Latest News : Top Stories
AimHigher Chester University Residential
A number of Salford High Schools spent two days at Chester University, to enable students to have a taste of university life. Six students from The Swinton High School attended.
Our students agreed that the experience gave them a sense of independence, enhanced their interpersonal skills and reinforced their commitment to Higher Education. Overall the 2 days at Chester University were very informative and fun.
The students from The Swinton High School were extremely enthusiastic and participated a great deal in the classes. They were a credit to the school.
Here is what some of the pupils had to say:
“I enjoyed my stay at Chester University because it made me feel independent. We were staying in Halls of Residence and were able to behave as normal university students would. I met many people and felt very comfortable with the experience. This has made me think even harder about the possibility of going to university in the future”
Molly Phillips 10O
“I enjoyed the whole experience. It taught me how to manage money, it enabled me to make new friends and it helped me realise that going to university would be good for me! It definitely made me think about my future.”
Tanya Heron 10H
“I found the whole experience amazing. I liked our dormitories, the food was excellent, the bowling trip was a blast and I was surprised when, unexpectedly, I came across some friends. To top it all, the activities and lectures planned for the two days were informative and useful. I am definitely becoming more intent on going on to H E when I finish Sixth For College in two years time.”
Dean Dawson 10S
“I thought that the Residential was really informative. We were given the chance to live like a student and see what it was like to be at university. It was extremely useful as it showed us, first hand, what students have to do every day. The activities that we followed were extremely enjoyable and our student guides were friendly and easy to talk to. Everything contributed to make the whole experience pleasurable and good fun”
Alex Daniels 10T
Member of Parliament Hazel Blears visits TSHS
On Friday, 7th March we, as a group of pupils from Year Nine at The Swinton High School, had the wonderful opportunity to meet Hazel Blears, Secretary of State for Communication and Local Government and MP for Salford. We were keen to ask Mrs. Blears about her own and the government’s views on the Creative and Media Diploma, a new qualification being piloted at The Swinton High School in September 2008.
We were all very nervous at first, as it was our first time to meet a government minister, but she made us feel at ease, as she was very approachable and down to earth. The interview went smoothly with Mrs. Blears giving us well crafted answers and an insight into the Government’s role in the creation of the new Diploma.
The interview was part of our story on creative and media at The Swinton High School, a specialist school for the performing arts. This was our contribution towards the nationwide BBC news school report project.
After the interview we had tea and biscuits, and Mrs Blears was happy to take part in a convivial chat with the pupils and members of the school staff.
The pupils involved in the report were Mishal Tariq, Tom Wightman, Adam Morris, Katie Brook and Jacob Graves.
Chess - Silver Medallist
In February 2008 Cameron played in the qualifying rounds of the year 10 individual Salford school tournament. Cameron won his match comfortably. He was then placed into the finals, which were also played in February 2008. Cameron came second with the silver medal in the individual’s final.
The person who beat Cameron and took first place is a player for the England team. Cameron managed to give him a challenging match, and it was far from one-sided.
Well deserved silver medal for Cameron!
Ready Steady Cook 2008!!
On the morning of Wednesday 6th February, twenty year 10 food technology students took part in a Ready Steady Cook competition in groups of five. The event, jointly organised by Sally Carter (Head of Design and Technology at the school) and Vikki Quinn of Salford Business and Education Partnership, almost didn’t happen because three of the chefs dropped out at the last minute owing to illness. However, the two remaining chefs, Michaela Booth (from Pendleton College) and Jamie Dargie (of Worsley Novotel) bravely stepped into the breech and worked with two groups each. The resulting mouth-watering dishes were judged by a panel of teachers, including Tahira Begum (Head of Year 10 at the school).
Following a healthy theme, the pupils had cooked up a delicious range of dishes using the compulsory ingredients of trout, corn on the cob, bread, a pomegranate and a citrus fruit. The finished dishes were beautifully presented and tasted divine.
It was very difficult to pick a winning team but “The Pink Ladies” (Lauren Warner, Stacey Langham, Natasha Oven, Shade Fasan and Rosie Whitehouse) just had the edge with their winning menu which was-
Pan fried trout with a creamy pomegranate dressing on a bed of corn cob wheels
Served with Potato wedges and a side salad, garnished with herby fried bread triangles
Followed by
Spicy raisin rice pudding
The winning team’s prize is to be an all-expenses paid lunch at Pendleton College Training Restaurant.
