Polesworth Matters

Dear All

Induction Day 2019 has been and gone! What a fabulous year group we have joining us in September. They have had a great day finding their way around, meeting staff and students and making new friends.

They have been polite, excited, enthusiastic and have thrown themselves into the life of the school one hundred percent. I want to say a huge thank you to our current students who have helped and supported our new year 7s throughout the day.

We had the privilege of meeting their parents in Thursday night and I very much look forward to working with you over the coming years.

This week we have also said goodbye to our trainee teachers. We wish them all the very best with their future careers and we very much look forward to welcoming a number of them back in September as newly qualified teachers. Congratulations on your achievements this year.

Just a reminder that 3rd July is our annual Open Evening for current year 5 students. We look forward to welcoming you all to Polesworth and showing you around our school.

Headteacher

Headteachers Message Music Department News

Sixth Form Matters - Applying for PE News University 2019/2020 i Heritage High Street Open Evening Letter In Y9, Y8, Y7 End of Year Exam timetables Bus Services to The Polesworth School

Will Barker this Y10 End of Year Exam timetable

Y9 Trip to Winvic Construction issue Contact Details

13th - D of E Silver June 5th Y13 Leavers Day 15th Qualifying Expedition 28th Y11 Leavers Day Y11-13 Model U.N. 5th- 7th 15th - Conference in B’ham 16th Y8 Jungle Run July

Y6 Induction 15th - 1st 11th Sports Day Y10 Work Experience Fortnight begins 19th Key Dates 3rd Open Evening 12th Out of Uniform 16th Y12 Induction Day June/

28th June 2019 Y11 Prom at Drayton 4th 12th Talent Show Reports to Parents — July Manor 19th Break up for Summer

Y12 Maths trip to Y8 History trip to the 18th - 4th 12th Y9 France/Germany Trips

Warwick University National Arboretum 22nd Issue 254

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On Tuesday 25th June we took all of our Year 12 students to the annual Higher Education Exhibition at the NEC. While degree level study is not for everyone, it is still the case that the majority of our post-16 students go on to university after completing their A levels – even if they have taken a GAP year or two – and it is absolutely crucial that students invest plenty of time into planning for and researching their applications. Applications are made during the Autumn term of Year 13 for a September or October start the following year. Here is a quick guide to some of the choices that students – and their parents/carers – should be starting to consider.

This is a big decision for many to make, especially in view of recent rises in tuition fees which are now £9250 a year, and an easy decision for others - but these are the factors to take into account:  It is still a once in a life-time opportunity to study a subject or subjects that you are passionate about in a stimulating environment where all are focused on a shared purpose: in other words, learning for learning’s sake!  University gives you the opportunity to meet with other students from wide-ranging backgrounds, develop exciting outside interests and forge lasting friendships.  It gives you the chance to adopt an independent lifestyle where you can organise your own agenda.  A degree is still a top level qualification.  Career prospects are enhanced and long-term financial success a possibility.  A degree is essential for some vocational courses e.g. medicine, dentistry, chartered engineering, teaching etc. and desirable in many career areas.  Studying for a degree allows you to develop transferable skills which can give you an edge in the fast changing world of employment; in many careers it is not the subject that you have studied at university that matters but the fact that you have demonstrated that you can work independently and successfully at such a high level.  In the current economic climate where jobs may be scarce, higher level qualifications could make all the difference. And according to some recent research, graduates enjoy a longer and healthier life! Students who decide to apply for university, however, will be embarking on a complex process: one that demands time, patience and careful research. It will be worth it but the initial problem is choice: which university and which course?  There are over 340 universities, university colleges, or colleges of Higher or Further Education offering degree level courses.  There are approximately 34,000 courses to choose from, ranging from the obvious subject areas to downright ridiculous or futuristic sounding subjects and covering lots of exciting areas of knowledge in between, with a real opportunity to take up something new, innovative, exciting and specialist!

