A Stunning 'Example'
by Ben Cassan

'Example' is a play devised by the Belgrade Theatre in Education Company about the controversial court case of Derek William Bentley, whose famous line, 'Let him have it Chris,' landed him the death sentence on the 28th January, 1953.
In May 1999, Derek Bentley's only surviving relatives were suddenly awarded compensation for his miscarriage  of justice, sadly a year after the death of his sister, Iris, who fought for his reprieve right up until her death.

'Example' was performed by a Year 10 GCSE Drama group from King's Manor School on Friday 18th June to an audience of parents and other students.  As well as taking on the acting side of the play, the pupils took on technical and backstage responsibilities as well. All of the students in the 19 strong cast made it through the rehearsals well, with real commitment to the play and conveying its fearfully realistic and hard-hitting message.

"I felt that there were powerful performances from many of the cast, and especially from Sean Rigg and Justin Huxtable, who played the two main characters," said Mr Brian Creese, Deputy Headteacher, who saw the play. "Overall it was very good and it really brought home the tragic reality of the fatal mistake."

PART-TIME JOBS
by Dean Baker

A lot of teenagers do part-time jobs, and the average wage for a fourteen year-old paperboy/girl is £10 a week.  Some teenagers work in places such as cafes and carwashes at the weekend or in the holidays, so can they can earn a bit more money - but not enough.  The Government ought to introduce a policy whereby the older you are, the more money you should earn for a part-time job.  Teenagers need the extra money for going out, entertainment, CDs and videos, computer games and clothes, and some even save up their money!  Teenagers work hard at their part-time jobs, so they should be paid a fair wage.

SPORTING SUCCESS
by Sophie Johnstone and Kelly Stevens

At King's Manor School some students have achieved sporting excellence.  This is the result of hard work, determination and a will to win.

Ryan and Sophie Johnstone are a brother and sister team who both harbour fighting ambitions.
Sophie, aged 14, started judo when she was seven, because she wanted to learn self defence. The Lewes Bridgeview Club Member said, "I like Judo because it is fast, skilful and exciting." Since she won her first medal at eight years old, she has won over 100 medals, including the British Championship.  Recently she has been selected as a reserve to represent Great Britain at the European Youth Olympics in Denmark this Summer.  Sophie said, "My ambition is to win an Olympic gold medal."

Green belt Ryan, aged 12 , has achieved a lot in his own right and just recently won the Sussex Championships for the second year running. Ryan told us, "Last year I won the Southern FM young person of the year award for overcoming a disorder called dyspraxia to become the Sussex judo champion." Dyspraxia effects co-ordination, and Ryan's achievements have proved inspirational to other sufferers.  This year he hopes to retain his place in the Southern area squad.

Gary Baker, aged 15, plays for the Southwick Colts Football Club with whom he won the League and Cup Double last season.  Gary said, "I started playing football seriously when I was eleven and I enjoy it because I am good at it." Gary is known to the opposition as a lethal striker and last season scored an incredible 48 goals.  He tries to play everyday and his ambition is to score the winning goal for England in the World Cup final.

It is a great achievement to play sport at a high level, but do not forget sport is for everyone and the most important factor is enjoyment.

THE ASP PROJECT
by Laura Lacey-Freeman, Damien Buttress,
Chris Pearson, David Preston and Andrew Holter

The Adur Special Needs Project is an organisation for young people with learning difficulties. It is for 5-18 year olds. The young people who go to ASP suffer from autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and muscular dystrophy.  ASP was started in 1991 with Mr Dave Gardener joined as a 'worker.' He said, "It was a summer scheme. We applied for a grant which is in joint finance with Children In Need. We received £150,000."

Despite all this money they still need more, according to Mr Duncan Kentall, 29. "The worst thing about ASP is not having the finance to enable a level of service which meets the current demand." The project, which is run at Glebelands at the weekends and every Wednesday evening, provides the "integration of all young people regardless of ability. It is a fun and safe environment for children and young people who have special needs," says Mr Kentall.

