Goffs Academy Newsletter

Dear Parents/Carers and Students,

As has been the case for all schools, this term has been challenging and unique. It is testament to all staff and students, that students have been able to continue with their learning throughout the term. We have achieved many successes in doing that. We continue to offer a full curriculum, including PE, Music, Drama, Technology, Art and Computing, and have adapted lessons where needed, while retaining a daily focus on high quality learning and teaching.

We have adapted successfully to running online versions of crucial school events, including the Open Evenings for prospective Year 7 and Year 12 students. Where students (and staff) have been required to self-isolate, we have immediately moved to remote learning, with students following a full programme of ‘live’ lessons in line with their usual timetable. Year 11 and 13 students have continued with intensive preparations for exams next summer, including a full programme of mocks in formal exam conditions.

As you will see in this newsletter, students have continued to take part in an incredible range of activities across the curriculum. I remain convinced that the challenges presented have strengthened our community in many ways, and I continue to be exceptionally grateful for the commitment, creativity and good humour shown by our amazing staff and students.

I wish you all a restful and enjoyable break over the Christmas period, and I look forward to seeing students in January.

Kind regards and best wishes,

Mark Ellis

Principal

On Tuesday 20th October, my fellow Year 7 peers and I took part in a team building event. The year group was split into two and both groups were allocated two lessons for this exciting event. We were split up into smaller groups of 12 to battle it out to get first place in each challenge. Not only was this day about showing our competitive side, but also about being able to use teamwork and perseverance to find a way to finish each task successfully.

Meeting new people and then having to talk about ideas confidently is daunting for some people, but with everyone’s encouragement and positive attitude towards trying something new, we were able to discuss ideas effectively.

We took part in many fun team challenges on the day; the challenge that sticks in my mind most (and the one I felt my team was most successful at) was where we were asked to stand in a circle, connected to each other by sport bibs and we had to pass a hula hoop around the circle by climbing through it without letting go. It wasn’t easy, but we worked together well and we laughed a lot.

During the course of the day, there were lots of House points up for grabs; this was for co-operation, teamwork or being a great leader!

Overall, it was a very worthwhile day spent getting to know new people who we may have never met before and learning how to work as a team to achieve our common goal.

Team Building day was very fun! There were lots of activities for us to do and we all worked as a team to complete the tasks. It was great to hear people’s ideas and try them out. We were rewarded with House points and I was awarded with an R5 for great leadership and for listening to other people’s ideas. I am very grateful for the day and would like to thank the staff for setting it up. Everyone enjoyed our Team Building day.

This term there has been lots of individual and form group successes. I am very pleased with the students on their return to school after an unsettling period. In particular, students such as Kennedy Alade, Janelle Baafour-Kyei, Ruby Mozden, Max Thomas, George Jones and Oli Higgins. These students received awards from myself and Mr Holding for being excellent and respectful role models in Year 8.

In addition to achievements, the form group 8A have the most achievement points and the form group 8E have been the best behaved with the least amount of sanctions. 8E have held this title for a few weeks and they should be proud of their efforts.

At present, the students with the most House points from each form group are as follows; 8E- Zishan Haque, 8Q- Guluzar Guven, 8U- Ella Thompson, 8A- Josh Warmerdam, 8L-Priyanka Gahir, 8I- Samuel Cross-Cole, 8T- Max Frondi and 8Y- Chloe Gregory. Well done to all, it is extremely pleasing to see the variety of House points from lots of subjects for many different reasons.

During ATM, the Year 8 students have focused on being respectful. They have discovered ways they can demonstrate being respectful inside and outside of school. Many students have been rewarded for this. Each form group created a form contract with several ways to display respectful behaviour in school.

In November, we also had a whole year assembly focusing on being kind. This included a talk from PC Holden (a local police officer), who spoke to the students about behaviour on social media and the impact this can have on their futures. Students were very engaged and found the assembly informative.

Have a very merry Christmas.

Lynsey Hague

Director of Learning, Year 8

Coming back to school was good, it was nice seeing friends again and getting to talk about everything that had happened. Life in Year 8 is brilliant, we aren’t pressured into completing too many tests.

The subjects I am enjoying most are; Maths, as each lesson challenges me, History, as I learn about things that have happened in the past that could have helped our lives today, and Textiles, as we get the opportunity to create something of our choice.

