Important Information for All Parents and Students
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL PARENTS AND STUDENTS
END OF TERM
All classes will close for the Christmas break at 12.15pm on Friday 19 December 2014.
SPRING TERM
Classes resume on Monday 5 January 2015.
MOCK ASSESSEMENT WEEK
The week commencing Monday 19th January will see all students having mock assessments in each of their subjects. All students have been issued with a leaflet called “Mocks Matter!” which contains more details about the week. The normal teaching timetable will be suspended for this week to allow students to concentrate on their mock assessments. Students will receive the mock assessment timetable after Christmas.
Students should check their examination details 24 hours before each assessment in case changes have been made to location, seat numbers etc. Wherever possible the mock assessments will mimic the real examinations and therefore the same external rules will apply.
The College reserves the right to charge for examination and registration fees if there is evidence of serious lack of preparation and revision or to withdraw a student’s place at College.
If a student is absent from an assessment, s/he will need to do it on their return, either later that week or in EXOP the following week.
Throughout the Mock Assessment week students will have access to study and refreshment facilities.
STUDENT ID AND MOBILE PHONES
It is essential that all students have their official College ID card with them at ALL times and failure to have it in an assessment could result in them being prevented from taking the assessment.
If a student needs a new ID they should report to the Cash Office to arrange for another one to be issued. The cost of a replacement ID card is currently £5.00.
Mobile phones and MP3 players are banned from all assessments and on no account should they be taken into an examination room.
If at all possible students should not bring mobile phones into College on the day of an assessment. If they do have to bring one in, it should either be left in Student Services or the Reception in the LRC and be clearly labelled at least 15 minutes before the assessment start time. It is important to note that taking a mobile phone into an assessment could result in results being declared void by the awarding body for everyone in the room, not just the person whose phone it is.
DON’T BE LATE
We all know that at times traffic congestion or bad weather can cause delays and it is your responsibility to make sure that you arrive in time for your assessments. That includes making sure you leave enough time to park the car if you drive to College and to leave your mobile phone in the LRC if you bring it into College. If you are delayed for any reason whatsoever please ensure that you get a message to Student Services (via the absence hotline on 01925 624450) and report to the examination room as soon as possible. On no account should you just not turn up. As long as the assessment has not ended, it is never too late to enter the examination room.
SEVERE WEATHER NOTIFICATIONS
It is vital that College has students’ current mobile phone number and email address. This is because important news concerning severe weather and possible College closures will be disseminated by text messages to mobile phones (it is also important for examination purposes). We will also use the College website to update the latest information Please check Student Quay to make sure that your contact details are correct and up-to-date. If they need amending, please inform Student Services as soon as possible (especially if you receive a new phone and mobile number for Christmas!).
COURSEWORK DEADLINES
Coursework forms a crucial part of assessment in many programmes and it is important that all students with deadlines either side of the Christmas break ensure that they do not fall behind at this critical time. Please ensure that you inform your Subject or Personal Tutor if you are having trouble meeting deadlines. This year additional workshops have been arranged in the Learning Resource Centre to help students organise coursework and to meet deadlines. So if you are struggling ask for help before it is too late to catch up!
ATTENDANCE MATTERS
We are continually striving to improve student attendance and we would like to congratulate the515students who had a 100% attendance in period one and the additional 763students who had attendance of over 95%.
You can regularly monitor your attendance rate on Student Quay and our target for 2014/15 is to have an overall attendance rate of over 94%.
During the Spring Term we will be announcing the winners of our prize draws for those who had excellent attendance in period two.
We know that a high level of attendance is step one of the key factors in helping you to achieve the very best of your time with us at Priestley but if you are off due to illness please notify us via the absence hotline on 01925 624450 or at If you know in advance that you will need to miss a lesson or College day for other reasons please ensure that you inform Student Services and your tutors in advance so that the correct mark is recorded in the register. You will also need to complete a Self Certification of Absence form on your return.
