Dear Parents and Carers,
 
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for the support that you have given to us this term.
 
I am pleased that we were able to fully open to all year groups from the very start of term.  I particularly wanted to acknowledge your support whilst we were all trying to make sense of the guidance we received from the Department of Education and Public Health England – thank you for your patience and understanding.
 
I am also pleased to say that all students have been incredibly positive and have made an excellent start to the year.  I do hope that they have reflected during the lockdown period and now might even say that they value school more.  I know that we missed them and could not wait for routines to be re-established and to return to some form of normality.
 
We have had to make some adjustments to the curriculum, particularly around the practical based subjects but we were determined to open in a safe manner, prioritising student and staff health and well-being.  Just as a reminder, it is optional for students and staff to wear a face covering in communal areas; more information about our health and safety expectations is available on our College website.
 
Students are in good routines and hand sanitising regularly is now second nature to them.  Part of our Risk Assessment to help keep students and staff safe, is to reduce the number of visitors that enter the College and, as a result, we are re-thinking our events and Parents’ Evenings.  We will be contacting you again soon to explain how they will occur.  Of course, you are always welcome and we certainly encourage you to contact staff, if you have any questions or need support.
 
This term, my Senior Leadership Team and I have had the pleasure of visiting many lessons and I have been impressed by how calm, focused and hardworking students have been.  It is important that we regain some academic momentum and I would ask you to ensure that your child is completing their homework, all of which can be found on Google Classroom.  Please also take some time to ask them about their lessons and what they have been learning.
 
Some of the work produced during lockdown was excellent and I wanted to share with you a poem that was written by one of our Year 11 students (the student is happy that I share this with you):
 
If we were all colour blind, would society’s fatal flaw still stand?
Would the hand in hand from man to man still cause controversy that I can’t understand?
Would there be peace and justice for those who died 
or would there be no such thing as the ones who survived?
Would we all then be equal put aside, put aside
the other factors involved such as money, such as pride?
But none of you would be happy because in order for success, we need the less lucky like how we have the wealthy because we have the poor
and that's why we have police officers knocking on people's doors 
in their sleep when all they wanted was peace.
The only chance of freedom was only ever in their dreams.
 
Most of my friends are white 
Do I envy them? Yes sometimes I might
They've never experienced the racial abuse from strangers’ mouths because they're not threatened by you, by your colour,
It's a weapon. They'll give any excuse for them to feel in power,
whites make the rules. Yes they do, yes they do!
 
The only way for change is to educate yourself
 to tell the generations to come the mistakes you made yourself
and how you were wrong. You now know it doesn't matter where you're from
‘All lives matter’ of course they do but we need to focus on the biggest issue at hand, in my brown hand
Society isn't perfect but we're getting better 
The Change Is Now.
Black Lives Matter 
 
As you can see from the newsletter, there has certainly been much to celebrate this term.  We also welcomed our new Year 7 students to Sir John Hunt this term and I would like to extend a warm welcome to them and to their families.  I am looking forward to the time when I can meet families in person.
 
Thank you all for your continued support and the positive messages we have received.  If you wish to contact us, please do get in touch via the College website.
 
Yours faithfully,
 
Mrs Bevan
Principal

Maths has made a fantastic start to the 2020-2021 academic year. It was a pleasure to welcome our students back after the College closure and support them through these uncertain times. Despite the challenging end to Year 11, we celebrated the resounding success of the students and department with our GCSE results. 65% of students achieved a Grade 4+, with our higher students also performing superbly well with an amazing 19.8% achieving a grade 6+. This has seen our A-level intake increase having the most students opt for A-level maths in recent years.

The start of the academic year has seen many changes across the College and within the department. We are currently reviewing the curriculum and making significant changes to our schemes of learning to ensure a mastery approach across Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4. By replicating additional support from last year that worked successfully, as well as increasing our team in Maths with two new members of staff Mr Prowse and Mr Kershaw. We look forward to a productive and progressive year to raise results even further.

Year 11 are currently working through the final year of their GCSE. With the closure, we have had to make some changes to the curriculum to ensure we can cover all the content and alongside this, we have introduced a Period 7 lesson, additional intervention lessons throughout the week, morning intervention sessions and additional assessments planned in, which have taken place this week. We have additional exam practice and past paper work to commence later in the year in build up to the exam.

We have welcomed our new Year 7 students, who have made a good impression in the first few weeks of term. Our curriculum has taken a new approach at Key stage 3 with students following a mastery curriculum based around number and shape and being taught in mixed ability groups. Students can access support with their homework through the Key Stage 3 learning club and we are soon looking to launch the ‘Maths Challenge Club’ for Year 7’s wishing to practice more of their skills in preparation for opportunities that may arise throughout the coming year. We have also launched the new times table challenge as part of their numeracy lessons to improve these fundamental skills.

As a department, we have now been using Hegarty Maths for all homework for a year. We are going to continue using this online platform throughout this year to support students learning. Work will be set on here by the classroom teachers and will be checked frequently to ensure gaps in knowledge can be addressed.

All login information has been shared with the students and a parent guide can be found on the Sir John Hunt CSC website.

Website www.hegartymaths.com

1. username: your first name, surname and date of birth, e.g. John  Smith, 17/06/2004
2. Password: the students can choose their own password

This is the same for all students in Years 7 to 11 so everyone has access to additional Maths support. 
 
