GCSE GEOGRAPHY TRIP TO BOURNEMOUTH…

On Tuesday 9th and Thursday 11th 175 Year 10 travelled to Bournemouth to complete their fieldwork which goes towards their Geography GCSE. They investigated the effectiveness of coastal management on the seafront and assessed the transport issues and management in the town. It was wonderful to see students making sense of classroom theory in the real world and having a wonderful time with their peers. All students worked incredibly hard, behaved impeccably well and were a real credit to the school, some even managed an ice-cream too! Thank you to all staff and students involved in such a great day!  Miss Slater 

 

NORMANDY AND PARIS TRIP…

A group of year 10s from Ridgeway spent 5 days in France at the end of term. It was a great experience and the students really entered into trying to speak as much French as they could. This is due in no small part to Miss Folléat, who teaches all of the year 10 French groups this year.

In Normandy there were visits to Bayeux market and cathedral, the D-Day landing beaches and a local crêperie. Whilst in Paris students took a boat trip down the river Seine, visited the Mont Martre district and went up the Eifel tower. It was a busy time in Paris as the Olympics were due to start a few days later.

Taking the time to come and see life in France both in the big city and in the countryside really helped students understand living in another country and another culture. The practice they got speaking French in a real life situation will also stand them in good stead for next year’s GCSEs.
Mr J Roberson

 

CONGRATULATIONS TO HOLLY…

Congratulations to Holly on taking part on the Bristol to Bordeaux cycle challenge. It was a real test of her mental and physical resilience and she came home exhausted but she smashed it, raising £2500 for charity in the process. Well done Holly!

 

ASC TRIP TO HARRY POTTER STUDIO TOUR…

This term the silver block provision for students with autism had their end of term trip to the Harry Potter Studio Tour in London. As some of the pupils in silver block face difficulties with crowds, loud noises and new places, I would like to say how very proud I am of them all for representing our school in such a brilliant way. Sebastian Squires and Thomas Prestwich have written an account of the day for us all to enjoy.  Please enjoy the below articles written by students who visited the Studios…

On the 3rd July 2024, the silver block staff and kids went to Watford by bus, taking 2 long hours! When we arrived, we had to wait for a Harry Potter staff member to hand us our tickets, we then entered and had our stuff searched to make sure we had no contraband.

Once we entered the main lobby on one of the walls there was an advert for the 20th birthday of The Prisoner of Azkaban. This included 4 new sets, which I didn’t see.

In one of the sections, it showed how the creatures were made and brought to life. Some were CGI and others like the basilisk were actually made so Harry was fighting him more realistically!

Overall, my two favourite bits were the CGI Gringotts dragon and the butterbeer, which once finished you got to keep the mug as a souvenir. I loved going to the Harry Potter Studio and would recommend you going.  Written by Thomas Prestwich.

 

As a whole unit end of year trip for silver block, we went to the Watford Studio Tour “The making of Harry Potter” at Leavesden studios on 3rd July 24. This took, rather unfortunately, a 2-hour trip by bus. This significantly heightened the tension between the groups. When we finally arrived, we waited for our health and safety presentation, before entering the studio, we passed the cupboard under the stairs set, a wall display of the movies, dates they were released and other significant features. Before an admittedly rather comedic pre-recorded video, featuring visitors and the actors who played Fred and George Weasley explaining the rules and layout of the studio tour. After this we saw another video by the actors who played Harry, Ron and Hermione (Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson). We then saw the Great Hall set, Dumbledore’s Office, the Gryffindor Common Room and other set. After we entered the Forbidden Forest and saw Firenze the centaur, Aragog the Acromantula and interactive glowing Patronus. It is worth nothing, I did not see Aragog as I am scared of spiders! The we went to a replica of platform 9 ¾ before going to the backlot, where we had lunch. Most people bought a Butterbeer, however I bought some Butterbeer flavour ice-cream (please note Butterbeer has absolutely no alcohol content, it is merely a name). Then we went to the main backlot to see Hogwarts bridge, the flying Ford Anglia (which was immobile) and No.4 Privet Drive. Next, we went into the creature department, where a large portion of the students made an interactive Dobby the House Elf do a series of popular dances such as, “the griddy”.  I officially disapprove of this as a member of the Society for Promotion of Elvish Welfare (SPEW). The next set on our tour was Diagon Alley, the art department and Gringotts Bank, before and after the events of Deathly Hallows 2. To finish our tour, we went into the gift shop. I was really hoping to buy a wand, but they were expensive, a pen was £5! Suffice to say, the price was typical for the outskirts of London. We then left (another 2-hour bus trip) arriving back at school at 6:35pm, 5 minutes late.

(Note: we were visiting during the 20th Anniversary feature commemorating Prisoner of Azkaban, so some information may incorrect or out of date) Written by Sebastian Squires.