Notices and Resources
Letter from Mr Virgo with regards to Year 11 examinations
Dear Parents/Guardians,
The formal Year 11 examinations started on Monday 15th May. Below are some key dates for your information.
8am breakfast for all Year 11 beginning Monday 15th May.
Tuesday 6th June – Year 11 students will be dismissed home early after the afternoon R.E. examination which is due to finish at 14:15.
Friday 9th June – Year 11 students will be dismissed early after the afternoon Biology examination which is due to finish at 14:30.
Tuesday 13th June – Breakpoint for all Year 11 students after the morning Chemistry examination which is due to finish at 10:15. After this point Year 11 students only attend school for examinations. They will be dismissed home after the examinations as per below.
Wednesday 14th June – Year 11 students dismissed after the morning Maths examination which is due to finish at 10:30. Students who have an afternoon examination in Music will remain in school.
Friday 16th June – Year 11 students will be dismissed home after their Physics examination which is due to finish at 10:15. Students who have an afternoon examination in Geography will remain in school.
Final examinations for Year 11 finish on Wednesday 21st June for students who study Hospitality and Catering and Further Maths. The majority of Year 11 students will complete their examinations on Friday 16th June. Please refer to student’s examination timetable.
Please note that until the date stated above all students in Year 11 must be either in an examination or in their normal timetabled lessons.
Also, please note the Year 11 prom is on Friday 7th July from 7pm to 10pm.
Mr. D. Virgo
Senior Assistant Headteacher
English Podcast Now Available
Continuing on from the success of our revision podcasts from several departments within school, the English Department are now glad to announce that they are also going to be recording a series of podcasts to aid revision for those students who are leading up to their GCSE examinations.
The podcast can be found on the school podcast site and will be available on Apple and Spotify.
Episode 5 – Paper 1 and Paper 2
Mrs Davies and Mr Richards give you a run down and top tips for success in the two English Language papers.
Episode 4 – Power and Conflict Poetry
Mr Richards is joined by Miss Reed and Mr Basketfield as they discuss all fifteen of the poems in the Power and Conflict collection in preparation for the English Literature Paper 2 exam on Wednesday 24th May.
Episode 3 – A Christmas Carol
Mrs Davies, Mrs Taylor-Hamblett and Mr Richards delve into the world of the Supernatural and the spirits which allow Dickens to express his key ideas within ‘A Christmas Carol’.
Episode 2 – Romeo & Juliet
Join Mrs Taylor-Hamblett, Mrs Davies and Mr Richards for a discussion of gender in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ which will help with your preparations for English Literature Paper One on Wednesday 17th May 2023.
Episode 1 – An Inspector Calls
In the first episode Mr Richards is joined by Miss Hickox and Mrs Lockley to discuss the importance of Inspector Goole and how he acts as Priestley’s mouthpiece for societal issues.
Year 11 Family Support Evening – Thursday 30th March
Year 11 Family Support Evening – TONIGHT : Thursday 30th March, 5pm to 6.30pm
Good morning, our Year 11 Family Support Event is running this evening, we would love to see you in school and be able to provide some information and guidance around the coming weeks for exam preparation.
Please let us know in school if you haven’t already replied if you are coming, we would be delighted to see students and families.
Also, can we remind parents that if your child has received an invite to Easter school (not all students have due to the mix of subjects on offer) that reply slips need to be returned to school tomorrow. Staff in school will continue to chase responses into the holidays if we don’t hear from you tomorrow, this is so we can plan sessions accordingly.
We are looking forward to seeing Year 11 families in school tonight.
Mrs Roberts.
Below is link to our Year 11 exams and PPEs page. This will contain all the essential information from tonight’s event as well as other useful resources.
Exam support from GCSEPod
Please see the following exam support links from GCSEPod. You will require a GCSEPod log-in.
https://members.gcsepod.com/shared/resources/3/2407/engaging-parentscarers/parent-toolkit?open=2410
https://members.gcsepod.com/shared/resources/3/2407/engaging-parentscarers/parent-toolkit?open=2408
https://members.gcsepod.com/shared/resources/3/2407/engaging-parentscarers/parent-toolkit?open=2422
https://members.gcsepod.com/shared/resources/3/2407/engaging-parentscarers/parent-toolkit?open=2418
https://members.gcsepod.com/shared/resources/3/2407/engaging-parentscarers/parent-toolkit?open=2419
https://members.gcsepod.com/shared/resources/3/2407/engaging-parentscarers/parent-toolkit?open=2412
https://members.gcsepod.com/shared/resources/3/2407/engaging-parentscarers/parent-toolkit?open=2416
https://members.gcsepod.com/shared/resources/3/2407/engaging-parentscarers/parent-toolkit?open=2414
https://members.gcsepod.com/shared/resources/3/1743/engaging-parentscarers?open=2403
Easter revision timetable (Year 11 and Year 13)
This week, all year 11 and year 13 students will be given Easter revision timetables to plan and organise their revision over the forthcoming holiday. Evidence suggests that Easter is a crucial time for revision and putting in place effective study methods for reviewing work for external examinations. Please encourage your child to dedicate time over their holidays for this essential work. We have provided links to our revision suggestions and tips which students will be familiar with from school.
“The best GCSE and A-level results don’t go to the cleverest students – they go to those who revised in the Easter holidays.”
B Lenon
How to use your revision timetable
A solid revision planner is the key to making sure you cover everything you need to in time for the exam.
It also has the added benefit of breaking everything down into more manageable chunks – revision suddenly feels much less daunting!
A basic revision timetable is essentially a calendar. But instead of holidays and birthdays, it contains topics and subjects you need to revise on specific days. Try to follow these simple stages for completing your calendar
- Divide however long you have until your exams by how many subjects you study.
