March 1st 2024  

Dear Parents and students

 

Students have worked very hard this week and have earned 3046 Excellent Effort Points along the way. We are proud of them all and particularly of the way Years 11 and 13 are setting about their revision.

 

Last week, our Sixth Form A level French students travelled on a residential trip to Dunkerque with Ms Preston for a few days’ immersion in French culture and language, whilst Alice in Year 12 came 2nd in the South East Regional Final of the ARTiculate speaking competition at the Quarterhouse in Folkestone. Elsewhere, Mr Coles accompanied students with a parent serving in our Armed Forces to Folkestone to Dover Castle and for a meal at Nando’s. This week has been no less busy with Sixth Form Music students attending a university workshop in Canterbury and Sixth Form History students visiting the Tower of London. Younger students participated in the Gladiators multi sports festival at 3 Hills and our Basketball teams have played a number of fixtures across the area, whilst Year 7 Maths students attended a Logistics Day at Dover Castle and 20 Year 10 students participated in a Mindset Workshop and lunch.

 

This week impressive numbers of Years 11 and 13 students attended After School Study Sessions last week: - some students have attended more than 70 of these since the beginning of the academic year. Please do encourage your daughter or son to attend these: - the support they receive will be invaluable.

Year 11 Letter After School Study Sessions Also, please see Year 11 Weekly Revision Tips

 

Year 13 Letter After School Study Sessions

 

We continue to emphasise the importance of 98%+ attendance together with punctuality to school in the morning and to lessons. Please do check your daughter or son is not receiving late marks to lessons during the day and speak to them if they are. Self-organisation is important too: students really need to bring the correct equipment to school, so they, their teachers and peers can make a brisk start to each lesson.  Equipment List.

 

Again, this term we will be encouraging all students to submit their personal best class and homework assignments, and we will of course aim to acknowledge these efforts via Excellent Effort Points and commendations, wherever we can.

 

We would also like to remind parents and students that mobile phones should be turned off and in the bottoms of bags during Tutor time and lessons. Where students do not comply with these requirements a mobile phone may be confiscated and then only returned to parents. Students must not use mobile phones before break or lunch when use will be permitted. Teachers need to be able to teach and students to learn without distraction from mobile phones in the classroom. Mobile phones must remain in students’ bags when moving between lessons. Students must also not wear or carry headphones or ear pods in school at any time. The arrangements above represent no change to our previous practices or policies. Gov.uk issued 4 possible versions of Guidance in respect of mobile phones last Monday morning: each of these is stricter than our current arrangements in school. Mobile phones in schools I will advise you of any change to our approach, but please be assured any change would take account of the school’s location and the reassurance a child having a mobile phone provides to parents. I prefer we teach and guide young people to use technology appropriately and at appropriate times than ban it.

 

Have a lovely weekend.

Yours sincerely,

 

Charles Joseph                                                                                                                                                        

Principal