Therefore, for Year 12 students that decision-making process has to start NOW! The Birmingham Higher Education Exhibition should have provided students with plenty of information and university prospectuses. University applications are made through UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Central Admissions Service, at www.ucas.com. The UCAS website is also a brilliant source of information about universities, courses, employment opportunities and so much more. Both students and parents can sign up to receive the UCAS newsletter: ucas.com/sign-up and UCAS will send personalised information about higher education, apprenticeships, gap years, internships, and a variety of other career options. Students can also register as an applicant with UCAS for entry 2020 now.

JUNE/JULY 2019 – UCAS Apply 2020 system open; students register with UCAS and start to complete application forms online.

TUESDAY 16th JULY 2019 – Parents and students HE Information Evening.

FROM 4TH SEPTEMBER 2019– applications for 2020 can be sent.

SEPTEMBER 2019 – off-timetable day for UCAS applications.

15TH OCTOBER 2019 6.00pm – deadline for submitting Oxford/Cambridge, medical, dentistry & veterinary applications – no late applications taken. Final date for registration for additional external tests required by some universities.

FRIDAY 13th DECEMBER - internal school deadline for submitting completed UCAS applications online to guarantee arrival at UCAS by 15th January.

15TH JANUARY 2020 6.00pm – main deadline for university applications.

25th FEBRUARY 2020 – UCAS Extra opens for students with no offers.

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020 onwards – Student Finance applications open.

31st MAY 2020 – deadline for Student Finance applications.

MAY/JUNE 2020 – students decide which 2 offers are to be kept (if more than 2 offers received): ‘FIRM’ (or first choice offer) & ‘INSURANCE’ (or second choice offer).

MAY/JUNE – A LEVEL EXAMINATIONS (from Monday 11th May)

24TH JUNE 2020: EXAMINATION CONTINGENCY DAY (in the event of any disruption to exams 11th May – 18th June – but no holidays should be booked between 11th May & 24th June – JCQ advice as examinations could be held at any time during this period).

THURSDAY AUGUST 13TH 2020 – A Level Results Day: university places confirmed; CLEARING for unsuccessful candidates. Students should not be on holiday on this day.

UNIVERSITY OPEN DAYS: ongoing throughout the year.

With so many different courses to choose from, this can be quite a challenging prospect. Some students will already know what courses they wish to pursue but others will be less certain – hence the need to put in the time researching options. Students can take up a traditional subject studied at A Level or take up a new subject e.g.. Archaeology or Law. For many of these subjects there is no requirement to have studied them before but obviously students will need to demonstrate an interest in or commitment to the subject in the personal statement section of the application to justify their choices. There are also many combined subject degrees e.g.. Maths and German or Human, Social and Political Science which allow students to pursue their interests in more than one area. Fortunately the UCAS website has an excellent ‘Course Search’ facility which must be the first point of reference for students.

Entry requirements for most universities are a guideline of the recommended ability the course provider expects students to have. For some universities and courses there are certain non-negotiable requirements. Each course and each institution will have different requirements – usually a mix of qualifications, subjects or exam grades that students should already have at GCSE level or be working towards. Some courses have an expectation of relevant work experience or even life skills (e.g.. social work courses). It is vital that students check out in advance just what qualifications are required for the courses in which they are interested. In making their university choices, students must be realistic so they should discuss their AS/ PPE results and final predicted grades with their teachers. Ideally, they should choose 5 courses with a range of entry requirements, 2 or 3 of which may be aspirational and 1 or 2 which may be ‘safer’ choices. In addition, some universities will set their own admissions tests or set an interview, audition, even a health check or perhaps an assessed task (e.g.. an essay, short statement) as part of the selection process. Some universities expect students to submit samples of work or take along a portfolio to an interview.

However, often the requirement is just 3 full A levels, although if a student applied for a History degree but hadn’t taken the subject at A Level, then admissions tutors are going to be wondering why! Science and Maths degree courses expect relevant A Levels and some IT courses want Maths while some do not. For subjects like Law students are not expected to have A Level Law and in fact, some universities (like Birmingham) prefer students NOT to have Law A Level. It’s worth remembering that courses such as Psychology and Primary Education will specify minimum GCSE grades in Science (usually C/5+) and most degree courses have a minimum expectation of a C/5+ (some courses may admit with 4+) in English AND Maths at GCSE.

