TAHS Weekly Newsletter. 

Well do to all our Year 12 and Year 13 students who have successfully navigated their way through the last 8 weeks. We have implemented changes and would like to remind all students, with your support, that they must sit facing forward at all times in lessons and also in their social areas (common room, study room, wooden gym).  We have needed to remind some of the importance of facing forward which, we feel, we shouldn’t need to do as Sixth Formers.  Thank you to those that always follow our new school policies. Again thanks to those that continually wear their face covering when moving around the school, this is useful as it sets a wonderful example to lower school students.

I would like to remind all students of the ‘rule of 6’ as they go through half term and for when they return after and that when they are in school that they should be social distancing and following protocols. We have placed hand sanitisers in all classrooms and social areas and that all students should be using them when entering and leaving the venue.  Our site staff monitor these regularly and ensure that are always working.   

It is important that students in Year 13 and 12 are monitoring their Insight, Teams and Outlook as these are the ways that we will communicate with your child. If your child is unable to attend school please let us know by calling in or emailing Mrs Walton on sixthform@tahs.org.uk, if they are well enough then please encourage them to use aforementioned platforms as this is where their teachers will set the work for the lesson, all students can submit work to their teacher via Teams or Outlook.

After half term all students will have a new timetable. This information will be on Insight.  A way to check this is for them to log onto Insight and put in a date after half term and it will allow them to see their timetable. It is important to check this before they return. This new timetable will also show skills sessions, where they will meet as a tutor group. If you have any queries regarding this then please email me younge@tahs.net.

All Year 13 students should be focusing on revision as well as their Next Steps. UCAS is open for applications for university 2021 entry. All students should have completed their personal statements and their form tutors or subject teachers should have been able to have provided feedback.  If you would like advice then please ask.

All students should be accessing Unifrog, we have instructed all to have logged on and should be looking at Post 18 opportunities, including university courses and apprenticeships. Unifrog is also for parents and if you would like help navigating this platform then please ask.

Year 9 Tutor Evening

Thank you to all parents who attended Wednesday’s parent evening.  It was pleasing to see and hear so many conversations taking place throughout the evening. If you were unable to attend please contact your child’s tutor if you have any concerns. Thank you.

Half Term Year 11 Walking Talking Mocks

Over half term staff will be running virtual revision sessions throughout the week, please see the timetable for the sessions.  Thank you to all staff and pupils in these sessions.

GCSE Drama Students of the Week

Year 9: Kiera J and Libby H for excellent progress in our theatre review lessons

Year 10: Jasmin W for an outstanding attitude to learning in our theatre review lessons

Year 11: Lucy L for excellent focus and dedication with her devised piece

Excellent Health & Social Care Coursework Submitted

Here in the Social & Health studies department, we are very proud of the coursework that our year 11 Health & Social Care students have been submitting this week. The theory for this work was done during lockdown and since returning in September they have been applying their knowledge to 2 celebrities with outstanding results. We are so very proud of them all and looking forward to excellent results at the end of the course. If you are in year 9 and thinking of choosing Health & Social Care as an option, look through the pictures to see some of what you will be learning about. 

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Geography News

Just a reminder for ALL year 11 Geography students:

On Tuesday 27th October, Miss Robinson will be running a ‘walking, talking’ mock revision session on both Paper 1 and Paper 2 of your Geography exams.

These will be:

Paper 1 – Tuesday at 10am-12pm

Paper 2 – Tuesday at 12:30pm-2:30pm

Both of the papers that we will be going through will be uploaded onto the Y11 Geography Teams files – you can either print these off if you would like a physical copy to make notes on OR have as an electronic copy.

Both of these sessions will be recorded and saved to the Y11 Geography Teams (if you are unable to attend one of/both of these sessions).

If you are attending these sessions, please join the session with your camera on so we can verify who you are.

Hope to see as many of you as possible!

Mission YTF

Mr Hollins is proud to announce that Joe H in Year 10 has won this year’s ‘Mission YTF’ competition. His entry, based on J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, placed first, beating all other entries from across Staffordshire. Well done Joe!

PE Update

We have been really impressed with students’ engagement in PE lessons since September.We are now delivering practical PE lessons.  The activities delivered are based on the government’s guidance.  Please ensure all students in Years 9, 10 and 11 have all items of PE kit and that they fit correctly.

PE kit / Uniform List

• Black TAHS polo shirt
• Reversible TAHS rugby shirt ( This is for all outdoor lessons not just rugby)
• Black Shorts
• Black Football socks
• Black Swimming shorts / Swimming costume
• Shin Pads (Must be worn for Football and Hockey)
• Gum Shield (Must be worn for Hockey and Rugby)
• Football Boots 
• Indoor Trainers

Optional – Black Skort, Black TAHS fleece, Plain Black leggings, Plain Black Tracksuit bottomsCoats can be worn outside in inclement weather for PE.
Students will be informed of the activities they are doing on Insight. Due to the nature of the timetable and the changing government advice it is important students check this before each PE lesson for any changes.
BTEC Tech Award Sport Activity & Fitness- Yr11 students have got an online revision session on Teams from 10am-12 on Tuesday 27th October. This is in preparation for exam in Feb which will give students the opportunity to improve on the grade they were allocated by the exam board in the summer. Students allocated a L2D do not need to attend.

BTEC Tech Award Sport Activity & Fitness- Coursework. Both Year 10 and 11 all have a piece of coursework due in on the first day back after half terms. This can be uploaded to Teams or handed in on paper.  All support resources for this are on Teams.

PE students of the half term- Yr 9 Core PE – Bella R and Callum R

Yr10 Core PE – Tasha M and Liam A

Yr11 Core PE – Ellie A and Sam E

Yr10 BTEC Sport – Harriet E and Alistair D

Yr11 BTEC Sport – Mia B and Ben T

Online Safety

How much do you know about the social media apps your children use? Have a look at these handy Parental Guides to, Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp & TikTok.

