Headteacher’s Message

Welcome to the final half term of the year. This week, students in years 7 and 8 have been sitting their end of year exams. These assessments are an important opportunity for staff to judge how well students have progressed in their learning in this unusual year. Teachers will be able to adjust the curriculum to take account of any gaps in learning they identify. We have been delighted with the serious and sensible way students have approached their assessments. In any normal year, we would have exams at this time, but given the fact that year 7 students did not have the experience of SATs in year 6, these assessments are part of the process of consolidating learning, and practising skills of working in timed conditions. Next week year 7 and 8 students will be completing the small number of assessments we were not able to fit into this week of exams. Year 9, 10, and 12 students, who are on their exam courses, will be sitting exams in the next two weeks. They will often be in the style of the exam papers they will finally be sitting. For year 12 students in particular, they offer a good opportunity for students to show what they have learned, and will be a key piece of evidence teachers use when deciding predicted grades as part of the UCAS process next year.

In lgith of these exams, once again, we will have some changes to breaktimes, as shown below.

Year 6

Chenderit will be welcoming Year 6 students next week. Some are invited in on Tuesday and others will be joining us on Thursday. All the students will be getting to know their new tutor, their way around school and hopefully making friends with their peers. The whole Chenderit community welcome them and hope that they reach their full potential while at Chenderit. In my message at the end of last term, I asked parents and carers for their views about our school in order to help governors and school leaders determine our school’s priorities in the future. Thank you to those parents who have contributed so far. If you would still like to share your views, please use the following links to answer our 14 questions, which should take you no more than about 10 minutes. Years 7-11: https://forms.gle/ohmMvZYcGgN43qdR6 : https://forms.gle/fUbLqRhRroJ5obft5

We appreciate all contributions and will share the results with you next week. The links will be de-activated at the close of school on Monday 14th June. I wish our whole school community a warm, sunny and enjoyable weekend.

GCSE Latin Opportunity (For Y8 and Y9 students who will be in Y9 and Y10 from September, 2021)

Please read the information below and more details about the scheme are available at: https://clasoutreach.web.ox.ac.uk/oxlat#collapse911611 Mr. Williamson (Head of MFL, room 37) can help you with applying for this, and give you an application form, so please come and speak to him or send him an email.

Please note: This GCSE course is organised by the of Oxford and all teaching takes place there on Saturday mornings. Chenderit School does not teach or assess any of the course content. Students can be entered for the GCSE Latin examinations, which they will sit at Chenderit School in 2023.

PE

We are re-starting our after-school offer next week for school sport and activity. We have had some feedback from students and we are aiming to offer a number of activities for students in each session. We are hoping and planning for a full programme (including netball, football, rugby etc) from September but are only able to offer one after-school slot per year group per week due to our Covid risk assessment. The emphasis is on enjoying activity, or trying a new activity as students have been denied this since the last summer lockdown,. We would also like to engage with students who are not normally active. Example activities include: rounders, tennis, cricket, athletics but we are open to suggestions! We can coach and accommodate a number of different activities per session so students just need to think in advance and we will try to keep everyone happy. Y7 = Tuesday 3.15 – 4.30 outside Y8 = Wednesday 2.55 – 4.10 outside Y9 & 10 (separated & remaining in year group bubbles) = Thursday 3.15 – 4.30 outside

We are in the throes of planning a Covid compliant hybrid Sports Day too! We are hoping it will take place on the day ,as calendared (6th July). We will publish details soon!

Alfie Briggs - MSUK British Kart Championship Round 2 Congratulations to Alfie (Y8) Last weekend Alfie competed in GYG Karting, North Wales for the first and second round of the National Super One Championship. He had a clean sweep on both days, taking pole position and winning all the heats and the finals. Well done, Alfie.

News from the Art Department End of Year Exams This week, students in Years Seven and Eight have been completing their End of Year assessments for Art. Next week, it’s the turn of , with and assessments in the week after. It’s a very busy time of year! A massive “thank you” to all students for approaching these practical assessments with such diligence and concentration. It has been good to see how students have been using the skills they have learned and practised throughout the year to such good effect. Hard work is always rewarded, and every student should remember that practise is the best way to improve. Please also note that students’ results will not affect groupings next year: we are committed to mixed ability groups at each , with every student encouraged to reach their own potential. We want everyone to enjoy art, to be able to develop their skills and to create work that they are proud of. Mr Christy is still hoping that one day a Chenderit student will go on to take the art world by storm, win The Turner Prize or have a solo exhibition at Tate Modern. However good you feel you are at art at the moment, remember that practise will help you become a better artist. If you want to make it in the art world, you need to do three things: You need to aim high. You need to work hard. You need to be nice. New On-Line Exhibition from the Heseltine Gallery While The Heseltine Gallery remains closed to the public, exhibitions have moved on-line. The latest exhibition opened this week and is definitely worth investigating. “Still Lives: Observational Drawing from the Age of Lockdown” reveals an assortment of observational drawings and paintings from some of Chenderit’s Year Eleven students. We are very proud of what these students have achieved. If you get a chance, please do check it out: https://www.theheseltinegallery.org.uk/still-lives

The term “still life” has, for these students and many more like them, taken on a new meaning in this last year. Lives have been put on hold, while we await the next announcement or rule change. These students have used that extra independent time available to develop their skills and to practise their drawing. These students have stepped up to the challenge and have excelled. The drawings selected are testament to their hard work and focus.