All of the pupils were winners in the end as they all learned many new skills and impressed the judges with their ability to work in a team under pressure. Unlike some well-known restaurant kitchens, no swearing at all was heard and the atmosphere was pleasant all morning, which is a credit to the pupils, their parents and teachers.
Introducing the Diploma: Creative and Media
The Swinton High School, alongside other Salford High Schools and Colleges, will be offering the Level 2 Diploma in Creative and Media. Currently, the qualification is worth up to seven GCSE’s.
We were asked, as one of only four schools in the whole of the UK, to host a DCSF Roadshow to showcase the launch. The roadshow would raise the profile of the qualification and most importantly give our year 9’s a head start.
The DCSF totally transformed our Globe Theatre into a state of the art information environment. The pupils worked on interactive touch screens, discovering their new learning pathways.
Giant illuminated Pods filled the Globe, allowing our pupils to have focused interactions with the Diploma professionals.
Throughout the day all of our year 9 pupils were filmed and photographed by the DCSF. They have all since been praised for their behaviour and also their superb questions.
AimHigher Roadshow
As part of the Aimhigher Project, on Friday the 1st of February The Swinton High School hosted the AimHigher Roadshow. The objective of the event was to increase awareness about Higher Education, to raise expectations amongst students and to inspire the enthusiasm for going to University.
The Roadshow involved Year 9 pupils and they all enjoyed the experience. The event lasted the whole day and the pupils found it extremely informative and helpful in terms of expectations and the extent of possibilities opened to them.
“The Roadshow was an excellent way to show us how to decide about our future and, whether or not, to go into Higher Education. It gave us plenty of ideas on the vast number of subjects available at university. At the last count there were 50,000, certainly enough to suit everybody’s choices”.
K.Holland/H.Jepp
“The AimHigher Roadshow was set in a relaxed environment enabling us to interact. It was a great opportunity to gain information on higher education and, for some who had not thought about going on to university, it greatly influenced their view.
M.Tariq/R.Amith/A.Cole
Launch of Cogito - A Philosophy and Debating Group at TSHS
February 2008 saw the launch of a new club for enquiring minds at The Swinton High School. Able, gifted and talented pupils across key stage 3 were invited to the group, along with any other pupils who were interested in polishing their debating skills.
The launch kicked off with some chocolate ‘to stimulate the mind’ (at least that’s what Ms. Webb reckons) and some drama games for the cross-section of pupils from years 7 to 9 to get to know each other. The students then examined a stimulus that prompted them to really get thinking and formulate some ‘philosophical’ questions; questions without a fixed answer.
The first session examined the death penalty, prompted by an image of an electric chair. Questions the pupils devised included: “Why isn’t the death penalty used in more countries and should it?”; “Why do they use such harmful techniques to execute people?” and “Why so cruel?”. The group then voted on the best question to discuss (choosing the ‘death penalty’ question above) and proceeded to have a philosophical enquiry about this issue; strictly sticking to the rules of no interrupting, using each other’s names (even if they have never met before) and linking their points to what other people have said.
Some extremely controversial and powerful opinions were aired and some interesting solutions suggested related to this complex and divisive issue. We certainly have some future lawyers and politicians in our midst.
If you are interested in examining and discussing important issues and questions, all are welcome!
Boys' PE News
Years 7, 9 and 11 have nearly completed their Salford league fixtures and all three years are in contention to finish first or second with a couple of games to go. The year 11 team reached the county cup semi-finals, a competition that started with approximately 200 teams. It was a magnificent achievement by the team, losing 1-0 in a fiercely contested match.
The year 8 and 10 leagues start in February with the aim being to finish in the top two positions.
Year 7 will also start in the Salford Rugby League in February, with the year 10’s playing a rugby 7’s tournament in April.
During November, all year groups entered the Salford Schools Cross Country Championships hosted at Walkden. All pupils ran superbly over a very muddy course. A special congratulations to Emilie Croker who finished 3rd in the year 7 girls’ race and to Andrew Partington who won the under-16 race.
December saw our now annual inter-form 5-a-side competition. This year’s winners were 7O, 8I and 9I. All competition were very well attended and all pupils enjoyed the games. Congratulations to the winning forms.
We hope for more competitions, more pupils representing Swinton and more success in 2008.