MFL

ThisIsLanguage.com Leaders

In a controversial twist, former champion Joe seems to have lost all of his previous points after a group change – Grace A is now top of the table. Ben in Y9 has more than doubled his score, and it’s all to play for in the next few weeks with at least 10 people merely a hundred points behind the current champ.

Higher Tier Walking Talking Mock

Keep an eye out for messages home/emails/Teams messages about the WTM taking place Friday 30th October at 10:00am. We will be looking at the 150 word task, translation, and section B of the listening and reading papers (the bits all in French).

Please contact Mr Noon if you want to join.

Half-term joy

Check Insight from tomorrow if you’re bored. You will be without French lessons, and it’s OK to admit that life isn’t the same without us. Just go on Insight and find some French-based joy.

English Success

Well done on a very busy and productive term in English. Students have been working hard and particular praise goes to:

Year 9

Logan C, Luke N, Oakley P

Year 10

Harmony G, Henry F, Eloise P, Sarah W, Tim W, Neve R, Henry A

Year 11

Alexander C, Evie N, Ellie S, Evie B

Year 12

Charlie S, Martha M, Rosie Mai KP, Darius B

Year 13

Chloe L, Maddie M

Pastoral Update

So we have made it. 8 very long, challenging but also inspiring weeks. It’s now time to have a rest, reflect on what we have achieved and look forward to what the next half term may bring us all. 

Amazing Apprenticeships

On Tuesday 20^th October our year 11’s had a talk on apprenticeships during their skills session. This was run by Daniel Birch from Amazing Apprenticeships and included information on the wide range of different apprenticeships on offer as well as how to start looking for an apprenticeship opportunity if that is a route you are considering. We hope they all found it useful. More information can be found on https://amazingapprenticeships.com/.

If you do have any further questions regarding apprenticeships then you can come to see Mrs Featherstone in room 74 – email first at featherstone@tahs.net.

School Website – Careers Section

You may have noticed that there is a new tab on the school website called Careers. The page includes; information about the local labour market, the support that is available to our students, links to subject career booklets and other important information in regards to future intentions. You will find the careerometer and skillsometer in the ‘exploring your careers ideas’ section, this will give you quick information about your potential pathways. We will be updating and building these pages over the next few weeks so if there is anything you feel would be useful then please let us know at futureintentions@tahs.org.uk. 

Career of the week

I have selected Speech and Language Therapists as our career of the week. Speech and Language therapists support people with a range of different communication barriers and special needs.  

Job title: Speech Therapist	Speech and language therapists help children and adults who have speaking and communication problems.
Entry requirements:	You can get into this job through an apprenticeship or a university course. For an university course you’ll need a degree in speech and language therapy that’s approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). If you’ve got a degree in a science or language-based subject, you could do a 2-year fast-track postgraduate course in speech and language therapy. Entry requirements You’ll usually need: 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree a degree in a relevant subject for postgraduate study You’ll find it helpful to get some paid or voluntary experience in the health or care sector before you apply for a course. For an apprenticeship you’ll usually need: 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a degree apprenticeship
What skills will I need?	You’ll need: knowledge of English language sensitivity and understanding the ability to work well with others to be flexible and open to change to be thorough and pay attention to detail excellent verbal communication skills patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations knowledge of teaching and the ability to design courses to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
Day to Day tasks could include:	talk to clients, observe them and use tests to assess specific difficulties plan and develop therapy programmes support clients through treatment work closely with colleagues like doctors and teachers coach parents and carers to continue their therapy at home keep detailed progress records work with groups or individuals to improve the way they communicate
What you’ll earn:	Starting Salary from £24,907 up to £44,503 as your experience develops.
Working hours, patterns and environment:	28-40 Hours a week between 8am and 6pm You may work privately or for the NHS.
More information:	https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/allied-health-professionals/roles-allied-health-professions/speech-and-language-therapist https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/speech-and-language-therapist

Information sourced directly from www.nationalcareersservice.com If you have any suggestions for a career you would like to know more about then please email us at futureintentions@tahs.org.uk

Toyota Opportunities

Toyota have sent us an email to inform us of their new apprenticeship opportunities for 2021.  They will be hiring 36 students for our Production Apprenticeship  and 12 for our Maintenance Apprenticeship. They are hosting open evenings which need to be booked https://recruitment.toyotauk.com/  on

Production Apprenticeship Dates

Tuesday 10th November 2020

Thursday 19th November 2020

Maintenance Apprenticeship Dates

Monday 9th November 2020

Wednesday 18th November 2020

This could be a fantastic opportunity for some of our students and worth having a look at. 

Links

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TAHS Weekly Newsletter. 

This week we have seen 18 students in Year 13 send off their UCAS applications. These students are applying to Oxbridge and will now have an anxious wait to see if they have been selected to attend an interview at their chosen university, Oxford or Cambridge.  These students have applied not only for medicine, veterinary and dentistry but also architecture. As well as this we have had students who have applied to UCAS for early childhood studies. There is no reason why students cannot apply now, the deadline for UCAS applications is at the beginning of January.  All students have been offered support on writing their personal statements for the application process, not just for UCAS but also apprenticeships and employment.  Please encourage your child to complete this sooner rather than later to ensure they are bale to submit their application.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs Dodd for all her hard work with these students. Helping them with their personal statements and offering huge amounts of encouragement along the way. I saw some of these sessions and I can honestly say that all those that have applied really have appreciated the help.

Unifrog are offering some great webinars on applying to universities abroad. I sent some links to all Year 13 this week via Insight so that they could participate if needed.  I would recommend adding Unifrog to their Instagram account if they have one as they do have some very good hints and tips each day.  If you would like to access Unifrog then please email me and will send you the supporting information.

STUDY SKILLS

Week 4 is the final personal finance session, with materials available on Teams.

Y12

Please fill in your workbook with the final personal finance resources (pages 10-15).  Find out about how covid has impacted finances; benefits; taxes; alternative income; the history and future of trade unions and the different types of insurances (eg PPI, buildings, contents; motor; pet and health). 

Y13

Please complete the final personal finance information (workbook pages 9-12).  Find out about foreign currencies; supermarket inflation and calculating exchange rates.

