two grade 7s
• Isobel Dinic achieved two grade 9s, two grade 8s and six grade 7s

The first photograph is of Amelia Hookway-Jones, Alana Spedding, Phoebe Bonser and Lois Feld jumping for joy! The other photograph is of Poppy Jones and Anisha Rasul with Mrs Williams (English teacher). Both girls each achieved a Grade 9 and 8 in their English exams.
We are committed to ensuring that all students achieve their full potential demonstrating high standards in all aspects of their school life from effort, work rate and ethos to conduct, behaviour and good manners.

We strive to develop confident, informed and caring young adults who have self-belief and participate in their local, national and international communities; the school provides a wealth of opportunities for students to achieve these aims.

We are looking forward to welcoming our new Sixth Form students in September who are set to benefit from our exciting new Sixth Form building. We are happy to accept late applications for September 2019.

Last but not least we are pleased to announce the dates of our Open Days for prospective new Year 7 students. These will take place on Tuesday 8th October and Thursday 10th October (10am to midday) with our Open Evening on Thursday 10th October (6.00pm to 8.30pm). However, if you wish to visit the school please don’t wait, make an early appointment to see this fantastic school in action today.

 For further information telephone 01531 820550, email admin@newent.gloucs.sch.uk or visit www.newent.gloucs.sch.uk

Students at Newent Community School and Sixth Form Centre have been helping to stir the memories of local people with dementia.

The students have been collecting items to put in memory boxes which have now been distributed to Two Rivers Housing, Forest of Dean Dementia Action Alliance and Newent Library to use with tenants and other local people.

All students in Year 8 complete a Dementia Friend badge and learn how the disease can affect those with the condition and their friends and families. Some of the children have grandparents with dementia and understand, first-hand, some of the pressures it can cause. The project helps to give them greater awareness, acceptance and empathy and works towards the aim to make Newent a dementia-friendly town.

This year’s project was for the children to collect items that would trigger some recollections for people with dementia, and the memory boxes included soap, books, sweets, toys and even a box of icing sugar priced at 29½p!

“It’s crucial young people learn about dementia and its impact on the family and wider community,” said Di Harrill, Head of Personal, Social and Health Education at the school. “Having an understanding will help reduce the stigma and enable people to live well with the condition. Students at Newent continue to embrace this topic with compassion and empathy.”

Two Rivers Housing has been a member of the Dementia Action Alliance for several years, and has a close working relationship with the school. It has been running various reminiscence sessions with some of its older residents to help stimulate conversations and their memories, and believes these memory boxes will be a great help.

“Dementia is a growing problem in all our communities and we want to help our tenants, their friends and relatives to recognise the symptoms and do what they can to continue to live their lives as well as they can, getting the support they need to allow them to stay at home as long as they can, if that is their wish. ” explained Julie Burlow, Community Engagement Team Leader at Two Rivers Housing.

“We are holding an increasing number of reminiscence sessions with our tenants, and these memory boxes will be excellent. I know our tenants will really enjoy looking through them.”

Mr Alan Johnson, Principal at Newent Community School and Sixth Form Centre, said: “We believe we are unique in educating our students about this life-changing illness. In addition to acquiring the academic qualifications to secure their best future, we are determined our students should learn life skills enabling them to truly contribute to their community.”

Students from Newent Community School and Sixth Form Centre will develop invaluable skills for future careers due to the working partnership with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) as a ‘Cyber Schools Hub’.

 During this partnership, the school will host events such as the CyberFirst Adventures and Futures Programmes, trial content and develop innovative ways of introducing cyber security, computer science and related subjects to our students.  Newent Community School and Sixth Form Centre will act as the lead in delivering the exciting initiative and the hub will also engage with other schools across the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire.

We are taking a unique approach to enhance Cyber Awareness through the innovative use of PSHE teaching within schools and the use of IoT (Internet of Things) to make cyber security more relevant to students.   This will involve building educational resources for teachers ensuring best practice can be developed in other schools.   Teachers and students at Newent will directly benefit from the NCSC’s suppot and technical expertise.

We are thrilled by the opportunity of working with companies such as Cyber Security Associates, Lockheed Martin, Deep Sky Blue, Immersive Labs, QA Training, XQCyber, All Cooper Group, Northrup Grumman, the Bank of England and the Police South West Regional Cyber Crime unit who are all providing support to the partnership.

 Alan Johnson, Newent Community School and Sixth Form Centre Principal, said:

 “I am genuinely excited at the prospect of supporting the NCSC and GCHQ to develop a unique Cyber-Hub at Newent Community School and Sixth Form Centre. This is a fantastic opportunity for our students and all young people in Gloucestershire. Our goal is to provide a real-world learning and exploration environment for students while raising awareness of the exciting career opportunities in the information security sector. By adopting a teaching model where the relevance to young people is explicit from the outset, we encourage all students and especially girls to re-evaluate their perceptions of computing and information technology.

With the number of cyber-attacks rising year on year the potential for our students to get a head start in one of the fastest developing industries in the world is simply amazing. The Cyber-Hub at Newent Community School and Sixth Form Centre will ensure that our students are the best placed and best equipped for some of the most varied and rewarding jobs in the world. Running throughout this initiative is our spiral PSHE programme that has received both national and international recognition and is widely regarded as a model of outstanding practice. Unlike traditional models, PSHE at Newent Community School and Sixth Form Centre is uniquely responsive to emerging issues and is agile and adaptive to the challenges that young people face. It prepares young people for the 21st Century by creating the culture, systems and practices necessary to achieve the best learning outcomes in the modern, digital era.”