I am enjoying school because it gives me a chance to communicate with my friends, I like learning new things in a positive way that will help me in the future, and the teachers help me and get me involved in lessons. I have achieved many House points, because of the helpful staff and friends that have supported me with the learning.

Julia Brodowska, 8I

2020 has been a rough year for everyone but returning to school was something I was excited about. Even though many things changed due to Covid, the school did very well to help us adapt to the changes.

It has been challenging in Year 8 because we have had to catch up on things that we did not get to do in Year 7 due to closure. Catching up has been fun as the teachers have helped us do this and continue our learning with ease.

I particularly enjoy PE, even though we are doing it outside due to zones/bubbles, the teachers are still finding ways to make it fun and enjoyable for everyone.

The one thing I have enjoyed the most about coming back to school is seeing my classmates and teachers again. Even though we could talk over the phone, it still wasn’t the same, it was exciting to be able to see them in the flesh.

I, along with some other students in my form, received an award for having the most House points in Year 8 and I have to say, I was very proud of myself for being able to come that far in a space of a term.

Akosua Osei Afriyie, 8A

Returning to school after missing out on over half of my first year at Goffs was quite strange. I was relieved that I could finally go back to normal and see all my friends and wonderful teachers again. I hadn’t been to school in such a long time that I enjoyed even the simple things that occur in every day school life; such as hearing the bell go again, having a cookie from the canteen and even waking up early!

This year has been very different so far, for example, we are only allowed in our year bubbles and certain parts of the corridors. We also now have to wear face coverings. These actions must take place in order to keep us safe and so that we don’t get taken away from our enjoyment of school and learning.

Life in Year 8 so far is great! I’m enjoying being in my second year of secondary school. I know what is expected of me and I can now help the new Year 7s around the building. I also like that we now have our own space as a year group which allows us to all be together. Even with the risks of COVID and the measures in place, there are still lots of opportunities to get involved in and help the school community.

At school there isn’t one lesson I don’t enjoy. Every class is fun and engaging and I always go home with new information that I have learned throughout the day. However, if I had to pick three of my favourite subjects, it would definitely be History, Drama and Textiles.

I hadn’t learnt much about these subjects before coming to Goffs. I chose Textiles as I have learned so many new skills and made some incredible things! I love History, as it is full of interesting facts and we are part of history, especially at this time during a global pandemic. In addition, I have had so much fun in my Drama lessons and I love to perform in front of the class. It has definitely boosted my confidence and I look forward to it every week.

I love coming to school every morning and I thoroughly enjoy every part of it. I love learning new things, seeing my friends, seeing the staff and the food is delicious! There are so many different things to take part in and chances to win House points, which you can spend towards a range of different things, however, I like to cash mine in for vouchers! I feel like part of a big community.

I have achieved so much in just over a year at Goffs! I have learned to be proud of everything I do, never give up and try my best. I was also extremely proud to be awarded the Principal Award in Year 7. As I said previously, there are so many opportunities at Goffs and I especially enjoy the after school clubs and the dance show! In conclusion, I mam very proud to be part of the Goffs community and it has taught me to be ‘Respectful, Resilient and Responsible’.

Calia Jordan, 8I

In November we celebrated Anti-Bullying Week 2020 with Odd Sock Day which was a great success. Anti-Bullying Week was accompanied by resources and videos in ATM and lots of House Points!

We reflected on:

What is bullying?
What is NOT bullying?
What are the roles in bullying as group behaviour?
What is banter?
What is NOT banter?

Total House Points awarded was: 12000

A special mention to goes to 7L as they were all in odd socks!

Since October 1987, Black History Month has been celebrated annually in the United Kingdom. As a multi-cultural school community, it is important to us that we celebrate the heritage of our students. This month we decided to celebrate Black History Month by running a school-wide display competition.

Our Head Girls for Diversity and Culture - Louvain O’Donoghue and Nathania Ellis – planned and executed our display competition this year alongside SLT member and Spanish teacher Mr Holding. We received an overwhelming response from students with 45 entries, from more than 60 students. We had an array of posters, PowerPoints, art pieces, videos and a poem. The effort made by these students was absolutely incredible and we are in the process of displaying the work around the school. Massive well done to all the students who contributed!

We had amazing support for this competition; 39 students were awarded R3s, totalling 3900 House Points plus the following winners:

Joint First Place: Isaac Bode 11L and Emily Hayford 9L both receiving R5s (10,000 House Points)

Runners up received R4: Azuka Opara, Sharon Hood and Ruby Gordon

These students exhibited incredible creativity and their entries were the most unique.

