Head Of Year Welcome Back Letters
Year 7
January 2022
Dear Parent,
Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you a Happy New Year. I hope that you
had a restful Christmas break and I look forward to a busy and productive Spring Term. I
would also like to welcome back all of our Year 7 students and say well done on what was a
very successful first term in College.
It was a pleasure to see students wearing their uniforms so proudly and neatly last term; I
know that this can only be achieved with your support and your co-operation. Thank you. I
would like to see them maintain equally high standards this term. Could I also ask that you
ensure your child’s belongings have their name in them so that they can be identified if they
are sent to Pupil Reception. The uniform list can be found in the student planner. If your child
brings a mobile phone to College for use before or after school it is their responsibility to
ensure that it is switched off and out of sight during the school day.
There are a few dates for your diary this term:
Thursday 20 January – 1.35pm finish – Curriculum Planning Afternoon
Friday 18 February – Students finish for half term, returning on Monday 28 February
Wednesday 16 March – Year 7 Parents Evening
Monday 21 March – TED Day
Friday 8 April – Students finish for Easter
If you have any concerns please do not hesitate to contact tutors, subject teachers or myself
so that we can work together to support your children. I thank you for your continued
support, which is always very much appreciated.
Yours sincerely
Mrs L Jones
Head of Year 7
Year 8
January 2022
Dear Parent,
Happy New Year to everyone! I really hope everyone managed to have a restful break over Christmas. The first week back has been hugely successful for the Year 8 pupils for a variety of reasons; the lateral flow testing went smoothly, uniform on the whole is extremely smart, attitudes to learning have been very mature and pupils are refreshed and ready to learn, reflect and progress further. Thank you to all Year 8s for their mature return.
I look forward to a productive partnership with you during 2022 to ensure your child can achieve their highest potential. In order for your child to be successful in school they need support from both home and school. A strong partnership with you will make a great difference in your child’s education. Please could I therefore ask you to monitor your child’s effort with homework, which should either be written in their planner or on their google classrooms. Revision in the next few weeks will also be important in ensuring your child feels prepared for assessment week, which begins 24th January. This website may give you and your child suggestions of how to revise: https://lifemoreextraordinary.com/revision/how-to-revise-for-exams-in-years-7-8-and-9/
I would like to make you aware of the variety of extra curricular activities available to your child each week. Our website lists the ‘Extra curricular sports clubs’ under the student tab. Also available each week are- Dance club on Wednesday lunchtimes, Ukulele club on Wednesday lunchtimes, Chess club on Friday lunchtimes, Pokemon club on Wednesday lunchtimes, Japanese club on Friday lunchtimes, Art club on Wednesday lunchtimes and SVP club (a charity that helps local communities) on Thursday lunchtimes.
Could I also take this opportunity to ask parents of those pupils who travel to school by bus to have a conversation with your child about the school’s expectations for behaviour. Pupils should wear their masks throughout the whole journey, unless they are exempt from wearing masks, pupils should remain seated whilst the bus is in motion and behaviour should be mature. We have bus monitors on board who will feedback to teachers of anyone not adhering to those expectations and parents will be informed and sanctions put in place.
Finally, if your child has lost an item please ask them to go to pupil reception where there are many items that have been handed in. If you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact either your child’s tutor or you can contact me on npritchard@blessededward.co.uk.
Yours faithfully,
Mrs Pritchard
Head of Year 8
Dates for this half term:
Thursday 20th January :school finishes at 1.35pm.
24th January : Year 8 assessment week begins.
18th February : students finish school for Half Term.
Year 9
January 2022
Dear Parent/Guardian,
I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy New Year and I look forward to seeing our Year 9 students back in college after the Christmas holidays. Please do ensure that students are supplied with sanitiser and face masks as per the guidance sent out by Mr McClarey earlier this term. I would encourage students to carry a spare mask with them as well, in case of loss/breakage of masks.
As I’m sure that you are aware, Year 9 is a very important year, as options for GCSE are chosen during this Spring Term. Information on the pathway system is available on our college website and by following the link below:
https://www.blessededward.co.uk/students-1/careers-hub/year-9-pathways-2/
For further queries about individual option subjects at G.C.S.E., please contact the relevant Head of Department for that subject; their email addresses are available on the college MyEd App in the ‘Key Contacts’ section. Further information on how to apply for pathways will be made available in forthcoming weeks.
I would also ask that you continue to contact form tutors initially regarding queries or concerns about your son or daughter as they play a vital day to day role in the pastoral care of your child. As well as via email, you can also communicate with your child’s tutor using the student planner which should be checked and signed by both you and the tutor on a weekly basis. Year 9 Form Tutors and e mail addresses are as follows:
Mr Xia – 9 Ashley – cxia@blessededward.co.uk
Mrs Hodgetts – 9 Clitherow – beojh@blessededward.co.uk
Mr Coward – 9 Jones – pc@blessededward.co.uk
Mrs Taylor/Mrs McFarland – 9 Line – hpt2@blessededward.co.uk/ kmcfarland@blessededward.co.uk
Mrs Ford/Mrs Guppy – 9 Pritchard – sford@blessededward.co.uk/ sguppy@blessededward.co.uk
Mrs Thomas/Mrs Deane – 9 Sutton – kthomas@blessededward.co.uk/ kdeane@blessededward.co.uk
Mrs Sparey – 9 Wall – nsparey@blessededward.co.uk
It is always a pleasure to see students looking smart and enthusiastic for college. If you have any queries regarding uniform, the policy is on the parents section of the website. A quick reminder to ask that you ensure your child’s belongings have their name in them so that they can be identified if they are sent to Pupil Reception. Please also ensure that, if your child brings a mobile phone to college for use before or after school, it is their responsibility to ensure that it is switched off and out of sight on school grounds during the school day.
