We are now at the end of our first half term and I would like to say a big thank you for all your support over the last 7 weeks. I have thoroughly enjoyed taking on the role of Head of School and I am very impressed with the young people within our community; the eagerness to learn, the respect, the politeness and the ambition I see on a daily basis is a pleasure to be a part of. 

We have had our final Hot Chocolate Friday of the half term, so well done to Samson, Imogen, Nicholas,  Ellenie, Jake, Erin, Freddie, Ruby, Aiden and Logan. We also continue to have many sporting fixtures occur alongside an excellent variety of clubs that students can be a part of. In terms of extra curricular, some of our students are currently in Vietnam and from the reports we are receiving are having an absolutely amazing and enriching experience. 

Many thanks to parents who are supporting keeping students safe at the beginning and end of the day by parking sensibly. Can I just take this opportunity to remind parents that we only have a staff presence outside the main car park in front of the school. It is therefore important that students cross roads safely, using road crossings that are available and conduct themselves in an orderly manner back home.

After half term we will quite quickly have mock exams for Year 11 students, so please ensure they are using some of their half term holiday to revise and access any revision sessions that they may find useful. These have been shared on arbor and will be on social media for you to access. 

Finally, can I wish you all a safe two weeks and I look forward to welcoming students back to school on Monday 6 November.

Mr Pearce-Jones
Head of School – Medina College 

Today is Friday 13, so I hope today has not brought you any bad luck! We are now approaching our last week of this half term so, with that in mind, it is important students utilise every moment of learning. For our Year 11 students in particular, it is important that they have equipped themselves with everything they need to carry out effective revision over half term, ready for their mock exams in November.

As always, we like to celebrate student success loudly and proudly whether this is in school or outside of it. Many congratulations to Megan M in Year 7 who is now South Regional Floor Champion in Gymnastics and has been invited to train with the Hampshire squad. In terms of school sporting fixtures well done to Year 7 boys who won both games against CTK and Carisbrooke. Well done also to the Year 8 and 10 boys who put up a strong game against CTK and the Bay.

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned parking at the beginning and end of the day. Can I please reiterate that there should be no parking on double yellow lines as this stops our buses entering and exiting the bus loop. It also causes a safety hazard for students as they exit the school grounds. We have now contacted the traffic warden to assist with this safety issue.

Our Hot Chocolate Friday winners this week were Carter T, Jaiden D, Alice H, Ralph H, Lacey-May T, Indy M, Jake G, Brooke W, Toby M and Leo H. Well done all of you; it was a pleasure to celebrate your successes and hear your opinions this morning.

Finally, I would like to wish those students who are travelling to Vietnam on Monday morning a very safe journey and an enjoyable trip. This is a Federative trip with Carisbrooke College and The Island VI Form. Please keep an eye on our social media channels for updates from them!

Mr Pearce-Jones

Head of School – Medina College 

This week was World Teachers’ Day and I would like to publicly thank all the staff in our community who work very hard to bring about the best for the students within our care. I would also like to thank you all for your ongoing support as we work as a team to be ambitious for our young people. Without such strong parental support it is difficult to build a strong foundation of aspiration.

We have had another busy week with a Year 11 geography field trip and a careers evening for Year 11 as well, both of which were very successful. We have had lots of sporting fixtures and, although our students may not have experienced the success of winning this week, they have shown exceptional pride in our community and in representing Medina College so well.

It has been a pleasure to host our second Hot Chocolate Friday, well done to Rebecca W, Georgia W, Charlie J, Jack H, Gracie-May C, Zack W, Aston H, Jim W and Ruby H.

Next week we have Year 7 tutor evening on Wednesday 11 October between 4-7pm, we look forward to welcoming our new parents into the community.

On the whole, uniform has been very good, but can we remember that hoodies are not allowed in school, shoes should be black and skirts, if worn, should be knee length please. Well done for so many of our students who get this right on a daily basis, you are excellent ambassadors for our college.

You will have received a letter today about the parent governor vacancy that we are currently looking to fill. Please see our website for more details of this.

I would like to finish off by talking about the language students use. Please could discussions be had about the power of words, “your words carry amazing power. So when you speak make sure you uplift someone and never put them down.” It is never acceptable to put some down because of their race, their sexuality, their gender and their disability to name a few. So many of our students have a clear sense of equality when it comes to this and it is upsetting when a few students don’t recognise the harm that it can cause by highlighting negativity in differences rather than celebrating them.

Thank you again for your ongoing support and have a lovely weekend.

Mr Pearce-Jones
Head of School – Medina College