Latest News
June 2010
Inspection Report
I am delighted to report that the inspection team agreed with the school’s self evaluation report in which we described the school as “a very good school with many outstanding features”. In describing the school the Inspection team made several comments confirming the very high standard of teaching, the positive relationships that exist between the pupils and the staff and the level of care provided for all pupils. The report indicates that the proportion of lessons judged to be good or very good is substantially higher than the national picture. The recognition of the work of colleagues in providing a range of extra-curricular activities, particularly in sport, is coupled with our emphasis on promoting pupils’ personal, moral and social skills. The effectiveness of our policies, procedures and strategies for dealing with oppressive behaviour such as bullying was also identified. The fact that we have so many outstanding features including standards achieved, quality of education, leadership and management, external examination results, key skills, personal and social development guidance and support, partnerships and curriculum provision has resulted in great pride within the school community. You should have received a copy of the report this week, if not please contact us and we can forward a copy to you. If you wish to read the full report, then please click here.
Parents 2 teachers
Some of you may be aware that we have recently introduced a new texting facility to communicate important messages to you as parents / carers. This will enable us to keep you informed over important events such as Parents’ Evenings, Concerts and Snow days! In order to be able to access the messages, it is imperative that we have up to date mobile telephone numbers on our records in school. We will be sending a “test” message on Friday 28th May - please ensure we have up to date numbers prior to this date in order to receive the message. If you do not receive the message on this date then please contact us to check your details.
Year 11 say “farewell” with an Assembly and a Prom - Reflections from Mrs Potts!
I find myself sitting in a deserted C block this morning, reliving every single minute of yesterday’s events. Yesterday morning was simply the best “last” assembly. The singing could be heard from both ends of the main corridor, apparently, and as I looked around at everyone, there wasn’t one single person who was not giving it all they had. The individual items were so bravely and sensitively carried out – believe me, I know how hard it must have been to stand up in front of so many people, particularly when most of them are your peers! There was laughter and tears, but so much more than that. The feeling of warmth and respect radiated from everyone, and I have never felt so pleased to be your Head of Year. And just when I thought I’d managed it all, and kept myself together, I heard all those wonderful words from Emily. There’s just one word to sum it up – formidable!! Our Hollywood theme was so aptly chosen, as the limos rolled in and you walked along the red carpet. The room looked beautiful, as befitted the most exclusive Hollywood bash, and I knew that The Towers was going to do us proud! Music, dancing, good food, celebrity photo shoots, and the best company all combined to make the evening a huge success. You have left me with a heartful of memories that I will treasure forever. In your words, Year 11, it’s been a blast”!
Annual Summer Concert
On Thursday 6th May the music department hosted its annual summer term Concert in Margam Orangery . The concert featured solo performances by year 11 pupils together with the school upper and lower orchestras, Upper and lower Choirs, Woodwind, String and Brass Ensembles and Pop performances. There were many highlights from the concert such as Joanna Felton performing her song – ‘Crashing’, Kieran Tomkins performing ‘Donna Lee’ on Bass by Jaco Pastorius and Ben Evans gave incredibly skilled performances that no-one will forget. The concert was a huge success and in particular will give the yr 11 memories to treasure from their school days. The “Finale” was ‘Empire State of Mind Part II’ by Alicia Keys. This involved all ensembles and soloists who performed on the night and was arranged by Mr Lockyer.
BBC Educational department
BBC Bitesize have been using our pupils to rate the new website for Welsh as a second language. It should be beneficial for my year group when they revise for their GCSE's next year. The following pupils were involved in helping with the new BBC Bitesize revision website for Welsh as a second language:
Clem Jones, Zoe Stadling, Angharad Thomas, Joel Melding, Ben Edwards, Mearr Davies, Luke Martin, Megan Jackson, Ben Davies, Rebecca Daniels and Sophie Frost. Look out for them on the web-site!
Geography
On Tuesday 30th March, 52 Year 9 pupils visited the Natural Earth Exhibition in The Natural History Museum in London. The pupils spent approximately 2 hours in the museum looking at interactive displays of volcanoes and tectonic activity. After lunch, with a detour around Buckingham Palace, they headed for a flight on the London Eye. Although the weather was overcast, the views from the top of The Eye were good. It was possible to see the arch of Wembley Stadium. A new 4D attraction at The Eye was a brilliant end to the day. This was a fantastic opportunity for those pupils who intend to study Geography at GCSE level.
