As the end of our Summer term, and this academic year, quickly approaches, I wanted to wish our GCSE students the very best of luck ahead of their results day on 12 August, we look forward to welcoming a large number of our GCSE students back in September to join our Sixth Form.
I would also like to take the opportunity to extend my heartfelt thanks to you all for your continued support throughout what has been a difficult time for all. We hope students are able to use the summer holidays to relax, recharge and enjoy life closer to normality once more.
Shining bright on our pearl anniversary
I’m thrilled to share that 100% of our Sixth Form students passed their International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) and Career-related Programme (CP), with an average point score of 36, beating the global average of 33.02. Over a quarter of students attained 40 points or more, with 4 students achieving 44 and 45 (the highest score possible). These accomplishments have secured student places at leading universities as well as a number of top drama schools. Read more here.
Exceptional outcomes like these demonstrate why we remain committed to the IB 30 years after introducing it and we are delighted to be the first state school in the UK to offer three IB programmes when the Middle Years Programme (MYP) launches in September.
Keep your eyes peeled over the summer weeks on our social media channels and Sixth Form website where we will be celebrating our IB anniversary!
Bowler coaster of a competition
I’m extremely proud of our Year 7 and SPP combined team who recently competed in the Virtually Boccia Challenge this year, scoring an impressive average total of 553.05 points to achieve a fantastic fourth place. Boccia is a Paralympic target sport, similar to bowls, which is played indoors. The tournament, a series of skill-based challenges, replaced the National School Competition this year  and we are looking forward to seeing them in action next year.
Win big with National Book Tokens
A good school library isn’t just important for academic achievement; reading for pleasure improves young people’s wellbeing, which is more important than ever! And so, in that vein, the National Book Token big prize draw has returned for another year. College staff, parents and guardians can all enter, giving us the chance to win £5,000 of National Book Tokens for our College’s library – and if your entry is picked, you’ll also get £100 of National Book Tokens to spend on yourself! The more nominations we receive, the more likely we are to win so please vote for the College here.
An iCAS for celebration
Student experience is incredibly important to us, and, in addition to the full iCAS programme and extra-curricular activities we already have in place for students, we are incredibly excited to launch a wide range of new enrichment activities from September. Clubs will be available in Period 0 and Period 6 almost every day to allow students the opportunity to explore new activities such as Sports, Cookery and Print Making, which will enable them to try out new hobbies and enjoy learning for pleasure.
Dates for your diary
I wanted to take this opportunity to remind you of some important upcoming dates for your diary, including the term dates and events calendar, which can be found here. If you haven’t looked yet, please click here to view our Sway for updates ahead of the new academic year.
I am tremendously proud that, despite a challenging year, our students have continued to embody the ethos and values of the College and look forward to sharing their academic achievements, sporting successes and acts of service with you on their return in September.
July 15, 2021
