Principal's Message  |
Welcome to Tor Bridge High!
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| Changes to Tor Bridge High School Uniform from September 2017 |
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Digital Parenting information Page |
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Tor Bridge High Ofsted report 2015
"Teaching is good. Teachers have high expectations and make their lessons interesting for students."
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A message from the Principal...
When I joined Estover School as a Home Economics teacher in September 1986 I never imagined still being here 31 years later. It is now, I feel, after teaching for 35 years, the right time for me to retire and therefore to thank you all for the amazing support you have given me over that time. Our school has gone from strength to strength and I am delighted that Tor Bridge High is the school of choice for the community. This will be our fifth year oversubscribed for entry into Year 7. This is testament to the tremendous governor and staff team who I will miss very much. Most of all, I will miss our children and young people who make me smile and feel proud every day. Teaching is a role of privilege and I have truly loved my many different roles here. It was in 2006/07 that our Governors first asked me to take on an Acting role and again in 2010/12 before appointing me permanently when Graham Browne retired. I am therefore delighted to inform you that Governors have asked Mr Graham Roser to become Acting Head from September 2017, initially for an eighteen month period. |
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Mr Roser was appointed to Estover Community College in 2001 as Curriculum Leader for Science, later being promoted to the Senior Team, first as Assistant Principal and since 2011 as Vice Principal. He has a wealth of experience and believes totally in the potential of our students and staff at Tor Bridge High. Supported by a very strong Senior Leadership Team, I know I leave our school in the very best hands for the future.
I hope to see many of you between now and September to say my farewells in person.
Meanwhile, do enjoy reading about the amazing achievements of our students in the spring newsletter. As we all prepare for the summer examination period I know you will be encouraging lots of revision and exam preparation at home as well as in and after school here on site.
Finally – we were delighted to win School of the Year 2016/17 at a ceremony attended by Carmen de Pablo and Marina Breed this week in London. Testament to the focus our school has on developing students’ literacy, speech, language and communication. Watch out for further news in the media in the coming weeks and do look at page 22 of the newsletter.
Liz Dunstan
Principal |
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| Shine A Light Award WIN for our commitment to developing students’ communication |
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Above: (l-r) Mrs DePablo (Head of Inclusion), Gareth Gates and Mrs Breed (Speech and Language Co-ordinator)
Collecting the award |
Tor Bridge High have been awarded the Secondary School of the Year Award at the ‘Shine A Light’ Awards ceremony in London for our continued commitment to developing our students’ communication skills. The 2017 ‘Shine a Light’ Awards is a national awards scheme that celebrates innovative work and excellent practice in supporting children and young people’s communication development. From the start of Year 7, or on entry, Tor Bridge High undertakes assessments to ascertain its students’ speech, language and communication skills. From this point on, all staff are encouraged to continuously identify their students’ needs and gain support for their learners through the inclusion panel meeting that takes place every term.
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| Tor Bridge High Student has Fantastic Opportunity |
| Five week British Scientific Expedition: Himalaya 2017 (On behalf of Royal Geographic Society) |
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Tor Bridge High student Hannah Smallpage is embarking on an expedition to The Himalayas, right after completing her GCSEs in July.
The 70 man expedition comprised of 20 doctors, and scientist leaders as well as 50 young scientist fieldworker expedition members. There will be NO access to internet, mobile phones, television or even music.
There will not even be any satellite phone access given the remoteness of the region. Diet will consist of military ration packs.
Phase ONE - A mandatory training period of the various pieces of scientific and climbing equipment, and procedures, (such as abseiling, ice axe and crampons, roped teamwork on ice, and crevasse rescue, as well as Fire Allocations. The expedition is comprised of small `teams` known as `fires`. (i.e. a group that shares a communal fire at night.)
Phase TWO –Depart London to Delhi on 24th July 2017. Overnight stay at Delhi airport then onward flight to Leh in Ladakh. Transport to the road-head, then expedition will transport equipment and rations on foot to Base Camp area at 4500m. |
Work will include: glacial influence on weather patterns, isotope studies in the snow, glacial ice and melt-water of the Drang Drung glacier (which provides nearly a billion people with water) as well as botanical studies of the Zanskar valley.
We will also be collecting data from the 3rd highest weather station in the world, and involved in media projects in this area. The expedition then flies back to London on 29th August 2017
Hannah is seeking sponsorship to help her make this dream come true. For more information visit Hannah's Facebook Page More to follow! |
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For those of you who are unaware of ‘SPOT’, we are a group of parents, carers and staff who organise various fundraising events such as; the annual’ Summer Fair’, Quiz night, Mufti day and attending the school’s production. The money raised from these events goes towards purchasing equipment and resources to further enhance the students learning.
The committee members would like to say a very BIG thank you for your continued support in attending our events. |
Visit our school website and click on the link to the ‘Giving Machine’ when you shop online. Join up and then shop! It doesn’t cost you anything and SPOT receive a donation. For more information visit: http://www.thegivingmachine.co.uk/ |
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| Labour Candidate Sue Dann meets Tor Bridge 6th Form Law students |
On 6th June Labour MP candidate Sue Dann came in to visit the post 16 law students to discuss the Labour election campaign. Students had the opportunity in advance to research what different political parties stood for and to prepare question time style questions for Sue. Sue held a lively and interactive debate with our students covering topics from Labour's stance on national security and trident, international relations, the economy, proposed changes to the benefits system and reducing the voting age to 16. Students in the room had a range of political viewpoints, supporting differing parties. Our students have done a lot of political research and are waiting to see the outcome of the general election. |
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| Greenpower 2017 STEM Team News |
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Greenpower Engineers pictured:
Josh Street, Oliver Batteson, Joey Batteson,
Owen Combstock, Ethan Brimacombe, Joel Cox,
Dan Cox, Ty Norville, Adam Harrison, Max Holder, Kieran Harding, George Handley, Zack Royal. |
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Our Technology STEM activities continue to gain more momentum in 2017 with our Greenpower team doubling their efforts over the winter to become a major force to be reckoned with in the Formula 24 class, as they embark on a full prototype chassis build this spring.
The team of year 7-12 students aim to build a new car from the ground up using only parts designed and made on site at Tor Bridge. The ambitious build project will take them into the prestigious prototype category, where top cars can achieve very impressive speed and endurance whilst being powered by battery technology and electric motors.
With two years of planning under their belt, the first components are now drawn up using computer aided design, and are being manufactured in the Technology workshops by a small group of dedicated volunteers, aided by our year 12 BTEC Engineering students.
The new car will be raced in June alongside our current kit car. |
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| Young Enterprise Team scoops awards! |
Three awards this year and we were so close to being overall winners. The trophies are for: Best Customer Focus, Most effective Team Work and Best Business Administration. Click here for the full story or go to the May news page |
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| Twitter @torbridgehigh |
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