UCAS Tariff points are used by some universities and colleges to set their entry requirements and to make offers. Instead of asking for grades, a university might express the offer as a number of points. To help understand how many points a qualification is worth, UCAS has a Tariff calculator but as a brief overview, grades convert into UCAS points as follows: Full A Level BTEC Subsid Diploma AS only in a subject A* = 56 points D* = 56 points A = 20 points A = 48 points D = 48 points B = 16 points B = 40 points M = 32 points C = 12 points C = 32 points P = 16 points D = 10 points D = 24 points E = 6 points E = 16 points

Some universities will take into account whether or not a fourth subject has been taken and may make a lower offer. The majority of degree courses expect a minimum of 3 full A Levels. Students must bear in mind the fact that the MORE they can offer a university, the MORE they have done over and above the minimum demands of their courses and the MORE they have done in their own time e.g.. Duke of Edinburgh, Music, Dance qualifications, qualifying as a pilot, playing a sport at county level, wider reading, voluntary work, study weeks, MOOCs etc., the MORE likely they are to get the offers from the universities they want.

A group of 24 prestigious universities (Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Durham, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Imperial College London, King’s College London, Leeds, Liverpool, London School of Economics, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford, Queen’s University, Belfast, Sheffield, Southampton, University College London, , York) which has produced its own guide to accessing degree courses at these universities. The new and updated guide for 2020 can be accessed online at www.informedchoices.ac.uk or Google ‘Russell Group Informed Choices’. Although it is aimed at students thinking about their A levels in Years 10 and 11, it provides a lot of relevant information for Year 12s who are considering university application. However, please bear in mind that the Russell Group universities are not the only prestigious universities.

If a university identifies a good potential student then that student will most likely be made a conditional offer. This means that he/she has a place to study at that university on the condition that the university’s entry requirements are met. Students can find out from the UCAS website in advance what grades universities and particular courses typically require. The offer will be worded in one of several ways:  Minimum grades to be achieved at full A Level e.g. AAB, BBC, CCD; 3 subjects at full A Level is usually the norm.  Minimum grades at full A Level + a specified grade in a specified subject e.g. ABB, with grade A in Maths for a Maths degree.  Minimum grades at A Level + grade 4/5+ in English/Maths at GCSE if this has not already been achieved.  Minimum number of A Level points. Please note that some universities are now using the A* at full A Level as part of their offer e.g. Oxford, Cambridge, Warwick.

Over the last 7 years there has been a significant increase in the numbers of students receiving unconditional offers from universities. An unconditional offer does not mean that students don’t even have to take their A Levels to go to a particular university or that they can fail their exams, but it does mean that a university may accept a student with either 2 or 3 A Levels of any pass grade (A* - E). While this may seem a very tempting offer, students and parents should be very cautious about accepting such an offer, particularly if the offer is based on just 2 subject passes.  Is this the university that the student really wants to go to?  Think about the future: employers ALWAYS look at A Level grades and many professions state a minimum of 3 A Levels.  How might such an offer affect a student’s motivation? The government, however, has become very concerned, for many reasons, about the rise in the numbers of unconditional offers being made and considers the use of such offers a form of unfair pressure on students to select one university over another. Consequently, many universities have already declared that they will cease making unconditional offers for 2020, but may instead make reduced offers to strong applicants.

Students apply for a maximum of 5 universities or courses and when they have received responses from all their universities, usually by April, they can hold on to 2 offers: a first choice or FIRM offer and a second choice or INSURANCE offer. These decisions are made in May/June.

University places are confirmed when A level results are published in August and our experience is that the majority of students are accepted at their first choice universities, even if they have just missed their entry requirements. For those students who have not achieved their entry requirements and are turned down by their universities, then UCAS offers a Clearing service and again, we find that the majority of students seeking a place through Clearing find an appropriate course within a couple of weeks.

In addition to the UCAS website, the following websites are also useful: www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk www.thestudentroom.co.uk www.applytouni.com www.university.which.co.uk www.informedchoices.ac.uk www.gov.uk/student-finance www.icould.com www.prospects.com

We wish all the best to this year’s cohort of Year 12 students who will be embarking on the exciting process of preparing for the next stage of their education.

