This page shows all our school news items. Stories are shown with the most recent at the top. Short stories are displayed in full on this 'index' page - a summary of longer stories is displayed with a link to display the full story and any accompanying pictures. In all cases a small thumbnail of the first picture with each story is also displayed on the index page. Clicking on the picture will display a full-size image.
March 2010
Mary Rose - Creative Partnerships Project
Tuesday, March 9th 2010
Our first Creative Partnerships project is well underway. All pupils in KS3 have had the opportunity to work regularly with Neil, a potter, and are learning lots of skills in working with clay. They have produced some fantastic work, including masks, figures of people, and even a model of the Isle of Wight ferry complete with cars and lorries! All of their work is displayed in a special ‘shop window’ display in the art room. The display changes every week to show what the pupils have... Read More
Mary Rose Barn Dance
Tuesday, March 9th 2010
The annual Mary Rose Barn Dance was again a very successful event this year. This is the third year we have held the event at the Irish Club and although the turn out was slightly down on last year we still managed to raise over £250 for the school. The Marriott Hotel very kindly provided the buffet again and also the person power to serve it and clear up afterwards! Huge thanks must go to Luisighe and her team from the Marriott who are part of the Spirit to Serve Community Project Team at the... Read More
Test News Item - Please Ignore
Monday, March 1st 2010
Test News Item - Please Ignore
February 2010
New Age Kurling League
Wednesday, February 24th 2010
Location: Peter Symonds College Pupils: Lois Growse, Regan Laing, William Palmer, Zoe Barton, Joe Walker Staff : Kirsty T, Clare Heyes, Claire Ellis After a long journey to Winchester we arrived at Peter Symonds College. After we had registered our two teams the pupils went and started practising their Kurling skills in a warm up. The schools were organised into round robin competitions for the morning. All pupils played really well but it was obvious the games were not going... Read More
Dance Festival
Wednesday, February 24th 2010
On 24thFebruary Mary Rose hosted a dance festival for 3 local primary schools. 90 pupils from Milton Park Primary, Langstone Junior and Meon Junior Schools came to perform the dances that they had been working on over the previous half term. The dances explored Ancient Egyptians, Fantasy Lands and Classical Irish Dance. The rainbow costumes worn by Langstone Junior School really made the dance come alive. All pupils put in a great deal of effort and appeared to enjoy their performances on a bigger... Read More
New Age Kurling - MaryRose School Vs. Riverside School
Tuesday, February 23rd 2010
Pupils: Adam Passey, Chris A-C, Billy King, Marcel, James Broad Staff: Kirsty T, Rosie Lakin We arrived at Riverside School and the pupils were excited to start their New Age Kurling Match. Riverside, were ready and waiting so we started straight away. All pupils played really well, especially Adam and Chris who consistently played accurate shots nearest the target! The game was close at the end of the first two games with the score line at 1 - 1. As the boys kept their composure... Read More
Mary Rose School wins a National Sports Award
Thursday, February 11th 2010
The annual Sports Colleges Innovation and Recognition Award winners were announced last night at the Sports College Conference Gala Dinner. Olympic gold medallists Jonathan Edwards, Denise Lewis and Darren Campbell, England cricketer Claire Taylor, gymnast Beth Tweddle and paralympians Chris... Read More
January 2010
Beijing on Ice – A sight to see!
