TAHS Weekly Newsletter.
Sixth Form Transition Lessons 2021.
This week has seen the start of our three week preparatory lessons in all Sixth form subjects. Subject specialists are leading all sessions, and it is a fantastic opportunity for students to learn more about their Sixth Form subjects, alongside supporting their transition from Key Stage 4 to 5, whilst ensuring they are fully prepared for September. Where students have ‘non contacts’ on their transition timetable they do not need to be in school. Students who catch the school bus are entitled to use the bus until the 25th of June 2021.
To further support transition, Mrs Featherstone, is offering careers drop-in sessions in room 74 during period 3 on the 7th, 10th, 21st and 24th of June should students wish to discuss their post-16 options to ensure that they facilitate their future intentions. If you wished to contact her directly, her email address is featherstone@tahs.net
At the end of this transition period, all subjects will issue summer bridging work, which must be completed and returned to the subject teacher(s) upon arrival to the Sixth Form in September. The compulsory bridging work will enable us to support students more effectively as they make the transition to post-16 study.
If you have any questions about Sixth Form Transition Lessons or wish to apply for a place in the Sixth Form, please contact Mrs Walton in the Sixth Form office on 01889 561820 or email sixthform@tahs.org.uk
FUTURE INTENTIONS YEAR 12
Please use this handy website for super curricular ideas and planning for university.
YEAR 12 REVISION
There is a wealth of revision material on the Y12 Team including a variety of revision planners, with around 68 tips around how to revise, templates for Cornell notes and also around academic literacy such as how to interpret questions and commands. This week’s Skills session gave students time to access these resources and start to plan their time. Please use these resources to support your revision for Y12 mocks and beyond. See the Sixth Form team if you would like any further support eg help to plan your time or different ways of revising.
YEAR 12 PERSONAL STATEMENTS
This week’s Skills session gave students chance to work on their personal statements and an opportunity to discuss this with their tutors whilst accessing Unifrog, which is the platform where their personal statements should be uploaded. Unifrog competencies also give useful sub-headings such as leadership, resilience and academic achievements which students can complete then copy and paste into their final personal statement. The Y12 Team gives a range of supporting resources as does Unifrog such as exemplar personal statements for each subject. Students should all have started their personal statements and be working on these ready to give drafts to form tutors and academic tutors as soon as possible. Please see the Sixth Form team or your academic tutors if you require further support. The Teams document ‘distance learning – acing your personal statement’ gives a useful structure and advice. Mr Robinson-White has also uploaded a whole host of personal statement information on this link: bit.ly/tahs6thF and this is also available on our Twitter page. Students not planning to go to university should also complete these tasks as they will form a useful CV or supporting documents for apprenticeships/employment.
YEAR 12 GCSE CERTIFICATES
Students who have not received their next GCSE certificates can collect them from Mrs Walton in the Sixth Form office
COVID-19 Test Kits
Any Sixth Form students who have not received their next batch of COVID-19 test kits can collect them from Mrs Walton in the Sixth Form office.
Year 13 – Gofundme
Can you help support our Year 13 students.
Over the past 18 months students education has been massively disrupted due to COVID-19 and everyone has had to work tirelessly to adapt to an unprecedented and ever-changing environment.
Normally, the Senior Prefect Team, would have been organising Sixth Form balls, fundraisers, and activities for the sixth form to raise the funds to provide an end of year celebration of what we have achieved in the Sixth Form. Sadly, however, this has not been possible ☹️. We feel like it is our responsibility to provide one final celebration for our peers so that they can finish off this chapter in a positive way.
We are therefore reaching out to the community in trying to raise money to support us in paying for our formal leaver’s celebration, making it accessible to everyone in Year 13, regardless of their circumstances.
If you would like to support us you can make a donation on our gofundme page by clicking on the link : https://gofund.me/aadc3a6b
Thank you for helping us achieve our goal!
Donations of Outgoing Year 11 Uniform
This is a polite request for any donations of items of school uniform from current Year 11 students who will have no use of these items following their completion of Year 11. Any items from foot to neck that are suitable for reuse would be greatly appreciated. If you have any such items could they please be brought to the school office situated in the Main Reception. Thank you.
