Week beginning 18th March

Mobile Art Project

We were very lucky to have a chance to visit the mobile art library that was visiting Nottinghamshire.

We looked at the various art pieces that were on display, and discussed what was our favourite as well as what we liked the least. They had so many opinions about the art they saw, it was an amazing experience for them all.

Week beginning 4th March

RE Project

We split into groups of 4 and researched how religion is affecting events around the world. We looked into detail about wars that are happening now and whether religion has an affect.

The wars the groups looked at were:

• Ukraine vs Russia

Edward, Sky and George

• Israel and Palestine

Joshua, Lee and Lewis

• Iraq

Georgia, Lavinia and Ewan

• Sudan

Kye and Thomas

After researching what the war was about, whether religion was involved as well as how the war started, they all produced a poster for display.

Week Beginning 15th January

This week in ASDAN we have started a research project about a country park or estate in our local area. We are looking at the history of these areas as well as  planning a visit. We have broken off into 3 separate groups, each researching a different country park or estate, these are:

• Newstead Abby
• Hardwick Hall
• Clumber Park

To aid us in our research project we took a trip out to Sutton in Ashfield Library. We had a look in the non fiction area within the library, looking at the different books available to aid us in our research.

Week Beginning 8th January

This week we have made a start at deciding what we would like to make for our Enterprise this term. We have decided that our enterprise this term would be about Valentine's Day. After a lesson of brain storming ideas we have decided we are going to make:

• Valentines Cupcakes, including Gluten Free
• Heart Biscuits, including Gluten Free
• Heart Keyrings
• Dynamite Sweet Rolls.

4th December- 15th December

We have also taken part in our first big RE day, where we concentrated on climate change and how we can help to prevent this. We also had a special guest speaker Chris Swain, who spoke to both Kelham and Wollaton about his work in the Forestry industry.

Kelham have also been busy at Takeover Radio over the passed 5 week, producing their own jingles, their own radio shows as well as going live on air.

20th November- 1st December 15th December

Over the last few weeks Kelham have been quite a busy bunch. We have been busy little Elves in out enterprise workshop, making stockings, hot chocolate stirrers and mini Christmas cakes for our school Christmas Fayre and out little stall in Idelwells in Sutton in Ashfield.

Kelham Christmas Enterprise

We are very excited to be doing yet another Christmas Enterprise. Everything is available via order form or the Bracken Hill Christmas Fayre, with the exception of the Mini Christmas Cakes, and the Bespoke choose your own design Tree Decorations and Stockings.

We have the following designs to choose from:

• Snoopy Design in Blue
• Snoopy Design in White
• Green Reindeer design
• Green Holly design 
• White Christmas theme

All available with a choice of red, green or blue felt backing.

6th-17th November 2023

Welcome back Kelham!

Hope you all had a relaxing half term!

Monday 6th November

Kelham was invited to West Notts College to view some of the courses they were interested in. We had a look around the Animal Care, Sports, Creative digital Media and Art and Design departments. All pupils found this to be extremely informative, gave them an idea of what each  course entailed and cemented their decisions as to what they are wanting to do after Post 16.

Money Week 6th-10th November

During this week we also concentrated on Money, we focused on how we use money, where we store money safely and how to use our bank statements to calculate our incoming and outgoings. We had visits from the Job centre to explain about Disability Employment. We also had a visit from Angela from the DWP who went into more detail regarding budgeting, debt and credit. This was done through playing a board game in small groups.   

2nd-20th September

Over the last 6 weeks 5 members of Kelham have been taking part in Trailblazers, they have the opportunity to have different experiences trying things that they wouldn't normally do, such as; campfire building, Shooting air rifles, canoeing, caving and weaselling.  

During ASDAN Kelham have been looking at communication skills. They concentrated on how to follow written and visual instructions and whether these instructions can be improved upon and how they would improve them. This was done by following different instructions on how to make paper airplanes, which the whole class thoroughly enjoyed, followed by an airplane competition...... who can fly their airplane the furthest:

1st Place: Joshua 5m 74cm

2nd Place Edward 5m 24cm

3rd Place Ewan 4m 40cm

4th Place Georgia 4m 34cm

5th Place Lee  3m 70cm

6th Place Lewis 2m 20cm 

18th-29th September

Week beginning 18th September,

Kelham had a few exciting days out to Portland College to take part in NCS, they did amazingly well over coming their fear of heights on the climbing wall and zipline. We also did Bush crafts making ropes out of nature and took part in team building activities. They also helped out at Little Roots allotments clearing all of the rubbish and weeds ready for autumn and winter.

