News@Kimberley
Founded 1925
A record of the life of the school,
its duties and pleasure, its work and play;
a chronicle of endeavour
and achievement
October 2014 Issue 40#
Head’s Lines
17 of 26 GCSE subjects improve
on last year whilst headline figure
plummets – how can this be?
Schools across the land are trying
to put a spin on their GCSE
results this year. I’d rather be
honest about ours and put our
energy into understanding them
and moving forward. We achieved
52% 5+A*-C (inc En & Ma) which
is hugely disappointing for us and
way below our 63% prediction.
Whilst the circumstances are far
from straight-forward, there can
be no doubt that too many boys
failed to make the C grade in their
English. We can try to put the blame
on a revised English exam structure
introduced, as is so often the case
in education, at the eleventh
hour, but that will not change the
outcome. We need to ask a more
fundamental question. Why were
our boys not equipped to tackle
this new exam format?
In the past, our boys have made
up marks in the speaking and
listening element of the exam,
which was removed this year. This
year, all students had to rely more
Newdigate Street
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heavily on their ability to recall
knowledge, read fluently and
write well structured, extended
answers.
We are determined that our boys
should catch up with the girls in
these skill areas through teaching
across the school, not just in
English. In short, we must ensure
our boys:
read more (any reading
is better than no reading!)
write more
do their homework.
“Working at
The Kimberley School isn’t
just a job, it’s a way of life”
After 39 years of service to the
Nottinghamshire County Council,
Mr Wayne Newton retires from his
role leading the grounds maintenance team. Mr Newton has served
the school for many years and, in
fact, was a former pupil at the school
before starting his long career with
the council. Mr Newton said, “I can
honestly say that I have really enjoyed
my job. It’s been hard work, but I’ve
never had that Monday morning
feeling”. We thank Mr Newton for his
service to the school and its community and wish him well in his retirement.
Your encouragement at home as
parents is invaluable and we rely
on your continued support.
Meanwhile………………
We are delighted that our A
level results were our best
ever with a 99.5% pass rate
and 20% A*/A grades!
Chris Teal - Headteacher
Kimberley • Nottingham • NG16 2NJ
www.kimberleyschool.co.uk
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0115 938 7000