Dear Parents/Carers,

As we approach the end of the Spring term we have a huge amount to celebrate in what has been a short but very busy school term.

Celebrations

 I would like to start by congratulating our four Year 9 pupils who travelled to Oxford University last week for the finals of the Oxford National Debating competition. The pupils involved were Jack Donaldson, Dhairyash Sujeebun, Kara Lock & Kiera Lock. The pupils have attended numerous knock-out competitions this academic year and made their way to the final, remaining undefeated. They spent two days at Oxford University, preparing and competing against twelve other schools from across Wales. The pupils prepared extremely hard for this competition and their effort was reflected in the final result. A win! We are all so proud of all your hard work. You can read more on this on our school website HERE.

Mrs Stockman has asked me to make a special mention to 11T Science who were fantastic on their recent ‘Raise a Grade’ day. Their attitude to learning was exemplary and their commitment to their studies was incredible. Mrs Stockman is very proud. A massive well done to Mrs Atwood's Year 9 Science class for all their fantastic work this term since starting GCSE Chemistry. Their focus and attitude to learning has been excellent, especially when tackling some of the tricky A* topics. A special mention to Dennis Mead who achieved, an A* with the highest marks in the class. The Science department also took 60 year 7 pupils to Legoland on Friday 14th March, where pupils took part in a workshop where they considered the forces that act when riding a rollercoaster and then designed their own rollercoaster using Lego. Pupils spent the rest of the day experiencing these forces on the rides throughout Legoland. Pupils and staff had a fantastic day and all the pupils were brilliant!

Sixteen of our Year 10 & 11 girls visited Cardiff Met on Tuesday and participated in the ‘Cardiff Archers girls in Sport event’. Pupils took part in many different sporting activities and spoke to inspirational athletes and students on campus. I am told all the pupils had a great experience and were excellent throughout.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Alfie Hopkins in 9Y who has received 291 positive points this term, Chloe Jones in 9T has received an incredible 221 positive points, Amelia Haggett in Year 8 has received 201 positive points, Nathan Osazuwa-Imade in Year 11 has received 184 positive points and Leoni Marshall in Year 10 with 161 positive points. Well done to all, a great effort.

This term we have also celebrated World Book Day. A huge congratulations to our competition winners, Maisie Llewellyn (Year 7), Joy Oloidi (Year 8), Jack Donaldson (Year 9), Lexi Fletcher (Year 10) and Logan Woodford (Year 11). These 5 pupils wrote fantastic book reviews and showed real creativity with their presentations! We hope that you enjoy spending your Amazon Voucher!

Parent/Carer Information

 This year we will be entering the RCT Easter Egg Recycling Challenge. We ask that any Easter egg packaging is brought to school where it will be collected and recycled. There is a prize for the school that recycles the most. Support would be greatly appreciated. Further details will be shared shortly by Miss Catherine Lee.

As we return after Easter, we will very quickly move to the 2024 examination series, which will see Year 11 and Year 10 pupils take external exams. As a school, we wish all pupils the very best of luck and encourage all pupils to utilise the support on offer from staff in the form of extra revision sessions and revision tools.

I would also like to take this opportunity to remind all parents/carers on our expectations around school uniform. I have mentioned this in recent correspondence but I need to reiterate that Hooded tops are not part of the schools uniform policy and should not be worn to school. If pupils do not have a school jumper please contact your child’s wellbeing & attendance manager who will arrange for one to be organised. Thank you in advance for your support on this.

I hope everyone has a fantastic well deserved Easter break and I look forward to working with you all on our return on Monday 8th April 2024.

Many thanks,

Mrs Kayleigh Oliver

Head of School