Four music students have recently passed instrumental exams with flying colours.

Congratulations to:
Max Rayner (Year 7) Grade 3 Distinction – Saxophone.
Matthew Haworth (Year 7) Grade 5 Merit – Saxophone.
Jake Fletcher (Year 9) Grade 5 Distinction – Trumpet.
Harvey Neil (Year 10) Grade 4 Distinction- Clarinet.

With the end of the academic year fast approaching some Year 13 students have been working on a special project with a local feeder primary school.

The Creative Media BTEC students were recently contacted by Elworth CE Primary School.  Head Teacher, Mr Neil Garratt, commissioned the boys  to help Year 6 students produce a Leavers’ DVD as a keepsake for them and their families.

The sixth formers, together with their teacher Mr Mace,  have been working with the Key Stage Two children, planning, storyboarding and filming a four minute music video.

Coincidentally one of the BTEC students, Harry Broady, was in a Year 6 Leavers’ Video himself when he was at Elworth back in 2007.  Mr Mace used to help even then on his days off from working for  ITV; his wife is a teacher at the school.  “It was funny going back,” Harry, now 18, said of the experience.  “It’s hard to imagine I was that young and it seems so long ago. I did feel quite at home though which was nice.”

Harry and the other five BTEC students will edit and finish the DVD over the next few weeks and deliver copies to the primary school in time for the end of term celebrations

James Courtney (Year 7) has had a fantastic weekend at the English National Championship Table Tennis Finals in Sheffield.

He played as well as could be expected, facing some really tough opponents, ranked far above him. He acquitted himself with a great deal of aplomb and came through the Under-13s in the top 48 and Under 12s in the top 30 in the country. A fantastic achievement.

This tournament represents the best rising talent in the Country and James is well established now within the higher echelons of Table Tennis players within his age group.

Congratulations James.

Ever wondered why you can’t sleep properly at night or whether it is worth the money buying vitamin pills? The year 9s have been investigating and showcasing their work on vitamin C.

The students have been completing their Bronze Level Crest Award. It’s like the Duke of Edinburgh for science. Here are some photos to show you what they have been up to.

On Tuesday we held the last Year 7 parent and child reading club for this year.  This half term, we read “The Graveyard Book” by Neil Gaiman.  This should have been more of a “light-hearted” read (and we did find some humour in the book) but it stimulated more discussion than many of the other books we have read on far more difficult themes.  We were all a little bit surprised that the book kept us talking for well over an hour.  Some of the boys completed an Accelerated Reader test on the book before we locked up the library for the night too.

After discussions about what to do with the reading club next year, we have decided to expand the reading club to become a Year 7 and Year 8 parent and child reading club next year.  It would be great if some of the new Year 7 parents and boys would join us.

This year, as well as “The Graveyard Book”,  we have read and discussed “Holes” by Louis Sachar, “Listen to the Moon” by Michael Morpurgo, “A Monster Calls” by Patrick Ness and “Now is the Time for Running” by Michael Williams – so if you did not join us for the reading club, you could enjoy some of these over the summer.

We decided that we would all like to read a book over the summer.  Our summer reading book will be “Maggot Moon” by Sally Gardner.  The meeting to discuss this book will be organised soon after we return to school in September.  More details about this book are below along with a link to a website too.

Hope you all have a good summer.

Maggot Moon

Set in an alternative 1950s Britain, where Standish Treadwell and Gramps live with the rest of the undesirables in Zone 7, and all stand terrified under the brutal regime of the Motherland. But severely dyslexic Standish sees the world through different eyes to most, and through his vision and courage he has to track down his best friend Hector, who has disappeared completely, and ultimately find a way to bring down the oppressive forces of the Motherland. How can one boy stand against an all-powerful army?

MAGGOT MOON is an unforgettable story of courage, friendship and rebellion, written in a wholly original style that will have readers on the edge of their seats from beginning to end. It is also available as an all-new kind of iBook, filled with stunning extra content, including exclusive animations, interactive puzzles, videos and author interviews.

Maggot Moon Microsite

Congratulations go to Flight Lieutenant Andrew Goode who has been awarded the Lord-Lieutenant’s Certificate of Merit.  He is the third officer from Sandbach School CCF to have been awarded this honour which is a unique achievement for the contingent.