Although we were unable to gather and celebrate Black History Month together this year, we made an effort to still spread stories and information amongst the students. Mr Holding designed and distributed a Black History Month informational PowerPoint and Louvain and Nathania designed a series of posters with influential black activists, artists, athletes and inventors. These have since been printed and displayed around the school in areas with significant student traffic for them to read.

Louvain O’Donoghue
Head Girl for Diversity and Culture

I am honoured to be selected as the winner for this competition. I would like to thank my parents, my English teacher - Ms Stewart- and everyone who voted for and supported me.

I wrote this speech with the initial intention of emboldening my peers and allowing them to realise (if they had not already) that they are the masters of their own destinies and the path they will follow in life is not set in stone but it is determined by their efforts inside and outside of school.

At first, I wrote it to discourage laziness and passive learning. I wanted it to deter my classmates from settling for mediocrity. By this, I did not mean they should aim for perfect grades in everything, but they should never hold themselves back. I remembered having periods of severe demotivation, and I remembered how my parents cheered me on through them – I wanted to have a similar effect.

As the deadline for the speech approached, my aim changed. It was no longer meant to just inspire my peers but anyone who listened to it. It was no longer about discouraging laziness. I wanted my speech to be the life raft for anyone treading water - day in, day out.

It is fair to say that the past nine months have been the most uncertain in many years. With this uncertainty comes issues with how we deal with our own mental health and wellbeing. It has been a tough term for everyone, but the Wellbeing Team has been there to support your children through this uncertainty, giving them some light at a what can feel like a never-ending tunnel.

The Wellbeing Team (Mr. Holding, Mr. Lewis, Krystle and Jenny) have been working hard to support all students with the necessary changes in school. Two of the ways we are doing this is through Krystle’s Safe Space Club and Mr. Lewis’ Morning Meditation. Both these sessions are by invite only to students struggling with anxiety and social needs in the wider school community. There, they get full support on how to deal with their feelings and strategies on how best to manage or to overcome them.

As we have focused on developing and supporting all students in the school and educating them on the importance of looking after themselves, we have provided assemblies on ‘coming back together’ with themes from showing gratitude, to how living healthily can develop and support your mental health and wellbeing. We ran our first webinar ‘Positive Wellbeing Tools for Young Minds’ hosted by the Wellbeing Team on 16th December 5.00-6.00pm on the best way to support your child’s mental health over the Christmas period as well as throughout the year.

One of the ways in which we have sought to develop pathways of supporting students is through the Sixth Form Wellbeing Advocates and Wellbeing Leaders. These students have been given specialised bespoke training to help them be able to support the lower school students in their wellbeing. Given by Education Child Protection (ECP Limited) our Sixth Form Top Team were given hands-on training on key signs to look out for and how they can have an effective role promoting the wellbeing of all students. Our Sixth Form Team are:

· Faye Gordon – Head Girl for Wellbeing

· Lania Ways – Head Girl for Wellbeing

· Louvain O’Donoghue – Head Girl for Diversity and Culture

· Nathania Ellis - Head Girl for Diversity and Culture

· Keziah Lawson – Senior Prefect (Wellbeing)

· Lissy Batt – Senior prefect (Wellbeing)

· Luke Keane – Senior Prefect (Wellbeing)

· Rhianna Rennie – Sixth Form Wellbeing Advocate

· Xenia Gougos - Sixth Form Wellbeing Advocate

· Ellie Laniyan - Sixth Form Wellbeing Advocate

· Pheobe Hegley - Sixth Form Wellbeing Advocate

Having such a big team means that the support your children will be getting is massive. Part of the Sixth Form Team is to support the wider Wellbeing Team with roles such as leading the Wellbeing Council, which has been newly formed this term. This council is one of the newest programmes we have started running this year. Our Wellbeing Council members are:

Year 7:

· 7E - Efe Yuksel

· 7Q - Joseph Hickey

· 7U - Grace Horncastle

· 7A - Kamsiyochukwu Ezeh

· 7L - Skye Mabiala

· 7I - Gianntina Bavetta

· 7T - Elmaz Fevzi

· 7Y - Alexander Horvat

Year 8:

· 8E – Oliva Rama

· 8Q – Lucas Anayiotou

· 8U – Robert Daniels

· 8A – Zenon Panayiotou

· 8L – Charlotte Coffey

· 8I – Taurus Reid

· 8T – Jospeh Alexander

· 8Y – Devon Tosun

Year 9:

· 9E – Makelia Fulelr

· 9Q – Olivia Bailey

· 9L – Grace Sofokleous-Ames

· 9I – Rhianna Kendal

· 9Y – Denzel D’Souza

The aim of the Wellbeing Council is for the lower school students to come up with new ideas and events, which support and promote wellbeing in the school. Students were elected from the form groups and we are very excited to see their amazing work, which will develop over the coming months.

