From the Head of Secondary 21.08.2021
This week in Secondary
It has been an unusual, to say the least, start of the academic year, and rather a complex one. We commenced with Induction Days for Year 7, 10, 12 and 13 on Monday. Traditionally we have a staggered start in Secondary to allow those students who are at the beginning of their Key Stages to have a measured and calm first day which introduces them to various aspects of school life at that level. Ms Colley directed the day with our new Year 7s, Mr Davis led a session on ‘Marvellous Maths’, a Safeguarding session [What to do if you need Help] was led by our DSL Mrs Garrick and Ms Siti, and there was a virtual tour of the school led by Ms Colley followed by a ‘How well do you know Secondary’ quiz. It was a packed day and our new Year 7 students did very well in following and participating in everything.
The Year 10 day was led by Ms Service. The students met with their form tutors, Mr Bryant and Mr Grant, and had several sessions throughout the day, including an online learning refresher and advice on making the most of Year 10, and on knowing what the expectations are. Many of the Year 10 textbooks are downloaded from the online platform, Classoos, and this was managed by Mrs Colbeck in making sure that the students have the books that they need for their various subjects. Ms Service ended the day with ‘How to stay ahead: Study Skills and Unifrog’ which is an online platform that we use for PSHE and Careers.
The Year 12 / 13 Induction Day was led by Dr Dickinson. It included a webinar ‘A Levels Plus; Maximising Your Sixth Form Studies’ with Ms Jasmine Leong from IEC. Jasmine has been a regular contributor to our Induction Days over the years and we are very grateful for the expertise and wisdom that she shared with our most senior students. The students also met their tutors, Mrs Davis [Year 12] and Mrs Colbeck [Year 13] and downloaded their text books from Classoos. Lessons for Years 7, 10, 12 and 13 started in earnest on Tuesday; our other year groups spent the week working on assessments which had been postponed from last term.
Year 12/13 Induction Day : ‘A Levels Plus; Maximising Your Sixth Form Studies’ with Ms Jasmine Leong from IEC
First A Level Music class performance of 2021 to 2022. Thank you Ms Tretter and Laverne
A great week for Year 7K
It was never going to be an easy task to run these assessments online. Teachers and students stepped up admirably to ensure that they went as smoothly as possible. All had training, teachers in how and where to set the papers and how to invigilate the sessions, and students on how to access the papers, work on them in the allocated time, and submit them. Mr Colbeck was at the forefront of this initiative and he is to be congratulated on a job well done. Naturally, we would all have wished to have organised these tests in a more traditional way, as we do every year, but in the current situation running them online was the best option. Well done to our students for working hard at these tests. This weekend they can have a rest and a break before they start the 2021 – 2022 curriculum next week. Timetables have already been sent out; if there are any changes these will be explained to the students on Monday morning.
Exceedingly Excellent Exam Results!
On the 10th [AS and A Level] and 12th August [IGCSE] our students received their examination results from the Cambridge Examination Board and we are over the moon with the results! First of all huge congratulations to our students who worked extremely hard, sometimes in difficult circumstances, to achieve their goals. Next, much credit to their teachers, who worked determinedly to guide them to success, and last but not least, to parents who have the most difficult job in growing their children to reach this stage and supporting them through the examination period! Everybody should feel very proud.
Book Collection from School
Thank you to those families who have come into school to collect resources for this term. Organising for this to happen has been a bigger job than might be imagined and all credit to Ms Melissa, Ms Sharon and Mrs Colbeck for making it happen. I appreciate that some parents may have been asked to come to the school hall more than once as we gather books from last year and reorganise them for current year groups. Now that the assessments are over we do expect any remaining texts from last year to be returned, so that they can be ‘recycled’ next. The efficiency of this stage depends upon books being returned as quickly as possible so that Mrs Colbeck can then deal with them in the most organised way. We thank parents for their patience and cooperation in this matter.
Mrs Margaret Renshaw
Deputy Principal / Head of Secondary