In the summer the Adur Special Needs Project are holding a summer scheme which is being held all day. Here they will play games, activities with staff and helpers, play computer games and many more activities. According to Ricky Bennett, 15, ASP is very enjoyable. "I go there because I want to work with children with disabilities," he said.  When asked if he liked ASP, Ricky replied "Yes, very much so."

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer or sending your child to ASP then call
01273 441866.

SCHOOL UNIFORM - COOL UNIFORM?
by Gary Baker, Tom Wine and Scott Townend.
Why do English children have to wear school uniform?  In other countries such as France, Germany and Spain, students do not have to wear uniform and they do not have a dress code.  But why is England different? After all, we are a part of the European community.

We asked the Headteacher of King's Manor School, Mr David McLean,
and he replied, "King's Manor has the most flexible rules for uniform in the area and the vast majority of parents support it.
We wear uniform because most of the schools wear uniform in England.  I hope King's Manor's uniform is just right, for example,  not too expensive and laid back."

Ms Gill Hodge, Assistant Headteacher said,
"In an ideal world we would not have any uniform.  I think kids look great in non-school uniform but if we have to wear uniform it's just right."

After asking 18 pupils if they had a choice to wear school uniform or not, 17 out of the 18 pupils replied that they would prefer not to wear school uniform. The pupils who replied that they did not  want to wear school uniform said their normal clothes are more comfortable and that wearing their own clothes lets them express their character more.

WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE KM YOUTH WING?
by Ben Steele, Ricky Bennett, Craig Buck and Matthew Gurr

Now that K.M.. has a new youth leader, what is to become of the K.M. Youth Wing? In December of last year,  Kim Matthews left as our youth leader; now Nikki Hamilton-Street has taken charge of the relatively new Youth Wing since the beginning of the Summer term. She intends to bring the Youth Wing into school life, more so than it is at the moment.

Mrs. Hamilton-Street told us that she would "incorporate a wider variety of activities and facilities within the Youth Wing."

The vacant position for the new youth leader was seen advertised in TES (Times Educational Supplement) by Nikki and she felt it would be a good opportunity for her, so she applied and received conformation of her appointment. Nikki also told us that there were no such facilities when she was younger and that it is great what we have here now. At the moment, the average attendance of our Year 10 evening is 90 people, but Nikki hopes to get more people involved.  At the Youth Wing the activities open to all the K.M. students include playing Pool, playing Table Tennis, Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and Rock Band Practice.

The Youth Wing runs for two hours most weekday evenings costing 80p.  If you need any information do not hesitate to speak to Nikki Hamilton-Street  or Mrs.Kent in the
Youth Wing at lunch time or break time or contact her on  01273 274137.


KING'S MANOR WORK EXPERIENCE
by Donna Goatcher, Louise Jones, Becky White and Rachel White

This year at Kings Manor School 270 pupils in the current Year 10 are expected to go on a week's work experience hopefully of their choice in the Autumn term.  They are guided by a Career Advisor to help get an idea of a career they would like to follow when they are older. The teacher in charge of  work experience is Mrs S Moore, Careers Co-ordinator at King's Manor.

Approximately 150 companies are approached to help with this experience.  Most students get their first choice placement, but unfortunately it is not possible for every student to go where they would like.  Students are also asked to help find placements if they have any family business connections.

Mrs Moore said, "It is a very time-consuming job, especially when you are trying to find a different place for everybody."

King's Manor sends letters to companies before Easter. Mrs Moore spends about five hours on each student, working to make sure they get a place suited to both them and the placement.
The most popular options are design, computing, animals and children. The most unusual  choice that was ever asked for was Work Experience at a funeral  parlour. A lot of emphasis is placed on Health and Safety in the workplace, and there has only ever been one accident and  that was when a boy cut his finger at a restaurant. 

If any companies would like to take on a Year 11 student for Work Experience please contact Mrs Moore on 01273 - 274100.