Wednesday, January 20th 2010
Wednesday 20th January 2010 saw the 2ndof our Beijing to London theme days – Beijing on Ice! After the huge success of Beijing Bikes last year when we completed 206 miles towards our target of 5071, Mary Rose School pupils and staff decided that they would link the Beijing theme day this year with the 2010 Winter Olympics. On the day itself a number of different activities were organised to ensure all pupils could experience the snow and ice through a range of media,... Read More
Enable Ability
Wednesday, January 13th 2010
Enable Ability is growing steadily and working hard to make a difference to the disabled people of Portsmouth and the surrounding area. Their recently updated website a quarterly newsletter which can be read by clicking here
November 2009
Master class in Boccia, November 2009
Monday, November 30th 2009
In preparation for the National Boccia Championships, Mervyn Turk, a GB Boccia coach came into school to train the two young people selected to represent our school in Sheffield at the weekend. Mervyn spent an hour looking at skills and target practice, varying the speed and angle of play as well as some rules of the game with them. Hannah and Bradley listened carefully and showed good improvement and further developed their skills during the session. A huge thanks to Mervyn for giving up his time to... Read More
Friends of Mary Rose Quiz Night
Thursday, November 26th 2009
Once again the best quiz brains from across Portsmouth gathered at Mary Rose School on Thursday 19th Nov for the Annual Mary Rose Quiz Night. Twelve teams of six fought it out to be crowned ‘Best brains’. They enjoyed a sumptuous buffet of a ploughman's supper and were entertained by our master of ceremonies Lee the Site Manager. The prizes were mostly donated by the Marriott Hotel Portsmouth and included wine, spa vouchers and a weekend stay at the Marriott. The Spa voucher was conveniently... Read More
Butlins 2009
Wednesday, November 25th 2009
On Monday 19th October we set off for Butlins. We took three minibuses and we stopped on the way at a garden centre for some lunch. When we arrived at Butlins we waited for our keys and than we went to find our chalets. When Vicky arrived with the luggage bus we helped to take all the bags to the right chalets. We had to unpack our bags and put all our clothes away. We all went for dinner in the Ocean Drive restaurant and then we went to Centre Stage to see the show and join in the disco. Everyday we... Read More
October 2009
Sportability Festival
Tuesday, October 6th 2009
On 6th October 5 pupils from Mary Rose School ran a Sports Festival for 6 schools and over 50 young people at the Mountbatten Centre. Supporting them were 10 volunteers from Respect and V as well as 2 volunteers from Hilton Hotels. Pupils led activities such as Boccia Scoring zones, Tee ball targets, Ten Pin Kurling and the Obstacle race. Hannah, Bradley, Jess, Jodie and Graham took charge of the activities helping to score, call out names and demonstrate the activity. Each of the activities had been... Read More
September 2009
Sensory Garden – 'THE BIG PLANT OUT'
Wednesday, September 30th 2009
We are making tremendous progress with the garden now. We must say a great big thank you to all the people who are helping us including parents, their friends, contractors and various building and landscape suppliers. All through the summer work has been going on at quite a pace. Paths have been laid, raised flower beds constructed, the lavender maize marked out and the areas for grass prepared. Decking has been installed in front of the newly built bicycle store and the ground prepared for the sensory... Read More
A Walk On The Wild Side!
Wednesday, September 30th 2009
Staff, families, friends and pupils all dressed up as really wild characters and walked miles (round the school) in order to raise money for the sensory garden. The sun was shining and there was a great atmosphere and a determination to do our best. There were some extremely wild and wonderful characters ranging from wolves to cavemen and from spiders to ladybugs and then of course there was the child eating shark! Take a look at the gallery if you don’t believe us… Two pupils who find... Read More
Young Ambassadors
Sunday, September 27th 2009
Last year Mary Rose became a Specialist Sports College and took part in the The Young Ambassadors Programme for the very first time. Each year until 2012 School Sport Partnerships across England will recruit two young people to take on the role of Young Ambassador for two years. The Young Amassadors work in their local communities championing sport and the ethos and values of the Olympic and Paralympic movement. In their second year they take on a mentoring role with the new Young Ambassadors. This... Read More
Staff Sponsored Bike Ride
Sunday, September 20th 2009
A sunny Sunday cycling in the New Forest, what could be better? 15 cyclists including staff and their friends and families and a dog called Dexter, took part in a sponsored bike ride to raise money for our sensory garden. They cycled between 18-48 miles enjoying the sunshine, scenery and new forest ponies – oh yes and the odd steep hill, puddle and deep ford of course! Everyone completed the course and this year there were many less punctures – but just as many who were saddle sore by the time... Read More
Eid Mubarak
Friday, September 18th 2009
Mary Rose staff and pupils held a party to celebrate Eid Mubarak in assembly. This was the culmination of a whole school focus on Eid during the week prior to the assembly. The school hall was transformed with twinkling lights and beautiful fabrics. Pupils and staff dressed in traditional costumes, sang and danced and sampled a range of delicious foods. Many of the classes had made Eid cards that they brought to assembly and everyone watched a short DVD that helped them to understand the meaning of this... Read More
July 2009
CELEBRATION PROM 2009
Monday, July 20th 2009
July 2009 brought us the third Mary Rose Celebration Prom. Once again students were involved with the planning of the event, choosing the colour scheme, the menu and designing the invitations. This year Graham Culpin helped to create a logo in red and silver which was used on invites, menus and placecards. The hall looked stunning decorated with silver and red balloons and flowers. Everyone arrived in style wearing their “posh” clothes and enjoyed a superb meal served to us in the hall.... Read More
Mary Rose Musicals
Monday, July 20th 2009
“I am writing to say a huge thank you to you, your pupils and staff for a wonderful afternoon yesterday. I felt privileged to attend “Mary Rose does the Musicals”. I could not believe what had been achieved in such a short space of time …. I myself could not stop talking about the show!...” grandparent July 2009 We had great fun producing our performance this year. As usual it was all put together as part of our Activities Week. Each group or class developed their own piece... Read More
Friends of Mary Rose Family Barbeque 2009
Friday, July 17th 2009
We were lucky with the weather again this year and despite one short sharp shower the crowds gathered to help raise money for our sensory garden. The food (Mr Marriott’s secret recipe burgers, sausages and chicken) was again kindly provided and cooked by the staff from the Marriott Hotel Portsmouth and was delicious! We had three live singers and guitarists who provided the music and even Tina Turner dropped in to give us a song! A great time was had by all, especially by those brave enough to try... Read More
Portsmouth. People. Passion. Pride.
