Struggling pupils failing at GCSE

Latest data released from the schools league tables show that only 58.2% of pupils are achieving 5 GCSE grades A*-C. The Department of Education has released the information of around 5,000 secondary schools with around 200 pieces of data for each.

Those students that are struggling are those from disadvantaged backgrounds as expected and statistics show that a third of these children achieved the governments benchmark of 5 GCSEs.

Of those students who started secondary school above average (achieving level 5), 95% of them achieved good grades and GCSE and reached the benchmark.

When BTecs and NVQs are excluded, 52.4% of pupils got five passes at GCSE.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said: "Today's figures reveal a shocking waste of talent in many schools across the country. All too often, pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds aren't given the same opportunities as their peers."

The figures show that those children and teenagers struggling at school aren't being given the attention they need to get them to the government benchmark of at least five GCSE grades A*-C. It is the children that are already achieving highly that are given the attention when they do not necessarily need it to achieve. A lot of the under achievers come from under privileged backgrounds suggesting that these students need as much help at school as they can get as they do not seem to be getting it at home.

Oscar Nominations 2012

The Oscar nominations were annouced today. Unsurprisingly, silent black and white movie The Artist has a number of nominations (9 to be precise). Other nominees include War Horse, Moneyball, Harry Potter 7 pt2 and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

For a full list of nominations go to:
http://oscar.go.com/nominees

Holocaust Memorial Day: Speak Up Speak Out, a Public Speaking Event

On 27th January, Christ Church college in Oxford are kindly hosting a public speaking event, organised by sixth form students of Chenderit School in association with Oxford University Archeaology department.

January 27th is Holocaust Memorial Day, a day that has inspired Oxford archeaology to commemorate the event. They have made an exibition based on Jewish and German refugee, Paul Jacobsthal, who came to Oxford during the war to escape the Nazis. Jacobsthal was an archeaologist specialising in Celtic Art and the people at Oxford have found some of his old works and personal belongings like letters and photographs in his old home. By collecting all of this material, they have put on an exhibition running from January to the 10th of March to celebrate this man and to remind us all of the dreadful events of the Holocaust.

Sixth form students from Chenderit school were asked by Oxford to help them with promotion for their exibition and to organise a public speaking event for sixth forms across the area on Holocaust Memorial Day. What started with about five students has now turned into twelve sixth form students taking the inititive to organise the whole event themselves with help from students of Gosford Hill and Cheney School who will also be taking part in the event. For the past two months preparations for this event have been underway, with some students taking the role of event managing, some in advertising and others in running the event on the night.

The night itself will consist of six schools taking part in the event, with all the topics based on persecution and freedom to link to the Holocaust and the Paul Jacobsthal exibition. As well as this, year nine students from Chenderit school who have just started studying the Holocaust have created timelines and visuals for the event.

On behalf of the Chenderit school sixth form students we would like to thank all the schools who will take part on the night, Christ Church for agreeing to hold the event, teachers from Chenderit, Gosford and Cheney for giving us contacts and links and of course Oxford archeaology department for trusting us to put together this event that we hope will run annually for a number of years.

The British Press Requires Tougher Regulations - against arguement

Having recently taken part in a debating competition (and winning) with this motion and the Leveson inquiry going on, I've decided to post up my speech which I think holds up some very valid arugements as to why the British Press does not require tougher regulation:

P – British newspapers will become drones, leading to no opinion in society which is crucial for human development.

E – Countries like North Korea have everything around them censored. It leads the people to be all thinking one thing having no diverse opinion, which has led to naivety.

A – Press opinion is vital for the people to have opinion themselves. We need this sort of diversity to progress as a race. This is the way it has always been, Christopher Columbus had to have his own opinion to realise that the world was in fact round and not flat. Imagine if he had not have had that opinion? It would have affected everything that we now know today about space, meaning we would never have had the genius minds that developed and are still developing space travel. It is simple opinions like this that is essential for the evolution of man. Without this we would never progress and it is the media that helps to create these different opinions that people have.

