Bower Park School Christmas Carol Concert

Cllr Mann attended the annual Bower Park School, Christmas Carol Concert this week, held at St Johns Church, Havering-Atte-Bower. The Concert is long established in the School calendar and attracted approx 100 parents, friends and Governors, who all stayed for mince pies and tea and coffee.

All of the songs were sung by pupils, with music also played by the students, with a few of the more vocal music teachers joining in. Some of the pupils were singing and playing as part of their B-Tech courses and will count towards their exams.

The Service was overseen by Revd David Marshall, the Vicar of St Johns Church.

Bower Park School - Best Ever Exam Results

Bower Park School are celebrating after their 2009 GCSE Exam result jumped a massive 14% on the previous years. The amount of pupils receiving five A* to C grade GCSE’s including English and Maths increased from 35% to 40%.

The overall figure of A* to C grades without English and Maths, increased from 44% to a whopping 63%, a 50% increase on last year. This is the fifth year in succession that the results at Bower Park have increased since Head Teacher, Mary Morrison joined the school.

This continues the trend of year on year improvement and is once again Bower Park Schools highest results.

Head Teacher, Mary Morrison said, “I am extremely proud of the achievement of our pupils over the last 12 months in gaining such a good set of results, all of the pupils have been a credit to the school, I must also say a big thank you to all of the school staff who have contributed towards this excellent progress”.

Local Councillor and School Governor, Andrew Mann said “This is another brilliant result for Bower Park students and staff, all of which deserve praise for what they have achieved over the last 12 months. Bower Park is a fantastic school within our community and these latest results are proof that it is continuing to move forward and is changing all the time”.

Bower Park Awards Assembly

Cllr Andy Mann was at Bower Park School last week, for the 5th annual Awards Assembly. As a School Governor, Cllr Mann said “It is always a pleasure to be at Bower Park School on awards day, watching the children collect awards for all the hard work, achievement and effort, they have put in, during the year”.

Cllr Mann was also called on to introduce this year’s guest speaker, the legendary charity fundraiser, Lloyd Scott MBE. Lloyd spoke at length about his achievements over the years, from fighting back from Leukaemia, to raising over £5 million for charities in the last 10 years.

Heat Teacher, Mary Morrison spoke about the effort put in by all in the school, from pupils, staff and teachers, who have all contributed to making Bower park School the place it is today.

The event also marked the announcement of the new student leadership team, with the head boy, head girl and a new position this year of school president being announced.

Pictured from L to R: is Cllr Mann, Lloyd Scott and Recorder Editor, Mark Sweetingham, also a School Governor

Bower Park School "Rocks"

School Governor, Cllr Andy Mann attended Bower Park School’s production of “We Will Rock You” this week and what a fantastic show it was, so good he watched it twice, well almost.

Cllr Mann said “I have waited many years for the school to put on We will rock you and It was worth the wait, the children were fantastic, I watched the opening night and raced back after a Council meeting to see the second half of the last night”

Bower Park School has put on some fantastic shows over the years, however this show has been one of the most complicated and involved, if you are a Queen fan, it was something not to be missed.

The pupils and staff that helped backstage and who took part in the show itself were just brilliant, the standard of singing and acting by the pupils was second to none, in particular the two pupils playing the lead roles, Connor Catchpole and Holly Simms were excellent.

Bower Park will Rock You !!

Bower Park School is proud to present "School will rock you", next week, Monday to Wednesday, the 6th, 7th and 8th July as their end of term school production.

Based on the hugely popular west end show "We will rock you" written by Ben Elton and a tribute to Queen and Freddy Mercury, the school has been working hard over the last few months putting together the school version.

If you would like to go and support the children, you can purchase tickets at £5 each, just call the school switchboard on 01708 730 244, ask for ext 234 or Eileen Parish and she will deal with your ticket requests.

Cllr Mann said, "as a Governor and a huge Queen fan, I will be at the school next week, I hope to see many of you there".

Red nose Day at Bower Park

Hundreds of pupils and Staff at Bower Park School took part in Children in Need day yesterday with a host of events throughout the day. Over 600 children paid £2 to come to school in no uniform, but a dozen or so girls, went one step further and came to school in their pyjamas.

However, they did not stop there, once dressed up in their pink P.J’s they then carried out a sponsored walk to Romford, whilst wearing their outfits. They made their way from the School, to Romford. The walk managed to raise an extra few hundred pounds.

Head Teacher Mary Morrison said “This has been a fantastic effort by the pupils and the staff of the school to raise money for a much needed charity and I am immensely proud of them, they have made a real contribution to the community with their commitment”.

