Welcome to the penultimate newsletter for this academic year.

It has been a very busy – and warm – week at Carisbrooke.

On Monday we hosted the year 9 Federation Games. Carisbrooke won the overall trophy and much fun was had by all. Special mention to Mr Fleming’s tutor group who performed highly throughout.

On Tuesday and Wednesday we had the year 6 students, who will be our new year 7, spend two days with us for transition. The students had a ‘taster’ of what life is like at secondary school, taking part in lessons, break times, enjoying the canteen, catching the school bus…etc. It was a great couple of days. Thank you to Mrs Lythgoe and all the other staff involved in organising such fun and informative days for all.

On Thursday we had the virtual parents’ evening for year 7. Thank you to all the parents/carers who booked appointments, it was a very positive evening for all involved. These appointments are a great opportunity to discuss your child’s progress with their individual subject teachers.

Next week is another busy one with all years attending their celebration assemblies. We have students attending rewards trips to Splashdown in Poole, Thorpe Park and even our own Blackgang Chine.  Wednesday is sports day for years 8 and 9 and Friday is sports day for year 7.

Whilst the weather is so warm, please remind your child about the importance of sun screen and staying hydrated.  As our message on Wednesday stated, due to the heat, students are permitted to wear their PE kits to school.  Please remember that this is official Carisbrooke College PE kit only.

I hope you have a lovely weekend and manage to enjoy the sunshine.

Message from Matthew Parr-Burman, Executive Headteacher

The formal consultation period ends at 3.30 pm today. Thank you to all those who have provided feedback. We will update you further once the Governors have had time to look at the representations made. We are also in a period of due diligence which means there are many other avenues of questioning and conversations taking place to ensure that once we have all of the information collated, a full picture can be reviewed.

I had the pleasure of attending our year 11 Prom on Wednesday night. It was so nice to once again be able to hold this event. It was fantastic to be able to celebrate a very unusual five years for this amazing year group. They all looked stunning (and so very grown up!) and the array of vehicles (and a horse) used to get to the prom was brilliant. Thank you to Mrs Hookey, Mrs Lythoge and Mrs Edkins-Wherry for their hard work in making the Yacht Haven look so special. Feedback about them from the DJ and staff at the venue was very complimentary. It was lovely to have so many staff support the evening. 

Thursday year 7 students, and today, year 8 students, from both Medina and Carisbrooke College have taken part in The Federation games based at Medina College. The year 9 students will welcome Medina year 9 to Carisbrooke for a similar day on Monday. Thank you to the staff who have made this event happen. Talking to year 7 this morning, feedback was that they had really enjoyed their day.

On Wednesday I accompanied year 7 on a geography field trip to Sandown and Yaverland beaches. Well done to Mrs Harvey and Mr Westby on running it and taking the whole year group out! Year 7 did not let us down – they engaged well and were a pleasure to spend time with. It was a great opportunity for them to see the curriculum in real life and be able to associate it with the Isle of Wight

It is the year 7 Parents’ Evening on Thursday 14 July. Information has been shared with parents/carers this week and there is still time to book virtual appointments. It is an opportunity to discuss how your child has settled in and been progressing in each of their subjects this year. 

Next Thursday and Friday is work shadowing for year 10 – hopefully most are making the most of this valuable opportunity.

We are looking to welcome our new year 7 next week for transition days. On Tuesday 12 and Wednesday 13 July. 

Congratulations to our top achievement point winners for last week – Year 7 Kyle, Year 8 Louis (second week running!), Year 9 Charlie and Year 10 Benjamin

Message from the Executive Headteacher, Matthew Parr-Burman

As a reminder, the consultation process is open until next Friday 15 July. An update from our Governors about questions regarding Governance and a little more detail about the process so far will be shared early next week. The consultation information can be found on our website here. 

Have a lovely weekend, the weather is looking like it might be warm!

We have had a busy week this week at Carisbrooke. On Wednesday we had a monitoring visit by the Hampshire Inspection and Advisory Service (HIAS). They visited many lessons and chatted to staff and students. We will receive a written report over the next few weeks but in our initial feedback from them we are very much continuing in the right direction as a school.

Last night we held our transition evening for our Year 6 into 7 students. It was very well attended and gave the students and parents the opportunity to hear brief details about what they can look forward to on their Transition days and at the start of term in September. I was so proud of our 5 current year 7s who spoke and performed – they were an absolute credit to us. Ella, Maddie, Annalise, Evie and Rebecca. Transition Days are Tuesday 12 and Wednesday 13 July.

