Dear Parents/Carers
 
Summer seems to have disappeared into a wet and windy season and darker nights will soon be upon us. Please remember to check that your child is dressed appropriately for the cold winter conditions. That aside, I continue to be impressed with the standard of uniform and would like to thank parents for supporting the College with this.
 
Proud Principal
We have so much to be proud of, as a College, whether this is Allan Tercjak being selected for Devon School Boys’ Football Team or our amazing sailors who have gained their Level 1 RYA Award with Plymouth Youth Sailing this season.
 
This term four students represented Sir John Hunt, after being invited by 1851 Trust to be at the official launch celebration for Team UK’s new sailing boat, designed by INEOS in Portsmouth. They had an amazing time and even had a film made about them.  We will share this on the College website once it has been released.
 
Our new Year 11 prefects have started their duties and I am so very proud of each and every one of them – they have shown real character and determination. Our new Head Prefects are Zack McGugan and Alysha-Mae Looker who undertook a rigorous interview programme and impressed Mr Beynon and myself with their attitude, commitment and pride in the College.
 
In the last newsletter, I mentioned the College attributes that we have introduced – this term we have been working on ‘Learning to Learn’ and ‘Organisation’. Each year group has taken part in learning conferences and activities that have highlighted these skills and how students can develop them to be more successful learners, as well as applying them to everyday life.
 
Next term, we will be focusing on the attributes of ‘Independence’ and ‘Responsibility’. Please could you discuss this with your child and find ways to support and highlight the importance of these two attributes at home, as well as at College?
 
Thank you to those parents who have given feedback to us about their child’s homework; we will be in touch, later on in the year, to consult with you further about homework. In the meantime, if you do have any concerns about homework, please get in touch with your child’s teacher, via the College website.
 
Our summer exam results for KS4 were disappointing and we are continually looking at ways to improve our teaching and student learning. We are planning an additional training day on Wednesday 04 December 2019 to address our College priorities and this date will, therefore, be a non-pupil day.
 
If you want to make a difference to your child’s exam results, evidence suggests that encouraging your child to read for 30 minutes each day could potentially increase their GCSE grade by one. Please support us by encouraging your child to read at home or it may be that you could read to them. We have a huge range of books in our library for students to borrow at any time.
 
Our Celebration Assemblies, where we acknowledge the success of our fantastic students, took place during the final week of this term.  Photographs will be published on the website.
 
For the run up to Mayflower 400 next year, we will have many events for students and families to participate in. We will keep you posted on any exciting opportunities throughout the year.
 
I am looking forward to welcoming you next term to our Parents’ Evenings and hope that you will all be able to attend to discuss your child’s progress. 
 
Yours faithfully
 
Mrs Bevan
Principal

Congratulations to the newly elected Yr 11 Prefects. After a gruelling interview process a significant number of students have been successful in becoming a prefect. 

The College couldn’t be more proud of this year's Prefects whom have shown brilliance throughout recent years at the College.

Well done to the Year 11 Prefects.


Mr Beynon
Pastoral Leader

Congratulations to 60 Year 11 students who were invited to the end of summer barbecue. Students have been working hard to achieve the invite by aiming for the following criteria:

• Three nominations from teaching staff
• 0% absence
• Regular use of the Learning Café

Well done to all those invited. Some students managed to receive more than six nominations showing a really positive start to life in Year 11.

Long may it continue!

Mr Beynon
Pastoral Leader

The current Year 7’s have just completed their first term here at Sir John Hunt CSC and have come across the city from 19 different Primary Schools.
 
 All students have been so smart in their new uniform and have shown role model behaviour!
 
They have quickly found their way around the College and made many new friends along the way. The Year 7 students have adapted to their new timetable, having up to 15 different lessons per week and have enthusiastically engaged in their learning.
 
Many of the students have gone to our Learning Club where they receive support to complete homework, whilst earning praise points and the year group have amassed 26685 points so far!  ‘Student of the Term’ for Learning Club went to Carmen Churchill from 7 Lowe and Tiah Dannan from 7 Stephens won the Library Bingo Reading Challenge and both have won Love to Shop vouchers.  
 
Year 7 attendance has been amazing, currently at 97.5% and it is great to see how keen they are to attend and on time. Furthermore, students have chosen their School Council representatives for their tutor groups and Autumn Darbyshire from 7 Lowe and Tyler-Jay Evans from 7 Stephens have been chosen to represent their year group.
 
We asked the Year 7 students what they thought about their new start and this is what some of them said:
 
“Sir John Hunt offers a fun way to learn because the teachers make it so enjoyable” 
             
“Secondary School is way better than primary because you are treated like a grown-up!”   
 
