Cardinal Newman Catholic School

I was delighted to receive a letter from the Rt Hon David Laws MP, Minister of State for Schools, informing us that over the last three years "your school has proven to be one of the top 100 in England showing the greatest sustained improvement in the percentage of pupils achieving five or more A* - C grade GCSEs, including English and Mathematics."

 

This is a great and valuable endorsement of our school and, as David Laws says, the "results are a shining testament to the hard work and success of your staff, governors and pupils." I would like to add it is also a shining testament to the support we receive from parents, parishes and our partner primary schools. Congratulations!

 

Dr J Kilmartin

(A very proud) Headteacher.

One of our priorities at Cardinal Newman Catholic School is to encourage our students to read more. Reading widely has enormous benefits for both children and adults. These include increased knowledge and vocabulary but we also know that young people who read widely also improve their writing skills at a faster rate than those who do not. Some commentators also believe that it reduces stress and helps students to set clearer long term goals.
Over the last two years we have developed the Reading Challenge which is administered through the Library and the English department. Over the next few months Miss Hone, our Key Stage 3 Curriculum Leader, will be leading our work to develop an even more comprehensive reading strategy for the whole school.
On Thursday, 6th March we will be celebrating World Book Day in the school. Students will be given a £1 book token which they can use at participating book shops. Please see the link below for more details on how the scheme works.

http://www.worldbookday.com

We were delighted to hear that Dan Corbie and Martha Coyle in Year 11 and Charlotte Matthews in Year 9 have all been selected to represent Sussex in the National Schools Cross Country Championships in Derby.
Equally thrilling is the success of Daniel Owen in Year 10 who was called up to play for the Welsh Exiles Rugby Team on Thursday, February 27th.
Meanwhile Frankie Taggart, a former student of Cardinal Newman Catholic School (2006 - 2010) has been selected to play for the Ireland Under 20s Rugby team in the under 20s Six Nations Competition. Mr Horscroft, a former teacher of Frankie, was invited to sit with Frankie’s parents and brother to watch him play against England on Saturday, 22nd February. Watched by 10,000 people in the stadium, the game was also shown live on Sky Sports. If all goes well Frankie hopes to be selected for the Ireland squad to play in the junior world cup in New Zealand in May. Frankie has secured a 3 year contract with Ulster RFC, a top European club side, who are ensuring that he carries on with his university course alongside his playing career.

As part of the Lenten charity fund raising Year 11 students will be having a sponsored sleep out on Friday, 21st March. This is to raise money for Brighton and Hove’s Emmaus Community which supports homeless people. Before half-term two companions of the community came in to talk to Year 11 about their experience. Homelessness can happen to a huge range of people in a variety of circumstances. Homeless people are often stereotyped and treated very badly. Please give generously if asked to sponsor one of our Year 11 students.

We were really proud to hear of the achievement of one of our former students, Captain Mark Jenkins. Mark, along with three colleagues, has just successfully completed the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge to raise funds for injured service personnel. Captain Jenkins is a physiotherapist serving in the Army. He specialises in treating military personnel who have suffered amputations whilst serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has completed a number of Tours in both of the above countries. He set out from the Canary Islands in the New Year as part of a four man crew that aims to raise funds for the care of badly injured military personnel. He was there to offer medical support to the two amputees who were in his boat. Staff at the school remember Mark as a good student and an excellent sportsman; captaining the school’s rugby XV at every age level and on tours to Wales and Ireland. Thanks to Chris Jones for alerting us to this great achievement.

 

Following on from a rigorous selection process we are delighted to announce the appointment of two additional Deputy Headteachers for Cardinal Newman Catholic School. The first Mr Paul Miller is well known to many of you and the second is Mrs Claire Jarman who is currently an Assistant Headteacher at Davison’s High School for Girls in Worthing. Mrs Jarman will join us at the beginning of the Summer term. Whatever our roles and responsibilities we all work to fulfil the Mission Statement of our school. Click this link to read the Mission Statement in full.

http://cardinalnewman.fluencycms.co.uk/Mission-Statement