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Bus Services to The Polesworth School from the Tamworth Area

South Staffs Coach Hire operate two bus services to The Polesworth School from the local Tamworth area. Take the hassle out of the daily car journey to and from school and let your child travel on one of our services.

Service 776 Glascote to Polesworth - via Kettlebrook, Two Gates, Dosthill, and Stoneydelph

Service 777 Glascote to Polesworth - via Bolehall and Amington

Bus passes for the 2019/20 academic year are now on sale! If you are interested in purchasing one please get in touch with us via email [email protected], by phone on 01827 316722 or visit our website www.southstaffscoachhire.com .

Will Barker Theatretrain provides professional training in Theatre Arts for 6-18 year olds. Will has been a member of the branch for the last six years. On Sunday 23rd June Theatretrain Coventry pupils joined forces with over a thousand performers from 29 other Theatretrain Centres across the UK at the Royal Albert Hall to perform MOVE! ,a show centred around the eight Laban efforts. Alongside a stupendous live fifteen piece orchestra they performed their way through over thirty pieces of music ranging in style from David Bowie's Life on Mars and Stormzy's Blinded By Your Grace to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody with many Classical pieces also such as Barber's Adagio and The Blue Danube receiving not one but two standing ovations from an audience of over 4,000 people. This was Will's third performance at the Royal Albert Hall and he feels very honoured to have had such an amazing opportunity once again and would like to thank The Polesworth School for their support.

Year 9 trip to Winvic Construction site in East on 19th June, 2019

I was invited by Adam Broadhurst the site project Manager for Winvic who are building a large warehouse space in phase 2 of the developments just off the M42, to bring a small party on site to learn about the variety of jobs involved in a large scale construction project. He was keen to encourage girls to raise awareness of the industry so we targeted 15 Year 9 pupils who are all studying technology subjects. We met Adam who introduced the site and explained his role and showed the students how the site has progressed to date from the initial go ahead to start the plot to where they are today through using time lapsed short videos. We also saw the promotional video of what the site will look like when fully completed. Two of his colleagues joined our group both girls one in charge of Quantity Surveying managing the finances for the project and the other managing the Health and Safety across all operations. They gave an insight into their backgrounds and roles. The Industry offers a variety of jobs and opportunities to join at different levels and be able to work your way up a career ladder with good pay rewards. We were able to take a walk around the site and learn more about the different stages of building the warehouse. As you can see from one of the photographs we had a demonstration from one of the diggers. We learnt about how occasionally the local wildlife can impact on site development not just the weather, as there was a badgers sett on site which has to be left untouched until all the badgers have moved on. The trip hopefully gave the students an insight into the Construction Industry and the different roles in both offices and on site. Winvic is a private construction company working on projects all over the UK. My thanks to Adam Broadhurst and his Colleagues at Winvic for inviting us and enabling us to visit the construction site. We have been invited back when the project is close to completion. Mr C Davis Careers Department

PE News

County Athletics

Congratulations to Joy Inter Girls Heptathlon: Team 3rd 9541pts Obiajunwa who represented Zoe Gardner 7th 3579pts Bilton county in combined events and Joy Obiajunwa 12th 3012pts Polesworth achieved a 12th place. An Issie Fairhurst 14th 2950 pts excellent performance, well done. Molly Minshull 15th 2797 pts Princethorpe

YEAR 9 EXAMS

WEDNESDAY 3 JULY, THURSDAY 4 JULY, MONDAY 8 JULY & TUESDAY 9 JULY 2019 PERIOD 1 PERIOD 2 PERIOD 3 PERIOD 4 PERIOD 5 OPTION A Drama (45 mins) B L Geog (1 ½ hours) R U WEDNESDAY MATHS Food (1 ¾ hours) Open E N History (1 hour) 3 JULY (2 hours) C evening A T&T(1 hour) WEEK A H K Res Mats (1 hour) Sociology (50 mins) OPTION B Bus Studies (1 ½ hour) T&T (1 hour) B C Civilisations (1 ½ hours) L R Geography (1 ½ hours) U THURSDAY BIOLOGY CHEMISTRY Normal E Graphics (1 hour) N 4 JULY (1 hour) lessons (1 hour) A Child (1 ¼ hours) C WEEK A K History (1 hour) H PE (1 ¼ hours) Sociology (50 mins) T&T (1 hour) OPTION C B Dance (45 mins) L ENGLISH LANGUAGE R Geography (1 ½ hours) U MONDAY Normal (walking/talking) E Graphics (1 hour) N lessons 8 JULY Child (1 ¼ hours) (2 hours) A C WEEK B K History (1 hour) H IT (1 ¼ hours)