- Divide all the topics and areas you need to cover accordingly.
- One way to structure a revision timetable is to allocate revision sessions and breaks within certain times, such as 45 minutes of revision followed by a 15 minute break, which is repeated.
- How do I prioritise what I need to revise? Ask yourself what subjects or particular topics within those subjects do you need to spend more time on.
- Regular refreshers. Don’t just cover an area once and move on. If you do this, the material you study first will be a distant memory by the time you come to exams. So fit in time to revisit material among your study timetable.
- Include past papers as part of your revision calendar. Past papers are always a good idea. This is so you can test yourself to check what you are revising is sticking. It also gives you practice with the format of the questions you might be asked.
- Approach subjects differently – Have a varied approach, as certain study methods will suit some subjects better than others. This might depend on how intense the material is, how it will be assessed or simply how you best retain everything.
- Be realistic – Create a revision plan that is going to work for you. If you’re too ambitious with your plan it can be easy to lose heart. Studies show that people are more motivated by achievable goals. Think about what you can stick to and allow rest breaks. Include some relaxation time too – doing something completely different can help information sink in and stop you burning out.
- Expect the unexpected – Timetable some free study blocks each week. Once you get stuck in you may find you need more time on a certain subject or you may have to deal with something outside of your studies. If there’s no flexibility in your plan it can be easy to get behind. Keep some free blocks each week to use as you need to help you stay on track.
- Plan in your revision calendar something to look forward to and focus on once the exams are over.
Download the Easter revision timetable
Other revision resources
You may also find the following resources helpful:
Year 13 A Level Preparation and Revision
A student’s guide to exam revision
Preparing for GCSE English Language and English Literature
Over the half-term break, we have received the confirmed examination dates from AQA for the GCSE English Language and English Literature papers which will be sat in May and June of this year for all Year 11 students. Whilst focused preparation continues in school, we wanted to share these dates with you at home so that you are fully aware of when each of these vital papers will be sat.
Students are being provided with significant support and revision material, but if there is anything more that you would like to know or if you have any questions about how to support their preparation, please feel free to contact any member of the English Department.
Geography Department Podcasts
Hopefully the Year 11 Geographers will be all ears for the latest revision push.
Mr Virgo, Mr Tomlinson, Miss Durnall and Mr Hanna are recording a series of revision podcasts in the run-up to the GCSEs.
The first four are already available and the department will be uploading two more – on a variety of topics – each week for the next 10 weeks. All the Geography GCSE topics will be covered.
“It’s a different way of trying something and we hope the students find it useful,” said Mr Hanna. “We’ll vary the format each time and of course, we we’d be glad to answer any questions the students have.”
The podcasts are available on the school website on on smartphone apps. Details have been posted on Show My Homework.
Year 11 Revision and Study Skills
Year 11 will commence their next round of Pre Public Examinations (mocks) on Monday 13th March.
These will take place under exam conditions in the hall. These examinations will be carried out in a formal style, to ensure that students are more familiar with the procedures for external examinations. The PPE process is important to establish where students are currently at in their learning and ensure that correct intervention is implemented once the series is completed.
Timetables will be shared with students prior to half term and can be found as a download below. English, Maths, Science, and RE will be examined in the first week. All other subject will be assessed in the second week.
It is imperative that students are fully prepared for any upcoming examinations. Students should ensure that they are fully equipped. Equipment needed includes black pens, pencils, a ruler, a highlighter and rubber as well as a calculator, dependent on the examination.
Students have been spoken to in form time regarding the significance of the PPE process. It is key that students complete their PPEs to the best of their ability. Time will be dedicated over the coming weeks to support students in the run up to these examinations.
Information will also be added to Show My Homework. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any issues in accessing either site. It is imperative that students revise for these examinations. Students will be given revision planners to utilise over half term via the school email system. Please ensure students use these to help guide and focus their revision.
We thank you in anticipation of you support with this period of examination preparation. If there are any concerns or queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Mr Dawson
Year 11 Exam Preparation
As we are rapidly approaching the pre-public examinations (mocks) Year 11 preparation time for this is going on all this week and next week too. This is subject by subject and teachers and heads of department have decided on students who are to be invited along to support the start of the preparation process for these important series of exams. They are each day after school, 3-4 pm and students who are invited are strongly advised to attend sessions for their learning benefit. Science staff have delivered some really useful sessions this afternoon on both skills and topics for the exams and in general the sessions were well attended and the atmosphere was very productive. Well done to all those invited and in attendance! The timetable is as follows;
| Monday 8th November Option A subjects | Tuesday 9th November Option B Subjects | Wednesday 10th November History & Geography /option C on this occasion | Thursday 11th November Staff training after school & no session |
Text messages will be sent out as soon as possible throughout the week to alert to who is needed and when.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch and we thank you for your support, encouragement and engagement in the process.
Downloads
Latest downloads for upcoming exams and PPEs
Guide to suggested revision topics for the March 2023 Year 11 PPEs.
General revision guidance and study skills
Our brain is designed to let go of millions of bits of insignificant data images, words, and encounters while it effectively holds onto others. The brain requires a physical “prompt” in order to keep something in long term memory. This guide explaiins the power of spacing and how it can help with revision.
A short guide explaining the importance of staying active during periods of exam revision.
‘Cognitive Load’ Theory was developed out of the study of problem solving. It offers a handy model to understand challenge and how to learn information which isn’t too hard, not too easy, but just right.
Guide from PiXL on how to use flashcards to aid with revision.
Chunking is the process of taking individual pieces of information ( chunks ) and grouping them into larger units. It may be helpful when revising.