Flight Lieutenant Andrew Goode joined Sandbach School Combined Cadet Force RAF section in 2001 as a cadet and rose through the ranks to become the section’s Cadet Warrant officer. As the Cadet Warrant Officer he led the section and contingent shooting teams. On completion of his studies in 2007 he left Sandbach School to become a gas engineer. At this time he also left the section as a cadet and joined the staff as a civilian instructor. In 2008 he took over command of the section with just 15 cadets. Over the intervening period he has increased the strength to in excess of 50. Flight Lieutenant Goode is an active officer and has volunteered to support camps and activities over and above his duties to Sandbach. He was commissioned in 2013.

Flight Lieutenant Goode works hard to deliver the most for his cadets and others in the contingent. He gives his utmost to the cadets and the section by supporting camps as staff and attending courses for the benefit of the cadets such as range conducting officer and archery instructor. He willingly took over the command of the RAF section as a civilian instructor in 2008 as there was no one else willing or able to take on the post and there was a risk of the RAF section closing. For the next 5 years he continued to ensure his cadets received the best possible experiences. Since being commissioned, Flight Lieutenant Goode has contributed to his section, contingent, the test west area and CCF (RAF) as a whole, supporting other sections in the area on leadership courses and providing staff support to area competitions, as well as willingly assuming camp commandant duties at short notice to enable camps to take place.

Flight Lieutenant Goode is a consummate RAFVR(T) officer: he is driven and focused in his endeavours to promote the Combined Cadet Force (RAF) within the contingent and school as a whole; his turn out and bearing are beyond reproach; and, he is a dedicated and hard-working young man who believes in the work he is doing for the youth in his area. He is fair and even handed with all he encounters: from the most senior personnel to the youngest and newest recruit to his section, he treats all with the same courtesy and respect. He is a worthy recipient of her majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant’s Certificate of Merit.

This term saw the very first Summer exhibition by students of the Creative Media department.

For their final unit the six Year 13 students were set the task of creating Art films on the theme of ‘Me, Myself & I’ which were then exhibited as Video Art installations.  Each was inspired by the work of famous Video Artists like Sam Taylor Wood, Peter Campus and Remo Camerato.

The students had to organise and set up the exhibition which involved projectors, lap tops, lights, smoke machines and music.  Visitors to the exhibition were also able to see each student’s Final Major Project and other films that they had been working on over the two years they’ve been studying with Mr Mace; music videos, documentaries, adverts, animations and corporate videos.  The six students have now completed their BTEC in Creative Media Production and two of them are off to university to continue their studies. Ryan Welch and Harry Broady are both hoping to work in the TV industry after Media courses at Salford and Sheffield Hallam Universities.

Congratulations to Mr Chambers’ Year 7 Cricket team who have just become the Champions of Cheshire.

The boys won the Cheshire Cup Final on Saturday 4^th of July at Kings School, Macclesfield.  The team have not lost a game this season and have worked incredibly hard in the earlier stages of the competition to get to the final.

Kings won the toss and opted to put Sandbach into bat, Sandbach scored a competitive 103-1 against a good King’s bowling attack.  Carrick Byrne(42 not out) and captain Jack Arton (40 not out) batted with great maturity and skill after receiving the coveted Sandbach school cricket “Red Caps” given to the boys for scoring 50s earlier in the season.

In reply, King’s Macc struggled against a well-disciplined bowling attack complemented with some outstanding fielding.   They posted a score of 85 for 9 wickets in their 20 overs.  Dan Goodier was the man of the match, bowling four overs for 9 runs and taking 4 wickets. He was well supported in the bowling attack by Ross Killey, Jack Arton, Ryan Cheetham and Alex Withenshaw.

This trophy was fully deserved; credit goes to those players who missed out on the opportunity to play in the final, their persistent, hard-working efforts at training contributed significantly to the positive outcome to the team that played on Saturday.

Well done boys!!

