Thought for the Week

All Year 13 students are in the middle of their mock exams and it is inspiring to see so many of them working independently or as small groups revising and working through past papers. If your child is in need of any need of support, whether it is skills or knowledge, please direct them to their subject teacher to ask for advice.  Preparation is needed in the run up to the exam and the good habits that are being formed now should continue it to the upcoming months.

We don’t recommend that revision stops, we hope that all Year 13 students will continue to revise, act upon feedback given by teaching staff and strive to surpass the grades that are achieved in these mocks.  The phrase ‘super-curricular’ will not be new to our students within the Sixth Form. It could be reading an article that has been published with a ground-breaking discovery, it could be a new historical view point that could be useful or listening to a podcast by a scientist. All ways in which a student can improve their knowledge is encouraged and can only compliment their revision. 

The national UCAS deadline is 15^th January at 6pm; there are still a few students who are last minute applicants who must ensure that all aspects of their application are completed before they come to school on Monday. This will give their assigned member of the Sixth Form Team the opportunity to check through it, and if needed send it back to be altered.

Mock Examinations January 2018

This week was the first full week of mock examinations, and also the first external examinations for some.

Well done to our students for your excellent attitudes towards these first exams. It is great to see so many of you showing commitment towards revision and a determination to keep this going. Thank you to parents and carers for all you are doing at home to support your son or daughter.

For many of our students, this will be the first taste of what is to come in the summer. You may have felt a mixture of emotions after a examination. Well done for working as hard as you can with revision and please remember that we can help you keep this going with support and motivation. Do see one of your teachers if you need help getting started.

Wishing you every success for next week.

Be prepared, be very prepared GCSE + is coming.

Student Council

  Girls in Maths

On Wednesday this week myself and Mrs Ingram were fortunate enough to be able to take 15 year 9 and 10 girls to Keele university for a “Girls in Maths” event. It was run by the further maths support programme to encourage girls to continue with their education in maths, science and engineering subjects. We watched the film “Hidden Figures” about three African American women in the 1960s and their roles in the space programme. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

There were some guest speakers, ladies that were successful in engineering careers and they spoke about their journey and how maths had played a role in their careers.
We also had a design project, to build a structure to hold a tennis ball off the table. We were all successful and fortunate that the rules weren’t too specific!

On a personal note it was a pleasure to take the girls out, as always they were incredibly well behaved and a credit to the school. Many thanks girls for a lovely day. Mrs Payne

ART YEAR 11 GCSE EXAM PAPERS RELEASED!

On Tuesday 9th January we welcomed a packed room full of Year 11 students and their parents/guardians to a presentation aimed at supporting the start of their GCSE Art Exam unit.

Exam papers were given out in brown envelopes and the students will be choosing ONE of the themes to work on over the following four months before the 10 hours controlled conditions exam is held in early May- just 16 weeks (including holidays) or 32 lessons away!

We looked at good examples from previous years, and looked at common pitfalls to avoid. Mrs Derby and Mr Robinson emphasised the support available and will help advice students as they complete their work.

We were very much impressed by the level of interest in this meeting and that our art students make a good start to their exam unit worth 40% of the overall grade. The majority of the exam marks; 75% from the Assessment Objectives relating to A01) research and development A02) experimentation A03) recording eg. drawing and photography, are from the ‘preparation’ work BEFORE the remaining 25% is gained from A04) ‘realising intentions’ from 10hours in May.

Any questions please contact the art department via the school office.

ART GCSE EXAM DATES

All the preparation work completed during January, February, March and April will be submitted on the first day of your Art 10hours controlled conditions exam.

Mr Robinsons 11C group- Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd May 2018
Mrs Derbys 11D group- Thursday 3rd and Friday 4th May 2018

YEAR 13 ART & PHOTOGRAPHY TRIAL EXAMS

Year 13 Art students will be starting their 15hour trial exams over 3 days between next Monday 15th January and Thursday 26th January.

Due to the number of clashes with other exams or university interviews, students should please check with their art teachers as to which day they are undertaking their exams.

Farm News

As part of Waitrose ‘Community Matters’ scheme, Uttoxeter Community Farm at Thomas Alleynes High School were presented with a cheque for £600. We would like to thank all those shoppers who supported us by choosing our project for their green tokens.  Since September we have started offering a new course on the farm and students are now able to choose to study for a BTEC level 2 award in Animal Care as one of their option subjects.  This qualification provides hands on experience of a wide range of livestock and companion animals for students who wish to pursue careers in veterinary medicine, animal care and farming as well as those who just love animals and want to learn more about caring for them.

We are currently in the process of redeveloping the site and have been working closely with Carillion Tarmac partnership and other local businesses to build new pens and improve existing ones. The money from Waitrose will be used to repair fencing around one of our outside poultry areas as well as replace our old wooden hen houses with more suitable plastic ones.  We can then increase our flock of laying hens and improve our profits from egg sales. We are always keen to expand the range of animals on the farm and have recently added two corn snakes and a tarantula to our collection which includes geckos, bearded dragons, turtles, hens, ducks, geese, sheep, pigs, cows, guinea pigs and rabbits. Uttoxeter Community Farm continues to go from strength to strength thanks to the hard work, support and enthusiasm of the students and local community.

 

IMVU

Please be aware of this app

It’s a social media app that is currently circulating amongst children and young people.

It is called ‘IMVU’ and allows you to create an avatar and speak to strangers. It also pinpoints your location.

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