Celebration of Achievement

15 November 2011

On Thursday 10 November 2011 former pupils from our ‘Class of 2011’ and their parents filled the Main Hall at Cirencester Deer Park School for our Key Stage 4 Celebration of Achievement. We were delighted to welcome them back and share in their success.

The school’s new Head of Key Stage 4, James Johnson, co-ordinated the awards’ evening. In his opening presentation, he commended them on their outstanding performance: ‘Congratulations! I am in awe of your marvellous achievements. You have definitely raised the bar and left a legacy for those who follow you to aspire to achieve! Well done!’

Incredibly over 50% of pupils in the year group were nominated for awards for their effort, improvement and achievement across the curriculum and, of these, more than 40% received a certificate. David Clarke, former Head of Key Stage 4, was delighted to be invited back to celebrate the year group’s success: ‘I am especially pleased to come back and share in your success. It is not until you leave that you realise what a special place Deer Park is and I will always cherish the two years we spent together’. Referring to the ambitious drive he had regularly demonstrated in the year group’s assemblies, he characteristically reminded them to be ‘sharks not jellyfish’!

There were individual awards in each curriculum area and, individually, Heads of Faculty who joined senior staff on stage, congratulated the year group on their resilience and positive attitudes to their studies. They identified the contributions pupils had made to the school during their time with us. Anne Hacker and Liz Norman, our Heads of PE and Expressive Arts, also acknowledged the tremendous commitment of pupils who throughout their time at Deer Park consistently participated in extra-curricular activities. Philip Beckerlegge, Chair of Governors commended two pupils for their significant contribution to the life of the school. In his summing up he shared his belief in the future for our young people: ‘Deer Park prepares our pupils for the next stage in their lives and learning exceptionally well and clearly benefit from the range of challenging activities on offer. I am very proud of my association with the school and extremely grateful to the staff here who always go the extra mile’.

Parents appreciated the evening and thanked staff fot the help and support their children had received. One parent commented 'The Celebration of Achievement Evening was a lovely event to attend, the atmosphere was warm with much enthusiasm coming from the audience. My daughter really enjoyed meeting up with all her friends and sharing experiences of College and how life has progressed from School. We would like to thank all the staff for all the hard work and support that they have given her during her time at Deer Park.'

Headteacher, Chiquita Henson, praised the 28 pupils in the year group who had achieved excellence by attaining 8 or more A* or A grades. This year the awards for Academic Excellence went to Laura Hobson and Michael Cannon and the special Headteacher’s Award went to the two pupils in our ‘Class of 2011’ who had made the most progress in the core subjects since joining the school in Year 7, Ashu Sharma and Tham Esteves.

Also congratulating the successful pupils were our guest speakers, former pupils and now elected local councillors, Joe Harris and Siobhan Brazier. They reflected on the year group’s achievements and inspired the audience by describing the personal journeys they have undertaken as young campaigners who have consciously chosen to represent the views of others to influence change. They were articulate and excellent role models. Both expressed their gratitude to Deer Park for the foundations and direction it has given them.

As pupils on our ‘Class of 2011’ collected their certificates, much was being made of their Yearbook, which captures their experiences and, we are confident, will provide material for reflection and reminiscence in the future. We share their fond memories and wish them every success.