Week beginning 25th September

This week we concentrated on life after college, we looked at the different provisions and courses available to us. We also had a careers afternoon where we were visited by different companies who explained how they got to where they are, how they started and were asked lots of questions by our students.   

NCS at Portland College

5th - 15th Sept 2023

Welcome back to everyone we hope you have all enjoyed your holidays and are looking forward to the new term as much as we are.

Homework for the week beginning the 11th Sept was a maths task based on calculating the cost of making cakes and biscuits. It turned in to our very own Post 16 bake off competition. The students showed off their baking talents and we were able to taste the lovely things they had made, well done to all who took part, 

17th - 25th July 

The last week at school has seen some very sad goodbyes but we are so proud of all you have achieved.

Good Luck : Ashleigh, Damien, Brooklyn, Ethan, Chloe and Harry.

The last week of term could not go without an afternoon at Bracken Hill's got Talent. An amazing show case of our students. Well done to Sky and Edward for a well deserved third place and our resident rock guitarist Damien for securing second place in his band with friends Jensen and Ashton.

Great performances from Georgia and Lee as well. 

Have a great holiday ........see you all in September 

4th - 14th July 2023

Students have made a very successful start to their new classes and all seem to have enjoyed their first two weeks at Post 16. 

Josh Gallagher was our first student of the week f 4th - 7th July or being so settled and taking such a responsible attitude to his transition. 

Kye Davies was student of the week 10th - 14th July for taking part in a very interesting work experience opportunity on line and being so independent in his work.

Kye had to lead a STEM activity for the class as part of this and did a brilliant 'EGG DROP CHALLENGE. 

COMPUTING 

Changes to our timetable this year has meant that we are able to have  a dedicated computing lesson so we tried our hand at some programming. 

Welcome to Kelham Class 2023 -2024.

Class teacher Mrs Swain is also head of Post 16 .

Class TAs are Mr Lincoln and Miss Pallant and we have a new TA starting in September. Mrs Baxter and Mrs Stubbs are also part of the team on a  job share basis. 

At the end of June we said goodbye to our lovely year 13s and some year 12s who are all moving on to new educational placements. We wish you all the luck in the world, at Portland College, Landmarks, College and West Notts College. 

Week of 13th March 

So this week was the turn The Cats Cafe to cook their three course meal, yet another triumph, well done to all the team of the Cats Cafe.

Week of 6th March 2023

This week saw the first of our newly formed cafe groups, tackle cooking a three course meal. This involved choosing a healthy menu, planning the cooking time, writing a shopping list in budget and shopping for the ingredients and then cooking and presenting the meal. Well done 'Sally Bears Cafe' for setting such a high standard. 

Week of 27th Feb 

So Valentines day gave us another chance to turn our hand to making gifts to sell and part of our enterprise lessons. Students really enjoy planning what they can make and then researching manufacturing costs and looking at who our customers might be and what they think will sell well. We are able to use our different skills as part of the class team to create and market the goods. Lots of skills come in to play with monitoring the orders and  working out the profits, 

Week of 6th February 2023

We have had a busy couple of weeks in Kelham class.

Firstly we went to West Notts college for a tour of the various sites to find out what each site had to offer. We visited the construction area first and then moved onto the automotive part of the college. Lastly we toured the Derby Road site to find out what support and courses were available for students.

As part of our Asdan course we were lucky enough to visit Southwell Minster and have a guided tour of the building. We went into the Chapter House, we saw all of the nature and animal carvings. We finished the whistle stop tour of the building with a demonstration of the Minster organ. 

Week of 24th January 2023

We have been looking at 2D and 3D shapes this week in Maths. We have revisited the properties of 2D shapes and recorded these. We have made some 3D shapes and displayed these in the classroom.

Week of 19th December 2022

Kelham have had a busy last two weeks of term. Last week Kelham and Wollaton went out for their Christmas dinner and lots of socialising, singing and joking was enjoyed. On Monday Kelham students performed the Panto (Peter Pan - how the Pirates stole Christmas!) which they had written in their English lessons to parents and friends. The students were excellent with the performance. Finally we want to wish everyone a Happy Christmas and we will see the students return in the New Year.