Outside of the in-school initiatives, we have been running events to raise awareness of important charities and causes which affect all of our school community. We celebrated World Mental Health Day on 10th October, reaching out to students on ‘One thing’ they can change to better their mental health. We had some fantastic entries, and it was amazing to see so many students getting involved.

Finally, we have started up the LGBTQ+ society “Prism” once again this year. Unlike last year, the society will be meeting in their bubbles; however, it will still provide the same amount of support and presence as before. The first focus for Prism will be the upcoming LGBTQ+ History month in February 2021. The students will be working hard to help educate their peers on the importance of remembering why we have an LGBTQ+ History month.

All of us in the Wellbeing Team are very excited to see what the rest of the year has in store for us.

James Lewis

Student Wellbeing Lead

The ICT & Computing department started the half-term with our students taking part in the Bebras Computing Challenge during their Computing lessons. Students from Year 7 - 10 took part in the Challenge during a two-week period between 9th and 20th November. The Bebras Computing Challenge introduces computational thinking to students. It is organised in over 40 countries and designed to get students all over the world excited about computing.

The Bebras challenges are a set of short problems called Bebras tasks and were delivered online through individual logins given to each student. The tasks were fun, engaging and based on problems that Computer Scientists often meet and enjoy solving. The tasks can be solved without prior knowledge but instead require logical thinking. Here is an example of the sort of problem solving tasks that students were given:

The students had to aim to solve as many as they can in the allotted time of 40 minutes. Once results have been published, students will receive certificates to celebrate their achievements.

The ICT & Computing department also ran the Christmas Desktop Challenge this year, details of which are below:

This half term Year 11 pupils have been preparing for their Drama exam for OCR. Section B of this exam requires pupils to write a Theatre Evaluation for a performance of their choice. Due to the prolonged theatre closures, the Drama Department have paid a subscription to Digital Theatre +; enabling pupils to access recorded theatre performances online.

The performance the pupils will be evaluating this summer is Frantic Assembly’s ‘Things I Know To Be True’, which achieved high critical acclaim when it was released in 2018 and is something the pupils have really been enjoying watching and evaluating.

One exceptional piece of homework related to this topic was a ‘revision mat’ on the production by Jessica Blake.

Jessica went above and beyond in her presentation and more importantly the content of her homework, achieving an R4 for her efforts. However, the real prize will be when she comes to revise this topic in later months and she has an excellent tool in helping her revisit this production.

Clare Holland
Head of Drama

As we approach the festive season, and the term draws to a close, we will all be celebrating the many successes and achievements of our Goffs students this half term.

We have launched a whole school initiative to increase use of sophisticated vocabulary, reading, writing, speaking.

Through the launch of these booklets, we hope to see a real impact on students’ ability to speak, read and talk eloquently and competently.

With a lot of hard work, the booklets have been designed to help: prevent vocabulary being a barrier to learning! Alongside, Infusing all students with a breadth of Tier 2 vocabulary.

WHY?

As a school it is apparent that students are not reading enough, which is having a detrimental effect on : reading ages; writing ability; oracy; ability to access high level texts and exam questions.

There will be several prizes, rewards and competitions running alongside the booklet throughout this academic year, so watch this space!

‘Victorious Vocab is an innovative resource, to aid students in being able to understand and apply vocabulary to all areas of learning.’

Miss Stewart

Year 7, 8 and 9 pupils have been introduced to an array of literacy texts, as well as rich learning opportunities that have been both challenging and enjoyable. There have been speaking and listening opportunities, where all KS3 groups have had the chance to showcase their amazing presentational skills, as well as developing a love of reading through the set texts introduced to them this half term.

Year 7s have been reading ‘The Diary of Anne Frank,’ reflecting upon major themes and historical events such as discrimination, WW2, human nature, growing up, and hope.

Year 8s have been studying Power and Conflict poetry, where they have been able to exhibit their impressive skills in writing and performing poetry.