Chenderit Sixth Form Sixth Form Weekly Bulletin Week Beginning: 7th June 2021

Revision hints and tips for Year 12 Year 13 University Applicants

Our Year 12 students have their PPEs beginning next We have introduced our Year 12 students to UCAS week. This week in tutor time, we are focusing on how over the past half term, and they are well on their way to revise effectively, and here is a summary of the with their first drafts of their personal statements. strategies we recommend for each of our students to Last week, students were given an assembly to follow: introduce them to the UCAS application process so  Completing more practice questions and take they are aware of how to complete their applications. time to understand the feedback Whilst these application forms are live, they cannot  Understanding where they lose marks and what submit them until 7th September, so ensuring they take easy fixes can be made the time to complete them now puts them in good  Not focusing on “competition” or on how stead to get their applications in early. others are performing Please see the dates below for an overview of the  Using exemplar material – how can they gain UCAS application process for your child if they wish the marks? Examiners reports are a useful to go to university in 2022: source of information for this  7th September 2021: completed applications can  Avoiding stress and negativity be submitted  Organising their equipment and resources – are  15th October 2021: Deadline for Oxbridge, they fully organised for each exam and do they Medicine, Veterinary Science and Dentistry have everything they need? courses  Completing smaller chunks of revision –  26th January 2022: Deadline for all complete 30 minute sessions throughout the undergraduate applications to be submitted for day rather than hours at a time equal considerations (applications can be  Condensing knowledge down – use flashcards submitted after this, but if courses are full then and mind maps places may then be unavailable).  Putting phones away when revising!  5th July 2022: Clearing for 2022 entry opens Please do encourage your child to follow these hints  11th August 2022: A Level Results Day (TBC) and tips to ensure they get the results they deserve in and places released through UCAS Track. their PPEs.

Apprenticeships

Application dates for apprenticeships do vary and will come up at different points throughout the year. We encourage our students to use the Apprenticeship tool on Unifrog and the following Tutor Programme websites to keep track of each new opportunity that is posted: https://www.gov.uk/apply- As you will have read, this week in tutor time we apprenticeship have shifted our focus for our Year 12 students from https://www.ucas.com/apprenticeships-in-the-uk their personal statements and post-18 destination We also regularly email students with applications to revision strategies. Students will use apprenticeship opportunities and we were lucky to tutor time over the next two weeks to put the have external speakers from Karcher in to speak to suggested strategies into practice and see which work our Year 12 students who are interested in pursuing best for them. Good luck for your assessments, Year an apprenticeship post-18 too. 12! Chenderit

Sixth Form Transition Day 22nd June 2021

Our Transition Day is taking place on Tuesday 22nd June and a letter has been sent to all applicants, parents and carers with more information about the day.

We look forward to seeing all of our prospective students again on Tuesday 22nd June!

If you have any further questions, please contact a member of the Sixth Form Team:  Mr Belstone – Head of Sixth Form [email protected]  Mrs J Rowe – Deputy Head of Sixth Form [email protected]  Mrs K Smith – Study Skills Supervisor [email protected] History June 2021 Termly History Prize Winners: One of the things that I enjoy most is contacting parents to inform them of how well their child is doing in history. The history department awarded the termly history prizes at the end of last term. Having emailed home during lockdown rather than sending a postcard, I found that this was a better way of providing feedback to parents, so I stuck with it. The winners for last term were: Y7-Lottie Tims: Completes all tasks, including extension tasks, to the highest standard. Lottie is motivated and enthusiastic. She has lots of interesting questions to answer and loves to get involved in class discussions. Y8-Tallulah Robertson: Is an absolute diamond. She is a real self-starter. She gets on with tasks quietly and independently, including extension work, and has consistently over-achieved in consequence. Y9-Jack Bowen: Completes all classwork and homework to the highest standard. Is mature, confident and sets a good example for others to follow. Is generally, a lovely lad. Y10-Emily Strong: Determined, mature and capable. Produces superb written work. Has developed a comprehensive understanding of exam technique. Has maintained the highest standard of work all year. Y11-Emma Prew: Has shown the very best of herself whilst undertaking her end of year assessments. Put in many hours of revision and has been able to produce assessed work of an outstanding standard. Y12-Yeva Maynard: Has grown in confidence over the year. Asks thought-provoking questions and values the importance of discussion in A-Level history. Y13-Rachel Maclean: The consummate history student. Works incredibly hard, consistently produces written work of the highest possible standard. Always keen to read and learn more about a diverse range of historical topics.