OPEN EVENINGS
Once again we had record numbers attending our October and November Open Events for September 2015 admission. I should like to thank all of those students who helped to make them such a success. A large number of visitors commented on how welcoming the College was, and how helpful and knowledgeable our students were. If you know someone in Year 11 who missed the event, please inform them that our next Open Evening is on Thursday 29 January starting at 5.30pm. There will be a talk by the Principal at 6.15pm. You can also get regular updates on College activities by logging on to our website at
JANUARY ADULT CLASSES
Details of our Spring Term Adult classes will be available soon. If you or a member of your family would like to reserve a copy of our Spring Term Adult leaflet please phone Staff Services on 01925 624455 or ask your son or daughter to pick up a copy from Priestley reception.
FEBRUARY REVIEW / CATCH UP DAYS
The student Spring Term Review and Catch up Days will take place on 9 and 10 February. Results from the Mock Assessment week will be discussed and external examination entries confirmed. Students will of course be reminded of this nearer the time.
TRAVEL PASSES
Bus passes for Warrington Transport and Halton Transport for next term can be purchased from the Cash Office up to Thursday 18 December. Warrington passes can also be purchased from the Bus Interchange on Friday 19 and over the Christmas break. They will then be available again from College from Monday 5 January 2015.
YOUR VIEWS COUNT!
We are very interested in parental/carer’s views and opinions and would be grateful if you could find the time to complete a short questionnaire online at
This can be anonymous but if you do complete the questionnaire by January 12th 2015 and tell us your son/daughter’s name you will be entered into a prize draw for £50 of high street vouchers.
You are also encouraged to comment on your experience of Priestley so far by completing a short questionnaire on the OFSTED website. You can complete the questionnaire and find out more information about it by clicking on this link
Inspectors will use the results during an inspection to identify issues to look at in more detail and to obtain evidence of parent satisfaction.
There is a page on our web site to update parents and carers of current news and events which also contains a link to both questionnaires. You can find it by clicking the Parent tab at the top of the Priestley home page. Please feel free to contact us with any suggestions as to any further information you would like to see on this page.
NEWS UPDATE
During a busy first half-term on campus, Priestley was regularly in the news. Some highlights included:
August 2014
Priestley College celebrated a decade of success as students secured a 100% pass rate in 38 subjects.
For the 10th year in succession there was a 99% pass rate across all subjects with 72% of A Level grades awarded at A* to C.Deputy Principal Matthew Grant said the success had been achieved despite changes that saw January modules replaced by an end-of-year final exam.
“We’re very proud of students who have been totally focused on securing their results and the tutors who have helped them to achieve their full potential,” he said.“For the College this has been another great year for A Level results and follows on from tremendous success in the BTECs.”
Among the students celebrating was former Birchwood High pupil Kirsty McCready who earned A*s in Biology, Chemistry, English Literature and her Extended Project.
September 2014
Three Priestley students visited Facebook’s London HQ and met industry experts during a trip to the city.
Elliot McKenzie, Dylan Waters and Elliot Grey made it through to the finals of the Apps for Good competition with their concept Sweg Messenger.During their time in London they were guided around Facebook’s office and saw its staff sleeping pods, sweet shop and talked to employees.They also visited the offices of Unruly, the leading global platform for social video marketing. The main purpose of their visit, though, was to present their idea for an app to the judges in a competition designed to celebrate the next generation of problem solvers and digital creators.
October 2014
A national bank challenged Priestley College students to demonstrate their “app-titude” for technology.
Barclays asked a team of BTEC IT students to come up with a solution to one scenario from a list of five.
The first years are now working on an idea for a fun and informative app to teach children more about money.
“This will be something that is really good to put on their CV and is a great opportunity to work on a brief set by a company like Barclays,” said Tutor Karen Morris.