PE Update
It has been great for students to return to PE lessons. We have begun the term with, rounders, cricket, softball, swimming, tennis and frisbee. Please ensure all students have full PE Kit. They will all require , Black Polo shirt, Black Shorts, Sports socks, Indoor Trainers. Students also require a black swim costume / black swim shorts. If students are injured or unwell they should bring a note and their PE kit as the will still have a role to play in the lesson and should have a coat if the weather in inclement. BTEC Sport
** We have purchased on line learning resources for BTEC Students in Yr10, 11, 12, 13. Please see Teams for Log In details and how to access the resources **
Year 10 – students are working towards coursework on Sports Injuries and Technology
Year 11- All Component 3 coursework needs completing on Teams.
Year 12- Students are now working on Unit 3 developing understanding of the sports industry. Students should now be using homework and independent study time to work on their Coursework. During lessons students are taking part in practical methods of training.
Science News
This week’s Science Students of the Week are:
Year 9
Miss Lowson would like to nominate:
Libby L – 9E1 – for fantastic contributions in class.
Paulina G – 9W1 – for excellent engagement.
Lennon E – 9W1 – for producing fantastic class work.
Year 10
Mrs Keeling would like to nominate Sylvia S – 10U2 Biology – for great assessment and excellent effort on next steps and Erin P – 10H4 Biology for great effort in lesson.
Miss Lowson would like to nominate Lochlann H – 10O1 – for consistently working hard and Charlie A – 10T2 – for consistently working hard and producing fantastic work.
And also, the whole of 10H3 for conducting the Specific Heat Capacity practical safely and collecting good results.
Mrs Hughes would like to nominate the following students from 10H3 for their excellent chemistry results: Jack B, Elliot F, Zita M, Grace S, Megan S, Daisy T and Tim W.
And also, the following students from 10U3 for their excellent effort in their chemistry lesson: Livvy E, Harry G, Ryan J, Eliza K, Sadie O’B, Mia S and Sophie W.
And a special mention from Miss Thorley to the four Year 10 students who made a brilliant contribution to the School Prospectus photos!
Year 12
Mr Milward would like to nominate Eve B and Alice B, both in 12E, for their dedication to the Biology course.
Well done!
English Stars
Students of the week for English this week are:
Year 9 Charlie E, Logan C, Lennon E, Garrard W, Caitlin D
Year 10 Eliza K
Year 11 Henry W
Congratulations to Evan O and Victoria H in 9HS who entered a mini-crime saga writing competition and have been published in the ‘Young Writers’ anthology ‘Unsolved’. They will be awarded book token prizes for their excellent achievement. Well done both!
Animal Care
Students are approaching the final deadline for the first piece of animal care coursework on Animal Handling. The deadline for this is:10B 25th June10D 2nd July. This piece of work is worth 25% of the final BTEC grade. All students, who have submitted their work, have now received feedback and they have a small number of classroom lessons to complete the next steps. They are also welcome to work on this at home and will be encouraged to upload their work to their Teams account or their email. I will also be available after school on Wednesdays until 4pm if anyone wants additional support. All resources have been posted on Teams and INSIGHT and students are welcome to contact Mrs North at any time via Teams if they have any problems.
Volunteering at Burton Hospital
We are thrilled to announce that Thomas Alleyne’s has been asked to work alongside Queens Hospital, Burton on its Social Action Campaign. This is a fantastic opportunity for any students over the age of 16 who would like to gain work experience in a hospital setting. It will also count towards the volunteering section of the Duke of Edinburgh Award and work experience hours for the BTEC Health and Social Care qualification.
What’s Involved
As part of the volunteering you will be going onto wards to contribute to patients wellbeing, encouraging nutritional and hydration intake and helping with patient surveys. In this role you will engage with patients and ward staff, working as part of a team, building relationships and gaining a greater understanding of how a hospital operates.
What Is Expected Of You
You will need to be able to commit to two hours per week for sixteen to eighteen weeks and be willing to complete a reflection diary.
What You Will Get In Return
Training and mentoring by hospital staff, a uniform, support and a reference at the end.
