2002 was an excellent year - we had our best ever SATs and GCSE results and we met our targets. We became a Specialist Sports College and our 6th form continues to grow as we, with our consortium partners, offer a wide range of courses and subjects that is as diverse as any in Leeds. We continue to be "popular" - our school is full. Each year group is at 203 or more students and we expect a substantial intake in 2003.

One consequence of this popularity is that we are overcrowded. We converted classrooms to computer suites as we reached the government's target of one machine to every seven students. This, coupled with our natural growth, has resulted in the need for a substantial building programme.

Discussions are at an early stage but I feel confident that our needs will be addressed. We will use this opportunity to get rid of our 'temporary huts' which seem to have become anything but temporary. This new build will have to include both a drama and a music facility and rooms for PE and history. We will have to build in the area where the temporary huts are currently situated. We would expect building to commence in May/June 2003 and to be completed early in 2004. This new block will serve as a reception area for our evening activities. Sports Status brings with it a commitment to extensive community use and we are going to be extremely busy each evening and at the weekends. The build will cost in excess of £700,000. This will be a joint venture between ourselves and Education Leeds. Some of the funding; one of the many benefits, will come from Sports Status, some from our annual capital grant but the majority from the LEA.

There was a distinct chill in the air when I wrote this introduction and there was a threat of snow. Could I take this opportunity of asking parents to discuss with their children what should happen if we had to close school in extreme circumstances. If our single-track drive up to school becomes impassable, we are obliged to close on safety of access grounds. Do they have their own key? If parents are out is there anywhere they can go in an emergency? Please give it some thought. Also can I take this opportunity to remind parents they should not bring vehicles up the school drive - we have no room to manoeuvre and the one-way drive causes problems at the beginning and end of the day.

At the end of this term we usually finish a little early so that staff can say farewell to colleagues who are moving on. School will finish at 2.15pm on Friday December 20th.

I hope that you have an excellent Christmas and a successful New Year. We re-open on Monday January 6th.

Clive Pickles
Headteacher

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Start of Spring term AS/A2 January exam modules Understanding Industry Days (Year 12 ) Year 13 Parents Evening Year 11 Parents Evening Half Term endsSchool re-opens Next Training Day Monday 6th January 20039th - 31st January16th & 17th January (Civic Hall)Wed 12th February 5-7pmTues 25th February 5-7pmFriday 14th FebruaryTuesday 25th FebruaryMonday 24th February

On this page: Reading Buddies In the beginning... Uniform Questionnaire Results

CURRICULUM
The curriculum has moved on - again!
Once again we have had a very busy term, putting into place new curriculum activities and new examination courses. New courses in Modern Foreign Languages see changes in coursework, and our first Panjabi and Urdu cohorts will take their GCSEs this coming summer. Some students have been offered the opportunity to take a short course in GCSE PE (well, we are a Sports College) and a few linguists will take Institute of Linguists exams that should better prepare them for Advanced courses. A number of mathematics students are taking an additional GCSE in Statistics. Several departments have new examination and teaching criteria to accommodate, whilst developing the learning styles of their students. Nothing, but nothing, ever stands still in education!

Our vocational programme has expanded. We are now offering vocational GCSEs in Manufacturing, Leisure and Tourism and ICT. Each of these leads to two GCSE grades and has a more focused approach to the skills needed for self-directed study and portfolio construction, much used in further education. More students are now attached to Park Lane College for courses in Horticulture and Animal Husbandry. These liaisons with our colleagues in further education, and with local business enterprises, will continue to develop our commitment to offering relevant courses to all our students.

Our post-16 provision continues to develop, in conjunction with the other schools in the Pudsey Consortium. We offer enrichment courses in Sports Leadership and Independent Learning, as well as a qualification in Computer Literacy called the European Computer Driving Licence.

