Year 10 Update - Spring 2
Despite this half term being a relatively short term, it has been extremely eventful nonetheless. Firstly, I’d like to welcome the new students that have recently joined the Year 10 group – I hope you have enjoyed a pleasant and enjoyable start to school life at North Leamington School. It was also great to see so many pupils, parents and carers at the Year 10 Subject Evening at the end of February. I do hope you received some valuable feedback about how your child is progressing.
In addition to the controlled assessments and coursework currently being undertaken in a range of GCSE subjects, students have also have opportunities to experience broader themes relating to personal development and wider opportunities.
As part of our PSHE programme and the current topics of online safety and healthy relationships, Year 10 saw a Loudmouth Theatre production this half term called ‘Working for Marcus’ by Loudmouth Theatre productions. The programme uses drama, followed by discussion workshops to help students spot the signs of unhealthy relationships, and grooming, and to raise empathy for victims and see the impact of child exploitation.
Monday 6 March saw all Year 10 students take part in an Army Careers event. Students gained an insight into life in the Army with representatives from the Infantry Battalion, Royal Engineers, Grenadier Guards and the Military Police.
There were different interactive resources for students to engage with, as well mini lectures on the different pathways within the Army and the great variety of career opportunities it has to offer.
The excitement on the day was evident with student finding out about roles/careers that they hadn’t known existed, and over half the students saying that they would now consider a role in the army.
During the planned teacher strike days, every effort was made to not disrupt the learning and progress of Year 10 students. I was very pleased to see how well students conducted themselves during these days when they were invited into school. Students who attended the 2-hour RE intervention, and those completing controlled assessments and coursework with their class teachers did so with an outstanding attitude and will have undoubtedly make excellent progress.
As always, we concluded the Spring term with a couple of Rewards and Celebration events. The top 50 students with the most Rewards points within the year group were invited to a Rewards Celebration Event where pupils were treated to pizza in the lecture theatre.
In our end of term Celebration Assembly on the final day of term, a number of Year 10 students received certificates to acknowledge their achievements and successes from the Spring Term between Data 1 (November 2022) and Data 2 (March 2023), based on pupils’ efforts and for those who had made the most progress during this period.
Certificates were awarded across three categories to the top 2 students in each college:
- Achievement (progress against own targets)
- Attainment (highest average points scored)
- Most Reward Points
The tables below show which students received which certificates. All recipients should be extremely proud of their excellent efforts and high levels of engagement across this past term!
The focus of this half term in our Tutor Time Curriculum has been Revision Strategies aimed at helping students understand how the brain works when attempting to remember and recall information. Sessions are based upon research based concepts, and included techniques such as Interleaving, Cognitive Load Theory, Chunking, and use of Flashcards. The hope is that this gives students a better understanding of the importance of revision, and feel confident in their revision strategies when preparing for assessments within their GCSE subjects, particularly with the upcoming RE, Spanish and Music exams.
Also during this half term after receiving their Data 2, students were provided with the opportunity to reflect and complete a ‘Self-Reflection Review’ (formerly known as Learning Conversation); a process in which students analyse their own data and progress from their subjects and set themselves challenging yet achievable goals for the next term. Students have focused on one pastoral target and two subject specific targets and have been able to discuss this with teachers and should now have some SMART actions in order to help them to make progress at school.
Finally, during Digital Literacy week in March, students were provided with top tips when using internet search engines, for example using the ‘Advanced Search’ function, as well as ‘Mindful Practice’, which refers to being aware and intentional about how we engage with technology. Students were encouraged to develop their ‘mindful’ technology practice by setting clear intentions, minimising distractions, maintaining good posture, tracking screen time and taking regular breaks.
GCSE RE Exam Dates
- Mnday 15th May 2023 – Cmponent 1 Themes (2 hour)
- Tuesday 23rd May 2023 – Cmponent 2 – Christianity (1 hour)
- Tuesday 6th June 2023 – Cmponent 3 – Islam (1 hour)
RE Revision Timetable:
Kooth are delivering a free webinar on Exam Stress on Tuesday 25 April 2023, at 1:45pm. The session will last 30 minutes, and will focus on:
- Recognising the signs and symptoms of stress.
- Exploring helpful and unhelpful ways of coping with stress during exam periods.
With the RE Summer Exams approaching, if you feel your child would benefit from attending this webinar on Exam Stress, please ask them to complete the form set on Go4Schools by Friday 14th April 2023.
Your child will be contacted by Mr. Butler with further details prior to this event.
The second round of College sports saw each of the 5 Colleges compete in a Dodgeball tournament. To encourage greater participation, teamwork and communication, students from Year 9 and Year 10 combined to create a competitive dodgeball team. Year 10 Sports Leaders were outstanding in assembling teams, as well as officiating matches on the competition day.
The final results are as follows
Year 10 have been busy finding their work experience placements. It’s been great hearing about the range of businesses that they are going to be attending including Solicitors, University, Dermatological practices, Riding Stables, Electricians, Car Mechanics. It’s important to remember that the placement is to allow students to have an opportunity to experience the world of work and may well not be the end professions that they want to move on to.
The next phase is for students to check their Go 4 Schools account for the information on how to upload their placement details onto the Grofar Careers Platform so that we have all the information we need to authorise the placement.For those that have yet to get their placement Easter is a great time to invest some time contacting businesses before placements are filled by other schools.
As we complete the second term of the year, I want to acknowledge and applaud all of the students who continue to sustain their motivation, commitment and determination to their schoolwork. The hard work that has already been put in and is continuing to be put in now will certainly stand students in good stead: they will undoubtedly be rewarded for this consistency as they progress through their GCSE subjects. Finally, I’d like to thank all parents and carers for their continued support over the past few weeks - I wish you all a very happy Easter break!
Mr. Butler