L – To say that the British press needs tougher regulations is completely barbaric to the human race.

　

P – Regulations will not stop things such as phone hacking as the opposition will wrongly state.

E – The NOTW phone hacking scandal was of course a terrible crime committed by Mr Murdoch’s newspaper. The scandal as anyone apart from the opposition it seems, will know that phone hacking is in fact illegal and the police have been criticised for their handling of the situation.

A – It is wrong for the opposition to say that tougher regulations will mean an end to phone hacking, because phone hacking is in fact illegal as we all know. This therefore makes it a crime that the police have to deal with. No amount of press regulation will be able to stop what is clearly a criminal act.

L – The opposition assumption has therefore been proved obviously incorrect, because further press regulation will not stop a criminal act such as phone hacking.

　

P – People deserve to know the truth about their MPs if they want to run the country we live in.

E – The MPs expenses scandal in 2010 brought to light the truth about our leaders from all major parties and how they had been spending your hard earned cash that you believed would be spent on improving this country. Instead we find it being spent on moats for ducks and toilet seats.

A – If we add more press regulation, stories like these will not be uncovered, because journalists may feel like they cannot give the public the information in case of an infringement of regulations. Surely information like this, the good people of our country deserve to know, especially when there was an election looming at the time. The opposition are therefore saying that tougher regulation will lead to our so called MPs spending your money on their own unnecessary needs. Furthermore, who is going to regulate the newspapers? Surely not the MPs as this scandal proves that they cannot be trusted with what they think we should know and not know.

L- Tougher regulations means you are not just restricting the press, you are restricting the people of our country and how can the opposition possibly say this it right?

Frankie Coccozza to be replaced

After he left the show on Tuesday, X Factor has annouced that Frankie Coccozza will be replaced by either Jonjo or Amelia Lily, two contestants that left on the first show. This will be put down to public vote.

The reason for Frankie's departure is still unlcear, but glorifying alcohol and cocaine taking are amoung rumours.

Now all we have left are the good, innocent contestants which I think underlines the problem with the show. Of course X Factor is a family show, but what person in the entertainment business these days hasn't had something a little sketchy in their past and yet we still let them be children's role models, (lets exclude the annoying Disney actors from this). Yes, many say and I agree that Frankie sported some idiotic behaviour and generally came across as an arrogant douche, but what eighteen-year-old isn't from time to time. No doubt he wouldn't win the competition, but at least it was a bit of excitement to our Saturday nights. It was clear from the beginning that the show wouldn't be able to manipulate him into being this goodie goodie, techer's pet and that seemed to annoy the shows bosses.

So it's back to the perfect contestants with not a bad bone in their body. Roll on Saturday.

Movie Review: Talihina Sky

Talihina Sky: The Story of Kings Of Leon does exactly what it says on the tin. The rock doc tells KOL's rise to fame and their unique childhood from the band themselves. As a big fan of the band, I loved the honesty they put forward throughout.

But you don't have to be a massive fan of the band to appreciate the movie. Unlike other documentaries of musicians, this isn't filled with them playing a bunch of their songs. It's just a very honest insight into their lives.

The movie was directed and produced by Stephen Mitchell and Casey McGrath, both good friends with the band. In fact Casey has directed some of their music videos.

The footage in the movie has been taken by people close to the band and the band themselves as well as old family videos. It wasn't just some stranger or crew following them around with a camera. This as well helps to set it apart from other documentaries.

Talihina Sky is in stores now.

Made In Chelsea star and Emma Watson?

Made In Chelsea star, Francis Boulle has come out and said that he used to date Emma Watson. Why did it end? Francis says, " I want to achieve my own notoriety for what I’ve done.”
He also refers to Watson as just a "child star", because apparently, being an heir to a ridiculously rich diamond mine business is just such hard work!

Maybe Francis should take a good look at himself, at least Emma Watson worked (I say 'worked') for her money and not leaning on her family's fortune and passing it off as her own doing.

He also told Heat that they "still cross paths". Let's hope Emma hasn't read his interview next time they "cross paths".