On Friday 10 July seven Year 12 students went to PWC (Price Waterhouse Cooper), one of the top 4 global Accountancy firms. The students took part in the “So you want to be an Accountant” challenge which involved a number of sessions and seminars to give them an opportunity to gain an understanding of the Accountancy profession. The students completed a number of challenges indicative of the range of work available to them in the field of accountancy, including fraud, audit, and tax challenges. They had the opportunity to meet accountants from a number of departments within PWC and there were also representatives from the PWC recruitment team, and the ICEAW, the accounting professional body in the UK. Some comments from the students show what they got from the day;

• My visit to PWC was the first time that I had been to a global company. It was amazing to see the career paths that the company offered and the different sectors of the business. During the day I learnt about the numerous functions that the business carried out, as well as the everyday life and work of an accountant. I found the trip both inspiring, informative and definitely something to aim for. Alex Murray – Head Boy

• It was a good way to see how such a big global business works, and how all the different sections work within the business. There were sections there that I have never considered before and now I have a brief knowledge about those sections. Also, it was very interesting to see the many different routes you can make to work for a company like PWC. Matthew Beeston – Yr12 Business

• It was a great insight into the corporate world. 10 out of 10! Really interesting to hear the views of people who actually work there about what they do and what they enjoy about Accountancy. It was very inspiring to see where hard work can get you. I managed to learn a lot but also enjoyed it at the same time. Cameron Crampton – Head Boy Team

• It was a great insight into the corporate world and has allowed me to broaden my knowledge of the diverse area within business. Overall, the day at PWC was an extremely helpful day and has been of huge benefit to me. Sam Winstanley – Head Boy Team

• Informative, interesting, insightful. George Pemberton – Yr12 Business

Parents, students, staff and other guests gathered in the Sixth Form Centre on Wednesday night to celebrate the work produced by students from Year 9 and 10 on the theme of WW1, to mark the first year of the centenary. Work included paintings, mixed media work and sculptures, poetry, and a report from the WW1 Battlefields trip.

Members of The Royal British Legion were in attendance, with one member wearing a replica WW1 Soldier’s uniform- which added to the atmosphere of the event. They commented how impressed they were by the quality of the work on display and the poems, which were effective and moving.

Year 9 student Ambassadors Nick Wellings and Kieran Murphy freshly returned from the WW1 Battlefields visit shared their experiences and photographs with members of the public. There were also copies of the Sandbachian magazine on display from 1901- 1921, giving an insight in to what school life was like around the time of The Great War.

£140 was raised on the night, 50% of which will be donated to The Royal British Legion. Many thanks to all those that attended and well done to the students for producing such sensitive and powerful responses to such an important theme.

Day 1– Everyone arrived at school on time and ready for the coach journey to take us to Manchester Airport.  From there we caught our plane to Geneva. After a few hours traveling, we landed at Geneva Airport and many people spent most of their money on the “discounted” merchandise (chocolate/drinks) the airport sells! The prices were a bit of shock! We all collected our luggage and headed on to the coach which was going to take us to our destination, “Notre Dame de Bellecombe.” Finally, after a long coach journey we got to our hotel, un-packed and ate a traditional French dinner. After dinner we completed our evening activities.

Day 2– On the second day, we woke up very early, got some breakfast and had our pack lunches ready to then board the coach to visit the “Les Gorges du Fier”.  The Gorges was created by years of erosion, resulting in a beautiful rock formation, which carves into the land. Once we had arrived, it was a great photo opportunity for all of us, because of the beautiful scenery and footpath inside the Gorge. After a talk about how the Gorge was created by the teachers, we then went onto a half-day excursion to Annecy town. Annecy was very beautiful, with many gift shops, restaurants, historic buildings and more photo opportunities. During our time there, we had to complete tourism surveys but this was helped by eating our 6 scoop ice creams. We had our lunch altogether in front of a huge aqua blue lake in high twenty-degree heat with the Alps in the background.

We later arrived back at the hotel and evaluated on the day and studied the rocks and landforms we had seen. Only two days in and we had already seen some amazing views and had learnt how the Gorges Du Fier was created.