BBC Philharmonic visits The Swinton High School
Pupils from The Swinton High School are involved in an exciting new partnership with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. 24 year seven pupils are working with musicians from the orchestra to create a musical soundscape based on “La Mer” by Debussy. The composition will be premiered at The Bridgewater Hall before the orchestra’s concert on the 19th January.
This collaboration is the first of many between Salford Schools and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra as the BBC moves to its new centre in Salford Quays and looks to involve itself more closely in the arts in Salford.
The Deans Primary School visits The Swinton High School
In the spirit of the festive season, the Swinton High School collaborated with Salford’s Music and Performing Arts Service to give the Deans Primary School a chance to record their Christmas song in the high school’s state-of-the-art recording studio.
Year 6 pupils from The Deans, led by Helen Whitehead of MAPAS, used glockenspiels, chime bars, recorders and a variety of percussion instruments to perform a number of musical pieces, whilst surrounded by an array of cables and microphones picking up their every note!
Swinton’s Community Manager, Steve Kerns, said “I think the children really enjoyed their experience, and I was surprised how unfazed they were, especially faced with all the studio equipment. Even our Music Technology students are a bit dazzled the first time they walk into the studio, but The Deans pupils took it in their stride!”
Annual Awards and Presentaion Evening
On Thursday 22nd November, The Swinton High School hosted its annual awards and presentation evening. This is a very important night in the life of a student, as it is the night when they celebrate all the hard years of being in school, receiving their awards and GCSE certificates.
The Swinton Globe was packed to the rafters, with standing room only, as ex-students, parents, staff and Governors all arrived to celebrate the successes as well as being entertained by the Steel Pans and a vocal performance from the ensemble singers conducted brilliantly by Edem M’Brou.
This year's guest speaker was Mr Stuart Wattam, principal of Eccles College, who inspired and entertained all with his speech about his life and schooldays growing up in Leeds.
Emily Redshaw, a student from two years ago, who is now studying Media Production at Salford University, won the CAMPUS Scholarship, which comes with £250 of funding to support her with her study.
Mr Rowlinson, organiser of the event, said, “What a turnout, what an amazing night. I’m just glad it’s over. How we will top this next year, I don’t know, although I’m sure that we’ll come up with something.”
Master Chess Player at
The Swinton High School
In January of 2007, current year 8 pupil Ben Sparrow, The Swinton High School's very own Chess Grand Master, played in the qualifying rounds of the Year 7 Individual Salford Schools Chess Tournament.
Ben won all of his matches very comfortably. He was then placed into the finals, which were played in November. Ben came second overall, winning the silver medal . The person who beat Ben and took first place is a player of national standard and plays for the England team. However, Ben gave him a very challenging match and his silver medal was well deserved.
Well Done Ben!
Aim Higher Visit to Manchester University
by Adam O'Brien, 10N
On Wednesday the 7th November, Mrs Royle and Miss Bardsley took a group of 20 year ten pupils, part of their Aim Higher cohort, to Manchester University, to experience what lectures and campus life is all about, as well as the benefits that a university education can give us.
As we arrived at the university a Student Ambassador greeted us. During the day we spoke to many students around the campus. We asked them a series of questions to do with university and their opinion of it. Most students told us that it was great to be free and independent, that the campus and the lectures were great and that it was fun and exciting meeting new people.
We went through many activities throughout the day, teaching us many things about going to university and why. This visit edged us further into the possibility of going to university when we are older.
Fundraising at The Swinton High School
Since the start of term in September, The Swinton High School has helped to raise over £1200 for various charities.
On Tuesday 16th October, The Swinton High School hosted a charity night to raise money for St. Ann’s Hospice in Little Hulton. The event was organised by teaching assistants Miss Sarah Dawson and Miss Nicole Gowenlock, and was a huge success. Performers included both teachers and pupils, as well as a professional cheerleading group.
A raffle was held, with some fantastic prizes being given away, including signed boxing gloves from Ricky Hatton and Jamie Moore.
Miss Dawson would like to thank all of the staff and pupils who gave up their time for this event, raising over £700 for the hospice in the process.
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in the UK. One in nine women in the UK will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. Nearly 44,000 women in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. Approximately 350 men in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. This is why Miss Patel’s form group decided to fundraise around school during the Breast Cancer Awareness month. They raised an incredible £404.69. The money will be used to increase awareness, the screening programme and research.