Week of 5th December

This week the students have been busy decorating the classroom. They decided where they wanted the tree and decorated the boards and windows with tinsel.

The Elf continues to be rather cheeky and is getting into all sorts of mischief!!

Week of 21 November 2022

We have been busy elves making the goods for the Christmas Fayre. Some of us have been designing and producing the advertising sheets ready for the Post 16 stall.

We have also been busy catching the bus into Sutton-in-Ashfield during our travel training and going to check if any of the Enterprise goods have been sold in the shop in the Idelwells centre.

Week of 31st October 2022

We have been sorting out the Christmas Enterprise stock that we have for sale. We have almost completed the Gnomes and their homes. Our Gonks are looking very festive! We are busy sewing stockings for Christmas treats for both young and old.

We went to the Idlewells to set up the Bracken Hill sales area. There are lots of items on sale from both Post16 and Key Stage 4.

In maths we have been looking at money so that we are able to sort out our own orders.

Week of 19th September

We have been working on a Thursday morning developing our woodworking skills. We have designed a key holder, a rope shelf and candle stick in our groups. We have this week begun to produce the prototype of each of our designs. Using our measuring skills to find the correct piece of wood we then cut it to size and sanded the pieces down. We then began to use the drill and screwdrivers to assemble our projects. 

Week of 5th September

We have been exploring slime for our Enterprise project this week. We made both edible and non edible slime to try. Some of us liked the textures of the slimes and some of us did not. We had a discussion afterwards if it was cost and time effective to produce and sell the edible slime - we decided that it was not effective. So we decided to produce something else for Enterprise - details to follow

27th July 2022

We have said our 'Goodbyes' to our leavers who are going on into further education. We wish you all the best of luck in your new adventures.

The rest of Kelham are looking forward to our summer break, have a good time. We shall see you all back in September refreshed and ready for another fun filled academic year.

12th Juky 2022

We have been trying out Wordle as a starter before English.

Today we managed as a class team to solve the puzzle on the first try. Mrs Lakin was amazed!

Week of 21st June 2022

We have all had a great week joining in with NCS at Portland College. 

We have had to work hard at trying to solve problems as a class team. We have made use of the zip wire and climbing wall. We have had several games of 'hunted' (through the bracken) and a few of us joined an instructor at the top of the climbing wall (fully secured) to spot their hiding classmates. 

6th June to 17th June

We planned a trip via public transport from Post16 to the East Midlands Outlet as part of our Titan travel training.

The following lesson we all used our bus passes to use the timings we had sorted the week before to get the bus. Although we had to change buses at Sutton bus station we all managed to find the correct bus to take us to the outlet. After a stroll around the shops we made our way back to Post16 in time for our transport home, again swopping buses at  the Sutton bus station.

Week of 16th May 

We have started to use the local climbing wall on a Thursday morning as part of our Skills for Work sessions. We are using our teamwork skills to support a 'buddy' whilst climbing. Some of us tried bouldering (moving along the wall without a harness) whilst others put on a harness and climbed to the top of the wall.

9th -11th May 

KS5 RESIDENTAIL TO HAGG FARM ....... it was just amazing. 

3rd May - 9th May 

Just a week to go before we leave for Hagg Farm. We have spent some time learning how to read maps and put up tents in our skills for work lessons. Learning to work together, discuss how to do things and solve problems, skills that are essential to make us employable.

20th  April - 29th April 

Some great work in maths looking at nets and 3 D shapes, we have also really improved our measuring skills and looked at different scales. We also started to prepare for our climbing sessions and our residential by working with harnesses and tents.

14th March - 1st April

The past few weeks we have been busy preparing Enterprise for our Easter sales. We have  made and sold Bush Bunny tubes of sweets. We have also designed and prepared a mystery box for the students to have a go at winning a prize. The students decided what sweets they wanted to put into the prizes and then ordered 10 different types from Sam's Place. Once these had been collected the students made a mini production line to pack the sweets into individual prize bags. A group of Kelham students then took the mystery box around the school classes for the students (who wanted to) have a go.