Thursday, July 16th 2009 - www.england2018bid.
Portsmouth. People. Passion. Pride. ‘Portsmouth. People. Passion. Pride.’ is the council’s bid to become a host city as part of England’s campaign to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018. The World Cup is the world’s biggest sporting event. Bringing the World Cup to Portsmouth in 2018 would have enormous benefits for the city and the region, putting an international spotlight on everything we have to offer.As well as acting as a catalyst for development of infrastructure and... Read More
Vitalise Churchtown Centre
Friday, July 10th 2009
On Saturday 27th June seven pupils and seven staff set off for a week in Bodmin in Cornwall to stay at the Vitalise Churchtown Centre. It was a long journey which (surprisingly!) many slept through! The week was fantastic for all concerned. The activities on offer were a combination of on and off site. On the Churchtown site itself we took part in the Challenge Course, abseiling, several trips through and around the maze, swimming and a visit to the farm. Off site we were taken to Looe for crabbing,... Read More
Pupil Oscars 2009
Tuesday, July 7th 2009
An amazing nine of our pupils were nominated for Pupil Oscars this year and they all went up on the big stage to receive their certificates at the celebration evening at the Guildhall. The events was attended by pupils and their families and friends as well as staff from the schools. The prizes were awarded by local dignitaries. It was a really special evening. The nominations were: Attendance: Ben Craven and Ellie O’Donnell Overcoming difficulty : Bailey Hunter and Marcel Bukowski ... Read More
June 2009
Parallel Games
Saturday, June 20th 2009
14 pupils took part in the games this year representing Portsmouth at both New Age Kurling at the Aldershot Garrison and Boccia at Farnborough Leisure Centre. After long journeys and a few wrong turns we arrived at our respective destinations. As there were only four teams in the Boccia category we got off to a quick start with Charlie, Graham and Hannah winning their first game against Winchester 2’s. Bradley, Alice and William were next up and narrowly won against a good Winchester 1’s team.... Read More
‘Be Happy, be Healthy’
Wednesday, June 17th 2009
As part of the ‘Be Happy, be Healthy’ theme this term Wimbledon class have been trying out different types of holiday. They have worked hard, developing their communication, choice making and ICT skills. Read More
Key Stage 3 ICT/PE days
Wednesday, June 17th 2009
Pupils in Key Stage 3 took part in a project to produce new posters of PE activities to be displayed around the school. Read More
Fareham Model Engineers
Saturday, June 13th 2009
During the summer term, Penguins, Turtles, Dolphins and Octopus classes were invited to go to Fareham Model Engineers. This is a light railway with several tracks that stretch over a small field and take you round a pond, under trees and through a tunnel. The children were able to go on the trains as often as they wanted and also had a picnic lunch in between rides. It was a fantastic day and everyone, adults and pupils, seemed to relish the experience. We hope to repeat the visit again... Read More
Hampshire SLD Athletics Competition
Friday, June 5th 2009
A team of Keystage 5 students from Mary Rose School arrived at the Hampshire SLD Athletics Competition in good spirits and looking forward to demonstrating their athletics skill against other schools including Icknields, Great Oaks and Salterns to name just a few, on Wednesday 3rd June 2009. First up to race was Jamie who was quick to win the first race of the day. Roy, Jess and Chris P all took part in the bean bag course with varying levels of support. Congratulations must go to Roy who was the winner of... Read More
May 2009
UKSA 11th – 15th May 2009
Wednesday, May 20th 2009
On the 11th May a group of 12 pupils and 7 staff took their sea sickness pills and made their way to Cowes on the Isle of Wight for a weeks sailing residential. The weather forecast for the week was excellent…if you like sailing in force 8 winds! Fortunately the weather was good to us and we were able to get out on the water every day. The Powerboats on the first day proved to very a very popular activity, and the efficiency of the self inflating bouncy aids were tested even before the boats had... Read More
A Rght Royal Occasion
Thursday, May 7th 2009
