Welcome back to all our students in Year 8 to 11 and an especially warm welcome to all our Year 7 students who are settling in so well.
A new academic year gives everyone a chance to ‘re-set’. We want every child to succeed, to achieve their enormous individual potential, and to have the grades, knowledge, skills and values to lead meaningful, successful and rewarding lives, wherever their journey leads.
Artificial Intelligence will transform the lives that our children will have, particularly in employment opportunities. The global AI revolution will not owe anyone a living; I am convinced that education will matter more than ever. We want to ensure that no child has their life chances affected by the distracting behaviour of others. We have therefore introduced a number of changes to our behaviour policy which students have been informed about in a series of assemblies last term and this term.
Our mantra is that, ‘Every child deserves disruption-free learning every minute of every lesson’. I am pleased to say that in the first two weeks, we have seen the vast majority of students supporting this imperative; only a very few have had to leave their timetabled lesson to continue their learning in the Student Support Room.
In imposing consequences for poor behaviour, we know that the certainty of a consequence being completed is more important than its severity. We have therefore reviewed our approach to detentions: detentions are now shorter, but where a student does not attend a detention, they will spend the next day’s period 1, 2 and break in the Student Support Room; this will ‘clear’ the missed detention. We are already seeing fewer instances of ‘low level disruption’ as a result of our new approach; students have been awarded 17,691 positive points already this term. Compare this to only 315 demerits! Well done on a great start to the term.
Communication
You can follow all the highs (points) and lows (demerits) via epraise, either on the app or via an internet browser. More information can be found here. A daily check of epraise is essential for both parents and students, both to celebrate the successes and to help our children to reflect on where things need to improve. When, following two warnings, it is necessary to send a student to the Student Support Room in order to protect the learning of others in the class, staff will record this incident on epraise. You will receive an automated epraise notification. Unless the incident is especially serious or is a recurring concern, teachers will not be contacting you separately. You will also be informed of detentions by epraise notification.
In order to protect staff from answering unreasonable numbers of telephone calls and emails, please respect the professionalism and judgement of my colleagues in making these decisions.
Click here to see what's on next week:
Monday 16 September
Nothing advised
Tuesday 17 September
Nothing advised
Wednesday 18 September
Nothing advised
Thursday 19 September
Science Department - Year 8 Amsterdam Trip departs at 4.00am. Returns on Monday 23 September
Friday 20 September
Nothing advised
INSET Days for 2024/25
Wednesday 9 October 2024
Thursday 24 October 2024
Friday 25 October 2024
Monday 24 February 2025
Thursday 3 July 2025
Every effort is made to ensure these dates are accurate. There are occasions when circumstances beyond our control may result in changes.
Does your child play sport at a high level outside of school?
The PE faculty would like to find out about any students that are competing in a sport at a high level outside of school. The aim is for us to look at how we can support them in school and celebrate their achievements.
If your child is competing at County, National or International level in any sport, we would be grateful if you could complete the quick survey below. Thank you!
We would like to remind you that music tuition fees for the Autumn Term 2024 are now due. Please could you check your Scopay account to check the amount and make your payment.
Fees for the Autumn term are £98.00, with the exception of piano tuition which is £120.00 (if your child is eligible for Pupil Premium, please be aware that Pupil Premium discounts have been applied to your account).
Congratulations to all the students who sat a LAMDA exam this year.
Year 9 - Grade 5
Megan S 9LHK/EBT
Chloe M 9PSN
Elodie P 9SDN/SWT
Thomas A 9BCY
Lucy W 9DDY
Sampson B 9DDY
Becca N 9DDY
Evangeline C-E 9SDN/SWT
Seva P 9PSN
Evie-Rose C 9RLR/HMS
Tyrese A 9SDN/SWT
Amber S 9DDY
Anabelle B 9TLS
Ellen S 9TLS
Year 10 - Grade 6 (Bronze Award - GCSE Equivalent)
Harry S 10LJS
Bea E 10RMN
Catherine P 10RGY/SNN
Eddie S 10JFR
James L 10LJS
Poppy L-M 10VGN
Rose G 10JBY
Isabella S 10JFR
Year 11 - Grade 7 (Silver Award)
Freya W 11AOR
Jade L 11KRL/KMN
Saraniya P 11TRN
Ella M 11JLR/MSD
Year 11 (2023-24) Grade 8 Gold Medal and all achieving the top mark of Distinction.
