Headteachers Letter – 16th October 2020

Dear parents and carers,

Thank you for your continued support and positivity as we head into Week 8 of a marathon half term!  You will be pleased to know that I have attempted to keep the information below relatively short!

It looks as though current restrictions on school operation are likely to be here to stay for some time, and whilst we are incredibly pleased with how well our bubble system has worked overall – we do think there are some further improvements that we can make to whole school standards and behaviour for learning. Now that we have routines in place, we want to maximise student progress and ensure that all year groups are well focused on important assessments which will take place before Christmas.  We are also going to be concentrating on some core standards throughout the school – including ensuring that students arrive in correct uniform and with the right equipment. Your support as parents in this area is both crucial and highly valued. A reminder that uniform details can be found HERE – and please do consult this document if shopping for uniform or shoes over half term.

 

Examinations 2021

Parents may be aware that there have been announcements this week regarding the summer examinations series.  The key headline is that the bulk of the examinations will take place later in the school year, with results days also pushed back accordingly. My personal view is that this is sensible and allows Year 11 and 13 students additional time to make up for missed learning during lockdown.

Most GCSE and A Level examinations will take place between the 7^th June and the 2^nd July 2021. Vocational qualification exams and deadlines are expected to be scheduled to align with these dates.

There will be one GCSE Maths and one GCSE English paper taken prior to May half term to ensure that even in the event of some students having to isolate or becoming unwell in June / July – they will have taken at least some examinations to standardise any teacher assessments which may be required.

Careful preparation and revision will of course be key, and we are already pleased with how our Year 11 and Year 13 cohorts have been working at the start of this academic year.

2021 Results days are later in the year, and we would ask that parents and students take careful note  – as VI Form and University admissions and decisions will take place within a fairly intense time period.

A Level Results Day: Tuesday 24^th August 2021

GCSE Results Day:  Friday 27^th August 2021

 

Year 11 Parents Evening

Thank you to Year 11 parents for booking slots on insight and we look forward to providing subject specific feedback on progress and targets. This is a completely new format for parent’s evening and is obviously fairly complicated logistically. However, we believe that it is vital that parents of year 11 students are able to have either phone or virtual contact with teachers. Any feedback on the format gratefully received as obviously this is an entirely new endeavour.

 

Forthcoming Dates

22^nd October – Year 11 parents evening

23^rd October – Last day of this half term

2^nd November – School reopens

19^th November – Sixth form open evening

Thank you to parents who have volunteered to learn more about the Governor role – we are looking forward to working with you on making our vision of excellence in education and concrete reality.

 

I hope that you enjoy a restful weekend and we look forward to finishing the half term strongly next week! If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us via email on Fitzhughj@wollaston-school.net

Yours sincerely,

Mr James Birkett

Headteacher