Year 12 Virtual Tutor Evening

Wednesday 21st October 4.00pm – 7.00pmThe attached letter has been emailed out to parents. Please do not hesitate to contact the Sixth Form team at sixthform@tahs.org.uk if you require anything further.

UCAS Competitive Courses for 2021 entry

We are delighted to share the good news with our school community that this year we have had an unprecedented amount of students apply for Competitive courses, which includes both Oxford and Cambridge Universities, as well as Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine courses. We have also had an additional Conservatoire application to study Music. 

We are incredibly proud, as always, of our students, and they have produced some excellent personal statements to support their applications. 
Applications are as follows:

Initials	Course
NP	Conservatoire Application for Music
OA	Engineering at the University of Cambridge University (Emmanuel)
EB	Medicine
LD	Human, Social, & Political Sciences at the University of Cambridge (Magdalene)
AF	Mathematics at the University of Oxford (Oriel)
LF	Medicine
AG	Medicine
GH	Medicine
LL	Dentistry
KL	Veterinary Medicine
CM	Medicine
AM	Physics at the University of Cambridge (Open Application)
MP	Medicine
AP	Mathematics at the University of Oxford (Christ Church)
ER	Biomedical Sciences at the University of Oxford (St Catherine’s)
DW	Fine Art at the University of Oxford (St Catherine’s)
EW	Physics at the University of Oxford (Hertford)
FW	Medicine
SW	Architecture at the University of Cambridge (St John’s)

The sixth form team will continue to work with the remaining year 13 students to ensure that they get all of the information, advice and guidance they need to secure the next steps of their future intentions. 

GCSE Drama Students of the Week

Leanne P, in year 11, for showing pride in her work with beautiful presentation in her book as well as an excellent written response in her portfolio. 

Ryan W in year 10, for a moving performance of Adam’s monologue from the play, DNA.

Whole school Non-Uniform

On Thursday 22nd October. Donations to be made via ParentPay.  50% proceeds to go to Sixth Form Forever Charity Douglas Macmillian Hospice.
To find out more about Dougie Mac please see 

https://www.dmhospice.org.uk/

Year 9 History – Remembering the First World War

Centenary of the Arrival of the Unknown Warrior at Victoria Station – 10 November 2020

Every year on 10 November, the Western Front Association holds a service of remembrance at Victoria Station to commemorate the arrival, in 1920, of the Unknown Warrior on his journey to Westminster Abbey. Because this year is the centenary of this happening, the Western Front Association is asking Year 9 students to write a letter to the Unknown Warrior. You can write as yourself, a young person in 2020, looking back on the First World War or you could pretend to be someone living in 1920 who has lost someone important to you in the war: a brother, a father or a friend perhaps.

If you would like to take part in this commemoration then you need to write a letter of no more than 500 words and email it to your class teacher by November 1^st, 2020.

The Association will publish the most interesting and thoughtful letters on their website and in their magazine and offer some small prizes.

For full details please see this link:

Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award

Certificates have arrived in school for the following students who have attained their Bronze award in this Digital Award.

Congratulations, well done and certificates will be distrubuted next week.

Fallon C, Daniel F, Kacper W, Reece A, Alex P

MFL News

A NEW CHALLENGER JOINS THE FIGHT

After only a matter of days, Ben P has already started the long climb to the top of the ThisIsLanguage.com leaderboard.

He has already overtaken some year 10 students! Is current champ champ Joe H worried? Time will tell.

Year 11 Future Intentions

All Year 11 students have been given access to a Year 11 Future Intentions Team. This is to support them in making their Post 16 choices. Access to the online application form for Sixth Form entry September 2021 is available in this team.

Any questions please email Mrs Walton via sixthform@tahs.org.uk

Year 9 Tutor Evening

Bookings for this event are now available on the parental login to insight. If you do not have this please email insight:@tahs.org.uk.

This is a virtual event that will be held via your child’s Office 365 account, full details will be sent to parents early next week.

Exam Update

We have now received confirmation that the GCSE and A level exam period for 2021 will run from: 

Wednesday, 26th May 2021 until Friday, 2nd July 2021. 

It is vital that students attend all relevant exams within that period and an individual exam timetable will be given to students. 

Exam results days have also been published: 

A levels- Tuesday, 24th August 2021

GCSE results- Friday, 27th August 2021

Revision tip #3

Using revision guides can be really helpful, but just reading it is pointless! You have to ‘engage’ with it in different ways… You can make notes, or use it to add to your classwork, but just reading it isn’t useful. ‘Transform it into something else and the information will stick! 

Keep up the good work, 

Mrs Peers

News from Science

This week’s Science Students of the Week

Year 9

Leon and Elin (9W2) for accurate mitosis posters, selected by Mrs Gwynne.

Year 10

Amelie (10W1) and Sarah (10O3) for excellent test scores, selected by Mrs Gwynne.

Year 11

Leo (11U1) for really good questions and wider information on the topic of nuclear physics and the Chernobyl disaster, selected by Mr Mitchell.

Liberty (11E1) and Sonny (11W1) for super homework, selected by Mrs Gwynne.

Year 13

Raeley (13D), Jenna (13B) and Aaron (13E) for great results on statistic questions, selected by Mrs Gwynne.

Well done!

English Success

From English, well done to:

Year 9: Billy T, Lucas W-S, Calli,

Year 10: William G, Ben P, Daisy C, Liam A,

Year 11: Lucy C, Ben B, Josh B,  Freya S,

Year 13: Torin N, Tom T

Latest from PE

We are now delivering practical PE lessons.  The activities delivered are based on the government’s guidance.  Please ensure all students in Years 9, 10 and 11 have all items of PE kit and that they fit correctly.
PE kit / Uniform List

• Black TAHS polo shirt
• Reversible TAHS rugby shirt ( This is for all outdoor lessons not just rugby)
• Black Shorts
• Black Football socks
• Black Swimming shorts / Swimming costume
• Shin Pads (Must be worn for Football and Hockey)
• Gum Shield (Must be worn for Hockey and Rugby)
• Football Boots 
• Indoor Trainers

Optional – Black Skort, Black TAHS fleece, Plain Black leggings, Plain Black Tracksuit bottomsCoats can be worn outside in inclement weather for PE.
Students will be informed of the activities they are doing on Insight. Due to the nature of the timetable and the changing government advice it is important students check this before each PE lesson for any changes.