Just a few dates for your diary. February half term will start on Friday February 18th and students return on Monday February 28th. The Easter Break begins on Friday April 8th and Year 9 Parents Evening will take place on Tuesday 18th January with more details about this being forthcoming shortly. There is also a Curriculum Planning Afternoon Thursday 20th January so students will finish at 1.35pm on that day. Finally, the college will be closed to students on Monday 21st March due to a Teacher Education Day.
If your child is unable to attend College for any reason, please contact the office before College begins to inform your child’s Tutor of their absence on 01905 352245 or, again, please use the MyEd app. The college will also continue to run the Covid-related absence email covid@blessededward.co.uk.
Yours sincerely,
Mr K.Dobson
Head of Year 9
Year 10
January 2022
Dear Parents,
I hope this letter finds you and your family well and rested after a break at Christmas. As usual, Year 10s have returned to school in a positive frame of mind and seem to be responding well to the challenge of their year ahead.
As you will be aware, students were required to wear masks in corridors and other public areas before we broke up. This has now had to be extended to wearing masks in classrooms. Most students in Year 10 have come back well equipped with a mask and sanitiser each and I’d be grateful if you could continue to check that they have these every day. Students should continue to do lateral flow tests twice a week and you should inform us via the Covid e mail address, should they test positive.
You will see from the diary dates below that the students have assessment week coming up next week and they have had information in all subjects about what and how to revise. You can see more about this on the school website.
As we go further into the year, homework will continue to be important as a way to consolidate what students have covered in lessons and also to support the development of their independent study skills. Please continue to monitor the homework they have written in planners and to check on Google Classroom, where more detail is often given on the work set. Do contact your child’s tutor if they don’t seem to have much homework. If your child is absent but well enough to work – perhaps due to a Covid positive test but without symptoms – they must log onto Google Classroom for each subject as staff will be continuing to set work for them to keep up to date.
Important dates coming up:
W/b Monday 10th January: Year 10 Assessment Week
Thursday 20th January: Staff Curriculum Planning Afternoon – students finish early at 1.35pm.
Thursday 27th January: Blessed Edward Oldcorne Feast Day
Friday 18th February: Half Term
Thursday 3rd March: Year 10 Parents’ Evening
Friday 8th April: Easter Holiday
Yours faithfully,
Ms Pratty
Head of Year 10
Year 11
January 2022
Dear Parent
I hope you have enjoyed a restful Christmas and a peaceful new year. I want to thank your children for their patience during the recent COVID testing upon their return to College. I have been impressed with the many reports from my colleagues that Year 11 have returned with a very mature work ethic and outlook towards their studies. It should come as no surprise that as we move into the final six months that the focus remains firmly upon the GCSE examinations in the Summer term.
The key to exam success is persistent effort and preparation. Our expectation is that students should be carrying out 2 hours of revision every night (ideally split into 4 x 30 min sessions) across all of their GCSE subjects. Over the next few months and weeks, the Year 11 form tutors will be using guidance time to support your children with their revision and offering strategies that they can utilise. I would recommend that you and your child visit the Year 11 section of our school website where there is a plethora of information available. Our mantra as we head towards the examinations is for students to “win their own personal race”. They all have targets which they have the potential to exceed.
As parents, you can support their revision by asking your child to show you what they have done. Revision and preparation is best completed in a quiet room with little distraction, which means phones and tablets need to be out of sight. One of the most effective ways in which students can revise is to complete GCSE past papers or questions in timed conditions. These are freely available (with mark schemes) on the internet. Over the coming months, teaching staff may begin to offer after school revision and support sessions. Please encourage your child to take advantage of these when they become available.
The mental health and wellbeing of students can be placed under strain at this time in their studies as the pressures of GCSE examinations and coursework deadlines start to materialise. I would recommend that one of the best ways to handle the pressure is to get organised and establish effective routines and strategies. A mantra of “controlling the situation, rather than the situation controlling you” is one that has supported students in the past. A revision timetable is an excellent
way for students to prioritise, plan their time and maintain a sense of control over the next few months. Blank revision timetables can be accessed from our website and can also be obtained in school.
Over the next six months, there are a number of key dates for you to be aware of and these are listed below.
Monday 7 March (for 2 weeks) – Second Mock Exams in all subjects
Friday 13 May – GCSE Exams begin
Wednesday 22 June – Year 11 Prom at Stanbrook Abbey
Thursday 25 August – GCSE results day
As we approach the end of your child’s time at Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College, we are also working hard on producing the annual yearbook, planning the prom and sourcing leavers hoodies. Further details on how these can be bought will be sent in due course.
I want to thank you for your continued support. The next six months can be the most challenging, both for students and parents, so please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any queries or need any advice or support.
With best wishes,
Mr C M Taylor
Head of Year 11