Year 9 have thoroughly enjoyed the challenges of reading ‘To Kill A Mockingbird, helping them to develop analytical skills that will prove to be vital in the upcoming GCSE years .’ Some wonderful pieces of work have been produced by members of both year groups, demonstrating skills in writing about plot, characterization, and the effect of these - all skills that will help them develop their academic writing, as well as appreciation of classic literary texts.

A special mention to the following year 7 students who have created these eye-catching and informative Anne Frank posters, as well as a homework project on mighty figures throughout history.

Here at Goffs Academy we endeavour to promote a school wide reading culture, in the hopes of enriching pupils’ learning and creativity. Reading is a vital skill in any walk of life and enables students to be able to make the most out of their experience at school.

While in Years 7, 8 and 9, you should try to read a wide variety of types of books. Don’t just stick to one author, or one genre. Experiment with something new. That is one reason why this list is arranged in genre-based sections. As well as reading books, don’t forget that newspapers and good magazines are also excellent reading material and will get you used to a range of reading experiences that will set you up well for GCSE and beyond, as well as broadening your knowledge and understanding of the world in which you live.

The following websites are recommended and feature news and views about all types of books written for young people. So, as well as using this reading list, why not check the websites out too and see what other people are recommending? They will also give information about brand new books.

Year 10 and 11 have continued to demonstrate resilience, responsibility and a mature attitude to learning since coming back after lockdown.

The department are impressed with how well students have adapted to the challenges faced this year, and have really revealed an inner strength that will enable them to thrive at school and beyond.

Year 10 have been getting into the festive spirit by studying ‘A Christmas Carol,’ enabling them to learn about the context behind the text, as well as major themes and concepts such as redemption, social injustice etc.

Year 11 have recently been working hard on Language and Literature mocks, receiving and acting upon teacher feedback, thus preparing them for their upcoming exams. They have also been revisiting ‘A Christmas Carol’ and ‘Macbeth,’ ensuring they’re continually revising and continuing to practice skills required for GCSE Literature.

Year 11 also recently watched an stimulating virtual performance of ‘Macbeth’ from The Globe Players – which really helped assist in their Literature revision, particularly when exploring stagecraft.

At KS5, we are starting The Great Gatsby in Year 12 and The Grapes of Wrath in Year 13.

Students have also recently watched a thrilling Royal Shakespeare Company production of 'Hamlet' set in Africa, which was exhilarating and thoroughly engaging, and beneficial for students to watch alongside their study of the play.

A visiting lecturer also came in to school on 11th December for American Literature – a great way of giving the students the university experience!

Course Outline – Year 12

Component 1: 1½ hours closed book exam, 60 marks, 50% of AS

· Shakespeare - Hamlet

· Poetry pre-1900 - Christina Rossetti: Selected Poems

Component 2: 60 marks; 50% of AS; 1 ¾ hours closed book exam

· Drama post-1900 - A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

· Prose post-1900 - The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald

Course Outline – Year 13

Component 1: 2hrs 30 mins closed book exam.

The same texts as in Year 12, 60 marks and worth 40% of the A Level course

An additional text to add to Year 13 is ‘A Doll’s House’ by Henrik Ibsen.

Component 2: 2½ hour closed book exam, 60 marks, 40% of A Level

· Close reading in chosen topic area of American Literature

· Comparative and contextual study from the chosen topic area of American Literature:

An additional text to add to Year 13 is ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ by John Steinbeck.

Component 3: NEA 40 marks; 20% of A Level NEA; coursework unit

· Critical writing piece on poetry by Carol Ann Duffy

· Comparative essay 2,000 words

The texts for Component 3 are chosen from a selection issued by the OCR Examination Board. This is an independent learning component. Students can choose their texts and approval will be confirmed by class teachers and OCR.

This half-term, Year 7 have been learning about hazards around the world. They have enjoyed learning about why these hazards happen and what impacts they have on the locations they hit. To enable the pupils to understand the structure of the Earth, they produced a pop-up diagram.

In October, 4 Year 8 students managed to complete the Maths Challenge they started back in March. Having qualified for the final of the event before lockdown, this event was held remotely, and we joined a big Zoom call after school one day which was great fun.

Adam, Lakshya, Daniel and Zishan competed as a team of 4 against 17 other teams from schools in Hertfordshire. They had to work out logic problems, estimate answers to puzzles, complete a memory round and answer some pretty challenging Maths questions.

