Message from the Headteacher

I am delighted to confirm that, in September 2016, we will open the doors to a brand new Marden High School, containing far superior facilities for academic study, sport and the arts. Earlier this term, we received absolutely final confirmation from the government that we will receive full funding for a new school which will benefit young people in our community for decades to come. We take this as a resounding vote of confidence in Marden and a rich reward for the great strides we’ve made in raising standards. Needless to say, we are all very excited by the prospect of the start on the building work in June, 2015.

However, there are still improvements to make, not least our strong desire for a Marden sixth form. With the increase in the school leaving age, the main point of educational transition will shift from 16 to 18. This is massively significant and we at Marden want to keep our brilliant students for a couple of years longer so that we can make sure that they get the best possible start to university or the world of work.

Finally, I must thank all friends of Marden High School for their great support in 2014. Your feedback has been inspiring and invaluable. May I wish you all a joyful Christmas and happy new year.

Jonathan MorrisHeadteacher

Above: Marden Art Installation pictured at Tynemouth Station.

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COMMUNITY MEMORY DAY

MARDEN REMEMBERS Year 7 & 8 History Detectives who are involved in a Lottery

funded project to research names on the WW1 War Memorial on the seafront at St. George’s Church hosted a Community Memory day in November. Members of the Community who had any information on family members who had died in action or as a result of their injuries during WW1 were interviewed. Dignitaries invited included Tommy Mulvenna , Alan Campbell, Shirley Mortimer and Ken Barrie. Art depicting WW1 in Cullercoats by Year 8 students in the style of Paul Nash was displayed, war poems were read out, food including trench cake and turnip jam was sampled and Time Bandits wore WW1 uniforms and displayed memorabilia. Father Adrian Hughes held a service in the Church as it would have been in 1914. Story boards from the Tynemouth WW1 Commemorative project provided by Alan Fidler were on display in the Church.This was the starting point for students to form connections with the families of those named on the War Memorial and those who should be but are not. A more accurate wooden memorial will then be housed inside the Church.History detectives will also produce a Cullercoats Trail depicting the houses where the fallen had lived and with the owner’s permission will have blue plaques erected. An information board will also be designed by students to be erected adjacent to the Memorial plaque on the seafront at St. George’s Church.

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MARDEN LUMIERE 2014

In what is now annual Marden tradition, last week saw the unveiling of the 2014 Marden Lumiere. Year 8 students worked on their stained glass designs during a Super Learning Day after visiting a local church for inspiration for their ‘stained glass designs’.Parents, students and staff enjoyed a spectacular transformation of the East Block at 4pm when the lights were turned on.

How to Support GCSE Revision at Home: Tuesday 13 January, 2015: 6.00pmThis briefing session for parents and carers of year 11 will give valuable hints on how they can ensure well planned, effective and relatively stress free preparation for exams.All year 11 parents and carers are welcome and light refreshments will be available.

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Autumn Newsletter 2014

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During this term students and staff have raised an incredible amount of money for charity. The following is a list of the charities who benefited from this fantastic effort, many of them here in the North East.

Jeans for Genes - £701.81 Tiny Lives - £156.25 Children in Need - £849.46Cash for Kids – over £900 worth of gifts. Age UK - £250 worth of gifts and £105 donation.

Newcastle Dog & Cat Shelter - £100 donation and over £250 worth of food and materials.Thanks must also go to Protocol, Emblematic, CCL Office Ltd, Viking Direct, Fitzpatrick Glaziers &

Turner & Budd who all helped with donations. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

Above: Marden students & staff hand over donations and get to meet ‘Winston’ the French Bulldog from Newcastle Cat & Dog Shelter

Right: Festive Marden students hand over donations to Age UK North Tyneside

Above: Marden students & staff hand over Cash for Kids donations to Metro Radio’s ‘Courage the Cat’

Spring Newsletter 2014

Lest We Forget On Friday 10th October twenty four talented Yr8 artists at Marden High School took part in a Super Learning Day, to

commemorate the centenary of the start of the First World War. The aim was to honour the victims of this cruel war: by bringing to the attention of the community the suffering of many local families through the deaths of their loved ones.