21st February - 14th March 2022

We had an educational visit to the Whhitemeadows furniture factory. We had a look around the factory and we had a go at sewing a scatter cushion case. Some of us also had a go at attaching a piece of fabric to a foam board with a staple gun. We also heard about the job opportunities at the factory.

31st January - 11 February

We have been hard at work in PE, we decided to have some fun doing Yoga and some syncronized moves. The students sorted themselves into height order and then laid down to practise, much laughter and fun was had!

17th -28th January 

A massive shout out to the students on work experience every Friday at the YESS project. The students work hard every Friday supporting the work of The Nottinghamshire Police Aid Convoy. 

This was the message from the lead worker Bev:

Just a quick update 

Since the Xmas break we have had some  changes one of them being a new area gir my clothing project.

The boys spent the first 2 weeks back helping set it up. 

Sorting ladies , Men's & kids clothing 

They have sized, Labeled,  priced and put out on relevant rails . They have done amazing .

Today we were only had half of students in but that did not reflect at all on the others they have worked so hard to get our recycling & storage area back to how it should be .

A massive thanks to for Joe who has been brilliant 👏  he has supported me & students brilliantly.

Could you please pass on my very grateful thanks to them all . They deserve a very special mention within school if possible. 

Thanks Bev 

4th January - 14th January 2022

Welcome back to a New Year and a new term. During PSHE we have been learning about drugs and the consequences of these both good and bad. We have started to make our Enterprise products for

our Valentines day.

13th December - 17th December 2021

For the last weeks of term we have been busy producing goods for Enterprise and learning new skills. Some of the students made a visit to Landmarks college to see if it was suitable to move onto after Post 16. Whilst back at Post 16 we had a visit form the local Police Officers to learn about their work within the local area. We had our Christmas Party on the last Wednesday of the term, lots of banter and laughter was had by all.

We wish you all a safe and happy Christmas. We will see you back in the New Year.

29th November - 10 December

Kelham have been visiting the Archers and Boughton recycling centre to gain knowledge about life after Bracken Hill. We asked questions and learned about how both places work.

We have decorated the classroom with the Christmas decorations and painted the windows with festive cheer!

This week we have been learning and discussing Anti Bullying. We have designed some posters to inspire us to say kind words to each other. 

We have been enjoying ourselves during our JASS and Construction team building lessons. The JASS students have been busy baking for a cake sale later on this month. The Construction students have been working on brick building and plastering skills.

We have also been learning about Remembrance Day and the meaning of this day. We also observed the two minutes silence within our respective groups.

4^th – 15^th October

Kelham class went out to a Cross Country race, our team came third out of all the teams. The rest of the class went along to support the runners.

We have also begun a bike maintenance course to learn how to keep our bikes safe to ride. We have learnt how to take off the wheel and replace an inner tube. We are learning to compare the difference between a mountain and a road bike.

29th September - 1st October 2021

This week we have been learning how to clean and take care of our teeth. We have been brushing  with our own toothbrush after we have eaten our lunch.

We have ventured out to Sherwood Pines collecting the cones for our upcoming Enterprise projects. 

13 September – 25 September

At Post16 we have been trying to build models in teams, by playing the Sneak Peek game. This is where one member of the team goes and looks at the model in the office then comes and describes it to the rest of their team to build it. If that person runs out of ideas the team sends another person to look and come back to describe the model.

We have also been looking at the ‘Happy Minds Journal’ and learning how our minds work. (Photos to follow)

Welcome back 1st September - 10th September

After the summer break we have come back to Post16 and started to get back into our routines. We have decided the ASDAN programme we want to follow including a bike maintenance course (photos to follow). We have discussed what we are planning to make for Christmas within Enterprise and had a go at making prototypes using a sewing machine. We are starting to enjoy reading with our new reading buddies.

Transition weeks 6th July - 28 July

We said Goodbye and Good Luck to our leavers as they go off to learn more at various further education colleges.

We have had good transition weeks, we learnt how to iron different pieces of clothing. We also did some team building games and had a hair and nails session.  

Sports Week 21st June - 25th June

We have had lots of fun trying out different sports.

7th -20th June

Our two week adventure at NCS Portland College.

