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December 2019

S O U T H A M C O L L E G E

NEWSLETTERDear parents/carers,

Following an incredibly busy first term of Year 11 we would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Year 11 students for all of their efforts, and to look ahead to 2020. We have compiled this Year 11 Newsletter to inform you of some of the key events, messages and strategies for the new term ahead. We hope you find it useful and informative.

With best wishes for the Christmas break,

Mrs Browne and Miss Liney

Y E A R 1 1

GCSE RESULTS DAY AUGUST 2019

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November PPEs (Pre-Public Exams)

Congratulations to Year 11 students for a successful PPE period! We have been delighted to receive an abundance of positive feedback from invigilators about the conduct and efforts of Year 11 students in their PPEs. Students are now receiving their results in lessons, and we encourage them all to thoroughly read through and act upon their feedback in order to support their progress.

Public Exams January-February 2020

In the new year, some Year 11 students will sit public exams in BTEC and Cambridge National

qualifications. These take place at the following times and students have been provided a timetable:

Thursday 9th January – Enterprise and Marketing Cambridge National Examination (am)

Thursday 9th January – Engineering Cambridge National Examination (pm)

Friday 7th February – Health and Wellbeing (Health and Social Care) Examination (am)

Students must be punctual and fully equipped for these exams so they can get off to a smooth start. Good luck with your revision!

February PPEs

The next set of PPEs takes place between 24th February – 6th March 2020. PPE timetables will be published in advance on the Year 11 blog and students are also given a hard copy by tutors. Students have been encouraged to plan ahead for these exams, revising over the holidays and getting themselves organised with revision resources. Please note, there are practical PPEs for Drama and MfL speaking exams in the week commencing 20th January, which students should also prepare for.

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Attendance Matters

Department for Education statistics show that students with 100% attendance are 2.2 times more likely to achieve 5+ GCSEs at 9-5 including English and Maths than pupils with lower than 90% attendance. Every day and every lesson matters! We know parents try wherever possible to avoid medical appointments during the school day in order to avoid missed lesson time and a reduction in

school attendance. However we appreciate this is not always avoidable, therefore please try to book appointments using student social times, such as between 10.30-12.30 which will use break and lunchtime and therefore minimises lost lesson times. This can ensure that students are in school for the other 4 lessons and only missing part of one lesson, rather than losing morning or afternoon lessons.

Thank you for your on-going support with this.

Sixth Form Applications If you have not yet applied to Southam College Sixth Form, it is not too late to register your interest with Mr Bradbury or by speaking to Mrs Powell in the General Office.

Careers Advice If you have any questions or concerns about career paths or post-16 options, see Mr Hughes in careers. To arrange an interview, students can speak to their tutor who will contact Mr Hughes to arrange a suitable time. Appointments are also posted on the tutor bulletin.

Save the Date Some upcoming dates for your diary – more details to follow!

Thursday 9th January – Macbeth performance in the Hall

Thursday 9th January – Year 11 full reports will be issued by tutors (with PPE results included)

Friday 17th-Sunday 19th January – High Attainers Trip to Whitemoor Lakes

Monday 20th January – Poetry Live trip

Wednesday 4th March – Maths Strive for Five PiXL trip

Week commencing 9th March – PE PPEs

Monday 16th March and Tuesday 17th March – Drama exam

Wednesday 25th March – GCSE PE moderation

Thursday 26th March – Year 11 Intervention Evening

Thursday 26th March – Progress Reports issued

Thursday 2nd April – Careers Fair

Monday 11th May – Exam season begins

Wednesday 24th June – Exam contingency day (see ‘Public Exams’ section of this newsletter)

Saturday 4th July – Year 11 prom at Dunchurch Park Hotel

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After School Support

Throughout the year, after school sessions are provided by departments to give students a range of opportunities, from working on coursework to revising previously taught content. These sessions run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3.30 until 4.45. Late buses run on each of these nights.

Compulsory invites are sent out for a range of reasons, for example to catch up with coursework, or because students have been identified as being part of a target group for exam support. A compulsory invite does not necessarily indicate that students are falling behind. These sessions are run by staff as a positive and supportive measure and are in no way a punishment.

If a student is invited to a compulsory after school and they do not attend, they will receive a further after school with their Head of Year on a Thursday. This takes place in the Hall or Gym, and students will sit in silence with students from other year groups. We therefore encourage all students to take up the initial opportunity to work with subject specialists in a more relaxed environment. In the unlikely event that the subsequent Head of Year after school is also missed, students will be required to stay for a Headteacher’s detention on a Friday for two hours.

In order to monitor attendance at after school sessions, a register is taken at 3.30pm in the Gym. If a student is unable to attend a session, we ask that parents or carers contact Mrs Browne or Miss Liney by phone or email at the earliest opportunity.

ExamFest 2020

As we enter the new decade, we also enter into a really significant period for our Year 11 students – the build up to their exams! In order to support students, a range of activities,

revision sessions and supportive measures will be planned between January and June. We’re calling

this ExamFest 2020! We’ll begin with a programme of sessions run by Mr McChleery in the first week back in January which will focus on how to revise and how to get organised. Students will all attend these sessions and will receive a pack of resources to take away and use in their revision. Students will then be supported in lessons and in their homelearning to use these resources and strategies to get the best out of their revision. Look out for the ExamFest 2020 logo throughout the year!

Public Exams – May-June 2020

Students will be provided with a personalised timetable in the new year which will outline the dates and times of all of their summer exams. In addition to this, the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) has stipulated an exam contingency date of Wednesday 24th June 2020. This date will be used as a last resort for the rescheduling of an exam in the unlikely event of national disruption to the examination schedule. Although this is unlikely, JCQ state that if a student is unavailable to sit a rescheduled exam on this date, they will not be eligible for special consideration. We therefore encourage you to take this date into consideration when making plans for the summer.

Prom – July 2020

The Student Council are excited to have secured a date for the Year 11 Leavers’ Prom. This will take place on July 4th at Dunchurch Park Hotel. Further communication about the Leavers’ Prom and package will be sent to you in due course.

Prom 2019 A great celebration!