Working collaboratively in twos and threes pupils created A1 sized paintings to reflect the involvement of local Cullercoats men who lost their lives in battle. We looked at the paintings of war artist Paul Nash as a starting point: in particular the

lighting, colour and some details Nash used in his work to create land and seascapes of our own.Pupils also looked at the creation and display of the installation by ceramic artist Paul Cummins: entitled ‘Blood Swept Lands

and Seas of Red’ which is currently on display at The Tower of London. We discussed the significance of the poppy as a symbol of hope in the years following the war. Influenced by this moving exhibition which runs until armistice day, pupils

endeavoured to include the iconic image of the poppy as part of their painting. Our project is running parallel to the official Tynemouth World War 1 Commemoration Project, so pupils were able to access

locally researched information: particularly details of the men whose names are mentioned on the War Memorial in the church grounds. During the morning Mr Morris, Father Adrian: Rector of St George’s Cullercoats, and several members of the

Heritage Memorial committee visited the classroom to witness the work as it was being produced.Even though we were tackling a sombre subject, there was a good working atmosphere in the room throughout the day;

everyone agreed we had thoroughly enjoyed finding out more and commemorating the role of the local lads. It is intended to display some of the work in school and some at St George’s Church hall over the armistice day period to respectfully

remember and honour the dead of our local community.

Spring Newsletter 2014

DYNAMIC DUO

Theo Riley, and his older brother Josiah, who left  Marden High in 2014, attended Middlesbrough FC’s Riverside Stadium recently for the MFC Foundation annual Regional Awards. The boys, together with their three teammates, won the prestigious Team Achievement Award, following their success last year in a National 3 by 3 basketball tournament. 

Rebecca Receives Young Voice Award Huge congratulations to Year 10 student Rebecca Moore, who won the Young Voice Award at the PoSBO (Postive Social Behaviour Order) Awards 2014. Rebecca, who is already a representative of the North Tyneside Youth Parliament was recognised for her work as a Member of Youth Parliament, helping to raise awareness of mental health issues and leading a group of young people who developed mental health education packs for schools.

Spring Newsletter 2014

MARDEN STUDENTS SET THE FOUNDATIONS FOR FUTURE TOWN PLANNING

Ten students from Marden High and John Spence were invited to attend a workshop with Northern Architecture at Marden High’s new STEM centre on Tuesday 11th November.

Northern Architecture is an organisation based in the North East who work with people to help them become active place-makers and support the creation of vibrant, healthy, accessible and well-designed places.

The workshop was designed to demonstrate the various roles and decision making involved in urbanisation and to highlight the key role that young people have in the future design of their cities.

The students were divided into groups and through a series of instructions, materials and resources, they created an urban settlement in response to the challenges presented by each era from the 7th century to the 1900’s. The students mapped their ideas on large boards and their

designs included features such as a residential area, factory, farmland, market and transport system."It was great seeing the students work together to address the questions associated with urbanisation and finding solutions as a team. The project gave the students a great insight into what's involved in urbanisation and the important role they can play in the design of their future cities," said Jill Porter, Design Technology and STEM Technician. Year 11 Co-ordinator Mr Topping added, "The project has been a fabulous

opportunity for our students to express their creative talents." This is the first of a series of workshops with Northern Architecture in connection with Marden High’s STEM centre. As one of the leading

Schools for STEM in Northern England, this collaboration marks a significant step towards building relations with key organisations, businesses and educational institutions in support of strengthening and building STEM knowledge and experience for students at Marden High.

"This is a great example of Marden High and John Spence students working collaboratively on a STEM (Science Technology Engineering Maths) project and making full use of our new specialist STEM room," said Mr Marshall, Assistant Headteacher STEM.