Day 3- We woke up early and departed on a local coach to go and view Aiguille du Midi and to use the highest cable car in Europe. The cable car goes 3800m to reach the top, which gives us stunning views of the Alps and yet again, great photo opportunities! Surprisingly there was a café, restaurant, gift shop and a mini museum. After traveling back down in the cable car, we caught a train at Montenvers Railway to take us up to Mer de Glace Glacier, a twelve thousand year old ice cave carved into a Glacier. To get down to the Glacier we had to take a ten minute cable car. The ice caves were nice, cool and had sculptures, information and mood lighting. It was a great experience. Once we had arrived back at the hotel, we got time to have dinner, pack and get our rooms sorted for tomorrow. We all completed a Mr Machin quiz special for a night time activity and also had time to pack and relax so that we were ready for our early start the next day.

Day 4- All of us had to be down by half six in the morning all ready and full from breakfast for our long day travelling in front of us. We left the hotel and headed to Geneva Airport in the coach getting to see the amazing views one last time. We checked in at Geneva and departed on our flight at about 11:25. We arrived back at Manchester, and took a coach from the airport, back to school.

Some of the highlights of the Alps trip were being able to see just how big a glacier is and go on the highest cable car in Europe.  This trip was inspirational and we have been left with many memories as well as educating us about glaciers, fold mountains, gorges and lots more. All of this will help prepare us for our GCSEs. I personally had a great time and would advise the future years to go and explore the French Alps. Thank you to all the teachers involved!

Written by Christian Hough (Year 10)

Christian also created this great video of the Alps trip.

Students and staff at Sandbach School are celebrating another successful year with many strong individual A level performances, with almost a 99% pass rate, 54% of grades at A*-B, and 26% of grades at A*-A.  Head teacher Sarah Burns said she was delighted with the results, “We are so pleased once again to see some excellent A level results, and importantly, the culmination of several years of hard work paying off as our students move on to the next stage of their education. It is also great to see a number of students receiving their results in Edinburgh, where Sandbach School Theatre and Music is putting on four different shows at the Fringe Festival.”

Individual successes include Head Boy, Owen MacCuish (A*,A*,A) who is going to Durham to read Politics,Philosophy and Economics, Harry Mace, (A*,A,A,B), and James Pope (A,A,B,C) who is going to read Chemistry and Mathematics at Keele.  Once again, our BTEC cohort has excelled across the BTEC Sport and Creative Media Extended L3 qualifications. Of particular note are Ben Leigh and Tom Forster, both achieving Distinction* across all of their modules and going to Birmingham to read Sport, PE and Coaching Science, and Harry Broady and Ryan Welch, who both achieved two Distinction* grades and are going to study Film, Television and Radio at Sheffield Hallam and Salford respectively.

Georgia Pickles, Alice Mountford, and Isobel Montgomery are particularly pleased to be receiving their results as the first female students to complete their A Levels at Sandbach School. All have achieved excellent outcomes and got into their first choice institutions.

In all, twenty of our students achieved 300 UCAS points or more, seven of these achieving 400 points or more. This is representative of another very successful year for university entry for Sandbach School Sixth Form students, and at the time of writing 84% of students who applied through UCAS have already accepted places at one of their chosen institutions, of which almost half are prestigious Russell Group universities.

Outstanding results were gained in Design Technology where 38% of students gained A*-A, and 88 % A*-B; In Chemistry where 75% of students gained A*-B; in Theatre Studies where 80% gained A*/B and in Mathematics where 37% gained A*-A and 52% A*-B. In both Geography and History over 25 % gained A*-A and over 60% gained A*-B.

In addition to this, outstanding achievement across our BTEC subjects is highlighted by the fact that 49% of students achieved grades which are equivalent to the top A*-A bracket, and 87% achieved the equivalent of A*-B.

In congratulating students and wishing them well for their future careers, Mrs Burns added that it is so satisfying to see years of hard work, determination and resilience come to fruition.