B L FRENCH / R U TUESDAY RS PHYSICS ENGLISH LIT Normal GERMAN E N 9 JULY (1 hour) lessons WRITING (1 hour) A (1 hour) (45 mins) C WEEK B K H

RS exam has been moved from Monday 8 July period 5 to Tuesday 9 July period 1. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

YEAR 8 EXAMS - WEDNESDAY 10 JULY 2019

PERIOD 1 PERIOD 2 PERIOD 3 PERIOD 4 PERIOD 5 GEOGRAPHY B L WEDNESDAY HISTORY/ R (1 hour) U ENGLISH MATHS Normal 10 JULY GEOGRAPHY E N (1 hour) lessons (1 hour) (if you are doing C Week B (1 hour) A History & H K Geography options)

YEAR 7 EXAMS - FRIDAY 12 JULY 2019

PERIOD 1 PERIOD 2 PERIOD 3 PERIOD 4 PERIOD 5

B L FRIDAY R U MATHS ENGLISH Normal 12 JULY E Normal lessons N (1 hour) lessons (1 ½ hours) C Week B A K H

YEAR 10 END OF YEAR EXAMINATIONS

SUMMER 2019

PERIOD 1 PERIOD 2 PERIOD 3 PERIOD 4 PERIOD 5

FRIDAY B L R U 28TH JUNE FRENCH & GERMAN Dance (1 ½ hr) Normal E N WEEK B (Y11 ASSEMBLY) Lessons Writing (1 hour) A C K H B L MONDAY FRENCH & GERMAN RS R U 1ST JULY Normal E (listening 40 mins & N (1 ¾ hr) Lessons WEEK A A reading 45 mins) C K H OPTION C Business Studies (1 ½ hr) OPTION A RM (1 ¾ hr) Drama (1 ¾ hr) TUESDAY Classic Civ (1 ½ hr) Fashion (1 ¾ hr) Normal 2ND JULY Geography (1 ½ hr) Geography (1 ½ hr) History (1 ¾ hr) PE (1 ¼ hr) Lessons WEEK A PE (1 ¼ hr) History (1 ¾ hr) Sociology (1 ¾ hr) Home Food (1 ¼ hr) Music (1hr) Students will return to lessons when the exams are finished.

Leavers Books

£13£13 Order by Friday 5th July

Collection of books will be on GCSE Results Day, 22nd August

Library

Opening times: Letters

Monday–Thursday: 8.15am – 4.00pm Think you’ve missed a letter from school? Friday: 8.15 am – 3.30 pm Our letters—including Trip letters— can be found on our Students and Staff may use the facilities before and after website under the School Life section. school, or during break and lunchtime for book selection, research or for a quiet place to sit and do homework. Alternatively, there is a broad range of magazines and Lost Property newspapers, chess and Sudoku and other games to challenge the little grey cells! See Student Services where all In addition to the Library is a dedicated Sixth Form lost property is kept. Also be area. This is a quiet study area which is available for Year aware there will be a display of all 12 and 13 students to use during their free periods. lost property at each Parents’ Evening .

Don’t forget, you can Parent Pay Shop check all term dates Parent Pay Shop items available to purchase are School on our website - Ties, Revision Guides, Calculators and Art Supplies. www.thepolesworthschool.com Click on www.polesworthschool.com and then click on the shopping trolley.

@PolesworthSchl The Polesworth School - Official Contact Us

The Polesworth School Dordon Road Dordon Tamworth B78 1QT

Telephone Number :01827 702205 Fax Number : 01827 702206

School email for general queries : To inform us your child is absent : [email protected] [email protected]

Opening Hours Monday to Thursday: 7.45 am to 4.45 pm Friday: 7.45 am to 4.15 pm