Helen McGuinness (pictured) left the school as head of social sciences in 2015, and took over from Paul Beale as college director at the start of the academic year in September.

Reepham College is a founding member of the Synergy Multi-Academy Trust, a group of six secondary and primary schools in north Norfolk.

The college’s recent A-level results ranked it as the highest performing state school sixth form in Norfolk.

See the full story HERE

Photo: Reepham College

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Rosie began her baton twirling career aged 10, when a teacher at her junior school set up the Finesse Baton Twirlers troupe.

After three years of training, Rosie and her duo partner won their event at the national championships, and she has picked up another national champion award, along with numerous second and third positions in every competition since.

Three years ago, Rosie’s coach Harriet Wigger suggested she should try out for the England team, and she was delighted to be selected for the solo twirl event.

Her teammates at Finesse have been inspired to follow her lead, and this year five of the team have been selected to represent England at the European championships in Dublin in July.

Finesse Baton Twirlers and England coach Ms Wigger explained: “I am so proud of Rosie and all the Finesse girls for achieving so much in such a short space of time. We are all excited to be heading to Dublin in July.”

This will be Rosie’s third international competition, having competed in France in 2016 and Croatia in 2017.

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Each year the Advanced Level Performance System (ALPS) provides a detailed analysis of A-level performance at 2,890 schools and colleges. Its latest assessment positions Reepham College in the top 1% of post-16 providers nationally.

“This recognition represents a truly remarkable achievement and is testament to the efforts of students, the support of their parents, the skill of our staff and the strength of all other community connections with Reepham College,” the college said in a statement.

“Reepham College students come from all over the county, not just from Reepham High School, so it really is an accolade to students from many areas of Norfolk.”

RHSC headteacher Tim Gibbs and college director Paul Beale passed on their thanks and congratulations to all students past and present, the college team, parents and governors.

They also recognised the contribution and support of local businesses, who regularly give up time to work alongside the students.

• For further information and details on admissions, email: office@reephamcollege.com

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Reepham High School and College principal Mark Farrar was delighted with the results. “Every year since we’ve been open we’ve had extremely good results, but this year they have been better than ever,” he said. More than one in nine of the students got at least two A*s and an A grade at A level, and 5% gained three or more A* grades.

Reepham College students achieved the best results of any Norfolk state-funded post-16 provider, outperformed those of several prestigious private schools and achieved close to the same outcomes as two highly selective private schools in Norwich.

As in previous years Reepham College anticipates being identified as in the top 40 (out of 1,500) post-16 institutions in England and Wales, as measured by the progress students make between the ages of 16 and 18.

Meanwhile, 67% of Reepham High School GCSE students achieved a level four or above in English and maths this year, compared with 73% who achieved an A* to C in English and maths in 2016.

This year’s results are the first under the new system, which saw English literature, English language and maths grades given in numbers rather than the traditional A* to G.

Mr Farrar commented: “These are very good results for this particular cohort. We are especially pleased with the fact that over 22% of all grades were at A*/A/9/8/7. The hard work of our pupils on the new tougher GCSEs is to be commended.”

See our ealier news story:

• Mark Farrar to step down as RHSC headteacher

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Dex Scarlett became captivated with the possibility of spending a year living and working overseas after a returning volunteer with Project Trust came to talk to the students of the College.

Project Trust is an organisation that arranges long-term voluntary placements for young people in Africa, Asia and Latin America. “I was fascinated by the experiences she had undergone,” he said, “and I made the decision to investigate further.”

The selection process for Project Trust was rigorous: Dex spent several days at its home on the Hebridean Isle of Coll with other applicants, undertaking a series of tasks to determine their strengths.

This was followed by discussion about the different projects available to them, and having passed this stage, they were given training in basic teaching techniques and useful educational activities.

He was finally allocated a teaching project in the interior of Guyana, where he is currently working in Kato in one of the South American country’s remotest primary schools.

Dex is teaching Grade 5 pupils aged 9/10 years for a year in a very different environment to the one he was used to: a two-roomed school, with each room further divided by blackboards to accommodate the various grades. The children were each given a pencil, rubber and their books; textbooks had to be shared, sometimes between four.

“In a way, the lack of facilities forced me to be more creative, and could make lessons more interesting for both me and the pupils,” Dex commented.

“I wouldn’t have missed this amazing opportunity for the world and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it anyone else. I would like to thank the Mason Trust for the travel grant which made my dream that much more achievable.”

Mason Trust founder Yvonne Mason said: “Project Trust’s challenging volunteering placements abroad allow young people to learn about themselves and develop a range of skills, which fits in nicely with the ethos of The Mason Trust. We were delighted that we were able to help Dex with his aspirational project.”

