March 2021 – Verulam School

Verulam School Appoints First Female Headteacher in its 83 Year History

26 March 2021/in General News, Head's News, School News/by verulam

Verulam School for boys, founded in 1938 as St Albans’ Boys’ Modern School, has appointed its first female Headteacher, Julie Richardson, who will take over from current Head, Paul Ramsey, in the Autumn term of September 2021.

Specialising in boys’ education, the school, which became part of the Alban Academies Trust in 2018, achieved an Ofsted ‘good’ rating from its recent inspection and promotes the values of excellence, character and respect. This appointment marks the growing impetus in the cultural shift in the school: inclusivity and relationships are the bedrock of the school, and Miss Richardson will add further dynamism to the vital focus.

London-born Miss Richardson, is the daughter of a former Deputy Head teacher, therefore teaching has always been in her blood. After graduating from Winchester University and completing a PGCE in English and Drama, she had the privilege of working in a number of London and Essex schools over the past 18 years. She has experience of single-sex education having attended an all-girls school herself and worked for three years as head of English at St. Ignatius College for boys. Miss Richardson is currently serving as the Vice Principal at Drapers’ Academy in the London Borough of Havering. Her experience to date, demonstrates her ability to form strong collegial links with school communities, something which Verulam strives to embed as part of the familial ethos of the school.

Miss Richardson said, “I am really proud to have the opportunity to lead and serve the staff, students and community into the next chapter of Verulam’s history. I was instantly struck by the warm and friendly welcome from everyone when I visited the school, and I feel honoured to be the leader of such a special community. I will be relentless in my drive to ensure that Verulam continues to be a place full of opportunities, experiences and where all pupils excel academically.”

John Acton, Chair of Verulam School Governors says “Julie was an outstanding candidate and the decision to appoint her was unanimous. Her vision and passion for boys’ education shone through during the interviews, as well as her in-depth knowledge and understanding of curriculum design, contemporary teaching and pastoral care of young people. She has a very inclusive approach to education and the highest of expectations for what can be achieved by everyone. We are confident that she will take the school to new levels of excellence and it will be a very exciting time for students and staff alike. We thank Paul Ramsey for all of the good work he has done and we wish him every success in his next role.”

“Verulam is now an integral member of the Alban Academies Trust, thanks to the work of Mr. Ramsey. We were looking for an exceptional person with the vision and passion to take over the reins and continue to lead Verulam to the next level in becoming a truly outstanding school. Miss Richardson meets all of our expectations and, in the years to come, will make a significant contribution to the development of the school and the Trust. This is an exciting time for Verulam, and I very much look forward to working with Miss Richardson in the future.” Alan Gray, Headteacher of Sandringham School and CEO of the Alban Academies Trust.

English Oral Results

5 March 2021/in General News/by Gemma Welch

We are finding that some school activities have been conducted better virtually than they have in the past as face to face activities. The ability of students to quickly adapt to doing things differently has been outstanding.

Mrs Avery and the English Department were stunned this week by the quality of the presentations Year 11 students made for their English Orals.

Our students are always confident and articulate but the speeches the boys made on a variety of topics this week were of a significantly higher calibre than in previous years.

Clearly our students feel confident in presenting virtually which will certainly be of benefit to them in later life.

Students presented a 3-minute persuasive speech on one of the following topics:

Should the death penalty be reinstated?
Happiness is….
To what extent are zoos inhumane and therefore should they be banned?
In a future world where driverless cars are the norm, should those who choose to drive themselves pay higher insurance?
Why don’t teenagers care about the environment? Discuss.

Mrs Avery described the boys work as “Phenomenal” and was pleased by the variety of views and approaches displayed. Congratulations to Year 11 on their superb achievements. 74% of students achieved a distinction in their orals and 26% a merit. This underlines how confident, articulate and thoughtful our young men are.

VeruFit – Keeping Our Community Active

5 March 2021/in General News/by Gemma Welch

The Verulam P.E. department are helping us through another lockdown with a range of activities for students, staff and our extended community.

VeruLive challenges us all to come together, get healthier and have some fun as over 500 viewers join Mr Anthony for his weekly Saturday morning live sessions. Twenty minutes of high energy workouts have the school community working out and re-energising.

We are immensely thankful to all those that have joined us and encourage everyone & anyone to get involved and keep fit with us – Mr Anthony.

Workouts are available via the Verulam YouTube channel.

The Verulam Run Club is open to everyone – students, staff, families and friends of the school. The idea is to get up, get out and get active, tracking running distance, pace and time. For students, there are house points and Rs for those in each group with the fastest 1km and 5km times and also the longest run and most kilometres run each week.

Keep running, recording and submitting your achievements at the end of each week via this form.

House challenges have engaged students and had them participating in exercise from home during lockdown: VeruFit weekly workouts won students sessions in the gym upon their return to school and our ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ event put students’ health and fitness knowledge to the test alongside physical activity tasks. Mr Anthony has uploaded football drills for pupils to try at home and for Wellbeing Week he set up a reaction app challenge.

The half term skills school in February was a bit of fun everyone could have from the confines of their gardens and Mr Errington put the lockdown stockpiles to good use – challenging students to beat his record of 15 keep ups with a toilet roll!

Success for Verulam Mathematicians

5 March 2021/in General News/by Gemma Welch

UKMT Individual Intermediate Challenge

Each year, selected Verulam mathematicians across all year groups are given the opportunity to participate in one of the UK Mathematics Trust’s (UKMT) Challenges.

Most recently, seventy students from years 9, 10 and 11 sat the UKMT’s Individual Intermediate Challenge virtually, during lockdown, on 4^th February.

The competition was undertaken by students across the UK, testing their mathematical reasoning, precision of thought, and fluency in using mathematical techniques.

Students prepared for the challenge individually and with support from Mrs Cornmell and Ms Rosler through Google Classroom.

The school is incredibly proud of all students who participated in the challenge this year and congratulates every one.

The top-scoring 40% of participants across the UK are awarded Bronze, Silver and Gold certificates. Across the Verulam group, 64% of students were awarded medals this year – an amazing achievement and a reflection of their talent and dedication.

	Year 9	Year 10	Year 11
Bronze	4	6	7
Silver	4	3	12
Gold		1	8

A small number of the very highest performers nationally are invited to take part in the next rounds. Thirteen Verulam students will now go on to sit the next rounds on 18^th March 2021.

Good Luck!