Pastoral Update

Only one week to go until half term! It has been a tough half term in many respects but it has also been a really positive experience getting back into some form of routine albeit different from our previous ones. I know we are all getting ready for a rest but with one week to go let’s make sure we keep going keep making the fantastic progress we are making as a school and as a community. 
Congratulation to the following student for the achievement points:

Bednall M	41 9E1
Wild T	38 10W2
Gregory M	37 10O3

Career of the week

This weeks career of the week was nominated by Mrs Bell – Thank you 😊

Job title: Bio Chemist	A Biochemists will investigate chemical processes that take place inside all living things from viruses and bacteria to people.   A University course or specialist training with the NHS is the best way to pursue a career in this role. At university you could study: Biochemistry biotechnology biopharmaceuticals chemical and molecular biology microbiology genetics molecular biology In the NHS, you can train by following the NHS Scientist Training Programme (STP).
Entry requirements:	You will usually need: 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English, maths and science 3 A levels, or equivalent, including biology and chemistry a degree in a relevant subject for postgraduate study Some universities also offer a science foundation year as part of a degree if you have not studied science subjects to the level needed
What you’ll do:	In the pharmaceutical, food or brewing industries, your work will include: developing new products monitoring production quality control checking the safety of existing products In a hospital, public health laboratory or research institute, your work will include: carrying out tests on blood researching the causes of disease exploring new methods of treatment In agriculture and the environment, your work will include: genetically engineering plants to create pest-resistant crops improving the quantity of crops developing and extending the shelf life of produce monitoring the effects of pollution on the environment
What you’ll earn:	£26,500 – £60,000 a year
Working hours, patterns and environment:	38-40 hours a week – possibly night shifts Likely to work in laboratories or you could work in you could work in universities or colleges, or medical, veterinary or dental schools as an educational biochemist.
More information:	You can find out more about becoming a biochemist from the Biochemical Society, The Royal Society of Biology or The Association for Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine

Information sourced directly from www.nationalcareersservice.com If you have any suggestions for a career you would like to know more about then please email us at futureintentions@tahs.org.uk

Upcoming events

UK University & Apprenticeship Search Virtual Fair on Wednesday 21 October from 12:00-18:00. The event is free, it will feature over 80 universities, colleges and apprenticeship providers, and it’s open to students in Year 13, 12 and 11. 

For more information and to register for the event click on the link below https://ukunisearch-west.vfairs.com/

The event will also include 10 webinars which will provide information on topics such as Choosing a course, Student finance, Personal statements, Employability and Apprenticeships

Once registered you will be able to access the virtual fair any time until Wednesday 4th November, but you will only be able to live chat with representatives and view the webinars on the day itself.

For help with registration or more information then please see Mrs Featherstone in the Careers office – room 74.

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TAHS Weekly Newsletter. 

This Thursday we will be sending the last of our competitive course applications to UCAS.  Mrs Dodd and all of the 16 students who are applying for these courses, such as dentistry, veterinary and medicine, have worked incredibly hard on these applications and we are pleased that our small rural Sixth Form has so many this year.

We have now run two sessions for photographs to be taken for your child’s Sixth Form Lanyard, these will be created and distributed to students in the upcoming week. For those that did not attend the last session and have not made prior arrangements for their photograph to be taken we will use their Year 11 image. It is very important that when students are issued with these lanyards that they wear them when they are in school.

Year 13:

Please encourage your child to complete their personal statement and to work on their UCAS application, each copy of their personal statement should be sent to their form tutor, or their subject teacher if needed. This can be done through Unifrog or the teachers Outlook email (@tahs.net).  For those applying to UCAS must ensure that all basic sections are completed and that they are ready for their personal statements to be entered. At this point a member of the Sixth Form Team will check their application. 

Year 12:

All Year 12 students must ensure that they are logged onto Unifrog, this information was passed onto them in Year 11 and they were encouraged to use this to help them make plans in their Post 16 journey.  Unifrog is very useful for all students to look at careers, university and apprenticeships. If you would like to join Uniforg as a parent and see how the platform works then please email me, younge@tahs.net and I will send you the details.

SKILLS SESSIONS

During week 2, we continue with the theme of personal finance.

Y12

Students are to fill in the workbook pages 6 – 8:  types of employment; what is debt?  Think about the difference between part time, casual and zero hours contracts; what a P45 and P60 are; how much income tax you might pay and the advantages/disadvantages of different types of debt.  You can find the necessary files on Teams.

Y13

Students are to fill in the workbook on personal finance from pages 6 – 8:  borrowing money and risks; value for money and making it.  Find out about APR, payday loans, work out different lending rates and how some people live with debt, also different types of investments, buying, selling and discounts available to you.  You can find the attachments on Teams.

Assessment Weeks- Year 11 and Year 13

You will have started to receive different assessments this week as a way to support your progress over the year. Your teachers conduct lots of assessments during your lessons, but these give you a chance to attempt exam questions in timed conditions. It is important that you see these as an opportunity to show us what you have learnt so far, which then allows your teachers to give you specific feedback on how to improve your exam skills. These will give you a focus for what and how you need to revise for your different subjects.

Trial Exams

Your mock exams will be held in February, with the Assessment Weeks giving you additional opportunities to practise before these exams. As you will be sitting full papers, you should see these as TRIAL EXAMS rather than mocks, as you will have had a whole term of lessons to guide and support you and for you to focus your revision independently. A timetable for these will be published after Christmas.  

Exams Update

We do understand that there is a lot of speculation in the press at the moment about next Summer’s exams. Be assured that we have regular updates from Exam boards and OFQUAL (the exam regulator), so if there are any official changes we will inform you and publish all details to the school website. For now, it’s important that you continue to work hard in lessons, show what you can do in assessments and revise independently. 