The charitable organisation was set up in 2008 by Mrs Mason, a successful businesswoman with more than 25 years’ experience in the marine industry.

“The express aim of the Trust is to help young people between the ages of 12 and 25 living in Norfolk and Suffolk, to reach their full potential,” she explains. “The Trust works with schools and places of further education to forge stronger links between education and industry, to give students the widest choice when deciding on a career.”

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After inspecting the school in early May, the education watchdog’s latest report showed that RHSC has retained the same rating it was given in 2013.

In a detailed letter to the school’s principal, Mark Farrar, Ofsted inspector John Lucas said: “There is a distinctive ethos of respect that permeates almost all areas of the school.

“It is a harmonious place to learn. This is because you have established an atmosphere in which excellent relationships are the norm.

“Pupils move around the very well-maintained school site purposefully and with polite good humour. Many confidently and cheerfully greeted inspectors and explained how much they valued the work of their teachers.”

He continued: “Pupils appreciate the range of additional activities provided. These activities include trips abroad, sports clubs, trips to university and creative arts clubs.”

Mr Lucas said the sixth form continues to “lead the way for other areas of the school in many aspects of its work. “The highly effective sixth-form leader has high aspirations of what students can achieve. These aspirations are shared by teachers in the sixth form.

“Sixth-form students respond exceptionally well to the expectation that they should take responsibility for their own learning. They are adept at managing their time and organising their work. Students are proud of their sixth form.”

The inspection further found that pupils at RHSC feel safe and the school has improved in many areas since the last inspection in 2013.

The report added that teaching is effectively monitored, governors are well informed, share Mr Farrar’s high aspirations and are able to hold him to account where they feel things could be improved.

It added that pupils are “overwhelmingly positive” about the education they receive at RHSC.

In a letter to parents/carers, Mr Farrar admitted he was a little disappointed that the school was not judged as “outstanding” at everything.

To become outstanding, Ofsted suggested that further actions need to be taken to identify why disadvantaged pupils’ attendance and achievement are low.

Mr Farrar said: “Our disadvantaged pupils already achieve significantly higher than disadvantaged pupils in the country as a whole, but they do not achieve at the level of non-disadvantaged pupils. This is a demanding challenge, but one we are determined to meet.

“In addition, [Ofsted] suggested that we could better equip the knowledge and skills of some teachers to better meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs or disability. This we are already working on.”

Overall, Mr Farrar said the school was pleased with the report, “but also determined to make our school even better”.

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Hilary Livsey is raising money for the Katja Hansen Livsey Achievement Award at Reepham College, which helps students financially as they apply to university.

“Thirteen students were helped last year,” said Ms Livsey, who runs Angelica Florists in the Market Place. “Hopefully, we will be able to do even more in 2016. I’m training for this run and my ambition at this point is not to come last!”

Money will also be donated to Norfolk Police to help promote awareness of road safety to young drivers.

Donate HERE

See our earlier stories:

• First Katja Livsey Achievement Awards presented to students
• New road safety video launched at Reepham College
• Second Birdy’s Bike Ride to assist College students

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College director John Randall spoke about Katja and her studies and how her hard work had won her a place at the University of Liverpool School of Medicine, when she was killed in a road accident in November 2013 aged 19.

Katja’s mother Hilary Livsey said: “I felt very proud of her and very pleased to be able to honour her in this way, and I want to thank everyone again who has supported Birdy’s Bike Ride. I’m sure that we, along with all of Katja’s friends, will be biking again for her this summer.”

The achievement awards have been set up to help students travel to university open days and attend extra courses, or any extracurricular activities needed to help them get to university.

The following college students were chosen as having not only achieved at a high level, but also overcome personal issues to do so: Zahra Clembintson, Jack Davis, Lucy Johnson, Sean Bickle, Nicola Kershaw, Molly Linden-Ball, Hollie Parsons, Owen Pohajdak, Grace Spenceley, Gaby Streeter, Constance Tidd, Aaron Watling and Joseph Weston.

Ms Livsey added that she is also planning to run a half marathon this spring to raise money for road safety awareness. This is linked to the road safety video in which she featured that was launched last November at Reepham College as part of a presentation by Norfolk police aimed at young people across the county.

See our earlier stories:

• New road safety video launched at Reepham College
• Second Birdy’s Bike Ride to assist College students
• Birdy’s sculpture installed at Liverpool Medical School
• Birdy’s Bike Ride raises more than £5,000
• Fundraising bike ride to commemorate Katja’s life in Norfolk

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