C Abram BS,PE,Ps; T Alcott PuS; E Bates A,G,H; A Beardmore SS; H Beattie BS,PD,PE; M Bell A,MSt,B; S Beresford H,ICT,So; L Birch Ge,G,Ps; D Bloor SS; J Boddington BE,M,Ph; C Bridle ICT,Sc; H Broady CAM; R Burns GP,H,So; J Cagna GP,H,M; H Cain BS,M,PE; J Carter Ec,M,Ph; J Carter H,PE,B; N Clowes BS,G,H; R Coaton CAM; J Colenso AD,MSt; C Crawford ICT,M,Ph; M Davenport PuS; T Davies H; A Edmonds SS; D Edwards M,FM,Ph; J Evans BS,MSt; G Farren PD,M,Ph; T Forster SS; C Grayson M,C,Ph; J Gregory E Lang,Ge,G; I Hall SS; C Hanlon ICT,M,Ph; N Hassall G,MSt; J Healy AD,BS,ICT; J Hegarty SS; C Hilditch-Crimes A,AD,MSt; R Hodgson SS; J Hollinshead E Lang,GP,H; S Humphrey MSt,RS,So; C Jones ICT,M,Ph; J Jones G,M,Ph; K Jones E Lang,ICT,MSt; A Keeble G,PE,B; R Kerry G,Mu; T King G,H,So; C Landman E Lang,TS,PfS; J Leech H,M,Mu; B Leigh SS; C Leitch ICT,M; B Littlemore SS; A Lowe E Lang,H; O MacCuish Ec,GP,M; T MacCuish Ec,G,H; H Mace TS,M,Mu; J Macha SS; D Males ICT; J McDowell G,GP,Ph; J McNicholas G,H,So; M Minshull BS,ICT; P Mitchyn M,FM,Ph; I Montgomery G,PfS,Ps; L Montgomery PuS; C Morris CAM; T Morris PE,Sc; A Mountford E,TS,PfS; J Murphy CAM; T Murray H,B,C; D Nelson BS,MSt,Ps; C Nickson A,AD,G,B; T Oldham E Lang,PD,G,EP; C Parker M,C,Ph; M Parker M,C,Ph; J Parker-Aiken AD,PD,ICT; G Paton SS; J Peake PuS; G Pickles G,GP,H; C Pointon GP,H,So,EP; N Pole GP,H,M; W Poole M,FM,Ph; J Pope M,PfS,B,C; J Price BS,PD,ICT; O Rees AD,PD,Ph; J Rimmer G,GP,H; T Ruscoe H,RS,So; O Sant M,B,C; P Savvides H,Mu; M Saxon CAM; E Shayne E Lang,GP,Ps; B Shirley EL,TS,H; K Smyrk AD,ICT; R Sparks A,BS,Ps; J Spink H,Ps,Sc; D Stephenson SS; L Stevens PuS; A Stringer M,B,C; O Taylor BS,M,B; H Thomlinson AD,PD,G; J Titterington E Lang,Ps; J Townsend AD,G,PE; R Townshend PD,H,M; C Tyler A; K Vazan H,B,C; R Welch CAM; E Whalley TS,L; J Whittaker SS; J Worthington CC,RS,Ps; J Yu E Lang,ICT,Ps;

KEY TO A-LEVEL AND BTEC COURSES:

A – Art; Acc – Accounting; AD – Art & Design; AG – Art Graphics; Ar – Archaeology; Arb – Arabic; B – Biology; BAF – Business, Administration & Finance; BE – Business & Economics; BS – Business Studies; BT – Beauty Therapy; Bu – Business; C – Chemistry; Ca – Care; CAM – Creative Arts & Media; Cat – Catering; CC – Classical Civilisation; Ce – Ceramics; Ch – Chinese; Child – Childcare; Cl – Classics; Ci – Citizenship; Co – Computing; Con – Construction; CS – Critical Studies; CT – Critical Thinking; Da – Dance; Dra – Drama; DT – Design & Technology; E – English Language & Literature; EA – Expressive Arts; Ec – Economics; EE – Electronic & Electrical Engineering; EL– English Literature; E Lang – English Language; Elec – Electronics; Eng – Engineering; ES – Environmental Science; EY – Early Years; F – French; FA – Fine Art; Fash – Fashion & Clothing; FM – Further Maths; FS – Film Studies; G – Geography; Ge – German; Geo – Geology; GD – Graphic Design; GP – Government & Politics; GS – General Studies; H – History; Ha – Hairdressing; HB – Human Biology; HE – Home Economics; Ho – Hospitality; HSC – Health & Social Care; HT – Holistic Therapy; I – Italian; ICT – Information & Communications Technology; IM – Interactive Multimedia; L – Law; La – Latin; LR – Leisure & Recreation; M – Maths; Man – Manufacturing & Product Design; MD – Maths D and D; ME – Mechanical & Electronic Engineering; MFM – Maths for Further Maths; MM – Maths with Mechanics; MS – Maths with Statistics; MSt – Media Studies; MT – Music Technology; Mu – Music; P – Politics; PD – Product Design; PE – Physical Education; PfA – Performing Arts; PfS – Performance Studies; Ph – Physics; Phi – Philosophy; Phot – Photography; Po – Polish; Ps – Psychology; Pun – Punjabi; PuS – Public Services; R – Russian; RE – Religious Education; RS – Religious Studies; S – Spanish; SB – Social Biology; Sc – Science; ScPU – Science for Public Understanding; SHD – Society, Health & Development; SiS – Science in Society; So – Sociology; Sp – Sport; SS – Sport Studies; St – Statistics; Tex – Textiles; TS – Theatre Studies; TT – Travel & Tourism; U – Urdu; UM – Use of Maths.

