GCSE RESULTS
Year 11 students can collect their GCSE results from 9.30am on Tuesday 24 August in the Sixth form Centre
A LEVEL RESULTS
Year 13 students collected their A level results on Thursday 19 August. TV cameras from BBC Points West were present to record the excitement. This year's A level results were outstanding. 56% of all entries resulted in A or B grades, with Sheldon students achieving 33 of the new A* grades. The average points score per student was 374, Sheldon (and Wiltshire's) best ever.
Sheldon's A level results this year placed the school 26th in England.
See The Independent's league table here.
RADIO SHELDON
Sheldon's new radio station is up and broadcasting. Have a look at the Radio Sheldon website here.
The station has a purpose-built studio adjoining the sixth form common room. The station is webcasting on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 3.15pm. Shows are hardwired into the common room every lunch time and on the three webcasting afternoons.
HEAD BOY AND HEAD GIRL FOR 2010-11
Sheldon's new head boy is Rob Moore and the new head girl is Brontë Jones.
Their deputies are Curtis Trudgeon and Verity Ferris.
SPORTS DAY RECORDS
Will you or one of your team break the school sports day records this year? The oldest track records were set in 1976. Last year, two school track records were broken. This year we have already had four new field event records.
The sports day events records can be seen here.
The sports day leaders board can be seen here. This year, as part of our build up to the 2012 Olympics, every tutor group is representing one of ten countries. This means that we have ten cross year group teams.
At present Greece (7MSW, 8AJT, 9CMO and 10PVJ) has built up a 16 point lead. In year 7, 7TIS (representing Kenya) lead. In year 8, 8ASR (representing Turkey) lead. In year 9, 9JSD (representing Cuba) lead. In year 10, 10CJH (representing Ethiopia) lead.
ACADEMY STATUS - INVESTIGATIVE STAGE
Go to consultation pageListen to Headteacher, Gerard MacMahon, on Radio Wiltshire
(at 1:33.36)
Sheldon School is one of the outstanding schools to have been offered the opportunity to convert to academy status. A change would mean altering the legal structure and governorship of the school. Sheldon would receive extra funding, but would be required to purchase some additional services.
Any proposed change would, of course, go to parents and staff for consultation, but at present we are just investigating the offer before deciding whether to make a firm proposal. We would like to involve parents in our investigations. In particular, we want to make sure that we have answers to all important questions before we consider making a proposal. We also want to ensure that any proposal addresses parental and staff concerns.
So if you have a question about a possible change to academy status or a concern you would wish us to address, please send them to head@sheldonschool.co.uk with "academy questions and concerns" as the message heading.
We are publishing the list of questions and concerns here. It will grow as this investigative stage develops. If your question or concern is already listed, it will be addressed.
Sheldon's staff have now received a detailed response to the questions and concerns list. A report for parents can be seen and downloaded here.
FOUR SHELDON PUPILS ARE COUNTY ATHLETICS CHAMPIONS
Sheldon pupils enjoyed great success in the county athletics championships in Salisbury on June 12. Four became county champions.
Gemma Shepherd (year 7) was the minor 1500m champion. Morgan Gascoigne (year 11) was the inter long jump champion and Rachel Sykes (year 11) was the inter triple jump champion. Connell Macquisten (year 13) was the senior pole vault champion.
Other notable achievements were:
Minors (Year 7): Josh Long 100m 5th; George Claverley 200m 3rd; Jay Painter 800m 3rd.
Juniors (Year 8 & 9) Connor Wright 1500m 5th; Jamie Dagg high jump 4th; Lily Shaw-Morris 100m 3rd, long jump 5th; Elissa Harding long jump 5th, high jump 4th.
Inters (Years 10 & 11) Rhys Brown 400m 2nd; Alex Jones 800m 3rd; Morgan Gascoigne 100m 2nd; Annie Ingram 1500m (fell when leading in final); Alex Stainthorpe 3000m 2nd; Rachel Sykes 800m 2nd.
