Can I start this month’s blog by wishing everyone a very happy Easter.  In what has been another very busy term, I hope that all of our pupils and staff have a relaxing break and that we are able to enjoy some spring weather!

A very large group of Year 7 pupils enjoyed a long weekend at the Llangrannog Urdd Centre in west Wales this month, and this was made up of lots of outdoor activities such as skiing, walking, quad bikes and archery, to name but a few.  All of this is combined with an immersive experience of the Welsh language.  I am grateful to the Welsh Department staff, and other staff across the school who supported this trip by giving up their weekend, and I know from the photographs and comments posted on ‘X’ that this was a fun and valuable experience for all involved.

At the other end of the age range in school, pupils in Years 10, 11, 12 and 13 have been busy completing work and revising in preparation for their external exams which start in May.  The lead up to the Easter holidays is always a time for completion of the ‘Non-Examined Assessments’ and there has been great support for this from students and staff alike.  There are also many after-school revision sessions going on in many subjects, and these have been very well attended by students.  We will continue to support students in their preparations for external examination in the next few months through a careful blend of academic support as well as wellbeing support.

It may be the end of January, but I hope it is not too late to wish you all a happy new year!

I am pleased to report that the Years’ 11, 12 and 13 mock examination series that has been held in the last few weeks has been a great success.  There are lots of reasons for running mock examinations, but not least in order to give our students a genuine and authentic experience of what the real examinations series will look like.  From the timing of questions, style of papers, experience of the exam hall, as well as a real measure of performance for students and their teachers, these are all valuable experiences for our young people.  The way the students themselves approached these mocks was exemplary and we have had very positive feedback from the external invigilators regarding not only the students’ positive attitude towards the exams themselves, but also in the polite and courteous way in which they conducted themselves throughout.  Well done to all our students involved in the mocks and I hope this has given you a valuable insight into the process, as well as some targets to aim for between now and the real exams in the summer.

On a somewhat related matter, our Options Evening for pupils in Year 11 who are considering St Cyres 6^th Form runs next week on Thursday 1^st February at 6pm.  We are very proud of our post-16 offer and especially pleased that our results at A Level are excellent and are going from strength to strength.  We hope to see as many of our Year 11 pupils as possible at this important event, and we also welcome prospective Year 11 students from other local schools who are considering St Cyres 6^th Form an option to pursue their A Level studies.  All are most welcome and we look forward to seeing you.

For a some of our older pupils in the school, examinations have dominated November.  A number of Year 11 pupils have been sitting GCSE Maths and GCSE Numeracy examinations, the results of which will be available in January from the WJEC.  There have also been a number of internal examinations with all of our Year 10 pupils having sat their English Literature mock exam in readiness for the external exam in January.  Year 10 pupils have also been undertaking Science practical exams this month. 

Building on the work that we are doing with our parent community, as mentioned in last month’s blog, I am very grateful to the team of Year 7 and Year 8 parents who engaged in our first focus group this month.  The particular focus of this session was assessment and feedback as part of the new curriculum and there was a very useful discussion along with some great suggestions which will be implemented by the school.  Again, thanks to all the parents who were involved in this.  Please look out for information on our next focus group which will meet in February where our Deputy Headteacher Mr Bruton will be shining a light on the new curriculum. 

We have also been busy recruiting staff throughout November.  St Cyres School continues to attract high quality candidates for advertised posts and I am pleased to report that we have now appointed a fulltime Welsh teacher until August 2024, a part-time permanent teacher of Religion, Value and Ethics who will start at the school in January 2024, and a part-time Receptionist and Admin Assistant who starts with us this week.  Congratulations to the 3 successful candidates and we very much look forward to working with you.

Finally, for November, we have been ‘on the road’ with our Performing Arts Roadshow, visiting a number of Primary Schools in the area.  This has been a great success and our pupils have had very positive feedback from working with primary pupils.  It was great to see our 6^th Formers leading these sessions with such energy and enthusiasm.