Year 11
Head of Year: Mr Atkinson-Parmenter
Pastoral Manager: Mr Thompson
Here you can find useful information to support Year 11 students.
Year 11: Return to School, Students’ Curriculum and Awarding of Final Grades
Dear Parents, carers and Year 11 students
We would like to take this opportunity to thank students, parents and carers for their continued engagement and commitment to learning and progress over the entirety of this academic year.
Given that students are returning to school next week, we feel that it is important to communicate the curriculum and assessment plan that is in place to support students in achieving the very best grades.
Timetable and Period 6
- Students will follow their normal timetable on their return to school
- Given the great success of Period 6 in providing additional hours of learning over the course of the year, we will continue with this as normal. We expect that students will be very keen to continue participating in this aspect of their timetable with an exceptional attitude to learning
Department for Education Guidance
Following Department for Education (DfE) guidance released to schools and colleges last week, the following aspects of the curriculum and assessment plan are particularly relevant to the Year 11 return to school:
- Students will be awarded Teacher Assessed Grades which the school will submit to the exam boards in order for final qualifications to be awarded
- Students will receive their grades in the normal way on Results Day which, this year, will be Thursday 12th August
- Where appropriate, and in order to support students to complete phases of learning already started, they may be taught new content and skills. However, our primary focus will be on re-teaching and revising prior content, building on skills, all supported through a range of in-school assessments in each subject.
Our Key Stage 4 Assessment Strategy
The school has designed a special curriculum to support students in their remaining weeks which will require full commitment and an outstanding attitude to learning in order that they achieve the Teacher Assessed Grades that we know they deserve.
- Students will be assessed in a range of ways, dependant on what is most appropriate for a particular subject. This will include but not be limited to:
- Short periods of teaching followed by assessments relevant to the taught content
- Practical activities
- Pieces of controlled assessment
- Assessments devised and released by the exam boards to be used under the current circumstances
- We will have the opportunity to use prior assessments such as mock exams, and previously awarded unit grades for vocational qualifications, to support teachers in making final grading decisions. However, in most cases our primary focus will be to ensure that students are supported to succeed in their forthcoming assessments, the results of which will form a significant portion of their final Teacher Assessed Grade.
- It will be vital that students are attentive when subject teachers outline how they will be assessed in their subject; students will need to also take note of when forthcoming assessments will take place in each subject they as they will no doubt wish to prepare for these at home as well as in school. All of this information will be shared with students in lessons when they return to school.
- For those learners who feel that they have excelled during lockdown and made significant progress, we will ensure that this is recognised through the assessment opportunities that we give students when they return to school.
- We understand how challenging continued learning will have been for some students during lockdown and will equally recognise this in the process of awarding Teacher Assessed Grades.
- For those students who have access arrangements for exams, we will ensure that a suitable level of support continues during the assessment period.
How long will Y11 remain in school?
The last day Year 11 students are required to attend school is Friday 28th May. Given the importance of continued learning and assessment and our determination to ensure that students are able to attain the very best Teacher Assessed Grades, all Y11 students are required to attend school every day from Tuesday 9th March until Friday 28th May 2021.
It may be necessary for us to continue to work with individual students beyond this date and we would not advise booking holidays until after June 18th 2021 at which point all grades will have been submitted to the exam boards.
We are eager and excited to welcome back Year 11 next week and every member of the school community is committed to supporting all students to achieve the best they can over the coming weeks.
Yours faithfully,
Mr M. Lambourne Mr D. Griffiths
Deputy Headteacher Deputy Headteacher