Seniors (Years 12 & 13) Tom Gibson pole vault 2nd
The following have been selected for the South West Championships on Saturday 19 June in Exeter: Lily Shaw-Morris, Rhys Brown, Annie Ingram, Rachel Sykes (both events), Morgan Gascoigne, Connell Macquisten and Tom Gibson.
INTERNATIONAL MATHS OLYMPIAD - SHELDON SUCCESS
Sheldon pupils were amongst the 200,000 from over 3,000 schools who entered the Intermediate Maths Challenge paper. Matthew Almond and Jack Ryan qualified to take part in the second round with the top 1,500 pupils (ie less than 1% of the Olympiad entrants)..
Jack scored a merit in the Year 10 paper and got full marks on two of his six questions. A great achievement at this level. Matthew gained a distinction and a prize for being one of the the top fifty students in the country. In fact, he dropped only one mark putting him within the top dozen students, nationally, in his year group.
ZOHURA ISLAM
Zohura, a much-loved year 11 pupil at Sheldon, died at home on Friday 21 May 2010. Everyone at Sheldon - pupils, teachers and support staff - extends their deepest, sincerest sympathy to Zohura's family. She was a girl that any parent would be proud of and that any child would be pleased to call a friend.
Some of the tributes to Zohura can be seen here. Zohura's friends will be holding a celebration for Zohura after the 40-day period of mourning.
We know that our pupils have been a great support for each other and that parents have been able to support their children, but if anyone needs additional support in the light of Zohura's death, you can contact The Line - an organisation that gives advice and support to young people. Childline is another useful 24-hour source of support.
FACEBOOK SAFETY TIPS FROM THE SCHOOL COUNCIL
Do you know how to ensure that only your friends can access your details and photos on Facebook? This short video, made by the School Council and narrated by Head Boy Daniel Phillimore, shows you how.
e-safety video 1: Facebook privacy
SHELDON REPRESENTS THE UNITED KINGDOM FOR UNITED NATIONS WEBCAST
On Friday 26 March, Sheldon history students represented the UK in a live webcast on the transatlantic slave trade.
23 schools from the United States were at the UN building in New York, with 3 joining in by webcast. Also taking part were 3 schools from Gambia, 3 from Ghana, 3 from Jamaica, 19 from Trinidad and Tobago with Sheldon alone representing the UK.
Download the UN Video Conference Programme
See the UN webcast
(Sheldon students present at about 1:04:30)
SIXTH FORMERS PUT SHELDON ON THE CULINARY MAP
On Saturday 20 March, a group of Sheldon sixth form students will be running the first Chippenham Food Festival. The event is being sponsored by Sodexo and takes place at the school from 10am to 5pm. There is an action-packed programme throughout the day with the mayor opening the event, cookery demonstrations from TV chefs such as Peter Vaughan, competitions and cookery classes. There will be opportunities to try lots of free, local, unusual food.
The organiser, Ben Jones Year 12, says: "We are raising money for Camp Tanzania 2011. The festival needs the support of the Sheldon community to succeed. So please attend if you can, whether it is to do some food shopping or just to support the Sheldon team in the Ready, Steady, Cook competition."
Entry to the event is £3 for adults and £2 for under 16s.
Saturday 20 March 10am to 5pm
PUBLIC SPEAKING SUCCESS FOR SHELDON'S TEAMS
Sheldon's teams achieved first and second places in the Rotary Youth Speaks competition. The year 8 team of Amelia Cox, Laura Bailey and Susanna Jones won first place ahead of the Year 9 team of Isabella Smith, Robyn Fisher and Amy Waller. Robyn Fisher won the best individual performance award. Both teams now go forward to the district semi final in Frome on Thursday 11 February.
OFSTED VISIT
Sheldon received a half-day visit on February 4 from Peter Sanderson HMI to look at our science curriculum and advice to pupils. It was part of a fact-finding survey of schools to judge the impact of changes to the Key Stage 4 curriculum. Mr Sanderson said he was extremely impressed by the range and quality of science courses at Sheldon - as well as the results achieved by pupils.
