The Bradley Stoke Journal

A 16-year-old A-level student from Bradley Stoke is sketching out plans to trek across the Andes Mountains and carry out conservation work in Peru.

Ross Startin, who is studying four AS-levels at Bradley Stoke Community School’s Post-16 Centre, is aiming to spend four weeks in Peru, as part of a World Challenge expedition in July/August 2013, for which he hopes to raise £4,000 worth of sponsorship from businesses in Bristol and south Gloucestershire.

During the expedition, Ross and a team of 15 students will go on short hikes to acclimatise themselves to the local food, climate and culture, followed by a four- to eight-day trek across the Andes Mountains, reaching altitudes of up to 5,000m; and visit villages and pre-Inca sites.

They will then get involved in community work (e.g. building shelters) or conservation work and finally, relax by exploring the area’s forests, mountains, jungles and coastlines during the fourth week.

Ross says:

“I am very excited by the prospect of taking part in the expedition, which will be a major challenge, but the most immediate challenge is how to raise £3,995 for the trip, so I am hoping that businesses and architectural companies in Bristol and south Gloucestershire will appreciate my enthusiasm and be interested in sponsoring my involvement.”

Read more about the aims of the World Challenge trip to Peru »

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Young master chefs of the future recently put their culinary skills to the test at Bradley Stoke Community School (BSCS) as they competed in a hard-fought cooking competition sponsored by the local Rotary Club.

On the day of the competition (Wednesday 23rd November), four nervous but excited young chefs took their places in the cookery room at the local secondary school. Their bags contained all they needed to present their dishes together with ten pounds worth of ingredients. After half an hour of free preparation time, came an hour and a half of competitive cookery before their masterpieces were scrutinised by the judges.

The competition, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Bristol Aztec, followed the pattern set by the previous year’s successful contest. It presented an opportunity to plan a two course meal whilst being mindful of healthy choices, good planning, hygienic practice, and a wise use of time and money. It also provided a chance for the students to celebrate their prowess, and gain a sense of pride in their achievement.

The judges were Mike Riordan, Head Chef at the Aztec Hotel, Adrian Kirikmaa, Restaurant Manager at the City of Bristol Academy and John Kelly of South Gloucestershire Education Authority. To them fell the difficult task of assessing the students’ work and the finished results, and what results!  The meals were without exception beautifully presented and tasted delicious.

The worthy winner was Abbie Pearce who, as the judges pointed out, cooked a high risk menu choice which could have gone horribly wrong but turned out to be a triumph. It required a high range of skills as Abbie made her own pasta for her prawn tortellini, her own pastry and crème patissiere for her seasonal apple tart.

More: Students are a credit to their school, says catering teacher »

Bradley Stoke Community School (BSCS) has announced the creation of an ‘Associate Headteacher’ role, to ensure that there is clear leadership in the school on a day-to-day basis while Executive Headteacher Dave Baker (pictured) splits his time between BSCS and the struggling Abbeywood Community School in Stoke Gifford.

Mr Baker took on the leadership of Abbeywood in early October, after the previous headteacher resigned for personal reasons. The school, which moved to new £30m premises at the beginning of the current academic year, was served notice to improve after an inspection by Ofsted in October 2010.

A monitoring inspection in May 2011 concluded that the school was making “satisfactory progress in addressing the issues for improvement and in raising the pupils’ achievement.”

An article in the Bristol Evening Post this week said Abbeywood is now:

“… waiting the arrival of Government inspectors who will decide whether the school is providing a satisfactory standard of education or requires special measures.”

Mr Baker told the paper he has seen clear signs of improvement, adding:

“There has been progress since the notice to improve was given. Things are moving in the right direction. It’s a matter of whether they have moved far enough.”

With Mr Baker spending a lot of time over in Stoke Gifford, governors at BSCS have decided to shift former Deputy Headteacher Jenny Sutton Kirby to the role of Associate Headteacher.

More: BSCS to become academy on 1st Jan. Abbeywood to follow? »

Bradley Stoke Community School (BSCS) says it remains on track to convert to an academy on 1st January 2012, thanks to hard work by governors over recent months.

Once converted, the school will be run by an academy trust instead of the local education authority, and governors have chosen to call this the ‘Olympus Academy Trust’, a name said to have been inspired by a visit to the M-Shed museum in Bristol.

Claire Emery, Chair of Governors and Dave Baker, Headteacher wrote in a letter to parents:

“Governors were keen to have a name that is not limited to Bradley Stoke but which has local significance; Olympus fulfils these requirements as it was the name of the engine which powered Concorde and was designed and built locally. Although this will be the name of the Academy Trust, the name of the school will not change.”

A new governance structure will see a Trust Board (meeting twice annually) delegating most of its powers to a separate Group Board that will meet once a term. Three Committees (Academic & Well-Being, Finance & Resources and Audit & Risk) will report to the Group Board.

More: Could you be a director/governor of the new academy trust? »

Dave Baker, headteacher of Bradley Stoke Community School, has called for an urgent review of road safety measures on Bradley Stoke Way following last Friday’s accident that has left a 13-year-old student from the school in a coma in Frenchay Hospital.

The boy, now named as Ben Thompson, is reported to have broken arms, a broken right upper leg, possible injuries to internal organs and swelling of the brain. His condition is said to be “critical but stable”.

In a letter to parents/carers of children at the school, Mr Baker says that police are at an early stage of their investigation and have drawn no conclusions as to who is at fault for the accident, which led to Bradley Stoke Way being closed in both directions for over four hours.

Referring to an earlier incident in February this year, which left a 10-year-old cyclist with life-changing injuries, Mr Baker writes:

“As this is the second incident this year involving young people being seriously injured in exactly the same place on Bradley Stoke Way, I am in contact with other headteachers locally and other community groups to seek an urgent review of speed limits and safety measures on and around Bradley Stoke Way, as there appears to have been no change since a meeting with the Highways Department at South Gloucestershire Council in July during which major safety concerns were raised.”

Mr Baker also reports that police are concerned at some “irresponsible and inappropriate” use of social media in relation to the accident, including naming Ben immediately after the incident, before members of his family had been contacted about what had happened.

Police have been monitoring online activity, which is said to have included a hate campaign against the motorcyclist involved in the incident.

Related link: Police seek witnesses after teenager seriously injured in collision (Avon and Somerset Police)

Bradley Stoke Community School (BSCS) is celebrating another set of excellent GCSE grades – obtained by the second year of students to pass through the school.

Headteacher Dave Baker said:

“We are delighted to share the successful outcomes for our second cohort of students at Bradley Stoke Community School; they have surpassed the high standards set for the school in last year’s first GCSE results, exceeding targets in the process – congratulations to all students.”

86% of students achieved at least 5 A*-C grades or equivalent and 67% achieved at least 5 A*-C grades including English and Maths.  Unlike last year, girls outperformed boys.

Individual successes highlighted by Mr Baker include:

• Sushmita Ramanujam – 10A* and 2A grades
• Nainesha Kulkarni – 9A* and 2A grades
• Sam Wells – 8A* and 2A grades
• Charlotte Murray – 7A* and 4A grades
• Ross Startin – 7A* and 3A grades
• Alex Turnbull – 6A* and 4A grades
• Uttam Sharma – 5A* and 5A grades
• Jack Kewley – 4A* and 5A grades
• Alex Martin – 3A* and 8A grades

Mr Baker added:

“We are now looking forward to many of our students progressing to post 16 study with us as we will have a full school with years 7 – 13 for the first time when term starts next week.”

Read on for the South Gloucestershire GCSE statistics »