The team collaborated well with each other and displayed great resilience to do very well, finishing 4th. Here you can see the team in action. Adam is leaning back thinking, visualising the solutions in his head.

It was great to see the enthusiasm and competitive spirit from the team and hopefully we can try again in the spring and do even better.

We are looking to expand this to more teams and more years so if you are interested please email jye@goffs.herts.sch.uk or look out for more information through the year.

Well done guys.

Jonathan Yelland

Teacher of Maths

This year’s Key Stage 3 Maths Week took place from November 9th to 13th November and was a huge success with the students. It was definitely a challenge picking out a winning poster out of many fabulous entries received! Congratulations to Emily Hayford, 9L (see below) for receiving the winning prize and to joint second place winners Deven Tosun 8Y and Olivia Gibson-Musk 7I.

Throughout the week we hosted a highly anticipated lunch time club, gaining interest from a diverse range of students. The students were presented with a variety of interesting activities of which they needed to tap into their logical thinking skills.

We also received over 100 entries to our daily maths problems, and our lessons were enthused with video puzzles inviting students to experience the endless puzzle-solving joys of mathematics.

The week came to a close with a bundle of prizes appreciatively accepted by our young mathematicians for their participation and successful answers to the puzzle of the day. We look forward to next year’s Maths Week, which we are sure will be just as highly anticipated!

Well done to all those involved!

Mine Belet & Jonathan Yelland

Here at Goffs Academy we believe in offering students a broad curriculum to prepare them for their future. In a fast-paced world where interactivity is growing, the media industry is one of the largest growing sectors for work.

Our Year 9 Media Junior Designers have just completed their first graphic design project using Adobe Photoshop. This creative project developed our junior designers' skills and techniques in print media and advertising. The Junior Designers had to produce research and analyse a wide variety of advertisements; they reviewed typography, graphics, slogans and different layouts to help develop ideas for their own work. They were tasked with applying their photography skills by taking their own photos. These were then edited in Adobe Photoshop to create unique print advertisements.

For their next project our junior designers will become junior journalists and explore interactive media. They will create their own online magazine covers and articles using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign. This exciting course is a great introduction to key media themes and terminology, whilst allowing our juniors to gain industry related skills using creative software. We ensure learners work on project briefs that develop their creativity, independence and professionalism.

We are very pleased that we have been able to run a lunchtime Italian club for Year 8 this term, led by our assistant Grazia. Students have been learning to introduce themselves in Italian as well as about its culture and traditions.

For any questions about Italian, please contact Ms M Amadori, Head of Italian

mam@goffs.herts.sch.uk

‘I have really enjoyed learning Italian every Thursday, and now if I ever take an Italian lesson, I will be ahead of everybody from the start.

It is not just like a lesson, you also play games, so come to the Italian Club and impress your teachers!’

Jakob Bomber 8E

At the beginning of the half term Year 9 psychology students took the knowledge they learned from the previous half term in order to conduct a mini practical. As students were previously studying memory they were tasked with replicating a classic study – Peterson and Peterson’s study into the duration of short-term memory.

For preparation students were placed into small groups where they focused on creating the materials for their study. They first needed to predict what they would find from the practical. From there they had to create a list of 10 trigrams for a participant to memorise, and create standardised instructions to read to the participant before the study. They also considered the ethical issues of the study and how they would deal with them (i.e. how they would get consent beforehand and what they would say when debriefing their participants). Students were then sent off to test a participant each and collect one result.

The following week each group’s results were collated on how many trigrams their participants were able to accurately recall. Using the results students then had to calculate the mean numbers of trigrams correctly recalled for each group and plot this on a bar graph. This step was important in order to determine whether their hypothesis from the previous lesson was correct. After they considered their hypothesis students wrote up their study. Students were able to conclude from the data that their study partially supported Peterson and Peterson’s study. They found that participants recalled less trigrams accurately the more time they had to complete a distraction task, up until 15 and 18 seconds where they had some anomalies. The class practical did highlight that short-term memory is limited and may last up to 18 seconds.

Subsequently students had to summarise the aim, method, results and conclusions of the study in some detail. To develop their critical thinking skills they also had to reflect on the evaluation – what went well with the study, were there are issues that may have affected the results?

Students thoroughly enjoyed the practical element of their personalised curriculum course. The practical and write up gave them some experience of being a psychologist, and they acquired a better understanding of the requirements of conducting a psychological

experiment.

