Lyceum Community have received the most reward this week, as did Year 7.

Eleanor French, Davina Andrews, Billie Whitnall and Hannah Powell all received the highest amount of rewards this week with 11.

Mr Jones in Welfare gave out the most rewards.

Neil has had an outstanding career as a teacher, headteacher, chief education adviser and Local Education Authority Officer. During the nineties, he returned to Headship in Oxford and it was here that the school community worked together to devise and implement a unique system of Values-based Education that has become well-known throughout the world for its excellent educational practice. Increasingly, the methods of his philosophy "Valuing" are being endorsed by OfSTED as leading to outstanding practice.

Values-based Education is a great success and is one of the fastest growing approaches in the world, endorsed by teachers, school leaders and governments. This is because it is based on the soundest principles of pedagogy, educational philosophy, brain research and common sense. It helps students to develop holistically, nurturing a secure sense of self, respect for self and others and supports the raising of academic standards.

Following Neil spending the day at Ratton meeting and talking to staff, students, parents and governors and watching lessons we are delighted to let you know that we have now been awarded the Quality Mark in Values Education (valid for 3 years).

First of all let me start off by saying that the bi-annual ski trip to Austria is the best school trip that you or I will ever go on. It will stay in my memory forever and I have so many memories to tell.

The trip had so many high points. Even the coach journey was an interesting experience! We set off from Ratton at around 4:15pm on Tuesday and arrived in Austria the next morning in record time, around six hours earlier than before! Having said that, the journey still wasn’t short with it on average taking 18 hours. Throughout this time we were entertained by the delights of ‘Miranda,’ ‘Fantastic Four’ and the ‘Pursuit of Happiness’. We stopped in many different countries with part of the entertainment being discovering “where in the world are we”? We travelled through England, France, Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany and eventually into Austria.

The coach took us, and our baggage straight up the mountain to get our boots, skis and helmets fitted. We then travelled down the mountain to our hotel “Munde” in the quaint village of Telfs. We had time to get unpacked and showered before paying a visit to the local McDonalds. We then explored the village. The village has many amazing bakeries, a shopping centre and an ice cream shop. In the evening we had our first taste of the, interesting food. They served us what seemed to be crouton soup, alongside chocolate jelly. Every evening there was some form of entertainment and the first evening it was a quiz.

Thursday was our first day skiing. We travelled up the mountain every day which was about a 30 minute journey. We became acquainted with our groups and instructors and headed off to start work. We began skiing at 9am and finished at 3pm. Everyday we would all meet for lunch at midday on the top of the mountain in a great restaurant. There you could buy virtually anything. To get to the restaurant there was a train running up the mountain which gave us amazing views of the valley. In the afternoon some groups got the opportunity to ski the Olympic ski runs and experience skiing on the actual mountain. We got back to the hotel and were able to go into the town. For dinner they served us egg soup and the evening’s entertainment was bingo. Everyday there would be a “plonker of the day”. Much like year eight camp’s “spanner of the day” award. There were three nominees and the winner received a box of celebrations.

Friday we set off up the mountain, the weather was horrid and once at the top all the girls’ hair turned to icy cobwebs. The snow was much tougher, a lot harder to ski on and many people fell over. Once we had finished our skiing we re-boarded the coach and travelled to the local swimming pool. Everyone enjoyed the swimming. The pool is amazing, it has an indoor pool and an outdoor rapids overlooking snow-capped mountains. Once back at the hotel it we had dinner and then went straight on a treasure hunt. We were all guided by a map, adult and clue which helped us fill out a sheet of questions about the village. This exercise made us more aware of the village and the sights we wouldn’t usually see en-route to shopping. We discovered that there was a school, church, factory, memorial fountains, and a wide range of restaurants and shops. Saturday, after skiing we went straight from the mountain to Innsbruck. A very historical town full of gift shops, ice cream parlours, markets and mad Ratton students buying animal hats for rip-off prices. We got the opportunity to see the famous golden roof and take a trip around Innsbruck’s Easter market. Once we had explored the old town we took a trip down the road to the ‘Disco Bowling Alley’ the lanes and bowling balls were all florescent and the music very loud. After dinner we played prize BINGO which tested our mathematical and listening skills to the limit.

Sunday was our last full day and we all had to pack for Monday morning. The evening was a highlight as the staff and students performed our own version of Telf’s got Talent. If anyone gets the chance to see the winner Edward Fielder play drums with a set of pens and the back of a guitar, its worth paying money for.

On Monday morning we had breakfast, loaded our luggage onto the coach and headed up the mountain one last time. The snow on the mountain was very slushy from the sun and many ‘moguls’ (nasty bumps) were formed which really tested our skiing ability. Once back at the hotel we were able to shower and we then left the hotel and travelled through the night back to Ratton School.(more episodes of Miranda!)It’s hard to put into words just how good the ski trip was. It was hilarious, just seeing teachers and students on skis, falling over one another was enough to laugh. We were never bored and there was always something keeping you on your toes. The teachers always took unbelievably good care of us and all the ski instructors were lovely. The hotel was great; I don’t know how they put up with us! And apart from some dodgy dishes, the food was pretty good too. The activities they organised for us were brilliant. The Austria ski trip 2012 was genuinely the best holiday of my life and will stay with me for the rest of my days. I would like to say a huge thank you to all the staff on the ski trip for making this trip so amazing and such a memorable experience. I would also like to say a huge thank you to Mr. Avard and Mr. Kingham for organising the trip and all the activities. And to everyone else, you must go on this trip.

Report by Charlotte Collins – Year 9

Despite this, Chloe is determined to live life to the full. Mrs Jones presented Chloe with a cheque to add to the family's fundraising for 'Chloe's Fight for Sight'. All money raised by the fundraising campaign will go towards improving Chloe's well-being and towards medical research. Ratton School is keen to support Chloe and the fundraising campaign and they intend to organise further events in the future.

If you’re interested in playing more Rugby at school, the Ratton Rugby Academy is on Tuesdays 3.15 – 4.15pm. Also, Eastbourne Rugby Club run their training sessions on Wednesdays 6.30 -8.00pm and play their games on Sunday mornings. You can visit www.eastbournerugby.com for more information and contact details for different age groups.

Mr Brooke – PE Department