If you would like to know more about this fantastic opportunity, Simon Passam, the voluntary services coordinator will be giving a presentation via Teams at 4pm on Tuesday 15th June. If you would like an invite to this presentation, please reply to Mrs North using the following email address: north@tahs.org.uk
Apprenticeship Opportunities
I have created a new tab on the school website where I will post apprenticeship opportunities shared with the school. At the moment there are two accounting opportunities, a welding and fabrication and a carpentry role which have all been shared by local businesses with the school.
Thomas Alleyne’s High School – Local Job Vacancies (thomasalleynes.uk)
If students need support applying for apprenticeships then they can contact me at featherstone@tahs.net.
UK University & Apprenticeship Search Virtual Fair – Wednesday 16th June 2021
We would like to encourage students to register and take part in the UK University & Apprenticeship Search Virtual Fair. The event takes place on Wednesday 16th June and our students can join from home between the hours of 3.30 and 6pm. This free event features a multitude of universities, colleges, and apprenticeship providers from around the UK, along with 10 interactive webinars and virtual campus tours. It is aimed at years 13, 12, 11, and 10 as well as parents. The event will provide your child with all the information they need to make informed decisions about their post-18 options.
Students, parents and carers simply need to register online at: https://ukunisearchnorth.vfairs.com/
Students and parents can chat directly with a mixture of Russell Group, red brick, and modern universities from around the UK to find out invaluable information about courses and life at university, and discover what admissions tutors are looking for in UCAS applications. Attendees can also speak to colleges, universities and local and national companies about their apprenticeship schemes.
10 interactive webinars will run throughout the day on a variety of university and apprenticeship topics, such as UCAS Personal Statements, Careers & Employability, Clearing, Student Finance, and Apprenticeships. There is also a special webinar to help support parents and teachers taking place at 17:00. The webinars are run by university and apprenticeship professionals who will also host Q&A sessions after the presentations. You can view the webinar timetable and presenters list using this link: https://ukunisearchnorth.vfairs.com/en/webinar-timetable
Students should try to register in advance to receive reminder emails with new exhibitor alerts, information on how the day will work and how your child can make the most of the exhibitor interactions.
Each webinar is recorded so students can watch any of interest after the live session has taken place. After 23rd June all webinars will be available to stream on StudentStream along with lots of other videos from universities: http://studentstream.co.uk Please encourage your son or daughter to book their free place and view the list of exhibitors who’ve signed up so far here: https://ukunisearchnorth.vfairs.com/. We recommend registering for the event as soon as possible to ensure students have time to prepare for the big day.
Career of the week
The 11th June is TECHOGNITION day which is a national celebration of technical support staff, recognising the importance of their essential roles in school and FE college education. So with this in mind I have chosen Science Technician as our career of the week!
| Job title: | Lab technician – Laboratory technicians support scientists and help carry out tests, research and investigations. You will work safely, following strict guidelines. You could do routine or one off tests and will: set up experiments and investigations carry out risk assessments collect and analyse samples prepare solutions, cultures or specimens record and present data order and control stock dispose of chemicals and waste products safely clean and maintain equipment |
| Entry requirements: | You can get into this job through: University You could do a foundation degree, higher national diploma or degree course in: biology, chemistry, physics or forensic science Entry requirements – · 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English, Maths & Science · 3 A levels or equivalent College You could take a college course to help improve your chances of finding work. Courses include: Level 2 Certificate or Level 3 Diploma in Applied Science Chemistry, Physics or Biology A levels T level for Laboratory Technicians Entry requirements – 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent, for a level 2 course 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths for a T level Apprenticeship Apprenticeships relevant to this role include: Level 3 Laboratory technician or Level 5 Technician scientist Entry requirements 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English, maths and science 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship |
| Skills required: | You’ll need: knowledge of chemistry including the safe use and disposal of chemicals knowledge of biology the ability to work well with your hands to be thorough and pay attention to detail the ability to use your initiative the ability to work well with others administration skills maths knowledge to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently |
| What you’ll earn: | £17000 – £30,000 |
| Working hours, patterns and environment: | You could work in a laboratory or an education establishment, with contracts varying from 38-52 weeks of the year. You may need to wear protective clothing. |
| Career path and progression: | With experience, you could progress to team manager or lab supervisor, or specialise in complex analysis work. With a degree and experience you could move into a research technician role. |
Thomas Alleyne's high school 