Olja Holman
Head of Psychology

Like science but not sure that you are cut out to be a doctor? Like animals but you don’t think you will get the grades to be a vet? Following on from the last edition of the newsletter we are now going from F to J.

Food technology. There are numerous opportunities in the food industry including becoming a chef, working in food preservation or as a food safety specialist. Heston Blumenthal's specialism is using science to devise his dishes and liquid nitrogen is regularly used to make icecream. You can get into food through a wide range of courses. Apprenticeship or degree- the choice is yours. If you have at least 2 A levels including one science then food science degrees are open to you!

Graphic designers are key to the success of any marketing strategy. You could be responsible for logos that become as famous as McDonald's golden arches. If you think you have the skills to inspire inform and captivate consumers thus is the career for you. Taking Anglia Ruskin as an example all you need are 96 UCAS points and a portfolio of your work.

Hairdressers need to have an understanding of science when working with treatments no-one wants to end up with an allergic reaction after visiting the salon. Stylists tend to train on the job attending college part time, but you do need GCSEs including maths, English and ideally science. If you have an easy going and patient manner and want a job where you can make people feel better after an hour in your care this could be the job for you.

IT Suport. If you are the person who can always fix the computer when Zoom calls crash or the teacher's laptop fails to display clearly then a job in it support may be exactly what you need. In a world where those of us who are less confident with technology are being forced to work virtually the job of IT support is becoming increasingly important. Most people get into this sector via a college course or apprenticeship but a degree could also help you to break into that area.

Journalism is a career where you could be instrumental in keeping the general public fully informed. Whatever field of media you chose to work in your outstanding communication skills will help to keep the public informed. At a time when public Understanding of science is essential this could be a real opportunity for you to build a career to make a difference. A degree course needs 5 GCSEs and 3 A levels while apprenticeships are available with a wide range of employers including the BBC, Sky and ITV. There is no need to commit to a specialism at first, but the Young Scientists Journal could make a difference to your chances of breaking into the field successfully

So that’s the end of our second instalment of the Career Files. If there is a science career that you would like to hear more about then email me at school eni@goffs.herts.sch.uk or follow @more2science on Twitter.

Liz Nicholson

Teacher of Science

Halloween Costume Competition

During the half term break the House Team ran a virtual Halloween costume competition with Year 7 students. We had some fantastically spooky entries from lots of students and it was clear a massive amount of time and effort had gone in to the costumes. All participants were rewarded with R3s and certificate for their efforts. Although it was an extremely challenging choice the winning entries were;

3rd place: Miley Bex
2nd place: Rocco Bristow-Guacci
1st place: Erin Senol

Our three winning entries were rewarded with vouchers and R4s. Congratulations to our winners and well done to everyone that took part.

Staff Chocolate Collection

This half term the staff at the school have been kindly collecting and donating chocolates to support Broxbourne Foodbank in their Christmas appeal. This appeal is for donations of chocolate/ sweets that the foodbank will be gifting to children, whom will otherwise go without any treats this festive period. As you can see the Goffs staff have been extremely generous with their donations and these will undoubtedly bring some Christmas cheer to many children this year.

Hygiene Bank Collection

Towards the end of this half term the House team have co-ordinated a school wide Hygiene Bank collection, where students have kindly donated items for the Hygiene Bank charity. The Charity collect for people living in poverty who are without any basic hygiene products. The generosity of our community was overwhelming with students and staff bringing in hundreds of items over the collection period. The charity has expressed how grateful they are for our successful collection and the difference it will make to the lives of so many over this festive period. I would very much like to take this opportunity to thank you and your families for your support with the collection.

Christmas Jumper Day

On the last day of half term students were encouraged to wear a Christmas Jumper to finish the term in the festive spirit. Student who chose to do so donated £1, with all the donations being collected for CLIC Sargent, our school charity.

I hope you have a happy and healthy festive break, please encourage students to keep their eyes peeled for more house events and exciting competitions coming up in the New Year!

Ellie Myers

Director of the House System

A mixed 11-18 comprehensive Academy with approximately 1,530 students on roll, including a thriving and successful Sixth Form. Our Academy is extremely popular in the local area, with an average of over 800 applications annually for the 240 places available, and significant waiting lists for places across the year groups.

Email: admin@goffs.herts.sch.uk
Website: goffs.herts.sch.uk
Location: Goffs Academy, Goff's Lane, Cheshunt, Waltham Cross, UK
Phone: 01992424200