Revision Tip #2: 

When should you start revising? It’s never too early! My top tip this week is to start little and often. For example, you have three lessons a day… at the end of each day, you could spend 15 minutes, for each subject, reading over your notes, finishing or adding to tasks, and coming up with questions for things you need help with… then each time build this up, so you’re reading more and more of your notes. Eventually, you SHOULD be able to read your whole exercise book in 15 minutes! 

Most importantly though, all of the staff are here to support you through your assessments and trial exams, so that you are as confident as you can be.

Year 9 Tutor Evening

We are holding our meet the tutor evening to give parents feedback on how well students have done as they transition from year 8 into our year 9 on Wednesday 21st October between 4 & 7pm.

This will be a virtual event and full details of how to access the meetings will be emailed nearer the date. The appointments will be held on MS Teams, through your child’s account, please ensure that you know their log in to Office 365, username and password.

In the meantime ensure you have made an appointment to see your child’s tutor via the booking system on Insight – http://www.thomasalleynes.org – full login details have been emailed to all parents / careers we have an email address for. If you have any issues please email insight@tahs.org.uk for assistance.

World Mental Health Day

Saturday is World Mental Health Day, this year’s theme is ‘Mental Health for All’ This will be well advertised in all forms of the media. You may see your favourite actors, sports stars, Royals and people in the community raising awareness of positive mental health and wellness. 

Good mental health is characterised by a person’s ability to fulfil a number of key functions and activities, including:

• the ability to learn
• the ability to feel, express and manage a range of positive and negative emotions
• the ability to form and maintain good relationships with others
• the ability to cope with and manage change and uncertainty.

Talking about your feelings can help you stay in good mental health and deal with times when you feel troubled.

Talking about your feelings isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s part of taking charge of your wellbeing and doing what you can to stay healthy.

Talking can be a way to cope with a problem you’ve been carrying around in your head for a while. Just being listened to can help you feel supported and less alone. And it works both ways. If you open up, it might encourage others to do the same.

It’s not always easy to describe how you’re feeling. If you can’t think of one word, use lots. What does it feel like inside your head? What does it make you feel like doing?

You don’t need to sit your loved ones down for a big conversation about your wellbeing. Many people feel more comfortable when these conversations develop naturally – maybe when you’re doing something together.

If it feels awkward at first, give it time. Make talking about your feelings something that you do. Please make the time to talk to friends and family to check in on how they are and express how you are feeling. There is always staff at school to speak to if you need. 

MFL

Congratulations to all of Year 9, who recently survived their first grammar check.

In particular the following students did incredibly well:

Susie C, Logan C, Rosanna H, Calli H, Layla M, Ben P, Scarlett B-W, Victoria H, Bethan P, Edwin S, Elizabeth W, Libby L, Oakley P, Josh B, Josh F, Isabella G, Cicely H, Oliver H-P, Kristers L, Emily O, Hannah S, Hannah D, Jessica W, Martha B, Tom B, Charlie F, Molly H, James L, Alex L, Olly R
We are so pleased that they are going to be given free memberships to ThisIsLanguage.com, where they can start sharpening their skills, and try to beat the scores of the GCSE classes.

Year 11 speaking assessment

While we wait for OFQUAL and AQA to confirm how the speaking element will be marked in lessons, we will be using photo card style assessments to make sure you are still practising your skills. Please make sure you prepare and practise answering typical questions.

Learning Support Evening

Parents of Year 10 and 11 SEND pupils are invited to attend our first virtual evening.  Invites will be sent out via email at the start of next week, to all parents. The evening will introduce you to how school is supporting pupils in the school day, how to access Mircosoft Teams for remote learning and revision techniques to assist your son or daughter in their GCSE work.  We look forward to seeing you on Thursday 15th October between 5 & 6pm.

News from Science

This week’s Science Students of the Week

Year 9

Tomas for his excellent Chemistry work, selected by Mrs Dykes.

Morgan, Poppy and Vicky all for excellent effort in Science, selected by Mr Crum.

Year 10

Lucy for brilliant participation and high-level answers in Physics, selected by Mr Mitchell.

Elliot and Ellie-Mae for always working with great enthusiasm and dedication to Science, selected by Miss Thorley.

Jamie for excellence in Biology, selected by Mrs Dykes.

Jack for his enthusiastic approach to every lesson, selected by Mr Crum.

Year 11

Thomas and Luke for fantastic first assessment results, selected by Miss Thorley.

Joe for hard work on moles, selected by Mr Crum.

Year 13

Aaron for a brilliant Chemistry result on Benzene assessment, selected by Mr Mitchell.

Well done!

English Success

The English department have been very impressed by lots of the good work we have seen this week. Well done in particular to:

Year 9

Martha B, Sam L, Harry W, Tom Y, Charlotte H

Yr 10

Lachlan M, Jenny P, Katie D, Nell W, Jacob W

Yr 11

Lucy M, Lucy C, Harry S, Toby P L, Evie N, Josh R

Yr 12

Imogen N, Robert F, Tom F

Latest from PE

We are now delivering practical PE lessons.  The activities delivered are based on the government’s guidance.  Please ensure all students in Years 9, 10 and 11 have all items of PE kit and that they fit correctly.
PE kit / Uniform List

• Black TAHS polo shirt
• Reversible TAHS rugby shirt ( This is for all outdoor lessons not just rugby)
• Black Shorts
• Black Football socks
• Black Swimming shorts / Swimming costume
• Shin Pads (Must be worn for Football and Hockey)
• Gum Shield (Must be worn for Hockey and Rugby)
• Football Boots 
• Indoor Trainers

Optional – Black Skort, Black TAHS fleece, Plain Black leggings, Plain Black Tracksuit bottomsCoats can be worn outside in inclement weather for PE.
Students will be informed of the activities they are doing on Insight. Due to the nature of the timetable and the changing government advice it is important students check this before each PE lesson for any changes.