We were very proud to be asked to present the Queen with her posy when she visited Portsmouth for the D-Day event. It was hard to choose just 2 pupils from the huge number who would have enjoyed the privilege. Eventually we chose Jade Smith as one of the Portsmouth Young Ambassadors for the 2012 Olympics and also Taonga Chella because of her love of 'special occasions' and her special achievements this year. Jade and Taonga not only met the Queen but also lots of very important people from... Read More
April 2009
ROCK CHALLENGE 2009
Monday, April 20th 2009
In April 2009 “One World, One Vision” was the title of the Mary Rose Global Rock Challenge performance. To prepare for the event, all 6th form and key stage 4 students worked with the Corali dance company to develop dance and movement skills during two workshops within school. During the Spring term Thursday afternoons soon developed into art and craft sessions, dance practise, costume design and jewellery making. Students practised dance moves from different cultures, explored the... Read More
Rock Challenge 2009
Monday, April 20th 2009
Students from Key Stage 4 and 6th Form have been busy this term preparing for Rock Challenge. They have been choosing the theme, designing costumes, making jewellery, creating displays and decorating “hoodies” Ian and Guy went with Lin to get the soundtrack recorded, the scenery is nearly ready, our Tshirts for the day have arrived and we love them! Great fun has been had by all. especially the weekly practices in the hall which are getting better and better. We are all looking forward to... Read More
Friends of Mary Rose Barn Dance
Saturday, April 11th 2009
On Friday 27th March we held our second annual Barn Dance at the Irish Club on Elm Grove. One hundred and forty people came along to join in with the fun and they helped to raise over £800 for our sensory garden. The Blarney Band and their caller were again superb and soon had us reeling, wheeling, dosey doeing and spinning! The food was kindly provided by the Marriott Hotel who produced a beautiful spread of cheeses, meats, bread, salads, baked potatoes and fresh pumpkin soup which helped to keep... Read More
Little Canada 2009
Friday, April 3rd 2009
On the 9th March a group of 14 students and 8 staff made the long journey to the Isle of Wight for the annual Little Canada residential. We had great weather for the whole week and took part in a range of activities including Abseiling, Archery, Fencing, Quad Bikes, Climbing, Swimming and Aeroball. Highlights of the week include William beating all of the staff at Archery, Karl abseiling down a 40 foot wall, Marcel crawling through a very muddy tunnel, Michelle going on the Giant Swing twice and Nathan... Read More
March 2009
Beijing Bikes are GO!
Tuesday, March 17th 2009
Mary Rose School has joined forces with the Mary Rose Trust and Portsmouth Football club to provide the pupils with the opportunity to experience a variety of sporting activities as well as help identify talented young people with the potential to go further and may be take part in London 2012. Tuesday 17th March saw the launch of this programme of activities with cycling as the focal point. Mary Rose School students and staff started the mammoth challenge of biking 5071 miles, the distance between... Read More
Red Nose Day 2009 at Mary Rose School
Friday, March 13th 2009
As you well know the theme for Red nose day 200 was “something funny for money” and didn’t we go for it at Mary Rose School. The school was a sea of red and some staff and pupils even wore their pyjamas to school! There were clowns, super heroes and lots of wigs. Even our new caretaker Lee dressed up as a fairy and was given the job of judging the silliest dressed student in every class, these children then received a certificate in assembly later that afternoon. The bring and buy sale... Read More
PSHE Breaktime Activities Day
Tuesday, March 3rd 2009
On Tuesday 3rd of March Mary Rose School had a special PSHE Day. Read More
February 2009
Sports Hall Athletics – Feb 25th at Fleming Park
Thursday, February 26th 2009
Thirteen of our pupils took a trip to Fleming Park in Eastleigh for a day of sports events. Read More
October 2008
Mary Rose School Specialist Sports College
Monday, October 20th 2008
On Thursday 16th October, we celebrated our official opening as a Specialist Sports College Read More
Mary Rose School and Corali Dance Company Get Creative
Monday, October 13th 2008
Corali is a professional performance group made up of adults with learning disabilities. “Corali is about giving skills to people with learning difficulties so that they can be creative, work with other people and understand more about dance and performance.” We spent a fantastic day with them on Monday October 6th. Six people from Corali ran a series of workshops for our 14-19 year old students to help them to develop ideas and learn new skills ready for our Rock Challenge performance... Read More