There is a lot happening next week. I am really looking forward to the Year 11 Prom next Wednesday at Cowes Yacht Haven. We have the return of our Federation Games. This is a great event and epitomises the Federation at its best. The sporting activities see Medina College and Carisbrooke College come together for round robin tournaments, followed by ‘finals’ in the afternoon. As we have been unable to run this for the last couple of years, we are giving Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9 a separate day each to enjoy this great opportunity, as usually this is a Year 7 only event.

It is the Year 7 Parents’ Evening on Thursday 14 July. Information has been shared with parents/carers this week. Please take this opportunity to book virtual appointments and discuss how your child has settled in and been progressing in each of their subjects this year.

Next Thursday 7 July our Year 9 students Final of Young Enterprise Challenge Birmingham NEC. We wish them luck and look forward to the results.

As part of our PSHE programme on Tuesday 5 July, we have organised a road safety workshop for years 7 and 8. The workshop focuses on key road safety messages including: distractions such as phones and music, identifying and coping with peer pressure and personal responsibility and behaviour.

Feedback about Year 10s behaviour and attitude to the mock exams has been exceptional. They have really taken it seriously and settled into the routines and expectations seamlessly. The results of these will inform staff of the next steps required for each of them individually as they enter Year 11.

Please remember that we will be holding a consultation meeting for parents/carers next Monday 4 July starting at 6.00 pm in the Hall. There will be a brief presentation if you wish to attend. There will be staff available to also either answer questions or make notes of questions which we can feedback to.

Congratulations to our top achievement point winners for last week – Year 7 Rhyanna, Year 8 Louis, Year 9 Malika and Year 10 Darcy and Lennon. 

Have a lovely weekend. 

Wednesday night we held the Carisbrooke College awards evening at Medina Theatre for this academic year. It was so nice to once more be able to hold this very special event. This is one of the highlights of our calendared events as it is when we recognise individual students for their contributions to lessons and other wider curricular opportunities. There were over 70 deserving recipients across the year groups. We could have presented double, if not triple the number of awards – I know there have been numerous discussions in department areas on who the recipients should be. I would like to congratulate all our award winners – You should be very proud that you have been recognised by your teachers for your hard work and excellent attitude. Well done to all our students who participated in the musical performances during the evening. You were all amazing. I would also like to thank the fantastic staff that have helped develop these young people.

You may have noticed that we have a large stone just inside the gates. It will be turned into an incredible sculpture to form the legacy piece of our Biosphere Project. Both students and staff across the Federation will have the opportunity to make their mark on this sculpture, working closely with our Artist in Residence to capture elements of the beautiful biosphere reserve in which we all live.

Students from both Carisbrooke and Medina College are attending a floral workshop at the Independent Arts Hub where they will be making centrepieces for the tables at the Royal County Show. They will be using pressed flowers, foraged from our local Biosphere to tie in with our current project relating to the local environment.

Well done to all our students that performed at the festival last weekend. You are a very talented group of young people and I look forward to more of your performances.

Year 11 sat their final exam on Thursday this week. They should have received an invitation to the Year 11 into 12 Pre-Enrolment on Monday 27 June 10.30 am to 12.30 pm. We are very much looking forward to seeing them at their prom.

Year 10 start their mock exams next week. This is an opportunity for them to get a feel of how their GCSEs will run next summer. Morning exams start at 9.00 am. Students are expected to be in the student entrance by 8.45 am. Afternoon exams will start at 1.00 pm. They will have an early lunch on days when they have exams in the afternoon. Again they will be expected to be in the student entrance at 12.45 pm to make sure they are ready to enter the exam hall for a prompt start. They had an assembly yesterday setting out our expectations and we ask that you reinforce the importance of not having a phone or watch on them in an exam. Phones must be turned off, even if it is in their bags and all alarms disabled on both phones and watches.

Have a lovely weekend

Message from Matthew Parr-Burman, Executive Headteacher, Isle of Wight Education Federation

I delivered assemblies to all students this week about the consultation that we have open. They listened maturely and in some cases asked some very considered questions – I am very proud of them. Please remember, if you have a comment that you would like to contribute regarding the consultation , please do complete the form which can be found here. This can be a concern but can also be a message of positive support, both are important to know. If you have questions or would like to discuss your concerns then please email, anna.mursell@iwef.org.uk who can arrange a phone call with me. This may then help inform a representation you may wish to make.