Pastoral Update

This week has been a difficult week in particular for our Year 11 students. That said I wanted to thank all the students that have remained in school for their support of each other and for those that are at home to say ‘Well Done’ for the work that they have been completing. Only last week I wrote how pleased we were as a school to have got through 6 full weeks without having to have a large number of students at home. Now that we have faced this I am once again hugely impressed how as a school community we have coped with this.  We do not know what next week will bring for us but what I do know is that as a school we will face it together.

Well done to the following students for the points they have accrued :  Martha Bednall (35 9E1), Lennon Edwards (31 9W1) and Olly Radley (31 9W2)

Mrs Major (Assistant Head : Pastoral)

Elkes News

While we’ll be going through some of this in assembly before the end of the half term, I wanted to recognise some of the year 10 students whose teachers have assessed their efforts so far this year.

When parents have access to reports on Insight, one of the numbers is the ‘average effort grade’, and it’s basically a score out of 4, where a 4 would mean ‘Excellent’ (the best possible’) and a 1 would be ‘Unacceptable’ (the least possible) in all of their subjects.

These are based on the effort our students are putting in, and while we’ll have information on years 9 and 11 shortly, the following students are those at the top of the year 10 ranking and should be tremendously proud of the start they’ve made to the year!

Bethan T, Ellie-Mae B, George M, Fin T-S, Livvy E, Oliver E, Maddie H, Raph H, Tom N and Lucy O are our Elkes top ten, and there are many more who ought to have a look at this score with great satisfaction. Well done all, and keep it up!

Geography News

GCSE Geography revision sessions (Y11) will be beginning after half term, most likely to run on Tuesdays after school. More details will be given in Y11 Geography lessons, with a timetable to follow. 

Career of the week

This weeks career of the week has been nominated by Mrs Mood – Thank you very much!

Job title: Sound Engineer	Sound engineers work in studios and make recordings of music, speech and sound effects.
Entry requirements:	You can get into this job through: University completing a foundation degree or degree in sound engineering and production audio engineering or music production You’ll usually need: at least 1 A level, or equivalent, for a foundation degree 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree A college course You could do a Level 3 Diploma in Sound Production or Music Technology To get on a college course you’ll usually need: 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course An apprenticeship You could complete a creative venue technician or technical theatre advanced apprenticeship, which have options in sound. To access an apprenticeship, you’ll usually need: 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship You could also get a job working as an assistant in a recording studio or volunteer for hospital radio, music events etc
Skills required:	. You’ll need: to pay attention to detail to be able to use computer operating systems, hardware and software efficientlyable to work well with othersable to accept criticism and work well under pressure persistence and determination customer service skills knowledge of media production and communication
What you’ll do:	In your day-to-day duties you could: plan recording sessions set up the studio microphones and equipment operate recording equipment and add effectsrecord each instrument or vocal onto a separate trackmix tracks to produce a final ‘master’ tracklog recordings and other details of the session in the studio archive
What you’ll earn:	£15000 – £40,000 a year depending on experience
Career path and progression:	With experience, you could specialise in a particular technical skill, become a music producer, studio manager, or start your own recording studio.

Source: https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk where you can find more information and current opportunities. If this career interests you, it is also worth looking at the videos on Icould.com  https://icould.com/?s=sound+engineer

If you have any suggestions for a career you would like to know more about then please email us at featherstone@tahs.net

Upcoming events

Below are a number of upcoming events which students can independently sign up to.

UK University & Apprenticeship Search Virtual Fair on Wednesday 21 October from 12:00-18:00. The event is free, it will feature over 80 universities, colleges and apprenticeship providers, and it’s open to students in Year 13, 12 and 11. 

For more information and to register for the event click on the link below https://ukunisearch-west.vfairs.com/

The event will also include 10 webinars which will provide information on topics such as Choosing a course, Student finance, Personal statements, Employability and Apprenticeships

Once registered you will be able to access the virtual fair any time until Wednesday 4th November, but you will only be able to live chat with representatives and view the webinars on the day itself.

For help with registration or more information then please see Mrs Featherstone in the Careers office – room 74.

Medicine Seminars

The Medic Portal will be running three free Get Into Medicine Seminars over the coming month live online.

They will focus on how to succeed in the medical school interview (updated for this unique year) alongside top tips from admissions tutors.

Please can you share the free opportunity with your students from Year 11 onwards. They can sign up here.

They will run on the following dates and times:

       14th October: 5pm to 6.30pm

       4th November: 5pm to 6.30pm

       18th November: 5pm to 6.30pm

Your students will also get to hear from a top European Medical School, The University of Nicosia, on their unique programme.

London School of Dentistry – virtual work experience

London School of Dentistry would like to inform you about their online dentistry taster course for students! This course was created by current dentists to help younger students experience what it would be like to study dentistry at university, allowing them to make an informed decision before applying and pursuing it as a career. 

Their main aim is to help students realise whether dentistry is the career for them.

They are offering a 3 hour course which supporting materials covering various aspects of the dental curriculum at university, along with tips on securing work experience, writing a strong personal statement and performing well during interviews. 

There is a cost to the course of £44.99, but the London school of dentistry state that it will allow
aspiring students to obtain some work experience in the current pandemic where in-person experience is very difficult to organise! If students are interested then they can sign up on: www.londonschoolofdentistry.co.uk

Links

School Website

School Shop

TAHS Weekly Newsletter. 

Please ensure that your son or daughter is aware of the sign out and in procedure that we have implemented.  In order to sign in and out all students must scan the QR code and complete the online form with name, date and time of signing in and/or out.

Images of the QR code to scan will be situated upstairs in the Sixth Form area.

All students must use this system if they are leaving school and when returning into school if it is on the same day.  This is in order for us to ensure the safety of our students and to adhere to safeguarding and fire safety regulations.

As we have now taken most o the photographs of our Year 12 students we can start putting their ID together, for those that were not able to have their photograph taken then they will be required to be in school at 1.20pm on Thursday 8^th October.

