A Reminder to Parents That the New School Day Is As Follows

NEWSLETTER

September 2015

Dear Parents/Carers

Welcome back to you all after the summer holidays and a warm welcome to all our new Year 7 parents. I hope that you had an enjoyable summer. I would like to take this opportunity to update you on the latest developments here at Pittville.

Year 7

Our new Year 7 intake have settled in well to life at Pittville. Staff are delighted with how they are working in lessons and report that are they are a tremendously enthusiastic year group.

New School Day

A reminder to parents that the new school day is as follows:

08.30Students are expected to be in school

08.35 – 08.45Morning registration

08.45 – 09.45Lesson 1

09.45 – 10.45Lesson 2

10.45 – 11.05Break

11.05 – 12.05Lesson 3

12.05 – 13.05Lesson 4

13.05 – 13.35Years 7 and 8 lunchYears 9, 10 and 11 afternoon registration

13.35 – 14.05Years 9, 10 and 11 lunchYears 7 and 8 afternoon registration

14.05 – 14.10Movement time

14.10 – 15.10Lesson 5

A split lunch allows us to increase the time each half of the school has in the canteen from 25 minutes to 30 minutes. The extra time in registration will be given over to independent study where students can complete homework or coursework. Our student surveys repeatedly show that homework is one of the main causes of stress for teenagers so we hope to address this concern by adding time into the school day where students can work in a supportive environment with the help of their tutor. We have also removed PSCHE from tutor time and added it to lesson time so as to free up more time for independent study during tutor time. This term we will be monitoring the impact of these changes and are also planning a full review of the school day this academic year and lunchtime arrangements will form part of this review.

Year 7 Tutor Evening – 14th October 2015 4-6 pm

Year 7 parents will have the opportunity to meet with their child’s tutor and discuss how well they are settling in at Pittville.

New staff

We welcome Miss Sharma into Science, Miss Mills into English, Miss King and Miss Hubbard into Design Technology, Miss Biddles and Mr Smith into the Support Faculty and Mrs Schilder as a cover supervisor.

Open Week and Open Evening

Our Open Week begins on Monday 5th October 2015. Open Evening is between 6pm and 8pm on Wednesday 7th October 2015. We will finish school at 1.00 pm on Wednesday 7th October 2015 so as to give staff time to prepare for Open Evening.

Exam results

We are delighted that our results have improved on last year. Our best entry results show that 40% of students achieved A*-C with English and maths and 52 % of students achieved 5 A*-C. There were some terrific individual results and we are delighted for all our students who have worked so hard to achieve the results they need to go on to the next stage of their education. We saw a significant increase in our English language results and improvements in art, product design, catering and business studies. We are particularly pleased with our ‘Value Added‘ measure which is the highest it has ever been. 90% of students entered for further maths achieved an A*-C and in Year 10 83% of students who took GCSE statistics achieved an A*- B grade. This is another indication of the progress we are making as a school. We are also really delighted that the school has come out well with a positive showing on the new Progress 8 measure which is being brought in by the Government. These results reflect the hard work of both the students and their teachers who work so hard to support them. Many congratulations to all our students.

Attendance

We are no longer able to authorise any holiday taken during term unless the circumstances are exceptional. Please inform us promptly if your child is going to be absent. We ask that you telephone the school before 9am and inform us of the reason. A copy of our attendance policy is available on the school website.

Changes to the structure of the timetable

As you may have seen from your son/daughters’ timetable, some subjects at KS3 are now being taught in ‘X’ and ‘Y’ bands. This has allowed more subjects to group students appropriately according to their strengths in that subject. Both ‘X’ and ‘Y’ bands are made up of the full ability range of students and there is no hierarchy between them. Practical subjects will continue to be taught in mixed ability groups. Any questions please do not hesitate to contact the school.

Drayton Manor Rewards Trip

The annual Drayton Manor rewards trip will take place on Wednesday 30th September 2015 and letters will be sent home shortly. This trip is for students in years 8-11 who have had excellent attendance, outstanding behaviour and a positive attitude to learning. A huge thank you to the PTFA who have helped provide the funding towards this trip.

Yours sincerely

R Gilpin

Headteacher