School Governor and Ward Councillor, Andrew Mann said “The pupils of Bower Park continue to surpass themselves with their efforts, in particular, the 12 girls that made the effort to organise a sponsored walk in their pyjamas and then walk into Romford deserve a special mention.

Bower Park School - OFSTED visit

Bower Park School had OFSTED in last week. The inspectors spent two days reviewing data, watching lessons and interviewing pupils, governors and staff.

Although the formal results and the final report are not made public for another two weeks, we have printed below some of the main points from the feedback meeting.

• Cultures work well together
  
  Lessons are focussed on work
  
  Standards are rapidly rising
  
  Attainment has significantly improved
  
  The house system is working well
  
  The students are a delight
  
  Lessons are focussed on work

Just as soon as the report is made public by OFSTED we will publish it on this website.

New Toilets at Bower Park School

A recently renovated toilet block at Bower Park School has opened last week, by the Mayor of Havering. The prototype toilets are the first in UK to be completed under a new set of national guidelines for school toilets which aim to bring a positive influence on pupils welfare, behaviour and attitude.

The cutting edge design aims to overcome problems commonly associated with school toilets, including bullying and anti social behaviour and brings a new hygienic and healthy approach to the design of school toilets.

Design features of the new toilet block include:

• hand wash area is open and accessible which facilitates easier supervision and make pupils feel safer
• clear view from the hand wash area to area directly outside the toilet cubicles to help deter anti-social behaviour
• open spaces within the toilets are kept to a minimum in an effort to limit possible anti social behaviour or bullying
• the cubicles are a new design of top to bottom doors allowing complete privacy and urinals are set within cubicles to maximise privacy
• sensor-operated taps which discourage the spread of bacteria and minimise waste of water
• cartridge type liquid soap dispensers, easy to clean interiors and wall-hung toilet bowls to avoid the build-up of germs and dirt
• Sleek continuous wash troughs replace individual wash basins as they are easier to clean and reduce the potential for pupils to flood the toilets.

Research has shown that most anti social behaviour occurs when pupils gather in open spaces in the toilet area. To combat this, open spaces are kept to a minimum and careful attention in the design has gone into protecting pupils' privacy.

The new toilets were funded through an £118k capital works grant from DCSF for an upgrade of the old toilet block.

Head teacher at Bower Park, Mary Morrison, said: "We have always had high standards of education at Bower Park and this new block compliments the approach we take to the welfare of our pupils. Proper, clean, hygienic and safe toilets are an essential part of creating a positive educational experience. We are delighted to be the first school in the UK to have toilets based on the new standard designs."

School Governor and Havering park Councillor, Andrew Mann said "We are all grateful to DCSF for making the funds available for the school to be able to build and install the new toilets, they will be a great asset to the improvement of our School".

2nd Feb is now known as Snow Day !!

With almost every school in Havering closed and parents not able to get to work for the day, it would seem that almost all of them headed for Bedfords park, in Havering-Atte-Bower this morning.

Cllr Mann, was in the Park with his family (pictured above, with his youngest daughter and friends) and approx 1,000 plus people. The park road was gritted by staff early on to make getting in and out easier, however by mid morning the park was packed, to the degree that at 12.00 the park had to be closed to any more cars, as it was full up, with nowhere to park and was causing massive traffic problems.

Almost every school in the Borough is now closed (see list below) with quite a few announced they will be closed tomorrow (Tuesday 3rd Feb) as well, for full details about closures, contact you school web sites direct, listen to TIME FM on 107.5fm in the morning or go to Havering Councils web site at http://www.havering.gov.uk/.

I have posted a selection of photos taken today in and around Collier Row today.

The View from Collier Row Roundabout

Bower Park School, closed for the day

Havering Council Parks Department gritting the road in Bedfords Park

Bedfords Park

Bower Park Head Boy, Chris Webb enjoying the day off in Bedfords park.

We Will Rock You

Cllr Mann and Kevin Tonks joined pupils, teachers and staff from Bower Park school last night at a performance of "We will rock you", in London's West End. The trip was organised as part of this years school performance being held in July.

As you may have guessed, the school will be putting on "We Will Rock You" themselves, with the pupils taking the staring roles, last night gave people the chance to see who they would like to play and what songs will be sung.

Cllr Mann said "The pupils, approx 35 in total, all behaved particularly well and I have to say, were a credit to the school, the only time they were jumping up and down screaming, was during the show, it was great to see some of the energy they had. I cant wait now until the real thing hits Bower Park in the Summer".

