@PCSA SPRING TERM EDITION 2019 Dear Parents, Carers and Please make sure that all students are wearing the right shoes, Students black polishable, and black or white socks. If in doubt over uniform standards, please contact any of our Heads of Year, I would like to start my who will be happy to support and advise. newsletter update with a massive thank you to all Furthermore, please note that all Year 9 students will have parents and carers for your their final options for GCSE by the end of Term 5. We are kind comments and support committed in offering all students their first choice; however, after the announcement of in some cases, such as insufficient numbers for a course to my permanent appointment run, we will apply their reserve options. Please liaise with as Principal at PCSA. My Mr. Uffendell if you have any enquiries regarding the options commitment is to create an system. academic environment that Please be aware that we have decided that from September students will thrive in terms of their personal development 2019 all of our publications, including the newsletter and the and academic success. Everyone’s positivity and kindness has students’ reports, will be sent electronically to parents and been overwhelming, THANK YOU. carers. Please make sure that the school has accurate details, As I am writing these lines, we are in full preparation for our especially an email address, as this will be vital for this type Year 11 exams. Here at PCSA, we have left “no stone of communication. If you do not have an email address please unturned” in order to ensure that all of our Year 11 students do let us know. In addition to this, we will reduce reports to are ready for this challenging period. We have provided three times per year. Finally, this will be the last year, where academic and mental support through various workshops and parents/carers will receive a written tutor report. We believe revision classes for all of our students. By the time you will that the introduction of Class Charts has made be reading this update, exams will be but a couple of weeks communication much easier on a daily basis. In combination away. We believe in our Year 11 students, they have worked with our annual Target Setting Day, email communication and very hard and they will do great. Please keep being positive telephone calls, Parents’ Evenings and Curriculum Evenings, with them and encourage them to work hard until the end. we believe there are plenty of opportunities for constructive They are nearly there. communication between the academy and parents/carers. Furthermore, I want to thank all parents and carers for your A key event in Term 6 will be our Transition Day on support with our homework system. Latest figures have Tuesday 2 July. We are all very excited to meet our new Year shown that 99% of our students are now doing regular 7 students and their parents/carers. Miss Dodson, Head of homework, which is great. We are constantly trying to Year 7, will be visiting the students in their primary school improve our practice so homework is enriching students’ environment to answer their questions before the “big day.” learning and progress. Research has shown, Education In the past, we have had excellent feedback. Endowment Foundation, that purposeful and regular As always, thanks for your help and support with helping us homework can add up to 5 months to students’ attainment make PCSA an amazing place for our young people. and creates a culture of independent learning, which is invaluable for their GCSE and A Level success. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or enquiries. I am more than happy to meet you in Equally important, I would like to extend my gratitude for person if you wish, or talk to you on the phone. I am always your support in terms of uniform standards. Going into available on email any day of the week. lessons, assemblies or just standing by the gate in the mornings and afternoons, it is clear that the great majority of Best wishes our students are in the right uniform, looking very smart. Angelos Markoutsas, Principal [email protected] INSIDE THIS ISSUE Executive Principal’s Message .................... 2 Revision Strategies ..................................... 12 Year Group News ...................................... 5-9 Ski Trip ........................................................... 13 Class Charts ................................................. 10 Subject News ........................................ 17-30 Homework .................................................... 11 Exam Timetable .......................................... 36 @PCSA SPRING EDITION 2019 EXECUTIVE PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE UPDATE FROM MR. COLES Thank you to all parents, carers and students for your great much to each and every student. I love the idea of the new support during this first half of the academic year – please Scout troop at King Alfred’s (the only secondary school in the do keep in touch through e-mail or Twitter if you so wish - UK with a troop – The First King Alfred’s Scouts - it has 60 @nevillecoles or [email protected]. I am very happy members) and the way in which the Duke of Edinburgh award to assist at any time –staff are always very grateful for any has developed. Priory are now offering Silver and King Alfred’s, feedback, and especially, I am always very happy to pass on because of Post 16 provision can offer Gold. praise and success stories. I am very, very pleased with the way all our academies are developing and the way they look and feel. We now have 6 OUR TRUST WILL ALWAYS academies within the Trust. From April 1st we welcomed BE MORE THAN EXAM RESULTS. Pawlett Primary School Academy. We now educate around 5,000 children within TPLT. Over the last year we have developed a very clear approach to teaching and learning Although, I do need to say that our 2018 Grade 5 results (old which is always evolving – ‘LEARN’ happens in all classrooms ‘B’ grade and now a ‘good’ pass) in both English and maths – Link Engage Achieve Review Next Steps. Furthermore, were very strong. In fact, we were 10% ahead in the English anyone who visits one of our academies will, I hope, see a and Maths ‘G5 basics’ from the next Weston-Super-Mare deliberate attention to detail and a certain feel with signage, academy outside of the Trust. This fact can be lost in new buildings and site – more capital developments will follow in league tables which use the new term of ‘Progress 8’. English the coming months. Our children and staff deserve the best and maths outcomes are so important and we are delighted facilities we can manage. The £1.2million + roofing project is with the 2018 results and those expected in 2019. We will well ahead of schedule at TKASA (Highbridge) and the new focus on English and maths outcomes in the context of a toilets are now complete at WCSA – Worle Water World! We broad and balanced curriculum offer – rich with the creative also have placed a further ten bids for capital improvements arts. We will not be chasing spurious qualifications that - for example, new flooring in the sports hall at WCSA. So, ‘count’ in ‘progress league tables’. once again across all academies we will learn in early May if In our primary phase, I am always very happy to go to EYFS we have been successful with the next stage of capital bidding classes - it amazes me the quality of provision for our very – the total amount bid for is around £2.5million. We are youngest children – this provision is really strong across all hopeful and have been very successful in the past. three primary academies with some fantastic work with play, Staff in all our academies have been working really hard on outdoor learning and our early years education. It is a really many aspects of schooling. For example, we have some lovely solid foundation for the future. If you know of local people creative arts events at several academies – Priory produced who need nursery places please be aware, we have Little ‘Whistle Down The Wind’ and Worle are in rehearsals for Learners at St Anne’s and Priory Pre-School at PCSA. Please Monty Python’s ‘Spamalot’ whilst King Alfred’s had some do contact us for places and for further information – please great ‘Battle of the Bands’ evenings. As you may know, I have see page 3 for the addresses and email details of our Heads / a particular passion about ‘additionality’ through sport and Principals who will be more than happy to contact you with the creative arts – music, drama and the wider arts give so further information. 2 @PCSA Spring Edition 2019 N EXECUTIVE PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE If you’re interested in joining, or merging with a Multi A Angelos Markoutsas If you’re interestedL in joining, or merging with a Multi Principal PCSA A m [email protected] WORLE COMMUNITY SCHOOL Student numbers for 2019 entry in our Weston-Super-Mare 11+ academies An Academy are very strong. Again, thank you for your support. PCSA were delighted to Jacqui Scott Principal WCSA receive 357 first choices and they have accepted 330. The Local Authority asked PCSA to go to 330 (+30) given the extra building work that has m [email protected] occurred. We were very happy to provide more first choice places at PCSA. We were also delighted to see 277 entering WCSA – this is significantly up on last year at this time and we think we will have 300 Year 7s by September. This is important Trust-wide as student numbers drive income.