EP – Extended Project

Year 11 GCSE results will be published on Thursday, 20th August from 9.00 a.m. in the Sixth Form Centre.

Staff will be in school to communicate results and to offer advice for the future. Sixth form enrolment will take place following results collection in the Sixth Form Study Room – applicants will have received a separate letter from Mr Lowe.

Any problems/concerns please email: enquiries@sandbachschool.org

Students and staff  are once again celebrating a tremendous set of GCSE results.  A staggering 84% of boys achieved an A*-C in GCSE Maths, securing our Maths department’s reputation as one of the strongest in Cheshire East.  With 75% of students achieving a GCSE in English Language/Literature and 69% achieving at least 1 Science GCSE it would be surprising if, as last year, Sandbach School is not one of the top performing non selective boys schools in the North West.

Head teacher Mrs Burns congratulated students and staff on their results. She commented “They reflect not only the hard work during year 11 but across the past 5 years at school. With so many changes to GCSEs students were understandably anxious about the results and we are delighted that so many of them have secured the grades that they need to follow their chosen pathway post 16.”

Ten students achieved notable individual results achieving 8 or more A*/A grades across their chosen subjects. Josh Betteley (4A*, 4A, 1B), William Bloor (6A*, 3A), Filip Labecki (5A*, 4A), Jay Mayer (7A*, 2A), Kyle Mellor (9A), Owen Proctor (6As, 2A*, 1B), Matthew Reel (3A*, 6A), Peter Stillwell (4A*, 4A, 1B) and Marcus Waldron (8A, 1B).

We are thrilled that many of our students have already enrolled for the Sixth Form and that a number of external students, including girls have been in touch to confirm their places. However, today is always a very busy day for schools and students receiving results and enrolment will continue during the next few days and in September.

There have been some other notable and very impressive performances within many curriculum areas.

Product Design students have excelled, with an impressive 90% achieving A*-C grades (40% of which were A*/A). Fresh back from representing the school at Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival, our musicians are celebrating again with 87% achieving A*-C grades, an impressive 67% of which are A*/A grades. Art and Design students have enjoyed similar success with 88% receiving A*-C grades.

Our Triple Scientists truly have excelled. Biology students achieved 100% A*-C grades. Chemistry results stand atover 97% A*-C grades, with 47% of students exceeding the expected level of progress. Similarly in Physics 95% of students achieved A*-C grades, a remarkable 44% of which are A*/A grades. An impressive 96% of our GCSE Computing students also achieved A*-C grades whilst PE students have proved their prowess in the classroom matches that on the field with 84% achieving A*-C grades.

For the first time this year, we ran the ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence) course, which is equivalent to 1 GCSE. The 14 students that took the qualification enjoyed a 100% pass rate with 92% passing with distinction (equivalent to A*).

There have also been some exceptional personal achievements across the cohort, with many students exceeding their target grades in a number of subjects and making outstanding progress. Robert Baugh and Christopher Oldham are excellent examples, exceeding target grades in 7 and 8 subjects respectively.