MBE for former Bower Park Pupil

Congratulations to former Bower Park pupil, Mark Hunter who received an MBE with rowing partner, Zac Purchase (who is also awarded an MBE) in the New Years Honours List, announced today.

Mark and his rowing partner, Zac Purchase crossed the line in first place in the men's lightweight double sculls, winning gold. Their boat crossed the 2,000-metre line in a world beating 6.mins 10.99secs, at the Shunyi Rowing-Canoeing Park in China in an Olympic best as they beat Greece and Denmark.

Cllr Mann said "I have had the great pleasure of meeting Mark when he visited Bower Park school back in the Autumn after his fantastic result in the Olympics this year, his efforts have now been rewarded again, he is a true roll model to all young people"

To see the report and photos of Marks visit to Bower Park, click here.

Bower Park Christmas Concert

Bower Park School held it annual Christmas Concert at St Johns Church, Havering-Atte-Bower on Thursday evening and as usual a wonderful evening was had by all, followed by a few mince pies.

Both Cllr Mann (Who is a Governor at Bower Park) and Kevin Tonks attended the show and heard a mix of students singing, either on their own, duets or as a bigger group. We also had students playing various instruments, from the Guitar, Drums, Keyboard, Flute, Saxophone and Cello to name but a few.

Parents and guests were able to join in with a few carols and some sing along songs, such as the old favourites, Jingle Bell Rock, Last Christmas and Winter Wonderland.

Cllr Mann read a short reading from LUKE, Chapter 2, verse 1-7 and we had a short sermon from Revd David Marshall, the Vicar of St Johns. Head teacher, Mrs Morrison ended the evening with words of thanks, to all of the students and staff for putting the show together and wished everyone a Merry Christmas.

So you think you can dance ? (Two)

For the second year running, Bower Park School held its annual dance show, this year helping to raise money for the Lymphoma Association, on Friday 7th December.

Over 200 hundred people in the audience were entertained with twenty two acts, from students across all five year groups in the school, in particular those doing for their GCSE and B-Tec dance exams, something pupils can do, as part of the curriculum.

School Governor, Cllr Mann who was at the show said “As usual, the standard of the performers was excellent, some truly amazing dancing, from both boys and girls and the school once again raised money for a worthwhile charity”.

The event also raised over £500 for the Lymphoma Association.

Bower Park - Children in Need

Pupils from Bower Park school took part in events yesterday in aid of Children in need, one of the biggest events was the ever popular sponsored walk, dressed only in pyjamas ! This year, two members of staff (pictured on the far left and far right) got into the spirit with the children and dressed as schoolgirls. I was going to make a joke about Britney Spears here, but thought best not.

I am not sure how much money was raised, I shall update the info next week once known. Bower Park pupils have been involved with fundraising for Children in Need for many years now and it is those efforts, that make the children a credit to the school.

Cllr Andy Mann

Charlie & The Chocolate Factory

Pupils from years 7, 8 9 at Bower Park School staged their own version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory this week, dozens of children spent their own time working with staff and teachers after school and during lunch times practicing for the show.

Over the two evenings of the show, hundreds of parents, family and pupils came along to watch along with some of the North Romford primary schools for the afternoon dress rehearsal.

School Governor, Cllr Andrew Mann went along with his children to watch the show, he said "The show was fantastic and the students were, as usual, a credit to the school, with some truly amazing performances by some of the lead characters, in particular Willy Wonka (above).

Mark Hunter Civic Reception

Cllr Andy Mann was on hand at todays Civic Reception in honour of former Bower Park pupil, Gold Medal winning rower, Mark Hunter, being held in the Liberty Shopping Centre and then back at the Town Hall.

Mark spent time signing photos for members of the public and time with pupils from his previous schools, Bower Park and Parklands Primary school. Cllr Mann said "The pupils from both Parklands and Bower Park were excellent, very well behaved and a credit to their schools".

Hundreds of Havering residents turned out to see Mark on his big day, including his whole family, the whole event then marched off through Romford towards the Town Hall behind a marching band.

Back at the Town Hall, pupils and teachers from Bower Park got the chance to try on the famous gold medal from China, before watching the race again on a large screen.

Olympic Rower Mark Hunter at Bower Park

Former Bower Park student and Olympic gold medal winning rower, Mark Hunter was mobbed by hundreds of pupils as he returned to his former school today.

Mark, who used to live in Collier Row, spent almost the whole day in the school, meeting and talking to the 800 plus children and staff and of course showing off the now famous Beijing gold medal. He also attended classes, school assembly and a question and answer session. He was mobbed by hundreds of pupils during morning break and spent his day constantly signing autographs for the children.

