Head's Newsletter 14 July 2017

BASKETBALL REFEREE COURSE Congratulations to the 13 candidates who took part in Tiffin’s first Level 1 basketball referees course. Officiating is no easy task and all the participants spent two hours learning the rules and mechanics of two- man officiating. After a quick break for a photo opportunity they were straight into a two hour practical session putting the knowledge into practice. Everyone gave 100% and showed real promise. This is only the start of their journey as they now have to umpire some full matches on which they are assessed and given feedback. Being able to referee all school matches will be a real asset and will raise the standard of basketball at Tiffin to a new level. We will also be able to offer their services to other local schools.

JET FUSION REACTOR

A Y12 group of future physicists and engineers visited the JET Fusion Reactor at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy on Tuesday 11 th July. CCFE hosts the world's largest magnetic fusion experiment, JET (Joint European Torus), on behalf of its European partners. The students were given a talk on Fusion, regarded by many as the only permanent solution to the world’s

energy crisis and global warming, followed by a tour of the facility by former Tiffin student Valentin Aslanyan (2008), who has a Masters in Physics from Oxford University and a PhD in Laser- Plasma Interactions from the University of York. It was an excellent day and we hope to turn this into a recurring trip for year 12s.

FENCING SUCCESS Luca Plastow in Year 10 competed in the British U17 National Cadet fencing championships recently. On this occasion he came third. He knocked out the British no. 1 in the last sixteen but fell in the semi- final to the eventual winner. Luca is currently ranked second in the U17 foil category in Great Britain. Congratulations to Luca!