Mia A 11NKN
Emily T 11RCS
Grace C 11RLR/SOE
Business Department
Business Stars
Louie P 10VGN
George J 10JFR
Robert T 10LJS
Lily-May O 10JFR
Darcie M 11AOR
Morgan B 11AWE/RAR
Music Department
Percussion Academy Drum Kit Exams
Isaac T 11JLR/MSD Grade 4 with Distinction
Toby P 11BHT/CFT Grade 4 with Merit
Joel T 10RMN Grade 4 with Distinction
Matthew B 10COY Grade 4 with Distinction
Click the drop-down menus below to find out more about different careers opportunities coming up for our students.
Careers Fair Competition Winners
We would like to thank all students, parents and carers who attended our annual Careers Fair on Wednesday evening. Feedback from the colleges, training providers and employers has been very positive; students asked excellent questions and showed great engagement during the evening. The three winners of the competition are: Zunayrah (10IHS), Mairead (10JBY) and Priyana (10LJS).
Accordion Title
Applications are now open and will close on 12 February 2025. As well as fee-paying Sixth Form places, the school also offers a range of scholarships and bursaries.
LMI provides the knowledge and understanding of how the labour market functions and is crucial for making sense of changing economic circumstances. Students are introduced to Labour Market Information from Year 7 during their Careers education lessons to help them get a sense of the fast-paced changes in the world of work. Please click here to view some recent information pertinent to Hampshire.
College Open Events
Both Year 10 and Year 11 are encouraged to attend the various upcoming college open events to either start the conversation about post-16 options or confirm that students are still happy with their potential choice. Please note that you need to book a place online via the colleges’ websites if you intend to attend.
19 September: Richard Taunton College
25 & 26 September: Barton Peveril College
25 September: Brockenhurst College
1 & 2 October: Peter Symonds College
4 October: King Edward VI School
5 October: Sparsholt College
9 October: Bitterne Park Sixth Form
RSHE (Relationships, Sex, & Health Education) is taught by Tutors to their Tutor Group once a week. Tutors deliver discussion-based lessons which allow our students to explore a range of topics to effectively prepare our young people for success in the modern world with the knowledge, understanding and desire to keep themselves safe, happy, healthy, respectful and tolerant. Our aim is to empower them with the resilience and confidence to make a difference to their own and others’ future.
Year 7
This half-term, Year 7 will be looking at how to deal with starting secondary school, dealing with change and how to develop more self-confidence. They will also explore how friendships form, may change and develop as well as how communication is a valuable tool to manage friendships. Year 7 will then look at how to show empathy, compassion and care.
Year 8
Year 8 will be starting with identifying their personal strengths and achievements. They will then explore personal safety and move on to looking at the meaning of discrimination and prejudice and what protective characteristics are. After this, they will learn about Black History month and gender identity before discussing attitudes towards mental health.
Year 9
Year 9 will be looking at what a healthy relationship is and how to recognise the features of them. They will explore the meaning of commitment within a range of different relationships and the meaning of consent. Once they understand the meaning of consent they will consider the types of freedom and capacity to consent before moving on to exploring families, marriage and changes within relationships and families.
Year 10
Year 10 will be discussing the values required to secure positive relationships and what choices each individual has within their relationships. This includes intimate and platonic relationships, in-person and online. Negative behaviours such as pressure and coercion is then covered to build on the consent lessons delivered in Year 9. Victim blaming and positive role models are then explored.
Year 11
Year 11 will be exploring stereotypes and individual identities, including gender. They will consider their own ambitions and aspirations before hearing from some colleges in readiness for their post-16 applications. They will then recap the need for good sleep hygiene and how to deal with different emotions ahead, in the context of the exam year ahead.
Should your child wish to seek support related to any of these topics or about anything else that is worrying them, please advise them to speak to their form tutor in the first instance or request some support from our Student Support Team by completing the Student Support form on the student area of the school website.
We have our reporting system 'TootToot', where students can report anonymously or with their name.
Join the Personal Best's fitness suite today from just £14.95 per month and benefit from a 10% discount off our fitness classes and personal training sessions! Start your journey to a healthier you.
For further information and to sign up, click the button below.
Music Tuition 2024/25 - Autumn Term
James F 7VTE
Sofia I 7EHK
Blake S 7TDN
Oscar B 7EHK
Emmie R 7TDN
Louie P 10VGN