Head Teacher, Mary Morrison said “It was fantastic having Mark back in school today, he is an inspiration to us all, he has proved that with a little hard work and commitment you can achieve whatever you set out to do, we are all extremely proud of him and wish him all the best in America for the next 12 months coaching women’s rowing in Los Angeles”.

Mark and his rowing partner, Zac Purchase crossed the line in first place in the men's lightweight double sculls on Sunday, August 17, winning gold. Their boat crossed the 2,000-metre line in a world beating 6.mins 10.99secs, at the Shunyi Rowing-Canoeing Park in China in an Olympic best as they beat Greece and Denmark.

School Governor and Ward Councillor, Andrew Mann said “It was a great privilege to meet Mark today, he has achieved something that almost all of us can only ever dream about, he was fantastic in school, taking time out to talk with the children about his achievements and what is was like to be part of the U.K Olympic team”.

Marks visit today was one of his last public appearances in the Borough and the U.K as he heads of to America to start a new job as a rowing coach at the University of Los Angeles.

Before visiting the School, Mark said: "I want to go to the school and to see the teachers and the kids and to give them the opportunity to touch the medal and wear it, so that they can get a sense of how amazing it is to follow a path that you want to go down.

"I've been dying for this day since I started rowing. The national anthem, the flag, it's a dream come true, It feels like a dream has come true and I feel so relaxed and complete because I have achieved the one thing I always wanted “. He went on "Nothing else can ever live up to this moment."

Well Done Bower Park School

Bower Park School are celebrating after their 2008 GCSE Exam result jumped a massive 11% on the previous years. The amount of pupils receiving five A* to C grade GCSE’s including English and Maths increased from 24% to 35%. Without English and Maths, the Five A* to C grades increased from 38% to 44%.

The results at Bower Park have increased year on year since Head Teacher Mary Morrison joined the school in September 2004, with this year being one of the biggest increases to date. Staff were in school downloading the result information for the children to collect at 10.00 on Thursday 21st August.

Head Teacher, Mary Morrison said, “I am extremely proud of the achievement of our pupils over the last 12 months in gaining such a good set of results, all of the pupils have been a credit to the school, I must also say a big thank you to all of the school staff who have contributed towards this excellent progress”.

Mrs Morrison went on “After the last few months we have had at Bower Park with people doubting our achievements, this result is clear for all to see, I never doubted the students ability and the commitment of the staff to enable us to achieve
Well over 30%”.



As the result is above the 29% level set by Government, the school will no longer be listed on the National School Challenge list of 638 schools named earlier this year. At the time of the list being made public, one local political party decided to print a leaflet that advocated they would “Save the school from closure”, at the time the Head Teacher had to detract for teaching duties to issue a statement of fact countering the leaflet.

Local Councillor and School Governor, Andrew Mann said “This is another brilliant result for Bower Park students and staff, all of which deserve praise for what they have achieved over the last 12 months. Bower Park is a fantastic school within our community and these latest results are proof that it is moving and a changing school”.

Bower Park School - Bower Factor

Cllr Mann was at Bower Park School yesterday, on the last day of term for its annual “Bower Factor” event, this year being the 4th annual show, based on the hugely popular X Factor format, children from years 7 to 10 compete in a show of dance, song, gymnastics and comedy to win the event. The event is judges in the same way as the T.V programme, with three teachers taking to the judge’s panel, with one playing the nice guy, one Mr Nasty and the last down the middle. It is broken down in to two age ranges, year 7 and 8 and year 9 and 10.

The show always brings out the best in the pupils and having watched some of the same pupils perform over the last 2 to 3 years, it is nice to see them improve in what they are doing. Over 100 children took part, watched by the rest of the year groups.

The event is always one of the big highlights of the year and makes for a great day, on the last day of term. I for one can not wait until next year when we hold the 5th annual show, lets hope it is bigger and better than ever before.

Bower Park School - Charity Walk

Cllr Mann was on hand at Bower Park School last week to start the Year 7 children off on a sponsored walk, from the School to Hainault Forest and back again. Over 150 children and staff took part in the day long event to raise money for local charities.

Each Form class chose which charity they wanted to donate to, with St Francis Hospice coming out on top for a lot of the children; hopefully hundreds of pounds will have been raised for lots of local charities and good causes.

Cllr Mann was unable to join the children for the day, but gave them all some words of encouragement and started them off on the 10 mile round trip. He said “Another great day for Bower Park, with the children walking in the searing sun to raise money for local charities and not one of them complaining, well not much anyway”.