Results: A* – G.

M Adams 9; C Aherne 9; S Allcock 9; K Anderson 9; I Austin 9; K Bailey 9; K Bailey 9; H Baker 9; J Baker 9; S Baldwin 9; L Barker 9; O Barker 10; C Barnes 7; J Barnes 5; P Barwick 9; R Baugh 9; J Bayes 9; L Bebbington 9; C Beech 9; B Bendall 9; J Bennion 9; J Betteley 10; E Black 7; C Blake 9; D Bloor 8; W Bloor 10; O Boon 9; H Bostock 9; T Boulton 9; J Branson 9; J Broad 8; J Broadhead 9; B Brogan 8; A Buddle 9; H Bunn 9; T Burkinshaw 9; J Burns 9; J Burns 9; A Caines 9; L Cardno 8; C Clarke 9; R Clayton 9; H Collins 8; B Cooper 10; J Cope 1; T Cotton 9; T Coulter 9; K Coyle 9; A Critchley 9; M Cruxton 6; W Dakin 9; J Davies 9; T Deathridge 9; O Dernie 10; F Dobberson 9; C Dolan 8; M Downing 6; C Dunn 9; C Edwards 9; C Ellam 9; G Elliott 9; J Elsby 6; T Evers 9; J Finucane 9; R Fisher 9; A Fitton 9; A Ford 9; C Forster 8; L Foxall 9; K Furse 10; J Goodier 8; R Gordon 8; N Grasmeder 9; J Green 10; B Hadaway 9; D Hall 9; D Hanson-Isasi 10; S Hardacre 9; J Hassall 7; S Heaton 9; J Henderson 7; J Hill 8; L Hillyer 9; J Holland 9; P Holland 9; P Holmes 9; D Holt 9; J Holt 9; B Howarth 9; J Hudson 9; R Hudson 9; C Hulse 9; J Hulse 9; M Hurst 10; S Ikin 9; A Ingram 9; A Irlam-Mowbray 9; A Isherwood 9; D Isherwood 9; J Isherwood 9; A Jones 9; J Jones 9; M Jones 9; N Jones 8; B Kelly 9; E Kerry 9; J Kerry 8; J Kimber 9; F Labecki 10; M Lawrence 9; J Lea 6; T Lea 9; J Leadbeater 9; C Leigh 9; C Linsey-Green 9; J Machell 9; C Macpherson 9; C Maddocks 9; M Mason 9; J Mayer 10; K Mellor 10; J Merner 9; S Middleton 8; J Miles 9; T Morgan 8; J Morris 9; J Moscati 10; J Murphy 9; W Murphy 9; H Myers 9; S Newman 9; R O’Connor 9; C Oldham 9; J Ormrod 9; J Parry 6; J Parry 8; W Phillips 9; L Pickles 9; C Platt 9; A Pountain 9; R Powell 6; O Procter 9; J Ravenscroft 9; M Reade 9; T Reaney 9; M Reel 10; L Renshaw 9; J Richards 9; C Robertson 9; A Robinson 9; J Rookes 9; G Royle 9; W Rushton 9; C Sale 9; A Sands 9; B Searles 8; J Sehne 9; E Shirvington 9; O Simpson 9; T Sims 8; J Skellern 9; C Smith 9; C Smith 9; R Spry 9; J Spurrier 9; F Stephenson 9; P Stilwell 10; J Stirk 9; N Stockton 9; B Stoker 9; G Sutcliffe 10; C Taylor 8; E Taylor 9; J Tew 10; B Thomson 9; C Thomson 9; H Thorn 9; J Thorne 9; J Tonks 6; M Tunney 7; L Turner 7; T Wade 9; M Waldron 9; J Walker 9; H Ward 9; A Watson 10; M Weatherby 9; S Wenlock-Smith 9; J White 9; T White 9; L Whitehead 10; J Williams 5; B Wilson 3; B Wilson 9; A Winnett 9; J Woodruff 9; C Worrall 9; G Wright 9; E Wynne 9; R Zissler 9;

Despite being the School holidays August was an exciting and fantastically productive month for the Arts at Sandbach School.  40 current students including five girls had the opportunity to showcase a number of productions in Edinburgh at the annual Fringe Festival.  Thousands of Artists and performers converge on the Scottish capital every Summer for four weeks of theatre, comedy, music and dance and this year Sandbach School provided a variety of entertainment to compete very successfully in this cut-throat marketplace.

