Schools/colleges

THE headteacher and staff at Bishop Ramsey C of E School in Ruislip have been chosen for a top role supporting schools in challenging circumstances.

Andrew Wilcock has become one of 75 headteachers across the country to be selected as a National Leader of Education (NLE).

NLEs use their success and professionalism as school leaders, together with staff at the school - designated a National Support School - to provide assistance in struggling schools.

THREE Bishop Ramsey C of E School pupils have high hopes of securing places at prestigious Oxbridge universities, having received conditional offers.

So long as they achieve the required grades, Patrick Jull, 17 and Sami Shannon, 18, will read medicine and English at Oxford, while Naomi Arnold, 18, will read natural sciences at Cambridge.

And a team of year nine pupils from the school, in Hume Way, Ruislip, also have reason to celebrate after coming first in a regional science competition for the second year running.

Target Mars, held at Brunel University, saw six schools across the borough compete in science-based challenges to prove they were the best team capable of colonising the red planet.

Tasks included building a landing probe and creating a dune buggy to move around on Mars' surface.

Pupil Kelsey Allen, 14, said: "This competition has definitely encouraged me to think about working in space technology."

A TOP achieving school has teamed up with a struggling school to offer support and to share expertise.

Queensmead School, in Queens Walk, South Ruislip, and Northwood School, in Potter Street, Northwood Hills, have agreed to work more closely together by forming a federation.

This is a new way for schools to work together, which has been championed by the government.

Chris Spencer, director of Children's Services at Hillingdon Council, said: "Federations are a fairly recent development in education where schools can link together to share expertise and support each other.

"There are increasing numbers of such initiatives around the country and we are pleased to support this development in Hillingdon".

Partnership work within a federation allows schools to share resources and for students to benefit from the expertise they both contain.

Queensmead School is an academically successful school with an acknowledged specialism in leadership and is offering some leadership support to Northwood.

Students from both schools have already benefited from teaching expertise in their partner school.

Year 10 Queensmead students who study construction have joined their counterparts at Northwood for some lessons, while groups of Northwood Sixth Form students have enjoyed some A level lessons at Queensmead.

Scott Seaman-Digby, a Northwood councillor and a governor for the federation, said: "This is an excellent example of local schools working together for the benefit of their students and their local communities".

The federation aims to have consistently high expectations of children's learning at both schools and to offer all of the children within the federation wider ranging curriculum experiences and high quality teaching.

Allan Walker, chair of governors for the federation, said: "This will enhance the educational opportunities for students in the local community. Schools working together is the way forward".

IT IS the time of year which sets parents nerves jangling, with the seemingly crucial decision to make of choosing a Secondary School for their children. Reporter DAN COOMBS spoke to Robert Lobatto, headteacher at Barnhill Community High School, in Yeading Lane, Hayes, about the process.

A DAY of celebration took place whereby the Bishop of London visited a school to officially open a new building.

On Tuesday (22) the upper and lower sections of Bishop Ramsey CE School, in Hume Way, Ruislip, were joined together on a single site following a £22m building project.

The new building will enable all the school's 1,250 students to be taught in state-of-the-art accommodation including specialist rooms for science, music, art, design and technology, ICT and drama. The new building also contains a beautiful three-storey entrance atrium and spacious social areas.

Leading the celebrations, the Bishop of London, Dr Richard Chartres, offered a prayer of dedication for the new building and led a service in the new chapel.

He said: "I was mightily impressed by the bright young individuals who showed me around the school and it is pleasing that they will benefit from this inspirational new development.

"Diocese of London schools educate 50,000 pupils across London and Bishop Ramsey, rated "outstanding" in its most recent Ofsted report, is a wonderful example of the success of Church schools in the capital."

Speaking about the opening, headteacher Andrew Wilcock, said: "This is a great day for Bishop Ramsey School. It marks the fulfilment of a dream that dates back to the foundation of the school in 1977.

"It also calls in a new era, in which this school can enjoy being a single community and benefit from really outstanding facilities for learning."

On the day, student guides gave tours of the new facilities, followed by English, maths, science, drama and dance showcases.

Chris Spencer, director of education and children's services at Hillingdon Council, said: "The impressive new building will enable all of the young people who attend the school to be taught on a single site.

"It will offer modern, specialist learning facilities, which is great news for both pupils and staff at the school."

