Message from the Principal for Students, Parents and Guardians

I hope this message finds you all well at this difficult time. As we now have more details on how the authorities intend to award grades for Year 13 students and we have had time to consider our approach, I thought I would share an overview of how we will support students over this period with you.

Our hearts go out to the students who have been working so hard to prepare for examinations and whose time with us has been cut so short. Rest assured we will do our best to support all of our students and to get Year 13 students ‘the qualifications they need and deserve’ as the Prime Minster has said.

The good news is that the outline guidance for how this grading process will be carried out seems very sensible. It has a provision to take into account the previous performance of the institution that a student is attending. As the past progress made by our students has been consistently outstanding we will claim grades for all current students in line with this progress. We are modelling our approach this week and will ensure that as a College, the grades we claim will be in line with previous years. The link to the official guidance is here >>

Below is a guide as to what to expect from the College over the next month. We all need to recognise that students and staff will have other concerns and issues over this time and therefore we all just need to do the best we can.

The College campus will be closed until further notice,  staff will be available online should you wish to contact them.

Year 12 Students

Y12 lessons will continue online from the week commencing Monday 23^rd March until Friday 3^rd  April. They will then stop for two weeks for the Easter holiday and recommence on 20^th April. Registers are not being taken for these sessions and staff will of course show support and flexibility with students at this difficult time. They are however being asked to make a note of students who are not engaging.

The focus should be CAP3 and completing assignments. We still intend to hold CAP3 either online or hopefully upon students return to College.

Year 13 Students

Y13 lessons continue online from Monday 23^rd March until Friday 3^rd April. They will then stop for two weeks for the Easter holiday. These formal sessions will stop when the individual subject teacher is satisfied that they have completed the specification. We usually encourage subjects to aim to complete specifications as near to Easter as possible.

Teachers will then provide a number of opportunities for students to provide evidence that they are entitled to the grade they deserve. Please note, we know every year a relatively large minority of students put a significant amount of work in at the end of their studies and achieve higher grades than their previous performance would predict. Such students should use the time after the specifications are complete to help provide evidence for their teacher. Teachers will also provide extension tasks for students intending to continue the subject at university.

BTEC students should complete any assignments that they can safely from home. If some units require work placements or group work or any other activity that would currently break the public health guidelines, then they should not be completed.

I know this message will not answer every question, but I would like to ask students to raise problems and concerns individually with their teachers at the moment.

Finally, can I say how proud I have been of all students and staff during this very difficult time, the College community has really pulled together and looked out for each other. If we can get Year 13 back in to celebrate their achievements and give them the last day that they deserve then we will. Use the time wisely and take care of each other.

Best wishes,

Nick