Newsletter May 2010
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Issue 6 May 2010 Newsletter Welcome from the Principal Welcome to this Summer 2010 Issue of Woodhouse College’s Newsletter. Now that you have started read- ing, I hope you will persevere as this Newsletter contains both very important and timely information for parents and lots of articles which celebrate the successes of many of our students and give a flavour of ac- tivities, sometimes unsung and unpublicised, which makes the College what it is - an outstanding educa- tional institution. I am delighted to be able to inform you that I was invited by the Prime Minister to attend a reception at Downing Street in March to celebrate the achievements of the highest performing and most quickly im- proving colleges in England. Staff and students should be very proud of their achievements which have made it possible for the College to be recognised as one of the highest performing in the country. In the Spring 2010 Newsletter I notified you that from the 1 st April 2010 the College would become a Designated Sixth Form College and be part of a new distinct sector of Sixth Form Colleges. Despite being April Fools’ Day the transition passed without incident and the Chair of Governors and I attended a very enjoyable event, later in the month, at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre to celebrate the launch of the new sector of some 100 sixth form colleges. To those of you who are 6U students, I do hope you have both enjoyed and feel you have benefited from your two years at Woodhouse College. I also hope you have positive memories of your time at the College and that you have made many lasting friendships. I wish you all every success in the future and hope that you will come back to visit us. To all students, I wish you every success in your forthcoming examinations. I hope you enjoy reading this Newsletter. Keith Murdoch Exams Students have all been given their personal exam timetables, and they are also available on Woodle (our virtual learning environment). Morning exams start at 9.00 and afternoon exams at 1.30, and students must aim to get there at least 30 minutes before the start. Every year we have students who miss a morning exam thinking it is in the afternoon. Please encourage your son/daughter to check their timetable carefully! If a student is late for an exam, they should try to come in as soon as possible. We can often let them take the exam in full and then report any circumstances to the exam board. We ask students not to bring mobile devices with them to exam rooms. Even if left in a bag, a mobile could disqualify a student from the exam. It happens every year! Issue 6 Important Dates Lower Sixth Study Leave begins : 17 May Upper Sixth Study Leave begins : 24 May Parent HE Information Evening : 8 June AS students return from Study Leave : 16 June Upper Sixth Prom : 2 July End of Term : 8 July Work Experience Week : 12-16July AS/A2 Results : 19 August GCSE Results : 24 August A2 Enrolment : 24-26 August A2 Teaching Begins : 2 September What will AS students be doing after their exams? A2 Work We will be starting A2 work in all subjects. Students will be expected to continue with all four subjects since they often change their minds about which to continue with once they see their exam results. We will not be repeating this work in the autumn, so we will expect students to take it seriously! University Applications Students will also be working on their university applications through the UCAS process. There will be tutorials to support this and a special day in which speakers from various universities will come in to talk with students. Ideally, this is the time when students make up their mind about what course to apply for and which universities. Many university open days take place in the summer, and we encourage students to attend these. There will be a parents’ meeting on 8 June to find out more about the process of applying to university. Extended Projects Finally, some students will be starting work on an Extended Project . The Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) is a new one, just two years old, and worth half an A Level. Some of the top universities have told us that they really value the EPQ, and it gives students something to write about in their applications and talk about at interviews. But it is a very tough qualification and requires a lot of independent study over the summer. Page 2 Newsletter Careers Information Student Finance applications for 2010 (6U): Just a note to say that Joanna in Careers is the contact for any problems with student finance applications. The main point being to sort this out sooner rather than later! The deadline for parental-income assessed applications is 25th June 2010. Joanna is available for one-to-one help on any Careers issue. Students can ask for help by either: ♦ emailing Joanna Greatwich: [email protected] , ♦ booking a Careers appointment with Joanna or Antonia ( Connexions) by writing their name on the Careers Office door appointments list ♦ coming to a drop-in at Careers (usually 12 — 12.30pm Monday and 10 — 10.30am Tues — Friday) Teacher News We are sad to say farewell to the following teachers: Aisha Rabbani has left to become head of ICT at a school. Her lessons are for the moment being ably covered by Mr Moss and Mr Alavi. Steven Deane is returning to Merseyside where he will be able to witness at first hand the further decline of his beloved Liverpool FC. He is being replaced by James Campbell, currently at Friern Barnet School. Anne Thompstone is sadly returning to New Zealand. We are currently in the process of appointing a new Head of Maths. Binnaz Harris has had a baby boy. She is planning to return in October. Equality Policy — Consultation The College has written a new Equality Policy. This updates our old policies into a single document and takes into account new laws. It is currently in draft form, and we are consulting staff and students for their views. If you would like to read it and give us some feedback, it is on our website at www.woodhouse.ac.uk under About Us/Equal Opportunities. We would be very grateful for any views from parents. Page 3 Issue 6 Issue 6 Duke of Edinburgh Update Forty six L6 students will be going out on expeditions on 28 June and 12 July as part of their Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award. After a year of working hard on developing new skills, sports and voluntary service, the students will be braving the elements and heading for the hills armed with their navigation skills and compasses. Watch this space to find out how they get on (and keeping your fingers crossed for good weather would be much appreciated!) There will be a meeting for parents on the evening of Tuesday 22 June for more information. Election Debate 21 April 2010 — Woodhouse College was host to a hustings of the three main parliamentary candidates for Finchley and Golders Green (one of the most marginal constituencies in Britain). Students gathered to ask searching questions, probing the candidates on their policies and record. Mike Freer, the Conservative candidate, was questioned about his record as Leader of the Council and was subject to robust examination of his 'easy-council' idea and money lost to Icelandic banks. Alison Moore, the Labour candidate, was questioned about her party leadership and whether she expected third place for Labour, and the Lib Dems were questioned about their plans to scrap Trident. The debate was at times stimulating and rigorous albeit a little contrived. A special mention to Arlinda Bala who organised the speakers and Brook Hewett who chaired it su- perbly. Page 4 Newsletter “A Great Ending to a Successful Programme” With these words Tola Olaoke summed up the experience of her first graduation ceremony on 29 April. Alongside her classmates Tola was part of the first cohort of Woodhouse students to graduate from the College’s Career Academy in Business. With parents, business mentors, employ- ers and dignitaries watching, our Academy members were among the 289 students to graduate at a formal ceremony held at London University. The event marks the culmination of an intensive two year programme aimed at preparing students for careers in business. All the students have studied for a full A Level programme including a double A Level in Ap- plied Business and have completed internships, visits and a mentoring programme. Their programme has included guidance from representa- tives of major companies such as Waitrose, HSBC and Pentland who have volunteered to help build the next generation of business leaders. Two of the mentors who attended the event, Irenie Ekkashis of The Traveller and Chloe Agathangelou of Deutsche Bank (pictured), were proud to wit- ness the students reach this milestone. Nataneal Diaz pictured receiving his graduation certificate from Frederic Drevon (SEO Moody’s), commented that, “the ceremony was a very enjoyable evening that I am going to remember for a long time”. Internships? All of the students pictured completed six week internships last summer. Most pick this as a highlight of their two years at Woodhouse having experienced working at Tesco, Halifax, Barnet Homes, the LSC, Hiremech and Abbey. We are always on the look out for business support – particularly for internships and recognise that the business environment has had a challenging time. If you, or someone you know, might be in a position to offer a placement to this year’s cohort please get in touch by contacting Ian Hooper, Director of Curriculum, via email [email protected] or telephone on 020 8492 8270 for more in- formation.