Y13

Students will need to:

Please complete pages 1 – 5 of the new ‘personal finance’ workbook which supports the 2 PowerPoints.  Find out about different payment methods and the best times to use them.  Also explore the costs of managing a household budget.  Fill in the blank budgeting sheet first then check your answers against the ‘budgeting sheet’ which is filled in.  This will be really useful for your future, including managing your budget (such as maintenance loan at university, or your first pay packet from an apprenticeship).  Please download these files from Teams – Mrs Dodd and myself will be checking to see who has accessed these.

Y12

The new focus for Skills lessons at the moment is personal finance.  For your Skills Session this week, please complete pages 1 – 5 of the new ‘personal finance’ workbook which supports the 2 PowerPoints.  Find out about income tax, NI, minimum wage etc and how council tax is spent.  Also find out about banking and explore which banks offer the best deals for students.  This will be really useful for your future, including setting up an account ready for a maintenance loan at university, or for your first pay packet from an apprenticeship.  Please download these files from Teams – Mrs Dodd and myself will be checking to see who has accessed these.

PE Update

We have begun practical PE lessons this week.  The activities delivered are based on the government’s guidance.  Please ensure all students in Years 9, 10 and 11 have all items of PE kit and that they fit correctly.
PE kit / Uniform List

• Black TAHS polo shirt
• Reversible TAHS rugby shirt ( This is for all outdoor lessons not just rugby)
• Black Shorts
• Black Football socks
• Black Swimming shorts / Swimming costume
• Shin Pads (Must be worn for Football and Hockey)
• Gum Shield (Must be worn for Hockey and Rugby)
• Football Boots 
• Indoor Trainers

Optional – Black Skort, Black TAHS fleece, Plain Black leggings, Plain Black Tracksuit bottomsCoats can be worn outside in inclement weather for PE.
Students will be informed of the activities they are doing on Insight. Due to the nature of the timetable and the changing government advice it is important students check this before each PE lesson for any changes.

Assessment Weeks- Year 11 and Year 13

A reminder to students in Year 11 and 13 that next two weeks are your first Assessment Weeks. You will be asked to complete some assessed work so that you can chart your progress against your targets grades. Your teachers will be able to guide your revision and help you develop skills for answering questions.  These will be completed in your classroom, but you will be expected to work in exam conditions, so completing tasks independently and within a specific time period. 

However, don’t worry- your staff have been planning assessments that will show your learning up to this point with a focus on what you have covered since returning in September. The best advice is to revise from what you have covered so far this term. 

Revision tip 1: Make a page of CORNELL NOTES summarising what you have learnt so far… See the link for how to make Cornell notes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtW9IyE04OQ

A Well Done…

Edwin from year 9 went above and beyond to make 44 boxes at home that all fitted inside each other. He worked out all of the sizes, assembled them in his own time. This was an extension from Miss Arrowsmith’s lesson in graphics!

Great job – Well done Edwin!

News from Science

This week’s Science Students of the Week are:

Year 9

Harriet and Daniel for excellent attitude and enthusiasm to learning, selected by Miss Thorley.

Year 10

Joseph for his consistent strive to better understand Science, selected by Mrs Simpson.

Year 11

Maddy for an excellent start to Chemistry, selected by Mrs Evans.

Billy and Daniel for brilliant cross curricula work to use maths skills to create a formula for calculating Half-Life in Nuclear Physics, selected by Mr Mitchell.

Year 12

Kerys, Caitlyn and Eleanor for excellent effort in lessons, selected by Mr Crum.

Year 13

Katelyn, Aimee, Ben and George, all for awesome participation in remote lessons, selected by Mr Crum.

Well done!

English Success

From English, we have had a lot of nominations for student of the week. Clearly all of the teachers are very impressed with the work being produced and the effort so many of you continue to make. Well done in particular to:

Year 9

Maisie Lawrie, Sam Lawrence, Garard Wall, Charlie Edge, Alisha Clarke, Amina Kirby, Ellie Baker, Joshua Beckett, Jayden Davies, Aaron Pike

Yr 10

Harriet E, Ella R, Liam A, Jack Van Hoek, Charles Fradley, Cerys Doughty, Tim Wild, William G, Neve Rounthwaite

Yr 11

Mollie B, Isla M, O’Shea Poole, Larbi Fadili, Alex Price, Bailey Redshaw

Yr 12

Lizzie Steele, Katie Gilbert, Eve Bednall, Sophie Whieldon, Rob Fuller

Yr 13

Aidan Rowland

Pastoral Update

With 5 weeks now completed I wanted to once again congratulate students on how well they continue to cope with their return to school. In particular the following students have made a tremendous start with the number of achievement points they have accrued: Martha Bednall (29), Ali Moustapha (25) and Savannah Omuso (25). Well Done!

The first half term is always a long one but we are over half way through and students need to be commended for their acceptance of all the new procedures that have enabled all year groups to remain in school not only safe and well but also to be able to resume and enjoy their learning within their classrooms. The atmosphere around school is extremely positive. PE lessons have resumed this week which has given both staff and students a real lift. It has been a pleasure seeing students out on the school fields enjoying their practical lessons. 

3 weeks until half term. Lets keep up all the hard work and progress we have made.

Mrs Major (Assistant Head : Pastoral)

Orme News

It’s incredibly inspiring to see the achievements made by Orme students, the number of credits accumulated is really very impressive. A special mention must go out to Aimee, Luke and Maddison in year 9 and Joseph and Milly in year 10. Well done to everyone for  all the positive behaviours across a number of different lessons.  The credits and attendance totals are even more important this year as we head towards the half term celebration assemblies, we may not be able to beat Elkes, Torrance and Whitmore on the sports field right now but we can beat them in the classroom.

House captain applications are still open, If you think you have the qualities we need; leadership, positivity, resilience and empathy then please write a letter of application and send it to me at Brassington@tahs.net  This should be no more than a single page so try to be clear and concise.

This coming week Mr Mitchell will deliver an assembly as it is Space Week. This will be delivered during our recovery session on Thursday, I am looking forward to learning something interesting about what’s going on out there.