“Year 7 has been an inspirational start and I have been taught more things than I ever knew before and I’ve got lots more friends”
 
“My first term at Sir John Hunt has been fun and I have felt really included. My favourite lessons have to be Music, PE and English. I really like going to netball club with the Year 8 and 9’s and they have help me build up my confidence”
 
“I found my first week amazing and my favourite subject is Science because I get to use Bunsen burners”
 
I am so proud of how the year group has integrated and hope their enthusiasm and energy continues into the rest of their time here at College.
 
Mrs Jordan
Pastoral Leader Year 7

A group of six Sir John Hunt students have hit the news with their exploits in working with the Royal Volunteer Service. 

Leading volunteering organisation, Royal Voluntary Service, is advising more parents to get their children involved in volunteering from a young age, on the back of new research that identifies that the positive impact it can have on their wellbeing.

Miss Newberry
Careers Coordinator

LINK TO HERALD ARTICLE >

On Tuesday 16th July, Plymouth Music Education Hub worked with four Plymouth schools to put on the first Open Mic Night, held at Plymouth School of Creative Arts, near the city centre.

The concept of the ‘Open Mic Night’ events, is to create a safe space for young performers, away from the comfort zone of their own music departments, so that they can grow as performers and feel confident trying out new material to new audiences. It is also hoped that the students will network with musicians from other schools.

Seven Sir John Hunt music students performed live at the event:

Megan Smith and Daisy Bone performed a stunning piano and vocal set, including songs by Lewis Capaldi and Cyndi Lauper.

Tallulah Buckeridge impressed with a beautiful note perfect rendition of Chandelier by Sia.

Lexi Taylor and Monty Cahill performed a high energy Alt-Rock/Punk set, including one of Lexi’s own compositions.

Kiera Chown paid tribute to Amy Winehouse by performing Valerie, You Know I’m No Good and Love Is A Losing Game.

The feedback from Dave Perrett at PMEH was very complimentary, “Great performances from your students - I was particularly impressed by their level of commitment, which really came over to the audience as “real” performances”.

We plan to work again with PMEH in the new academic year to put on termly open mic nights, providing more opportunities for more of our talent music students.

Mr Cleverley
Music Teacher

 

Tierney, Holly, Cody and Hayden were the lucky four students who were invited by 1851 Trust to be at the official party for Team UK’s new sailing boat designed by INEOS for the America’s 36th Cup. 
 
For two of our students it was the first time they have travelled outside of Plymouth and their first ever experience on the train. With an early start and a five and a half hour journey, we finally arrived in Portsmouth at 1pm. Once checked in at our hotel, we made our way to INEOS headquarters, The Camber, which took us all by surprised with how enormous the building was! 
 
Firstly, we were introduced to different students all over the UK who were invited along with us; these students were from Birmingham, Cardiff and Portsmouth. Once a few jokes were made about everyone’s accents, we were all ready for the next task. We made our way to the ‘Tech Deck’, this floor included high-tech technology that INEOS used to build the boat. The students had to complete different problem-solving tasks in their teams. This involved coding, virtual reality, designing, physics testing and the physical strength and endurance test (which was Cody’s favourite). After a lot of hard work and new friendships made, we walked to Still & West Restaurant where we was treated to a 3-course meal, courtesy of the 1851 Trust. We made our way back to the hotel, where we sat and had hot chocolates before making our way to bed to rest for before the big day tomorrow! 
 
The morning started, of course, with a trip to McDonald’s for breakfast. Shortly after, we travelled back to The Camber, which was packed with guests and visitors trying to get a glimpse of INEOS new design of the sailing boat. We were told that there would be many spies from other countries reporting on the design of the boat, so we decided to spend a little time on the balcony seeing if we could spot any. This was harder than it sounds! We shortly made our way outside, where the CEO of INEOS, Jim Ratcliffe and his daughter Julia announced that the boat is named Britannia, a very suiting name for what everyone hopes will bring Team UK their first ever America’s Cup win! After a motivating speech from Sir Ben Ainslie CBE, there was excitement and joy all around The Camber when Britannia was hoisted into the water. David ‘Freddie’ Carr, INEOS Team UK Grinder, then took the students for a session at their high-spec gym, where students took part in many different exercises. Freddie then took us on a tour where we went behind the scenes at INEOS. 
 
With none of the students wanting to leave, it was a hard goodbye to our new friends and to Portsmouth. With another long journey ahead of us, we all collaboratively reminisced over the events of the last two days. We arrived back at Plymouth for 6:30pm where all the students left our Portsmouth Residential with beaming smiles and wonderful memories made. 