Drama
After a hectic term, the drama department is very busy rehearsing for the school production, Fame. Fame is a fun filled all singing, all dancing musical that appeals to all ages. The performance dates are 6th, 7th and 8th July in the Lower school Hall. Tickets will be available after the Whitsun Holidays from Ms D. Lewis in upper school and Mrs L.Lloyd in lower school.
Urdd Team
The Urdd recital team will be competing during half term (Wednesday) at the national eisteddfod in West Wales. Look out for them on S4C!
PE Department
Overall it has been an outstanding season for both rugby and football. Dwr y Felin reached the last 16 in both the under 14 and under 16 competitions in the Welsh Schools Competition.
In football the under 14 team reached the quarter finals stage losing out to Lewis Boys School, who went on to represent Wales in the British Championships held in Belfast on May 20th.
7 Aside Rugby
On Thursday 11th march the under 15’s (Year 10) won the Neath and Port Talbot 7 Aside Tournament held at Llandarcy. The following day the under 16’s (Year 11) competition was held at the same venue, the Dwr y Felin ‘B’ team lost narrowly in the semi final to Cwmtawe. In the final the ‘A’ team swept Cwmtawe aside to make a clean sweep of 7’s wins for Dwr y Felin.
Athletics
Both the boys junior team (Year 9) and the middle team (Year 10 and 11) excelled in the Afan Nedd Tawe Athletics Championships held at the Swansea University Track on Thursday 6th May.
The Junior team finished in 3rd place and the middle team won their competition retaining the cup for a second successive time. There were outstanding performances in the Junior Boys from: -
- Matthew Birdsey – Pole Vault / Relay
- Oliver Thompson – 400m / 800m
- Jack Anderson – 200m / Relay
- Jordan Adderley – Shot / Relay
- Nick Witts – Long Jump
- Josh James – High Jump / Relay
- Daniel Rogers – Javelin
- Josh Pugh – 1500m
And outstanding performances in the Middle Boys from: -
- Robert Rogers – Hammer / Discus
- Luke Martin – 100m / 400m Hurdles
- Nicholas Edwards – 800m
- Mitchell Watson – High Jump
- Lewis Cox – Relay
- Elliot Hadden – 400m / Javelin / Relay
- Courtney Powell – Pole Vault
- Adam Rowlands – Relay
- Jordan Lee – Long Jump
- Daniel Lewis – 1500m / 3000m
- Bradley Crooks – Triple Jump
- Nathan Robbins – 100m / Relay
- Simon Smith – 1500m Hurdles
On the girls side there were outstanding performances from: -
- Stacey Collins - Hurdles
- Jordannah Davies – Javelin
- Chelsea Christopher – Long Jump / Triple Jump
The final position in the boys competition were as follows: -
Junior Boys
1, Gwyr 72 points
2, Bishop Gore 64 points
3, Dwr y Felin 62 points
Middle Boys
1, Dwr y Felin 87 points
2, Cefn Hengoed 68 points
3, Ystalyfera 62 points
This outstanding victory in the middle competition would not have been possible without the contribution of many year 11 boys who contributed on the day.
Individual Successes
Squash - Daniel Kennedy (Year 9) has recently climbed the Welsh rankings and is currently 16th in Wales.
Boxing – Ben James (Year7) is the Welsh Champion and narrowly missed out on the British title last week.
Athletics - Jessica Merrick (Year 7) is currently ranked 6th in Britain for the 200m.
If you are aware of anymore individual pupil successes please send the information to us at school and we can add pupils’ achievements to future Newsletters. Either let us know by e-mail or via your child’s Head of Year. Any other items you would like to share with parents can also be added.
Ski Championships
Years 8, 10 and 11 travelled to Pembrey Ski Slope for the annual West Wales Ski Championships and came away with 2 highly deserved medals. David Lewis Y11 took a bronze and Jack Smillie also of Y11 took a silver. It was a fantastic occasion with 13 pupils taking part out of 120.
Science Roadshow
On Thursday 6th May 180 year 10 pupils took part in the Enterprising Science Trading Challenge Road show supported by BP. The pupils played the parts of Stock Market traders, analysts, accountants and each group had a chairperson. The idea was to make a profit from buying and selling barrels of oil during different real-life scenarios. The pupils' numeracy, communication and thinking skills were really put to the test and all pupils were a credit to the school.