Welcome to the second newsletter for this term.

I want to start by saying how proud I have been of the behaviour and attitude of year 11 in their trial exams. They have taken them seriously, used time between exams to revise, been polite and courteous to the exam invigilators and there have been no issues at all. As I have said in previous newsletters, these exams are really important as they will enable the teachers to support their students leading up to their GCSEs in the summer. There is plenty of time still to cover any gaps in learning and for targeted revision to be put in place.

Attendance remains a key focus for us. Good attendance helps children to make good progress in school and fulfil their potential in life. Miss school, Miss out – Every day counts – Going to school regularly and being part of the school community gives children and young people a sense of belonging and means that they benefit not only from lessons and learning, but also can see friends and teachers, ask for help, join clubs, go on school trips, have a clear routine and can get mental health support.

We had a significant drop in attendance at the end of last term across all year groups. Whole school attendance for this year is currently 90.7% which is well below where we should be. Year 11 attendance this week has been the highest of all year groups every day (not dropping below 98%). This needs to continue now that exams have finished! Year 10 attendance is a concern as they have the lowest attendance as a cohort.

A child who is absent a day of school per week misses an equivalent of two years of their school life. Each day of school missed by a child will reduce their attendance by 0.5%, and that means they miss five lessons. 95% attendance is ten whole days of school that has been missed – that’s 50 lessons. 90% attendance is twenty whole days of school that has been missed. 90% attendance – which is classified as persistently absent means that they have missed 4 weeks of schooling.

As a reminder, we are now offering the opportunity for parents/carers to purchase second hand uniform from the school. If this is of interest to you, please use this link CC Uniform to a form where you can express your interest and a member of staff will contact you.

We have a wide range of items in the lost property box, from prescription glasses to jewellery. If your child is missing an item, please call the school reception and a member of the team will endeavour to reunite your child with their lost articles. If items are not collected within 12 months of them being lost, they will be donated to charity.

In the afternoon of Wednesday 18 January, the School Immunisation Team will be in school delivering the flu inoculation to those students who missed the first session in December. If you would like your child to receive this but haven’t yet completed the consent form, you can do so here using code 136012.

Have a lovely weekend

Welcome to our first newsletter for the Spring term.

I want to start by wishing you all a Happy New Year and I hope you had a relaxing break. It has been a very positive start to the new term.

This week I have enjoyed delivering assemblies to year 8, 9 and 10. Linked to our Aprire and Achieve strap line and the word ASPIRE which focuses on our core values, the themes this time were on Ambition and Success. Other key messages were around our expectations in terms of attendance and attitude to learning.

Next week sees the start of the year 11 trial exams. Students in year 11 should all have received their timetables from their tutors. These exams are very important and are used to plan the support and interventions required leading up to the GCSEs in the summer. Monday morning starts with their Option A exams and in the afternoon it is the first of their English papers.

I appreciate that for some this will be a stressful week. There are a significant number of exams staff on hand to support students through this, as well as their tutors and Mrs King. Morning exams start at 9.00 am, students need to be lined up by 8.45 am. Punctuality to school is very important.

In their assembly today, protocols and expectations during exams were shared. This was a reminder of the things that are considered as malpractice if they occur by the examination boards. They must not have mobile phones or watches on them, only water in clear bottles without labels are allowed in the exam hall, pockets need to be empty and they must remain in silence throughout their exam from the time they walk in the door, to the time they leave. We have a duty to report malpractice in the summer exams, and we will, in order to ensure the integrity of our centre.

Year 9 students will soon be looking to choose their non compulsory GCSE subjects for Year 10. They will attend assemblies during the last three weeks of this half term detailing some of the subjects that will be available that have not been taught at Keystage 3. This is the first stage of the Keystage Pathways process and more information will be communicated to you before half-term.

As a reminder, we are now offering the opportunity for parents/carers to purchase second hand uniform from the school. If this is of interest to you, please use this link CC Uniform to a form where you can express your interest and a member of staff will contact you.

I would like to thank you for your continued support in encouraging your child to be on time for school, in smart school uniform and with equipment ready to learn. These basic expectations enable everyone to have a positive experience in school. It has been lovely welcoming students back this week.