Our wide A/S and A2 provision has withstood the uncertainties generated by the A level furore of last summer and continues to provide excellent opportunities for our students to advance to higher education. Final figures for last year's upper sixth cohort show that 40 of our students achieved places at university. Courses vary widely, from the more traditional Law and Computer Science to the newer Media and Conservation Biology, from the market-oriented Integrated Industrial Design and Human Resource Management to Leisure and Sport, Management and Music Production. Most students have stayed fairly close to home, many studying in Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield, Manchester and Lancaster. Some have ventured as far as Newcastle, Birmingham and Liverpool. A few have gone to London, to the LSE and UCL.

The government are issuing a White Paper on developments in education for students aged 14 and above in the near future, so we expect it will all change again. As I begin, so I will end!

SALLY BAVAGE
(Deputy for Curriculum)

READING BUDDIES
Reading Buddies has got off to an excellent start this term with over 40 Year 7 pupils paired with 40 Year 12 students who help them with their reading once a week. The Open Learning Centre is buzzing on Monday and Friday lunchtimes, but the real benefit is gained by our Year 7 students who now feel more confident about their reading skills. If you would like to take part, see Ms Stein for details.
MS STEIN

Aiming High at Priesthorpe
On Tuesday 10th December many pupils from Year 9 went to a little porta-cabin in the car park. This was all for the 'Aim Higher' project. During the fifty minutes we were there we learnt about our future education at University. The presenter, Ollie, showed us that even if you have no money at all to pay the fees, you can always become what you want as long as you have the commitment towards it and are willing to make the effort. We watched a ten-minute documentary. Ollie gave us each a laptop! (Only to use in the lesson though). We went on to their site and researched on what we would like to be when we are older. Here are our opinions: Rachel -" It was very educational and lots of fun. Ollie was great!" Nikki: "I also found it educational and Ollie made university seem so much more fun. It was brill!"
Overall it was a great road show and made people more aware of what awaits them.
RACHEL EVANS & NIKKI LEE 9GI

My Trip to the LMU
On Wednesday the 4th December some pupils in Year 9 got the opportunity to go to a "PE day" at Leeds Metropolitan University. When we arrived we were taken into a room where we were introduced to the staff who would be taking us for the day. We also watched a video. Afterwards we went to the Gym where we did a few ice-breaker games, which included getting ten people to have both feet on a T-shirt at the same time. Later we had the opportunity to do a session of Salsa dancing and went off into a dance studio to start learning some moves. Even though the session was only forty-five minutes long we were all exhausted by the end! We then went for dinner and a student gave us a tour around the University. It was a very enjoyable day and all of us would love to go again. JENNY LEE 9W

The Creating of Priesthorpe
In the beginning there was a field,
And Mr Pickles went into the field and, saw that a school was lacking,
And so he created the High school, which was Priesthorpe,
And he called upon the builders to, build a tower block,
And it was so,
And Mr Pickles called upon the
Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation,
Yea and they moveth the desks and the chairs in,
And it was good.
And Mr Pickles called upon the Evening Post for teachers from far and wide,
And so it was.
ANON

Uniform Questionnaire Results
Many thanks to those parents who returned the questionnaires - 231 parents who have children in Years 7-10 responded. All your comments have been duly noted. 45 staff and almost all pupils in Years 7-10 also completed the questionnaires. Opinions were inevitably divided but the School Council has met and discussed the results and recommendations will be made to the Full Governors Meeting on February 4th. The Governors' decision regarding any change to the current uniform will be available in the next newsletter.
MRS HARDAKER
(Assistant Headteacher)

Year 8 Mentoring
On Monday and Tuesday lunchtimes from 12.45 to 1.15 we are offering workshops to help improve pupils' knowledge of keywords and key subject statements and to help with handling the more technical side of English language to help raise achievement.
PLUS every morning from 8.00 to 8.45 there is a pre-school homework workshop. Every lunchtime (except Wednesdays) from 12.45 to 1.15 there is a Homework/Basic Skills Workshop to help meet the different needs of all our students.
MR COYNE

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