A special thank you to Plymouth Youth Sailing with their constant support and smooth running of our sailing sessions. Also a huge thank you to 1851 Trust and their staff members who looked after us over the two days. Lastly, and most importantly, a big thank you to our four students who represented the school fantastically with their motivation, teamwork, resilience and confidence. 
 
Now we are into the winter months, our INEOS sailing programme is nearly at an end for this year. We are due to re-start the programme in March 2020, where students will be selected to participate, in hope of improving their motivation and resilience. 
 
Miss Robinson
KS3 Learning Mentor

I am always incredibly proud when our students gets involved with community and uniform groups outside of College. Last week one of my Year 10 students mixed with royalty at the STEM Careers Fair at Sandhurst.

Princess Anne and Prince Harry were among the guests at this national event hosted for carefully selected army cadets. The day consisted of over 50 industries, further education providers and armed forces recruitment officers, all highlighting the best of British employment opportunities in the Science and Technology field.
 
Mr Carpenter 
Assistant Principal

We had our first netball club of the year in September and it was run by Sasha and Leah in Year 10. They led a brilliant warm up which got everyone's blood pumping and allowed the new Year 7's to integrate with our Korean experiences players. A passing drill followed with Leah and Sasha giving great teaching points.

Once we got in to the game, the girls soon found their feet and the Year 7's played brilliantly, with some of them playing in new positions.

Bring on the next session!

Miss Warring
PE Teacher

Dear Parents and Carers

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and the role I am lucky enough to have at Sir John Hunt Community Sports College. I was appointed as the Raising Standards Lead for Key Stage 4 (Years 9,10 and 11), which took effect from September 2019. A key part of my role is ensuring each student in Key Stage 4 has the support and opportunities available to them to help them make progress and succeed,  providing them with the opportunities and choices they deserve to secure their future.

​At Sir John Hunt we offer a wide range of support and opportunities to our students. We ​are fortunate to have two excellent​ Learning Mentors that work with Year 11 students focusing on their support and progress, helping tackle areas of challenge and building confidence. The Learning Mentors also provide essential support in examination preparation and revision strategies ​both in lessons and after school. The students are able to book ​sessions with the Learning Mentors and HLTAs, which take place in the Learning Café after school. During these sessions, students can focus on topics which they find challenging and require further practice in. 

The Learning Café is such a fantastic resource ​which is available for our Key Stage 4 students. ​It is open every day after school and offers a quite space to undertake independent study, complete homework or work with staff. We are incredibly lucky that the staff at Sir John Hunt provide an excellent variety of after school intervention and support for a range of subjects. Please find a list of after school classes/clubs on the Key Stage 4 section of the school website.

http://www.sjhcsc.co.uk/parents/key-stage-4

In addition to the Learning Café we also provide a wide range of online educational platforms that have proven to support and engage students with revision.

GCSEPOD: All students have been provided with a log in for this in school and have time to explore the many opportunities the site has available. It is a superb resource with a full variety of subjects available to support and enhance their learning. Each subject is linked to the appropriate examination board and provides short, engaging videos to support students break down and understand the topic area.

www.gcsepod.co.uk

TASSOMAI: We have worked closely with the Science team to create a reward system for the use of Tassomai, we believe this to be an invaluable resource and one that will really help students learn and embed that learning, giving them the best chance of success in their examinations. This is a set of online science based quizzes for students to achieve each daily goal and continue to build their confidence in the topic areas as well as their resilience towards examination style questions.

www.tassomai.com

To acknowledge the effort and hard work our students are taking part in we are working with each year group to create rewards suitable for their engagement and progress made by each student.

To date we have been really impressed with how the Key Stage 4 students have approached this academic year. All students in Key Stage 4 have received a similar assembly regarding the importance of revision and getting into good habits. From revision timetables, good effort in lesson, regular visits to the Learning Café and use from the various online platforms we have to further support the students’ progress. The key to success is the consistency in excellence and effort in each students lessons, learning and approach to study.

I continue to be grateful for your support in ensuring our young people’s success, if you have any further questions please feel free to get in contact using my school email c.pownall@sjhcsc.co.uk

Yours faithfully

Miss C Pownall
KS4 Raising Standards Lead

 

For children aged 5 to 18 and their families

If you’re worried about something that’s happening in your life, need some space to talk or want some advice on how you’re feeling, drop in and have a chat to a trained professional. 

You can come on your own or with someone else; you will always be made to feel welcome.

When? Friday 25th October 2019 1030-1230 
Where? Tavy Lodge Scout Hut, Tavy Place, PL4 7DJ

Community CAMHS
Livewell Southwest