Head Master's Notices

Today brings half-term and the mid-point of the academic year, and I couldn’t be happier with the way that this year has progressed so far .

The highlight of the week was undoubtedly the Mercers’ Lecture by Nigel Owens. He was engaging, candid and entertaining, and delivered a powerful message about accepting yourself for who you are. It was an absolute privilege to sit amongst the audience of around 1000 people.

I would also like to thank and congratulate the pupils who participated in the 24 hour ‘Runathon’. It was great to see so many involved and raising money for this year’s school charity, Malayaka House.

I hope that our Upper Sixth historians enjoy Paris and that our Second Formers have a magical Arctic Adventure.

I wish you all a very happy half-term break.

Whole School Notices and Reminders

Exam Timetables

Sixth Form Mock Exams
27 February – 1 March

The mocks timetable will be available at the end of Friday 9^th Feb via the school website and will also be e-mailed to all Upper Sixth pupils on the same date using their Dauntsey’s e-mail address. If there are any queries about the U6 mocks Mr Blumsom the Examinations Officer will be happy to help with these on the first week back after half-term.

GCE & GCSE Exams Timetables for Summer 2018

After half-term, individual draft timetables will be made available to all students sitting external exams this summer. They will be distributed during the first week back by House Staff. It will be essential that they are thoroughly checked and any queries raised with the exams office for resolution as soon as possible. A note will be distributed with each timetable giving more details.

Review of marking policy

Please be aware that a new ‘Review of marking’ policy has been added to Firefly here

This explains pupils’ right to know any centre-assessed marks before they are officially submitted to exam boards, and the circumstances under which they can be appealed.

Mercers' Lectures - Spring Term 2017

Jo Fairley
8 March 2018
19:30 in the Memorial Hall

Jo Fairley co-founded Green & Black’s Chocolate in 1991. Dreamt up on a rainy night on London’s Portobello Road, Green & Black’s has grown into a $100 million worldwide brand. ‘Green’, because it was organic and ‘Black’ because it was the darkest chocolate on the market. The company is now owned by Cadbury and Jo continues to champion its worldwide success. Jo has become an established entrepreneur; she co-wrote a series of Beauty Bible Books, and in 2014 launched the Perfume Society.

Please make sure that you have reserved your seats online here.

Drama Productions

Black Comedy and The Railway Children

Tickets are now available to book for these two productions online. Please follow the link to our Drama Productions booking page.

*Change of Date*

Lower Sixth Post Dauntsey’s Planning
Scheduled, and in the calendar, for Saturday 3 March

Owing to the U18 Schools Rugby Vase Semi-Final on the above date, this event for Lower Sixth pupils and parents has been moved forward to Saturday 24 February between 10.15 and 12.15

Apologies for any inconvenience that this causes, but it was felt that a large number of pupils and parents would be affected by the clash with the Rugby.

Please find attached a letter from our Head of Careers, James O'Hanlon, detailing the event. Many thanks.

Dauntsey's Biathlon

Dauntsey’s is hosting a Biathlon (swim/run) event on Sunday 4 March in conjunction with Lavington School. Registration will open at 09.30 in the Sports Centre. Any pupils wishing to take part are encouraged to contact with Mr Whyte for further information - w.whyte@dauntseys.wilts.sch.uk.

U12: 50m Swim, 1600m Run
U13 & U14: 100m Swim, 1600m Run
U15 & U16: 200m Swim, 1600m Run

Rockfest 2018

Monday 26 February
Lower School: 14:00
Upper School: 16:20

The Sunday rehearsal schedule and two concert programmes will be planned over half term. Please remind all pupils taking part to check the notice board outside the music studio after half term.

If any pupils have specific time requests for the Sunday rehearsals please email Mr Sims and he will do his best to accommodate them.

Please note! Buses will not depart school until 18:00 on Monday 26 February.

Paris Half Marathon Fundraising

Fifteen pupils and three staff members will embark on the challenge of running the Paris Half Marathon on 4 March in order to raise money for the School charity, Malayaka House.

Should anyone wish to support the runners and wish them luck, please follow the link to our Just Giving page here. Thank you.

Young Enterprise

This year for the annual Young Enterprise competition, the Dauntsey’s team of 13 L6 pupils have designed their own company called BusiChip.

The BusiChip team are programming NFC chips to carry out different tasks when tapped with a smartphone; such as directing customers to a specific weblink or immediately adding a business contact to a contact list. They are currently developing products that use this contactless technology through different networking media such as more sustainable business cards, lanyards and counter sheets (sheets containing NFC chips that could be placed on a shop counter and could prompt customers to add a phone number or direct them to a website). This way, the transaction of exchanging business contacts and carrying out other business interactions is much more efficient, as the details are instantly transferred to the phone instead of time spent physically typing them in.

Adam McCormick, the pupil behind this innovative idea, said, “NFC chips offer so many opportunities to all businesses, but very few companies are aware of, or making use of, their full potential. This NFC technology could be used for networking events, day to day encounters and even general store use.