“Science, my lad, is made up of mistakes, but they are mistakes which it is useful to make, because they lead little by little to the truth.”  Jules Verne

Torrance News

The first month of this academic year seems to have flown by! I’d like to congratulate the many students who had adapted to our new normal so well and have approached the last few weeks with positivity, patience and resilience. 

In this week’s skills session Year 11 have started to look at money matters, gaining an understanding of money management, credit scores and the impact they can have on future options and opportunities. We feel that an understanding of these matters is an essential life skill and  supports the work they have covered on mental wellbeing and self-awareness.  A number of students have expressed that they are keen to cover these topics so I look forward to hearing what they have learnt.Year 9 and 10 have continued their work on mental health and wellbeing, this week focusing on positivity and resilience. This has included stress management techniques and a range of activities to equip our students with the skills they require to handle stressful situations throughout life. As part of the focus on positivity, students were introduced to the Action for Happiness calendar. This month’s calendar is ‘Optimistic October’ and helps to give a positive focus through a short daily activity. Please see the link below if this is something you would like to engage with as a family during these challenging times. I have also included a number of other websites which support our PSHE curriculum delivered during skills sessions. 

Miss Keeling 
https://www.actionforhappiness.org/optimistic-october

https://youngminds.org.uk/

https://www.mind.org.uk/

https://barclayslifeskills.com/families/money-skills/money-talks/

Drama News

Many thanks to our year 11 GCSE Drama students for developing and performing their powerful, socially distanced dance piece for our open evening film. Well done to: Lily Williams, Heather Leech, Leanne Painter, Alyssa Whitehall, Lucy Lowther and Lara Taylor-Caine. 

Our GCSE Drama achiever of the week is Ella Russell in year 10 for her excellent response to her component 3 exam question, as well as her ongoing dedication and focus.

Well done to Ella. 

Message for all Year 9 parents

Year 9 have received their school photograph order forms in the skills session this week.  If you wish to place an order, please follow the guidance on the forms to pay order online directly through Tempest. If this is not an option, order forms can be handed in to the office up to Friday 16th October.

Rotary Writing Competition

Mrs Brophy is coordinating the Rotary club annual writing competition this year.brophy@tahs.net for those interested in entering. Details on support and guidance sessions to follow. Could you include the competition outline but not the privacy notice or application form please.

Career of the week

Having looked through some of the future intentions questionnaires there are a few of our Year 11’s interested in pursuing a career in rail. So this week we have chosen Train Drivers as our career of the week.

Job title: Train Driver	Train drivers operate trains on the rail network, carrying passengers and freight around the country   In this role you could be: check controls and equipment before a journeydrive the train between stations or freight depotsspeak with control centres along the route about any issuesfollow track signalling, safety and speed instructionsleave platforms and pull into stations safelymake passenger announcementscontrol automatic doorsposition and hand over engines to drivers on the next shiftrecord incidents like equipment problems, onboard issues or delays
Entry requirements:	You can get into this job through: an apprenticeship working towards this role by taking on another role for a rail company applying directly   Employers expect you to have GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 in English and Maths or equivalent qualifications.
Skills required:	You’ll need: concentration skills to be thorough and pay attention to detail patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations the ability to operate and control equipment knowledge of public safety and security observation and recording skills the ability to work well with others and on your own knowledge of transport methods, costs and benefits to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device   You’ll need to: to be over 20 years of age
What you’ll earn:	Depending on experience a train driver can earn between £20,000 and £60,000 a year.
Working hours, patterns and environment:	Your working environment may be noisy and you may spend nights away from homeYou may need to wear a uniform35 to 40 hours a week
Career path and progression:	Once you’re qualified, you could work on passenger, freight or engineering trains.   With experience, you could combine your job with instructing trainee drivers, who are learning new routes and cab controls. You could also become a driver trainer, teaching new starters in the classroom, working with driver simulators and accompanying trainees on journeys.   You could move into management, supervising drivers and making sure trains and crew are where they need to be on the rail network. Operations management is another possibility, planning future rail developments.

Source: https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/train-driver you can find more information and current opportunities on the national careers service website.

If you have any suggestions for a career you would like to know more about then please email us at futureintentions@tahs.org.uk

Upcoming events

Below are a number of upcoming events which students can independently sign up to.

UK University & Apprenticeship Search Virtual Fair on Wednesday 21 October from 12:00-18:00. The event is free, it will feature over 80 universities, colleges and apprenticeship providers, and it’s open to students in Year 13, 12 and 11. 

For more information and to register for the event click on the link below https://ukunisearch-west.vfairs.com/

The event will also include 10 webinars which will provide information on topics such as Choosing a course, Student finance, Personal statements, Employability and Apprenticeships

Once registered you will be able to access the virtual fair any time until Wednesday 4th November, but you will only be able to live chat with representatives and view the webinars on the day itself.

For help with registration or more information then please see Mrs Featherstone in the Careers office – room 74.

Medicine Seminars

The Medic Portal will be running three free Get Into Medicine Seminars over the coming month live online.

They will focus on how to succeed in the medical school interview (updated for this unique year) alongside top tips from admissions tutors.

Please can you share the free opportunity with your students from Year 11 onwards. They can sign up here.

They will run on the following dates and times:

       14th October: 5pm to 6.30pm

       4th November: 5pm to 6.30pm

       18th November: 5pm to 6.30pm

Your students will also get to hear from a top European Medical School, The University of Nicosia, on their unique programme.

London School of Dentistry – virtual work experience

London School of Dentistry would like to inform you about their online dentistry taster course for students! This course was created by current dentists to help younger students experience what it would be like to study dentistry at university, allowing them to make an informed decision before applying and pursuing it as a career. 

Their main aim is to help students realise whether dentistry is the career for them.

They are offering a 3 hour course which supporting materials covering various aspects of the dental curriculum at university, along with tips on securing work experience, writing a strong personal statement and performing well during interviews. 

There is a cost to the course of £44.99, but the London school of dentistry state that it will allow
aspiring students to obtain some work experience in the current pandemic where in-person experience is very difficult to organise!

If students are interested then they can sign up on: www.londonschoolofdentistry.co.uk

Links

School Website

School Shop