Throughout October, 10H have been busy making pink ribbons for everybody in the school to wear to show their support to this worthwhile cause. Niall Anderson, Karl Hargreaves, Soloma Kidane & Charlotte Priestley stayed behind after school on a regular basis to bake cakes and hold cake sales in school. The form group also organised a raffle.
The whole school was then involved in a ‘Wear it Pink Day.’ Pupils wore their school uniform and an additional pink item. All pupils and staff thoroughly enjoyed the whole day.
Friday 16th November saw the canteen staff at The Swinton High School in a different way than usual. All of the ladies dressed up as pupils for the day, indeed one of them was even mistaken for a pupil and told off by a teacher! They held various sponsored events leading up to the day including a sponsored silence (very difficult for the lady involved) and a sponsored diet. Altogether the ladies managed to raise in the region of £300 to send to Children in Need.
Year 11 Able, Gifted and Talented and Aim Higher students boost their learning performance!
On the 2nd November, 40 students from The Swinton High school’s ‘Able, Gifted and Talented’ and ‘Aim Higher’ groups completed an active workshop with education training company ‘Learning Performance’. The ‘Able, Gifted and Talented’ pupils are the top 10% in the year group in terms of academic potential. Furthermore, ‘Aim Higher’ students are pupils who have been identified as having the skills and ability to go to university yet could come from backgrounds where university education would not have been considered as a possibility.
Assembling in the library in the morning, all students were introduced to the facilitator, Steve Wood. Then the bad jokes started. He had an impressive repertoire! The workshop was soon in full swing, and pupils were introduced to a variety of memory and learning techniques such as mnemonics, loci and image trails. Steve demonstrated and pupils were then able to achieve impressive powers of recall, where previously they had said they had ‘bad memories’. These were applied across subject areas and their relevance demonstrated as the group were soon able to recite the first ten elements of the periodic table.
Later on in the day, students further embedded their memory skills and were given clear and lively guidance on how to revise, note-making techniques and time management. Head girl Rhian Corcoran commented that she enjoyed the day ‘Because we got involved with the activities…’ and Head boy Tom Power was extremely positive: “The presenter… helped me in many ways, giving me some great ideas! … I have learned a lot from this session.” Finally, Lauren Wilson added that “Steve made it very enjoyable with jokes”.
The lively nature of the presentation, the relevance of the subject matter (as GCSE exams loom in May 2008!) and the challenging and active nature of the learning that took place resulted in a fine outcome: a day that was enjoyable for both students and staff alike.
Harvest Festival 2007
On the morning of Tuesday 17th October, we held our annual Harvest Assembly.
During the afternoon, under the supervision and guidance of Mrs Carter and Miss Jewkes a number of year 11 food technology students unpacked the boxes of produce that had been donated by each form group and made up the harvest parcels and boxes, ready to deliver the following day.
Some year 11 food technology students then delivered 144 parcels and boxes to:
- Age Concern
- Heath Cottage
- Agnes Hopkins Day Centre
- The Fountains
- Rainbow Nursery
- Pennine Court
- Crandon Court
- Sindsley Court
- Laurence Lowry Court
A further 50 bags were delivered later in the day by individual pupils to their nominated elderly people.
We have been pleased to receive many messages from the recipients and they would like to pass on their thanks to all who took part. Many thanks are also due to staff, parents and pupils who contributed so generously.
A special thank you should also go to the year 11 pupils who were the best ever helpers and excellent ambassadors for the school.
North West Girls’ Football Tournament.
6-a-side teams invited to take part in the day thanks to the success of our teams in the Salford Schools League last season.
We fielded 2 teams, representing England & Sweden, and we played various other teams from the North West in 10 minute matches.
The under 12’s finished runners up, losing to Argentina, but unfortunately the under 14’s came 5th.
We did manage to collect new kits for both our teams as a reward.
Pictured are the girls with their medals and the trophy.
Exam Results - August 2007
76% 5A*-C Grades
Best ever GCSE Results again for
The Swinton High School!
Congratulations to all of our year 11 leavers who achieved 76% 5A*-C grades this summer.
This was our:
- Sixth successive year of GCSE A*-C grade improvements
- Fifth successive year of 'Best Ever' 5A*-C grades
- Best ever 5A*-C grades including English and maths
- Best ever 5A*-C grades including level 2 literacy & numeracy
-Third successive year that we expect to be members of the elite Specialist Schools and Academies Trust most Improved Schools Club.
Well Done
Class of 2007!!