A PRIMARY school played host to two very special guests who travelled more than 5,000 miles to meet the pupils.

Yesterday (23) Belayneh Shewaye, the co-ordinator of the charity Link Ethiopia, and Biniam Adisu, an 11-year-old pupil from the Gondar region of Ethiopia, visited Warrender School, in Old Hatch Manor, Ruislip.

They have travelled to England for 10 days to meet some of the schools linked with the charity and discuss their ongoing projects.

Warrender School has been linked with Kola Diba Elementary School in Gondar for the past two years.

The schools regularly swap letters from pupils and Warrender has raised money for a new library and new science equipment for their partner school.

During his visit Belayneh took a special assembly, where he showed a selection of traditional Ethiopian artefacts and told the pupils about their link school.

Biniam spent the lunch break playing football with his new friends, who were thrilled to hear that he was a long-distance Chelsea fan. One child was so impressed he even gave Biniam his Chelsea lunchbox as a gift to take back to Ethiopia.

Having met the children, staff and parents, Belayneh and Biniam were presented with a team set of football kit along with hundreds of letters from the Warrender pupils.

Christine Lake, the teacher in charge of community links at Warrender, said: "We have a wonderful link with Kola Diba and were thrilled to hear all about our friends and the progress the school is making."

Warrender's next project is to raise £1,000 to provide Kola Diba with its first ever computers.

THE GCSE results at Queensmead School have improved for the sixth year running.

An outstanding 86 per cent of students at the school in Queens Walk, South Ruislip, gaining five or more A*-C grades.

Rhona Johnston, deputy head, commended the excellent results to the determination and hard work of the students and the skill and persistence of the staff.

She particularly noted the 69 per cent of students who gained five or more A*-C grades including English and Maths.

She said: "We are pleased that students have achieved well because we want to give them the opportunity to progress further and that's what better qualifications do.

"We will be welcoming the majority of students back to our Sixth Form where we will begin the process again."

Seven students managed to achieve seven or more A* grades.

James Fox, Rhiannon Ives and Kaarithik Rajan got seven A*s, Krishan Patel, Vyoma Shukla and Divya Sharda got eight A*s and Sophie Hughan got nine nine A*s.

STUDENTS at Bishop Ramsey School did very well in their results with the top scoring student achieving 10 A*s and one A.

Rebecca Leszczynski, a pupil at the school in Hume Way, Ruislip, was surprised at how well she did.

She said: "I didn't expect these results. I thought I would get a mix of As and a few A*s.

"I'm going to stay in the Sixth Form now to do A-levels in chemistry, biology, maths and English literature.

"I'm not sure what I want to do as a career yet, but maybe something biology related.

"I'm going to go out with my friends to celebrate."

Rhys Lewis, 16, also did very well in his results with nine A*s and two As and is also planning on staying at Bishop Ramsey to do A-levels in physics, maths, history and English literature.

Charlie McGing, 16, got six A*s, four As and a B in his grades and he is also going to stay at the school to do A-levels in maths, biology, physics and economics.

TWO students at Bishop Ramsey CE School are off to Oxbridge after receiving their predicted straight A grades in their exams.

Katie Knowles, 18, got three A-levels in history, German and geography and Alex Dawson, 18, got his A-levels in maths, further maths, chemistry and physics.

The overall pass rate at the school in Hume Way, Ruislip, was 99 per cent with 83 per cent of grades being A-C.

Miss Knowles, of Grassmere Avenue, Ruislip, is going to study history at Oxford.

She said: "I am very pleased because I didn't actually expect to get those grades. When I came out of my history exam I was quite worried because I didn't think it had gone as well as I had hoped, but it obviously did.

"I feel so relieved now because I was so nervous."

NINE students at Queensmead School achieved straight A grades in their exams this year.

The school, in Queens Walk, South Ruislip, also managed to achieved a 99 per cent pass rate, with 70 per cent of grades being A-C.

Deputy head, Rhona Johnston, said: "There were tears of joy and very wide smiles at Queensmead School on A-level results day yesterday.

"These results are a credit to the hard work and application of the students and their teachers alike. We are very pleased that our students have achieved so well.

"We aim to help as many students as possible to go on to university and it is very satisfying for us when all of the effort that is put in is rewarded."

"We are delighted to have helped so many students to achieve the excellent results that they have - our congratulations go to them all."

On average students achieved 767 QCA points and an average of 203 points per entry.