If any parents or members of the Dauntsey’s community are interested in doing business with the BusiChip team, please email them: busichip@outlook.com

Please visit their Instagram or Facebook @busichip for a video demonstration of the NFC technology.

DSPA

First Form Coffee Morning
Friday 23 February from 10:30

First Form parents please join us for a coffee morning at The Peppermill, Devizes from 10:30 onwards.

Pot Luck Supper for all Lower School Parents’ in the School Pavilion
Wednesday 7 March, 18:00 - 20:00

Please bring a plate of food to share – Sweet or Savoury! Water will be provided but feel free to bring other drinks along!

First Form Parents Countryside Walk
Saturday 28 April

First form parents countryside walk, exact details to be confirmed. It will start and finish within 5 miles of school, and we are planning to be back at school for pick up / matches.

Careers

Visit to Ben Thompson Events, Marlborough
Fifth and Sixth Form Pupils
Tuesday February 20, 13:45 - 17:15

Please see further information here about an event on Tuesday 20 February for Fifth and Sixth former's. Many thanks.

The World of Politics and Current Affairs
Guest Speaker: Rt Hon Claire Perry MP
Friday 2 March
16:15 - 17:15 in the William Dauntsey Room

Please see further information here about this event on Friday 2 March for Fifth and Sixth Former's. Many thanks.

Cotswold Airport Aviation Scholarship

Please see the attached poster for more information on this opportunity. Pupils can also look on the website www.cotswoldairport.com, or come and see us in the careers dept. Many thanks.

Music School Notices

Music Department Parents' Evening (by appointment)
Thursday 8 February at 19:00

A chance for parents of all pupils taking instrumental lessons to meet with the Visiting Music Teachers

New to the Road Safety

Following our recent ‘Safe Drive, Stay Alive’ Talk to our Lower Sixth pupils, we have been offered the opportunity for our Sixth Form pupils to participate in ‘New to the Road Safety Events’ run by Kwik-Fit. These are free of charge and will take place in the Summer Term.

Please read the attached document for further information.

Teen Parenting Workshop

Due to the recent success of Alicia Drummond’s Teen Parenting Workshop, Alicia has kindly agreed to run another on Saturday 5 May from 08:30 to 13:00.

Please read the attached document for further information.

Fifth Form Post GCSE Programme

Parents of the Fifth Form are reminded that we are offering a similar selection of Post GCSE opportunities this year. These will take place during the week commencing Monday 25 June which is the week after most of the GCSE examinations finish.

You should have received an email with details but if not you can download a copy from the intranet here.

The deadline for applications is 17:00 Monday 19 February 2018, the day after half term. Shortly after which we will let pupils know which programme they will be taking part in. If we receive any applications after that date, we will do our best to accommodate them, but it is unlikely there will be spaces on every programme.

Please select the three in which they would most like to participate, in order of preference, by completing the online form on the School intranet which you can find here.

To complete the form, you will need to log in as usual. If for any reason you cannot do so, you can email your selections to s.moore@dauntseys.org or complete the printed slip and return it to me via the Adventure Education pigeon hole in the Glass House.

Autumn Term Sports Team Pictures

Sports team pictures from the Autumn Term are now available to view and order on the Intranet here.

A Talk by Major General Peter Williams

'My life as a Cold War Military Spy'
Friday 23 March at 19:30, in the Memorial Hall

Please find attached more information about this event which is being held by the Friends of Erlestoke Prison. All proceeds from the event supports rehabilitation projects.

The application form for tickets can be found here.

Lower School Notices and Reminders

Manor Matters

Following a somewhat disturbed ‘Film Night’ on Saturday evening, due to Mr Gordon burning his supper and activating the Fire Alarm, the Manorites enjoyed a leisurely start to the day on Sunday. Following a delicious brunch, we headed off to Salisbury for a shopping and cinema trip; many of the pupils took the opportunity to watch ‘The Greatest Showman’ and came back singing various songs from the soundtrack!

This week we have enjoyed a game of ‘Man Hunt’ with the U6 Prefects, made pancakes for the whole House, and celebrated our win in the Inter House Maths Quiz with chocolate bars for the victorious team members. In addition, the Manor Legends for this half term had a fantastic trip out to Pizza Express for their treat.

The Manor Tutor Team and I wish you all a very happy and relaxing half term holiday.
Anne Sampson, House Mistress.

Please do follow us on Twitter @ManorDauntseys to keep up to date.

Scholastic Book Fair

During the week immediately after half term, we will be hosting a Scholastic book fair at Dauntsey's. All lower school pupils will be able to visit the fair, and buy books. They will be bringing letters home containing details about how to pay for the books that they choose.

A copy of the letter that has been brought home can be found here.

Third Form Parents' Evening

Friday 23 February, 18:30 - 20:30

A reminder that the Third Form Parents’ Meeting takes place on Friday 23 February from 18:30 - 20:30 in the Memorial Hall. I hope you can make it and please do see me if I can help with anything. Jon Tyler, Deputy Head (Academic)