MR MACMAHON APPOINTED NATIONAL LEADER OF EDUCATION
Sheldon's headteacher, Gerard MacMahon, has been made a "National Leader of Education". Sheldon receives the designation of National Support School as a result. It will mean Sheldon being funded to do more work to support struggling schools.
Read the Official Press Release
NETBALL INTERNATIONAL HONOURS FOR ALEYSHA
Aleysha Phillips of Year 13 has been selected for the England Indoor U21 Netball squad who play an indoor 5 –a-side version of the full game. Aleysha has been training very hard in London with other players from all over the country ready to play in an international tournament in South Africa. Congratulations and good luck Aleysha.
WILTSHIRE SELECTION FOR YEAR 9 BOYS
Sam Kershaw, Callum Harris and Huw Parks of Year 9 have had a busy few weeks training and taking part in trial games. After representing North Wiltshire Spitfires against other area teams they have been selected for the full Wiltshire Under 14 rugby squad. They will now train with the full squad and play in games in the new year. This is the first selection opportunity for them and by Under 16 level they could be representing England following in the footsteps of other Sheldon U16 rugby internationals – Sam Alford, Will Waldron and Tom Boreham.
ADMISSIONS CONSULTATION
The consultation period on the Sheldon's proposed Admissions Policy for 2011 has begun, it ends on February 28 2010. Details are on the admissions page. Sheldon continues to be the most popular comprehensive school in Wiltshire, but with a declining primary school population in Chippenham it looks as if all or most Chippenham parents will get their first choice of secondary school in 2010. So there are no significant changes being suggested by Sheldon's governors for 2011.
IMPROVING YOUR CHILD'S ATTENDANCE
Attendance rates at school by Sheldon's pupils is excellent: with both authorised and unauthorised absences well below national averages for all and similar schools. There has been a national campaign to inform parents of the importance of not missing school days and with this in mind we have updated Sheldon's attendance policy to clarify our rules and guidance. The key point is that we ask parents to maximise attendance and minimise avoidable absence through family holidays.
An informative set of slides about attendance can be seen here. The updated policy can be read here.
SHELDON ENJOYS EISTEDDFOD SUCCESS
On Saturday 28th November the Sheldon School flautists and saxophonists performed in of the 63rd Devizes Eisteddfod – a competition in music, speech, art and literature – with some notable successes.
The Sheldon School Saxophone Ensemble achieved 91% Honours and were winners in the 17 and under ensemble class as well as being section winners. The ensemble comprised Jenny Fisher, David Knight, Robert Scoynes, Marcus Frost and Thomas Williams. 
The Sheldon School Flute Ensemble achieved 89% Distinction and were runners up in the 17 and under ensemble class. The ensemble comprised Alex Buckland, Jacob Byrne, Jess Griffin, Ruth Knight, Katy Pugh, Leanne Scoynes, Katie Ellis, Breanne Murzyn, Lauren Jones, Elinor Read, Stephanie Moore and Lydia Hiorns. 
Ruth Knight on flute was winner of the 17 and under woodwind class and was also section winner. Jacob Byrne and David Knight performed excellently in their classes (piano and woodwind) during the day.
Following their success in the morning, the sax group and Ruth Knight were asked back to perform in the evening winners concert. Ruth scooped the trophy for best woodwind solo.
Mr Tim Fosker, the flute and saxophone teacher, said “I couldn’t have asked for any more commitment, poise and sheer determination to succeed, they were all fabulous!”
SUPPORTING YOUR CHILD AT HOME
We are pleased to be able to offer parents the opportunity to take part in a workshop covering issues such as behaviour, homework and organisation. It is aimed particularly at parents of children who are receiving support at school with classwork or behaviour management. The workshop will be led by Barry Stay who is a behaviour consultant.
Download more information here.
JACOB IS CHIPPENHAM'S YOUNG MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
On Tuesday 20 October the annual Rotary Young Musician Competition took place at Hardenhuish School, with pupils from Sheldon, Hardenhuish and Abbeyfield Schools. The competition was adjudicated by Nicholas Keyworth and the pupils competed in two categories: Intermediate and Senior.