As a class team we have done zip lining, absailing, rock climbing, bush craft, campfire cooking and team building games that were a lot of fun! The students have had an amazing time, building confidence, trying new things, working as a team and having a lot of laughs! A massive thank you to all the staff who made it possible 

19th - 30th April 

After a well earned Easter break we have been back working very hard, below are some of the highlights of the last two weeks including what we have been up to in PSHE, PE Enterprise and Vocational Studies. 

The Planters Enterprise Project - we are building these to sell 

Some English work this week really captured our imagination. Students were developing their creative writing by inventing their own superheros.

A new term means a new experience in vocational learning and this term we will be using our creative and artistic talents with Miss Gladwin. Its lovely to get a chance to develop our skills and see what we can achieve. All the students were surprised and pleased with how relaxing textile work could be and were impressed with what they could create.

Kelham have been very sensible in their RSE lessons. Keeping ourselves safe in relationships is very important and learning how to do this has certainly given us a lot to share and laugh about but everyone has taken the lessons seriously and much was learnt. 

22nd -March - 1st April 

Its been a busy couple of weeks as we un up to Easter. We have planned and made Easter bags and will being making cakes to take to our families for Easter. We have had a lot of fun with the Adventure service even making ice cream in a bag. Preparation for Functional Sklls Exams is fully underway and some of us have found the practice English and maths papers quite a challenge but the class has a super attitude and everyone tries their hardest. Well done to Liam Jayden and Lloyd for excellent work in their level 1 functional skills English Presentations .

8th - 19th March 

Tackling working out the inverse, not easy but we cracked it. 

22nd Feb - 5th March 

Using ICT to back up our maths skills with shape and carroll diagrams .

1st - 12 Feb 2021.

We had some very unusual helpers in maths last week , each guinea pig was weighed and measured. We were able to work out the heaviest and lightest longest and shortest and some of our more expert mathmaticians had a go at working out how fast they move. 

18th - 29th January 2021.

As lock down continues we have been unable to get out for independent travel so we have decided to look at working on our independence and are working on a AQA unit in home independence skills. There is a lot that students can learn about doing as much for themselves as possible to prepare for a more independent life. 

4th - 14th Jan 2021

Well its not quite what we had in mind but when the going gets tough..... Kelham class rise to the challenge a massive well done and shout out to all out students who are at home but accessing their on line learning so well. 

 YOU ARE AMAZING !

Christmas Week - 14th -18th Dec.

We were very lucky to spend some very special time together as a class this week, preparing for and then enjoying our school Christmas dinner. COVID 19 meant we could not go out to a pub or restaurant as we would normally do but that did not stop us making it as special and festive as we could .

30th Nov - 11th Dec 

Well done to the students who have had to isolate over the last few weeks. All work has been completed and we have even had students join in the lessons via MS teams. We have really enjoyed some group time together, things getting serious with Uno. 

16th - 27th Nov

Lots of preparation going on to make our enterprise goods ready for sale. 

2nd - 13th Nov 

Wow 'Enterprise Week' we have really worked hard on our products and designs this week. We had already had a head start from the Dragon's Den project but there was still so much more to do.

Order forms. Company names and logos. TV adverts.... So much so that we have run in to week two to perfect scripts, learn about filming, think about how we have worked together, and look at the qualities we have to bring to the work place. Its been fab. 

12th - 16th October 

Just a week to go till half term its been very busy. Learning at Post 16 has many different forms. Preparing for Adulthood and independent living are high on the agenda. Here we are perfecting our skills at making and changing a bed after practicing at home. 

28th September to 9th October 

The last two weeks have been very busy preparing for Dragons Den when we presented our Enterprise products to our enterprise mentors. It was very exciting and though technology was not on our side this did mean we had to present live rather than using our filmed pitches. Both groups rose to the occasion and did fantastic pitches. A massive well done. Both enterprise projects were named in the mentors top three though we were not the overall winners. 

Our products are 'home made pet treats' and 'eco christmas decs''.

14th - 25th September.

We are very excited to be working with local business leaders to help us with our Enterprise projects this year. We had an initial meeting with them on teams where they introduced themselves. 

Enterprise is a major feature in our work this term as we explore our topic 'Money Matters' Here we were working on a manufacturing exercise set up by one of our enterprise mentors from industry. Our team came up with some amazing ideas as to how to adjust the manufacturing process to accommodate people with different abilities and needs. 