November 2014
Priestley launched a drive to inspire young people in Warrington to achieve great things.A bus that carries its students from Helsby to Warrington has been wrapped with the faces of high achievers and inspirational characters.
Deputy Principal Matthew Grant said he hoped it would act as a constant reminder to its students and everyone in Warrington to aim high.“We are firm believers at Priestley that with hard work and a positive attitude anyone can reach their full potential,” he said.“The people we have chosen to appear on the Knowledge Express have inspired generations and we hope they will continue to do so in Warrington.”
Athlete Dame Sarah Storey – who has won 11 Paralympic gold medals – launched the bus with Ian Howard from Springfield who run the service. Her face represents the world of sport alongside greats from the worlds of science, technology, music, art and literature.
December 2014
Priestley’s swim team impressed in the national finals of the English Schools’ Swimming Association championships.
Priestley’s male medley team finished seventh in the competition.Head of Sport Nigel Howells said it was an incredible achievement for the swimmers who were competing in the London Olympic Park pool.
“It was a great experience for our students who were inspired to be in the Olympic pool,” he said.
“To finish seventh when we were competing against the country’s strongest swimming academies and other colleges is something to be very proud of.”Ten students represented Priestley at the Olympic Park with one female and two male teams competing against the top 20 performers in the country.
COMING SOON . . .
The start of 2015 promises to be as action packed as ever at Priestley.
MATTHEW GRANT will be taking over as College Principal on Jan 1st 2015 after being the College’s Deputy Principal for 12 years. GEORGE CONTOSwill be joining the College as Vice Principal in January. He was previously Assistant Principal at Salford City College.
BIOLOGY ,CHEMISTRY and PHYSICS students are taking part in the national Olympiad competitions in January; the ENGINEERING EDUCATION SCHEME students have their residential at Liverpool University to build and test their prototype and BIOLOGY students have the opportunity to investigate DNA on the Nowgen trip.
MEDIA and PERFORMING ARTS second year students will again be crossing the pondto take part ina Broadway Study Experience in New York, whilst first year MEDIA and DRAMA students will also be completing residentials in London and MUSIC and MUSIC TECHNOLOGYstudents are heading to Rockfield Recording Studios for a week's intensive production.
PUBLIC SERVICES and BUSINESS students will be visiting New York to look at the provision in the US andLAW students will be taking part in a Mooting competition with other providers.IT students will be presenting their pitch about a new app “Coincatcher” to Barclays Bank.
Second year students in HEALTH AND EDUCATION are visiting Prague to observe the care practices in children’s care homes and a rehab centre.
In ART AND DESIGN the Art Foundation students are visiting various venues throughout the Northwest and London. The second year Extended Diploma students are on a 3 day residential trip to London and are experiencing live assignment briefs for Barclays “Imagemaker magazine” and preparing work for exhibition in Warrington Museum.
ENGLISH students have a poetry writing residential in Scotland and a day planned at Media City in Salford.
Within Humanities many study visits are planned: GEOGRAPHY and GEOLOGY students will be visiting Sicily; PSYCHOLOGY to London; SOCIOLOGY to Lancaster Castle and HISTORY to the World War I battlefields. They are also looking forward to the next bumper edition of the Making History magazine and the introduction of AS & A level CLASSICAL CIVILISATIONS in September 2015.
PURCHASING ON AMAZON?
May we also take this opportunity to highlight the College’s Priestley Education and Training Trust (PETT) which raises money to help support current students and Priestley students that are now in Further and Higher Education. One easy way of contributing to PETT is, when purchasing items on Amazon, to use the link on the Priestley College home page of the web site and clicking the Amazon icon in the bottom right hand corner.
FINALLY...
I have been privileged to be Principal of Priestley College since 2002 and this Christmas I will be retiring. I am extremely proud of my team’s achievements over this period and equally proud of the wonderful young people who have achieved so much.
I should like to take this opportunity (for the last time!) to wish you all the very best for Christmas and the New Year.
Mike Southworth
Principal