Year 11 Welcome Back Letter

10th January 2023

Dear Parents,

I hope you’ve had a good break over the Christmas period and that you and your family have managed to avoid the various viruses that have been circulating so much lately. 

As you will be aware, we are now only five months away from the beginning of the main exam period for the GCSEs and Year 11 students now need to be stepping up their preparation for the exams. With that in mind, I’d like to draw your attention to the dates below, which include another information evening on how you can support your child to achieve their best. This follows up on the previous, very successful, evening held at the start of the year. If they are not already doing so, students should be completing at least two hours of revision a night. Should they wish to include practice exam papers as part of that process, there are many resources available on the school website and staff often include extra questions on their Google Classroom pages. Some parents have been in touch to ask about the dates for the main GCSEs: students have already started to take final exams in some Creative Arts subjects such as Fine Art and Graphics, but the main written exam period begins on Monday 15th May and our last exam is Wednesday 21st June. Having said that, students do need to be available to do exams up to and including 28th June – in case of unexpected situations where exams have to be moved. (The full timetable is on the website in the student section.) Please also be aware that students will be sitting practical and oral exams in some subjects before these dates so it is best not to plan to take your child out of school for any reason from now until the end of June. 

Other Dates for your diary:

  • Wednesday 11th January – Staff Curriculum planning afternoon – students leave at 1.35pm.
  • Wednesday 1st March – Year 11 Exam Preparation Evening.
  • Monday 6th March – Year 11 Second mock exams begin.
  • Thursday 23rd March – Staff Curriculum planning afternoon – students leave at 1.35pm

On a more fun note, the date for the Year 11 Prom has been finalised and it will take place on Wednesday 12th July at Stanbrook Abbey, Callow End. Also in order to mark the end of their time with us, we will also be offering students the opportunity to purchase Leavers’ hoodies and copies of their Yearbook. Further information will be sent out about all of these shortly.

Yours faithfully,

Ms Pratty

Head of Year 11