‘Roaring Boys’ by Phelim Rowland is a darkly anarchic piece of political theatre set in a public school on the eve of the ’79 election.  It was directed by English teacher Andy Cargill who also co-directed ‘Lost Voices’ with Drama teacher Lucy Greenwood.  This anthology of poetry and prose was an adapted version of a production the students had performed at School in November to commemorate the centenary of the start of the first World War. With its mix of soliloquy, music, dance and physical theatre it proved to be an incredibly moving experience for those who saw it. Both productions were performed five times over the week-long run to the paying public and reviewers alike.

“We’re immensely proud of everyone’s efforts and achievements.” Mr Cargill said. “A professional spirit and excellent audiences culminated in a 5-Star review by the Edinburgh Evening News for which we’re grateful. It’s no more than the casts deserve though – they were amazing.”

Amazing too, as ever, were the Sandbach School Big Band who, under the directorship of John Barber, performed five shows.  World famous singer Matthew Ford joined the lads mid-week and audiences were treated to an eclectic programme of music from Matt Monroe to Radiohead.

“The thing you’ve got to remember and I bet you’ve forgotten already,” said Matthew Ford at the Wednesday performance, “is that these are school children.  There’s this conveyor belt of talent at the School and how John manages to maintain the standard year after year is astounding.”

The venue for all these productions was the very impressive Royal College of Physicians in Queen Street. With its mix of 18th century grandeur, Victorian art and sculpture plus contemporary architectural features the building was able to offer three very different performance spaces.  A number of exhibitions and displays were also housed here including an impressive photography exhibition by Sixth Form student, Alex Robinson.

Other productions that shared the venue were ‘Angelus’ (a play written and performed by long-time friend of the School, Caitlin Edwards, and co-starring Old Sandbachian Paul Sloss) and three plays performed by Ut Severis Seges Theatre Company:  ‘Posh’ by Laura Wade and ‘Kursk’ and ‘Stockholm’ by Bryony Lavery.  The world renowned playwright spent the week with cast and crew and was impressed with what she saw. “I’ve seen these plays all over the world,” Ms Lavery said, “I’ve even seen the Stockholm version of ‘Stockholm’ and these productions are really up there.” The theatre company is made up of Old Sandbachians, former students from the High School and members of Sandbach School staff and the three productions had excellent reviews and were the swan song of Artistic Director, John Lonsdale.

The whole venture was the brainchild of two Old Sandbachians, Luke Isherwood and former Head Boy Jamie Sharp who acted as Venue Manager as well as starring in ‘Stockholm’. The two won the admiration of all involved for their energy, drive and professionalism.  They were supported by a very strong band of technicians, back stage and front of house volunteers, members of staff and parents.

We are excited to launch Show My Homework to parents, an online tool that shows all of your son’s homework,
deadlines and grades online!

Tired of being in kept the dark? Simply visit https://sandbachschool.showmyhomework.co.uk to view our school’s live homework calendar and use the filters to view your son’s homework tasks.

We will also be providing  you with login details to your personal account (in the next few weeks at the Parent Information Evenings), ready-linked to your son’s homework calendar and gradebook. Now you can stay in the loop without having to ask!

✓ 24/7 free access

✓ View quality and quantity of homework

✓ Mobile-friendly & apps available

We hope that this service will provide parents with an insight into how much and what type of homework your son receives. More importantly, we hope that it will improve your son’s organisation, time-management, and help them to keep on top of their workload.

If you or your son have any questions about the service, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with your Student Support Coordinator:

Year 7 – Mrs Holdsworth via email – lholdsworth@sandbachschool.org

Year 8 – Mrs Dilworth via email – ddilworth@sandbachschool.org

Year 9 – Mr J McDonnell via email – jmcdonnell@sandbachschool.org

Year 10 – Mrs R Cooper via email – rcooper@sandbachschool.org

Year 11 – Mr M Guildford via email – mguildford@sandbachschool.org