The Flagpole

It is time again for our prestigious Hildegard Awards to be presented to our pupils to celebrate academic endeavour and attainment. Pupils are nominated by their subject teachers for their effort and progress in the classroom.  St Hildegard was a 12th century Benedictine abbess who was regarded as a person of wide knowledge and learning. She left a huge legacy of writing, music, Christian works and was a true polymath. The pupils who receive these awards are congratulated for their endeavours and progress in this spirit.

This time pupils are being recognised for their achievements via home learning. Normally certificates would be given out in the classroom, but this we have arranged for all lucky recipients to receive their certificate by email. These emails will be sent out on Monday.

Good luck to all and congratulations to those pupils who receive their certificates.

Dr Liz Pyne
Assistant Head - Teaching and Learning

Pupils in Years 7 to 10 will have now had their meeting with their tutor/co-tutor to discuss academic and pastoral progress. These meetings are a vital part of our communication with parents and pupils to provide feedback and encouragement for the future.

Your child will have three targets or goals to consider. These targets will be reviewed with pupils again in September. The process of target setting is important for all our pupils to help them see how progress can be made in a step-by-step method, and that resilience and determination are key positive character traits.  What is also vital is that pupils review these targets at frequent intervals.

Thus, I would encourage all pupils to revisit these targets before the end of term to put in place any actions they need to complete over the summer. Many pupils can find visual images supportive to focus on their goals. Click here for an example of a mind-map which looks at life in and outside school. After these many weeks of home learning, it would be good for pupils to reflect on the next stage of development over the summer holidays. Importantly, such a mind-map would be good to share with tutors in September to show their achievements.

Dr Liz Pyne
Assistant Head - Teaching and Learning

The government has confirmed that exam results will be published on the following days:

• Thursday 13 August 2020 – A-level and AS results
• Thursday 20 August 2020 – GCSE and Latin L1 and L2 results

Please rest assured that we plan to be in school to support pupils in the usual ways – pastorally, academically and offering careers advice. We will release precise details of how the Results Days will work nearer the time when we know the current government guidelines but please make sure to protect the dates in your diary.

Dr Michael Reddish
Deputy Head - Academic