ARTWORK by former Newent Community School student Sarah Gwyer is in the spotlight once again as she exhibits at a major London event.

The previous Welsh Artist of the Year finalist, whose Amy Winehouse sculpture attracted attention at the Royal Academy last summer, is one of only 96 artists from 4,000 across Europe to have been chosen for the Columbia Threadneedle Prize: Figurative Art Today exhibition.  Described by Time Out as a showcase of ‘the best figurative and representational artists from across Europe’ and carrying a top prize which at £20,000 is said to be one of the most valuable art awards in the UK, the show running this month attracts strong talent.

The 32-year-old who lives in the Cotswolds is displaying a textile sculpture entitled ‘No Pressure Then’ at the event being held in Mall Galleries in central London.

She said: “I’m so pleased to be part of a nationally recognised exhibition that champions figurative art. It is lovely to show that traditional ‘women’s crafts’, like the cross-stitch included in my piece, can find a place amongst some of the most innovational contemporary artists working in Europe today.”

Sarah added: “I had the best possible start in my art career at Newent. My teachers were fantastic and I was given a wide range of experience, meaning I can now work in multiple mediums.”

Alan Johnson, Principal of Newent Community School and Sixth Form Centre where Sarah studied from Year Seven to A-Level, said: “It’s marvellous to see yet another example of a Newent Community School pupil going on to achieve success”.

Describing her work as contemporary pop, drawing on influences from Andy Warhol to Damien Hirst, Sarah works in textiles, sculpture and print on the themes of celebrity, consumerism and commercialism. She says she aims to merge the boundaries between art and craft, pushing traditional ways of working to new levels and audiences.

She hit the headlines in 2009 for her debut solo exhibition on the theme of modern day icons, featuring images of Princess Diana, Princes William and Harry, Kate Moss and Kate Middleton with halos.

Recognised for several years as a rising star of the art world, Sarah was short-listed for the prestigious Welsh Artist of the Year award in 2007 for her sparkling bead portrait of Charlotte Church.

Students at Newent Community School and Sixth Form Centre are all now learning to be life-savers thanks to a new initiative with the British Heart Foundation.

Following a successful bid for equipment and support from the charity, all Year Seven and Eight students are to be trained in doing CPR, ‘the recovery position’ and using defibrillators.

On Tuesday (January 16th), 290 11 to 13-year-olds at the Watery Lane school  gathered to be taught, and enthusiastically practise on dummies, the vital first aid skills which could enable them to save the life of a member of the community.

Principal Alan Johnson said: “We believe we are unique in educating all of our students from ages 11 to 18 in this life-saving skill. In addition to acquiring the academic qualifications to secure their best future, we are determined our students should learn life skills enabling them to truly contribute to their community. This new training means all our students, whatever their age, could now save the life of someone experiencing a cardiac arrest”.

Students in Year Nine and above are already trained in CPR during the school’s First Aid Awareness sessions, part of its Personal Social Health in Education programme. All new students entering the school each year will now continue to receive this training.

School Medical and Student Welfare Officer Lisa Jevons who led the session, with the BHF’s Sarah Standing, said: “We passionately believe that every student at Newent Community School and Sixth Form Centre should be instilled with the confidence and capability to take effective action if they witness a cardiac arrest. In the UK every year 30,000 people have a sudden cardiac arrest; only one in 10 survive when this occurs outside hospital. All our students, even the very youngest, could now literally be a life-saver.”

Thanks to a successful bid to the British Heart Foundation, the school has been provided with training equipment worth more than £1,000, enabling 35 pupils at a time to be trained.

Callum Bace, 12, said: “It was interesting and fun, if anyone in my family was ever in need, I’d know how to check if they were conscious and breathing now.”

Josh Ellis, 12, added: “I think it’s a really good idea. If I was anywhere in public and someone had a cardiac arrest, I’d know what to do and be able to do it properly. It could be useful in future life”.

Newent Community School is recognised by Ofsted as a ‘good’ school, achieving above average results and with relationships between staff and students described as ‘excellent’. The school is also recognised by the Government as a Healthy School, having achieved the Healthy Living and Learning Award. The school recently became the first in the county to achieve the Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning Mental Health Champions Award.

Talented students proved they have the recipe for success as they served up tasty treats at a grandparents’ tea party this afternoon.

Fourteen and fifteen year old pupils of Newent Community School and Sixth Form Centre showed off their cooking, community and teamwork talents at the event which delighted guests declared was just their cup of tea.

Lemon drizzle, scones, mini quiches and cheese straws were among the delights cooked up by a dozen Year Ten students and shared with their grandparents, some of whom had never visited the school before and others of whom represented several generations of Newent Community School students.

Anne Rogers, grandmother of Emily Mattingley, said: “It was a fantastic spread, there’s so much talent here. I’d never been into the school before and it was a pleasure to be involved. It was really lovely, I hope we’re invited again.’ Emily’s grandfather, David Rogers, added: “It was superb, what a lot of hard work must have gone into it, and it was a great insight into what’s going on here”. Emily said: “It’s a really good idea, it includes people who don’t normally get the chance to come to school”.

Angela Lloyd, grandmother of Thomas Summers, represents three generations of Newent Community School students. She said: “From being greeted at the door, it was lovely, it was organised so well and the food was excellent.”

Teacher Pippa Palmer who ran the event was delighted with the students, saying: “It was a really positive response from visitors and the students who demonstrated fantastic team-work and hard work for a brilliant event.” She also expressed her gratitude to parents who came and assisted.