Passport and sport

It was good to be at the sports fixtures on Saturday. All four teams both netball and football won. Well done all. Not all parents will be aware of the pilot trial we are doing with the Year 7 students called “Passport”. We recognize the importance the importance of involvement in co- curriculum and want to encourage all students to be involved developing life skills. This year we are asking pupils in year seven to make a diary of what they have been doing or involved in, recording this is via the VLE Personal section using blogs: Music Sports Clubs Community and Green Projects Student Voice/Ambassador Visits Outside school events and activities These blogs have been set up in IT lessons and can be updated by pupils at home, in school and even in tutor time. Tutors can encourage this further by setting as homework on the VLE. Time should be found in tutor time to review and I hope that parents are encouraging at home and reviewing the blogs online. At the end of the academic year we hope to celebrate the students achievements in a special assembly and will be inviting parents to attend. As I mentioned in my letter to parents on Friday we are looking to make some changes to the timing of the school day maximizing time for academic lessons and co-curricular activities. I will send more information about this over the next few weeks.

Year nine options and politics

The year nine options process begins over the next few weeks. It is an important decision for students and the first opportunity they have had to make any curriculum choice. For the school, it is a time to consider what we will need to be teaching in the future. What is the most appropriate curriculum for our students? As an Academy we have some choice but our size does limit our options. There has been a good deal of debate, again, in the recent months about the value of some subjects over others. Progress 8, a new measure, will be introduced for all schools in 2016. It is based on students’ progress measured across eight subjects: English; mathematics; three other English Baccalaureate (EBacc) subjects (sciences, computer science, geography, history and languages); and three further subjects, which can be from the range of EBacc subjects, or can be any other approved, high-value arts, academic, or vocational qualification. These new measures make it clear to schools that some subjects count more than others! In 2017, reformed GCSE grades (grades 1-9, in which 1 is the lowest grade) will also be introduced. Only qualifications that count towards the EBacc measure can be included in the Progress 8 slots reserved for EBacc qualifications. Of course this is all designed to ensure that all schools offer a broad and balanced curriculum. The irony, is that schools too often schools change their curriculum in response to league tables. I am no fan of the EBacc, believing that all schools should design a curriculum in response to the community they serve. Who knows, it may be that education dances to a different tune after the elections in May. We will attempt to explain the changes at our evening this week.

France

My thoughts over the last week have never been far from the events in France. I began our assembly on Friday in the Cathedral with a minute silence and asked the students to consider the value of free speech, tolerance and kindness. It is something that we will no doubt return to in lessons and it is important for students of all ages to be able to discuss world issues and conflict. This week students in year eleven receive their mock GCSE results and our A level students begin their mock exams. It is a challenging time for all but there is still 70 days or so of teaching left before the examinations begin, ample opportunity to correct the mistakes and improve the understanding and technique. I did enjoy the performance of the first eleven-football team on Saturday. A well-deserved 2:2 draw with Millfield is a terrific start to the season. Well done all.

Happy New Year

I hope parents and students have had a good Christmas. Happy New Year to you all! We have some new staff starting with us this term: Rose Cawthorn - Psychology Teacher replaces Mrs Wright. Darren Fuller and Catherine Farrell replace Miss Lewis and Miss Quinn. Before Christmas we wrote to the parents of all children who have been affected by the staff changes to inform them of our plans to minimize the disruption to learning. It is never easy receive resignations before Christmas but we have of course done our best to recruit experienced teachers and minimize any disruption. Mr Bugler, Mr Atkins and Miss Telfer have also taken on more teaching for this term. We begin the term with a service In the Cathedral tomorrow morning and I am very much look forward to seeing students then. We will of course be checking that students arrive back at school in full school uniform please do remind your children about our expectations.