In Year 9 form tutor period this week the following film was shown:
If you have not seen it before we felt you may find it interesting to discuss with your son or daughter as they begin the process of making choices regarding the options they select for next year.
This week we held out trial GCSE results day. We know that all students understand that the way in which they organise themselves for these final 14 weeks, before their first examinations, will effect the choices ahead of them in the future. There were some very impressive results; alongside this there were also some results which showed that students are not yet in the best habits for revision. We appreciate any support you can give them in finding a quiet place at home to study and in blocking off some of their time for revision each day. If you as parents need any support please contact your child’s Head of House.
Year 9 students applied themselves well to their external examinations.10 % of students streamed over 50 podcasts and 20% of our students streamed over 25 podcasts in preparation for their examinations.
We have a small minority of students who have not set their usernames or streamed any podcasts. If you are able, please ask your son or daughter to show you their GCSEpod account and how many streams they have made. If they have not started as yet, we advise they stream at least 3 a day to help them with their studies.
UCAS Update
We have had 94 UCAS applications this academic year. Of those 94 students, 77 have heard from one or more of their chosen university choices. Students have been offered unconditional and conditional places, which then leaves them with the choice of which university to choose. I am aware that there have been some rejections and we are supporting them through this. If you, as a parent, would like to discuss this process then please contact at Sixthform@tahs.org.uk
Uniform
A reminder to all students, parents and carers.
Hooded sweatshirts are not part of the uniform at Thomas Alleyne’s High School. We encourage all students to wear a v necked blue or black school sweatshirt over their shirts, especially now that the weather has turned cold.
We encourage them to also bring outdoor coats, and gloves. If they do bring hooded sweatshirts to school and wear these beneath or over their blazers these will be removed from them to be collected by parents as they are not part of the school uniform. We appreciate parents support with ensuring these sweatshirts, which are not part of our uniform are not brought to school.
Bad Weather Procedures
As the forecast is getting, how shall we say, a bit fresher!!! We thought it prudent to remind you of the bad weather procedures in place. Please see the full procedure in place under this link:
All our Art GCSE students have now submitted their coursework portfolios worth 60% of their overall grade. Now the talented students are just deciding which of the themes to work with on the Externally Set Assignment (known as the ‘exam unit’) worth 40% of their overall grade. We look forward to hearing about and seeing all their ideas develop over the next 15 weeks.
The Art department staff are happy to discuss your ideas before you get started and will support you at lunchtimes or Art Club after school. Just check with teacher they are available to supervise. remember to look at the art dept Pinterest boards (great free App) and create your own ideas boards. Check out boards that have related titles- eg “graphic style” contains text based works and could help the ‘messages’ theme, “plants” could help the ‘natural forms’ theme etc.
GCSE ART 10HOUR EXAM DAYS: Thurs 2nd and Fri 3rd May
Year 12
Year 12 Artists & Photographers will be thinking about their ‘personal investigations’ and have impressed staff with their gathering of sources of inspiration or discussions with staff. Some of the themes include : “water”, “hybrid animals”, “catching dreams” and “nature”.
These will be carefully considered and developed over the next year watch this space…
Y13 Artists & Photographers
In contrast to the year 12’s who are just starting, year 13 have spent over a year crafting their Personal Investigation projects (worth 60%)with a huge range of ideas, themes and interests being explored from “CCTV and surveillance” to “psychedelic fairytales” and “music & sound waves” to “speed &Sport”. Developing skills and techniques to hone their chosen Art, Craft & design or Photography pathways. We are pleased to see some of our students also recently gain offers from several leading universities and Art Colleges ranging from Marine Photography to Graphic Design and Illustration. Just the motivation to keep going!
Y13 Art A level Coursework Deadline including essay: Fri 1st Feb 3:05pm
Y13 Photography A level Coursework Deadline including essay: Fri 8th Feb 3:05pm
SAVE THE DATE:
The much anticipated annual Art& Photography Exhibition: Thursday 20th June 5:30-7:30pm
Book Club
We are pleased to announce that we will be starting a book club. The first meeting will be held on Monday 4th February at lunchtime in the library. The theme will be ‘your favourite book’, so feel free to bring along a copy of your favourite book! The book club is open to students from all years.
Science
This week’s Science Students of the Week selected by Mrs Pavey are:
Year 9
Dylan McNair for his contributions to the chemistry lessons this week
Cole Moody for his progress in physics
Year 10
Callum Stockbridge for achievement in physics
Freya Bettaney for her consistent positive attitude in physics and willingness to try
Year 11
Libby Fry and Aaron Gwynne for their achievements in the physics mock exam
Well done!
We would like to invite all parents and carers to complete a Parent View online questionnaire. Parent View allows you to feedback on your child’s experiences at Thomas Alleyne’s High School. The questionnaire has 12 questions and is used by the school to identify what we are doing well and what we need to work on. Parents and carers will need to register on the website in order to complete the questionnaire. If parents or carers have any queries or questions regarding the questionnaire, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Year 9 students have reached the point in the year where they will be asked to decide which subjects they would like to study in Years 10 and 11 for their GCSE’s. The Year 9 options process will begin a series of information events designed to inform parents and students of what we offer. The first parent event will be the Future Intentions Evening on Thursday 7th February from 6pm till 8pm. This evening will involve a presentation in the theatre on the option subjects available to students and how the options process works. The evening also includes the Future Intentions Fair that will have over 40 employers and representatives from universities and colleges. This is open to students in all years but will allow Yr9 students and parents to discuss the option subjects with Heads of Departments. In the run up to this event we would encourage parents and carers to start talking to your child about their future and what their aspirations are.
Year 11 Geography
With just 17 weeks until the first GCSE Geography exam, we would like to take the opportunity of reminding parents of where you and your child can access information about the Geography exams and what makes a good geography answer! If you have any questions about the Geography exams, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Thomas Alleyne's high school 