Dear Parent / Carer,
As we reach the end of the school year, I wanted to thank you for your continued partnership with the school throughout this academic year. It has been a privilege to join the school as Headteacher in October and to work with the staff and pupils at the school to develop the learning, wellbeing, and experiences of the pupils.
I just wanted to give some important updates and reminders ahead of the next academic year.
Dates for 2023-2024
The dates of the terms as follows:
Autumn term: Friday 1st September to Friday 22nd December. Half term is Monday 30th October to Friday 3rd November.
Spring term: Monday 8th January to Friday22nd March. Half term is Monday 12th February to Friday 16th February.
Summer term: Monday 8th April to Friday 19th July. Half term is Monday 27th May to Friday 31st May.
INSET
The school’s INSET days will be on the following days in 2023/24, pupils do not come into school on these days.:
- Friday 1st September
- Monday 4th September
- Monday 6th November
- Friday 22nd December
- Monday 19th February
- Monday 24th June
Pupils do not attend school on these days.
Exams
The following exam periods have been confirmed to date:
Year 11 – Monday 2nd October – Thursday 5th October: English GCSE coursework
Year 10 – Monday 13th November – Thursday 16th November: English GCSE coursework
Year 11 – Monday 11th December – Tuesday 19th December: Mock GCSEs
Year 11 – Tuesday 16th January – Thursday 18th January: GCSE Science coursework
Year 9 – Wednesday 1st May – Friday 3rd May: Core subject exams
Years 10/11 – Thursday 9th May – Wednesday 19th June: GCSE and Vocational exams
Years 10/11 – Wednesday 26th June: GCSE contingency day
It is vital that pupils are in attendance during these periods.
Attendance:
Following on from the recent communication from the Director of Education, can I underline the importance of attendance for all pupils. We know that the life chances of young people, including their chances of fulfilling their potential in terms of qualifications, are significantly enhanced if attendance remains above 95% over each school year.
Please avoid booking holidays during term time as these will only be authorised in exceptional circumstances. Wherever possible, book appointments outside of the school day. Can I also politely remind you that for appointments we do need to have a copy of the letter or card to authorise absences.
Uniform:
I’d like to take this opportunity in advance of the next academic year to remind all members of our school community our expectations in relation to uniform and readiness for learning.
It is extremely important that we maintain high expectations for all our learners, doing all we reasonably can to help them take pride in themselves and their school community, to be ready for learning and to prepare them for a responsible adult life.
We have attached a copy of our school uniform expectations.
I would like to take this opportunity to also remind you that the following items are not permitted in school:
- Hoodies
- Facial piercings
- Earrings that are not studs
- Above the knee skirts
- Leggings / tracksuit bottoms (outside of PE lessons)
- Denim
It is also essential that learners bring to school each day a school bag containing the basic equipment for engaging with lessons (e.g. pen, pencil, eraser, ruler, sharpener, calculator, planner).
Pastoral Leads
In the next academic year, the pastoral structure will be changed. We will be returning to 3 Heads of Learning, as follows:
Head of Learning and Transition, Year 7 – Miss J Roberts
Head of Learning, Years 8 and 9 – Mr M Evans
Head of Learning, Years 10 and 11 – Mrs A James.
Exam Results Day – Thursday 24th August
The school will be open to pupils from 9.00am to 11.00am for pupils to collect their results.
Easyfunding
As mentioned in my recent letter, you can support the school through the Easyfunding website, without any cost to yourself. Online purchases made through this site lead to a contribution from the retail companies directly to the school. The link is below:
Parental Consultation
Many thanks to parents who offered feedback to our recent questionnaire on the School Development Plan. We have been using your feedback along with all the other partners to the school, to plan and refine our programmes for the coming year. There will be a summary report produced over the summer which we will publish, so that parents are aware of how we have responded. We would like to continue to consult with parents and pupils in our main self-evaluation reviews throughout the next academic year and would welcome your continued support.
Can I wish your children and yourselves a safe and enjoyable summer holiday period. We look forward to seeing the pupils again on Tuesday 5th September.
Yours faithfully,
Mr A Hurley (St John Lloyd Catholic School)