Chenderit History News: students have completed their studies on the Tudor period. Recently, they have been looking at the causes and events of the English Civil War. Next, they will be looking at the aftermath of the Civil War, before moving on to study the Industrial Revolution. We have designed a new series of lessons for the Industrial Revolution topic, and we are looking forward to delivering them to the students for the first time. students have recently been studying the extent to which the idea of Blitz Spirit during the Second World War was a reality. They then studied the events of the Holocaust. In particular, we look at how life for Jewish people changed during the 1930s and 1940s. Lately, they have begun their studies on the Cold War. Next, they will look at end of the British Empire, post-war migration and Civil Rights in the USA. Year nine students have almost completed their studies on Whitechapel now, having completed Crime and Punishment earlier in the year. After they have completed the revision for their end of year tests, and the tests themselves, as well as the end of the Whitechapel course, they will begin learning the content for Paper 2, Early Elizabethan . Year ten students are getting towards the end of their studies on the American West. Soon they will be starting the last of their four topics: Weimar and Nazi Germany. Although in some ways the most difficult of the four, it is the one that students often look forward to. Year eleven students have now completed all of their assessed work for history and left us on Friday 28th May. Many of them have worked incredibly hard to prepare for their end of year assessments, and we are hugely proud of what they have achieved. We are also really pleased that many of our year eleven students have opted to take history A-Level too! Year Twelve have nearly completed their studies into the Stuarts and Fascist Italy. In recent lessons, they have looked at Mussolini’s foreign policy and the extent to which it was successful, in the Italy part of the course and the Restoration in the Stuarts part of the course. I know that many are ready to begin their coursework and Civil Rights courses now. We will be doing so in the next week or two. Year thirteen students have completed all of their final assessments and, like year 11, they left us on Friday 28th May. Teaching Y13 this year has been a great pleasure, and they will be missed enormously. We are particularly proud of the five students who are going on to study history at university. We wish you well in your future endeavours.

Revision guides

Calling all Y11 and Y13 students- Do you want to donate your revision guides? If so, please drop them off into school. Current Y10 and 12 students can use them as they prepare for their examinations. Maths

Nomination from Mr Byford - Danny Bean (Year 10) - He has a fantastic attitude and works extremely hard every lesson. He is always attempting extension work and takes pride in his presentation. What particularly impresses me is how honest he is in his marking, many students will often change incorrect answers at the end and tick work as a result, Danny is honest in showing his mistakes and then putting the right answer in. This trait will help Danny to understand where he goes wrong and potentially change his thinking in future questions, well done.

Nomination from Mrs McMahon - Vinny Wilkins (Year 8) - Vinny has been working really hard on the work on percentages. He has really got the hang of finding a percentage of an amount. I hope that he has put in effort into revision for the end of unit tests. I would love Vinny to get a result he will be really proud of.

Nomination from Mrs Pennells - Roseanna Hale (Year 8) - Roseanna works hard every lesson. All notes are completed to a high standard; accurate and detailed. As a result of her hard work in lessons and her revision (in class and at home), Roseanna achieved an impressive Grade 5 in her recent unit assessment on straight line graphs. A fantastic achievement which shows her hard work is paying off! Well done Roseanna.

Nomination from Mr Dahal - Emma Martin (Year 12) - Year 12 have been studying proof by Mathematical Induction in Further Mathematics. Emma has produced outstanding work using this concept. This piece of work demonstrates an excellent understanding and manipulation of algebra.

Nomination from Mrs Bagga - Katie Cross (Year 10) - Katie has worked extremely hard throughout the year and shown real commitment. Her revision notes are clear and Katie often adds additional comments to aid her understanding. She works methodically and attempts extension work. I am very impressed with Katie’s attitude to learning. Well done!!

Nomination from Mrs Cooper - Seb Adkins (year 8) - Seb has shown himself to be a hardworking, conscientious student throughout the year. His work is always completed to a high standard and he always approaches learning with a positive attitude. In addition to this Seb has applied himself to extending his learning outside of the classroom gaining high marks in every homework and revision task that has been set. Brilliant work!

Nomination from Ms Kennedy - Edward Currier (Year 8) - Ed works fantastically hard every lesson and completes tasks with speed and accuracy, showing all working out. He participated in the UK Maths Challenge and due to his exceedingly high mark has gone through to the next stage of the competition, the Junior Kangaroo. Very few students are this successful. Well done, Ed! SAFEGUARDING – NETWORK RAIL

Due to the very high level of trespassing on the tracks by young people in your local area, Network Rail in partnership with Learn Live are working to help raise awareness to students across the UK educating them about the dangers of the train tracks through interactive digital delivery.

Please use the link to watch the relevant safety video at home before the school holidays as we traditionally see an increase in trespassing over this period.

We have made things easier for you to watch the free safety videos by just entering the email [email protected] into the I am registered field when you first watch the videos.

Please click on the link below to view the relevant safety video:

Primary school version: Age 7- 11 https://learnliveuk.com/network-rail-primary-school-safety-talk/

Secondary school version: Age 11-16 https://learnliveuk.com/network-rail-secondary-school-safety-talk/

College & University version: Age 16 plus https://learnliveuk.com/network-rail-college-safety-talk-lnw

Please note these are the recommended age ranges, we would always advise you to view the clips first to gauge suitability for your child.

The session is less than 15 minutes and explains why it is important to stay safe near the tracks.

Over 8 million students, parents and teachers from across the UK have significantly decreased the number of trespasses in their area through watching the safety clip.