Mary Rose School, Specialist Sports College Young Ambassadors Programme
Saturday, October 11th 2008
One month in to becoming a Specialist Sports College, Mary Rose School takes part in its first Youth Sports Trust initiative – The Young Ambassadors Programme. Special Needs Sports Colleges and School Sport Partnerships have all nominated Young Ambassadors for the programme. Here at Mary Rose School we have nominated Jade Smith and Bradley Ryder to take part in the programme and undertake their training. Hundreds of Young Ambassadors from across England have been chosen to promote sport,... Read More
Mary Rose School Triumphs
Sunday, October 5th 2008
The first football match of the season was a resounding success for the Mary Rose School football team. Our intrepid footballers played against Cedars School on September 18th and won the game by 12 goals to 2. It may sound like I one sided match (which in some respects it was) but a great time was had by both teams with much good humour and good fun. The match was supported by the Rotary Club who presented all the players with certificates and medals and to our delight presented the Mary Rose Team... Read More
September 2008
Disney Land or Mary Rose School?
Monday, September 22nd 2008
The whole school took to the playground on this beautiful sunny day to walk a mile to raise funds for the new school mini bus – and of course to have fun and keep fit too. Staff, pupils, friends and parents dressed up as film or TV characters and joined in our sponsored walk. There were some fantastic costumes and each class awarded a prize for the best costume and the runner up. What a difficult choice this was. Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse came along to welcome everyone and to add fun to the... Read More
X- Biking comes to Mary Rose School!
Tuesday, September 16th 2008
As part of the preparation for the Sports College Opening Day on the 16th October 2008 at Mary Rose School, Tracey Clarke, Director of Specialisms, invited Lynden from the X- biking team down to Mary Rose School to demonstrate their new range of bikes. Students from Spinnaker class really took to the bikes and spent their time riding, watching and supporting other members of their group as they tested them. They were particularly excited by the X-dream that simulates biking in the outdoors, using a... Read More
July 2008
Sports Day
Tuesday, July 15th 2008
Once again we were lucky with the weather. The whole school walked along to St James’s cricket ground and took part in a wide range of activities all geared to meet the different abilities of our pupils. The pupils were grouped vertically by age and assigned to one of 4 ‘houses’. Competition was fierce and there was much light hearted rivalry between the members of each ‘house’. In the morning all the pupils took part in activities that included, skittles, target ball,... Read More
June 2008
Parallel Games
Friday, June 20th 2008
On Friday four teams (2 Boccia and 2 New Age Kurling) went to Aldershot to take part in the Parallel Games. One of our Boccia teams just missed out on victory, coming second, and our other Boccia team won the play-off match to be placed third. Unfortunately, we didn't fare quite so well in the New Age Kurling part of the tournament. We all supported each other and we very Sporting. In fact William even won the fair play award. During the day we all got to chat to the Mayor of Portsmouth as he was... Read More
April 2008
Little Canada Residential
Tuesday, April 29th 2008
Twelve students and eight staff set off for Little Canada on the Isle of Wright for a week in March. We stayed in log cabins by the sea and took part in a range of outdoor and adventurous activities including Quad biking, Archery, Climbing, Assault courses, the Giant Swing and Aeroball. We also took part in a number of inside activities such as Trampolining, Circus Skills, the Matrix and ICT. Highlights of the week include Chris H climbing to the top of the climbing tower, Zara W loosing a shoe in... Read More
March 2008
Sport Relief – Mary Rose School walks the mile!
Sunday, March 16th 2008
In spite of the damp and drizzle and in true Mary Rose spirit, the whole school walked their mile for Sports relief. Each class dressed in a different sporting theme ranging from swimming to hockey to keep fit … Penguin class even ‘walked’ their mile in the hydrotherapy pool! The route was mostly indoors due to the unpredictable nature of the weather. One of the benefits of having a long main school corridor was that we could quite easily walk a mile – it only took... Read More