Tackling Anxiety and Mental Health.

This display is the end result of some very hard work we have done over the last four weeks looking at anxiety in our class. What triggers it for us and how we can help each other though. Kelham have shown what sensible young people they are and how they are so committed to helping each other. So proud to be their teacher.

 2nd - 11th September .

Welcome back to all our students in Kelham Class. We have grown in number from 8 to 12 so we are learning to get a long together. 

This terms Topic is 'Money Matters' and so it does in so many ways from how earn it to how to manage it and how to count it. Our lessons this term will all have a link to this topic.

For our first week back we have been looking at place value in number so we can prepare for looking at money. Though we cant get out at the moment Independent Travel lessons are underway looking at maps of our home areas and planning routes using technology. We have also made a good start on addressing our fitness or lack of it over lockdown. 

We are now on lock down and not in school. Please stay safe Kelham boys. 

You are being set work every week and this is being delivered to your home. You can contact staff via the link at the bottom of this page or by using SEESAW.

Missing you all X

11th March 

Some very sensible discussions in SRE as we start to tackle our knowledge of contraception.

2nd March 2020

A really successful visit to Portland College.

24th Feb 

Testing our knowledge of 2D and 3 D shapes at college

3rd -14th February 

Valentines day is approaching so we have been busy getting ready for selling our enterprise valentines day gifts.

28th January  

Our Asdan Personal Development course teaches us many important skills and we can amaze our selves and what we care capable of. Here is a meal cooked from scratch this week by Caola,n Daniel, Luke and Beau and amazing achievement and it tasted great.

20th - 31st January 

Time is one of the hardest concepts for us to learn and yet it is so important so we spend a lot of time working on it here in post 16.

6th - 17 January 2020

Happy New year and welcome back. This term we are very lucky to be working again with the Evolve Transitions Trust helping us to work on our employability skills. We have two sessions with them this term. We have been working on our team working skills and how taking in part in exercises where we need to work together to achieve an outcome.

18th December 

Despite the level of illness over the last two weeks we managed an amazing Christmas Concert supported by so many parents thank you. Our puppet show was great. We all enjoyed our Christmas dinner and thank you to Landmarks College @ The Archer pub for hosting.

Merry Christmas one and all.

2nd - 20th December 

Mastering 3D shape 

Thinking about our futures

A visit to Vision West Notts 

18 - 29th Nov -

Working very hard to develop our team work and social skills.

18th - 29th November 2019

Its been very busy over the last two weeks.

On Tuesday 19th November the whole class visited Landmarks College to look at how it runs, and the courses it provides. Many Bracken Hill students go on to Landmarks and it was good to bump in to some old faces 

4th - 16th November 

On Wednesday 13th November Kelham class visited Mansfield Museum as part of our Personal Development course. We learnt such a lot about how Mansfield was in the past and how industry and manufacturing are such a big part of our heritage.

Wednesday 16th Ocotber.

We hope everyone enjoyed our half term treats that we made for our enterprise project. Thank you to all who bought them we made a good profit for our enterprise fund. We also used all the orders to create tally charts and pictograms to help us with our understanding of data in maths.

1st October 2019 

Happy Birthday Luke !

1st October - Maths-  Can we identify the value of all the money we use to pay for things?

We know we can if we can do it blind folded, Kelham refining their money skills today.

30th September 2019

AND THEY RAN LIKE THE WIND!

Massive congratulations to the Kelham cross country running team, Ethan, Jordan, Connor and Luke. It was a testing course around Colwick park lake. We're not sure how far it was but it felt like a lot! Each runner ran one circuit to make up a four relay team. All four runners put in a sprint at the end. Huge thank you to the amazing support from the rest of the class. Mrs Swain, who loves a bit of running, managed to run half of each of the four legs with each runner so we gave her a cup of tea when we got back.

4th - 13th Sept 2019

Welcome back. We've had a great holiday but now its back to work. Well done to everyone for all your hard work over the last two weeks. Settling in to your Friday work placements at The YESS project, SAMS work place and Morrisons.

End of term wouldn't be the same without Bracken Hills got Talent. Well done to Post 16 with their own take on the Spice Girls. In the end they came a very respectable second. Well done all.

Happy Holidays and I'll see you in September