Sheldon was represented by Hannah Crocker (voice) and Robert Scoynes (piano) in the Intermediate category, with Jacob Byrne (piano), David Knight (saxophone) and Ruth Knight (flute) performing in the Senior category.
All the pupils gave superb performances to a large and appreciative audience, but the adjudicator placed Ruth Knight in second place for her performance of Poulenc’s Allegro Malinconico, and Jacob Byrne in first place for his “mesmerising” performance of Debussy’s Clair de Lune. Both Ruth and Jacob are A-level music students with aspirations to study music at university. Sheldon is very proud of all our excellent performers.
SHELDON BECOMES A UNESCO SCHOOL
Sheldon has been awarded the status of a Unesco Associated School. , UNESCO has a global network, founded in 1953, of some 8.500 educational institutions in 179 countries (ranging from pre-schools and primary to secondary schools and teacher training institutions), who work in support of quality education in practice.
WILFRED EMMANUEL-JONES PRESENTS AWARDS TO SHELDON'S WINNERS
Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, well known on television as "the black farmer", was the guest of honour at Sheldon's annual awards evening on Thursday 8 October 2009. Mr Emmanuel-Jones is hoping to become MP for the new Chippenham constituency next year.
Mr Emmanuel-Jones made a great impression on pupils taking time to discuss all the awards and finishing the evening with an inspiring account of his experience of school in Birmingham and how he went on to become a successful farmer.
See the list of award winners in the Sheldon Standard here.
EXAM CALENDARS PUBLISHED
Exam calendars for summer 2010 are now available:
GCSE exam calendar summer 2010
AS level exam calendar summer 2010
A level exam calendar summer 2010
HAVE A BIG BREAKFAST ON FRIDAYS
Pupils (and staff) can start Fridays in style with a big breakfast in the main dining room. With three items for £1.25 and five items for £1.80, the breakfast menu is bacon, sausage, beans, saute potato, toast and fried egg. The meal is available from 7.45am to 8.20am.
PHOTOGRAPHS FROM TANZANIA 2009
In the summer Miss McCarthy, Miss Went and Miss North accompanied the year 13 expedition to Tanzania. The students combined voluntary building and teaching work in a school with a climb of one of Africa's highest mountains, a safari and time on Tanzania's beautiful beaches.
You can see some of their stunning photographs here.
SHELDON FROM THE AIR
See aerial photos of the school site.
Download a labelled aerial plan of the school.
CELEBRATING SHELDON'S DIVERSITY
Did you know that Sheldon's pupils come from 54 different countries and speak 35 different languages? Teaching assistant Lisa Henzl has produced two very interesting posters for "The World at Sheldon" display on the humanities corridor. You can download them below:
We speak 35 languages ...
We come from 54 countries ...
SUPPORT THE SHELDON ENRICHMENT FUND
The Sheldon School Enrichment Fund was set up to enable parents and friends of the school to make a financial contribution in order to enrich pupils' experiences.
By joining the enrichment fund you can promise to make a small monthly or annual contribution to the school. The Inland Revenue will then add 25% extra to your donation.
Visit the Enrichment Fund page to join the fund or to see details of recent enrichment grants.
SHELDON IS "OUTSTANDING" . . . (IN EVERY WAY)
Ofsted has published its latest inspection 
report on Sheldon and has judged the school to be "outstanding". In fact, Sheldon was judged "outstanding" in all 38 categories that make up the new Ofsted inspection framework.
This is an exceptional achievement. Perfect Ofsted reports are very rare - in the first two years of the new system 1,500 mixed comprehensive schools were inspected in England and only six were graded "1" for every judgement.
Download the inspection report
Ofsted's letter to pupils and students
Read Sheldon's accompanying letter to parents
GET THE SHELDON STANDARD BY E-MAIL
It is now possible to get the Sheldon Standard by e-mail. This should help the many parents who spend too long searching in vain in the bottom of school bags. Find out more ...