There have been a number of announcements over the past 2 weeks, which I need to make you aware of. Firstly, it is the government’s intention that GCSE and A levels will run in the summer of 2021. It is expected that they will be delayed by up to 3 weeks, so the summer exam series will start on 7 June and end on 2 July for almost all A levels and GCSEs. Results days are Tuesday 24 August for A levels and Friday 27 August for GCSEs, so students will start the following academic year as normal.
We are working to these new time scales and ensuring that students in years 11 and 13 are well prepared. We are also maintaining our mock exam system protocol, just in case things change. The individual subjects have had some alterations to the content that will be tested and Curriculum Leaders are monitoring OfQual and exam boards very carefully to ensure that we know what will be expected in each subject. One recommendation that was released this week is that there may be more multiple choice type questions and we definitely know that some subjects- such as Geography will only have 2 papers and not 3. Rest assured that we will make sure that students are fully informed about what format the exams will take.
Secondly, the government has also made it a legal requirement from 22 October, for all schools to be able to provide online learning. We already have this facility through google classrooms and are experimenting with live video streaming, for teachers to be able to deliver content if necessary. Attached for your information, is the Remote Learning Policy which outlines what we will provide. All of the online learning is fine when technology is working. This week we have endured a switching issue in our server room, which has meant many teachers have been unable to use their computers. Apologies if uploads to google classrooms has been slow.
Can I also remind everyone that our caterers, Dolce, will return after half term. Thank you to those of you who responded to the google survey. To be clear, as a school we will stop paying the Free School Meal allowance onto the co-op cards from 2 November . All FSM students will be catered for by Dolce. Dolce needs to know what to prepare a week in advance therefore, all students whose parents have indicated they want to have the Dolce offer, including FSM students will receive a menu choice and pre booking sheet in tutor time next week. This will happen weekly.
There is still much uncertainty about Covid and government advice changes frequently, so for the time being , I will continue with my email updates where applicable and will launch our monthly newsletter at Christmas.
Stay safe