Finally, we would like to officially welcome Mr Kershaw and Mr Prowse into the department. After joining us in July, they are excited to be working with us in raising the attainments and aspirations of all the students who study Maths here at Sir John Hunt Community Sports College.

Mr Stockton
Curriculum Leader for Mathematics

Our vision is to build a safe learning environment that applies evidence based research, to encourage our students in developing their sense of awe and wonder at the complexity of their world.

Welcome to the team, our new Science teachers;

• Miss Carroll
• Mr Davidson
• Mr James
• Miss Wickman

Despite a challenging end to Year 11, the hard work and dedication from our Science team and students enabled us to secure 100% pass rate and improved Science GCSE results when compared to last year. I am delighted that we are now on an upward trend and in line with the national average for similar schools.

• 67% of students achieved a grade 4 or above in Biology
• 66% of students achieved a grade 4 or above in Chemistry
• 63% of students achieved a grade 4 or above in Physics
• 100% of our KS5 students achieved an A*-C grade equivalent in their BTEC Applied Science course. This has enabled all that wanted to go to the university of their choice or start an apprenticeship in their chosen career.

In response to our change to AQA 9-1 Single Science, over the summer the Science team developed new schemes of learning, exams and question level analysis tools that will enable students, across all key stages, to identify and fill their gaps in their learning. As a College we have also invested in an established online learning program called Seneca (similar to Hegarty Maths).  We will be using Seneca as a homework and diagnostic tool to support, challenge and enable our students to independently fill the gaps in their knowledge.
 
Regarding curriculum change for cohort 2021, following Covid-19 and DfE guidelines, students where appropriate, will be able to take part in practical Science. However, where this is not possible, all Science classrooms have visualisers that present the teacher demonstrations onto the classroom screens. We have online platforms such as Seneca and Focus Learning, both accessible on the SJH website, that also enable students to critically go through the required practicals observed in class.
 
We have some fantastic homework projects planned and which are currently being completed by our new Year 7 cohort and Year 8 students. Due to the success and excitement exhibited by both staff and students, we are now planning to hold a Science Fair this Christmas time to give students a chance to plan design and make their own Science project. I can’t wait!

Year 7s have began studying a new topic in Biology on ecosystems of the natural world. In this topic they learn about habitats, adaptations and how climate change is affecting these environments. Due to COVID restrictions students are unable to travel out of school for a field trip, so we thought we would bring the field trip into the classroom, virtually! In Miss Wickman’s class students explored rainforest, deserts and coral reefs using google earth voyager. Using data sheets students recorded and explained their findings. Now for homework students have an opportunity to make their own virtual field trip, using google earth. This is a free software that allows students to explore the world. Students will create a field trip to share habitats and environmental issues they are passionate about; we can’t wait to see what they put together!
 
We have had an excellent start to the new academic year and we are all very excited to see our young learners develop their specialism in Science. It has been a joy and privilege for me, to be able to go into and explore our Science classes and experience some of the fantastic lessons and learning that has been going on during this term.

Mr Gardiner
Curriculum Leader for Science
 
7 Destivelle – Biology
 
Over the past two weeks, 7 Destivelle have been working hard on creating their very own 3D models of ecosystems for their first piece of Biology homework. There was a huge variety of projects handed in - from a simple pond to a rocky shore ecosystem. It was great to see students challenge themselves by modelling less common ecosystems like hydrothermal vents and the different zones of the ocean! The enthusiasm and creativity that students have shown whilst carrying out this project has impressed both myself and the entire Science department. Not only did these ecosystem models look great but they were also scientifically accurate! 
                                                                                                            
Miss Carroll
Science Teacher

The academic year has started extremely well so far for the English and Social Sciences department; we are genuinely delighted to welcome all our students back after the College closure and look forward to supporting them through the challenging times ahead. Despite the abrupt end to Year 11, the team celebrated the incredible success of the students and the department with our GCSE results. 67% of students achieved a Grade 4+, and 48% students gained a grade 5 or above in their English GCSE studies.  

Also in Psychology we are very proud of our students and all the hard work that went in prior to the school closure - especially during the period 7 time and additional intervention sessions where we were relentlessly practising the longer and more challenging questions from each exam paper that attract the higher marks.
 
The start of the academic year has seen many changes across the College and within our department. In September, we welcomed two new members of staff who have already made a positive impact on the team. This year we aim to build on the success of the recent results and continue to develop the quality of teaching and learning for all. Year 11 are currently working through the final year of their GCSE Language and Literature courses; we have put in an extensive amount of support for the Year 11s to enable them to achieve the best grades possible.  Support includes:

• Additional core Period 7 periods to practise exam skills
• Morning intervention sessions during tutor time
• GCSE English Literature revision/study guides will be purchased for all set texts and will be given to students free of charge at set intervals throughout the year
• Intervention sessions throughout the week
• A structured exam practice plan that will feature additional practice opportunities
• Access to GCSE Pods – all students should have login details for this
• Access to revision/useful practice tasks via Seneca Learning. Students can log in/register to use this platform using the same username and password details as they use to access Google Classrooms.

Our Year 7 students have also made a good impression in the first few weeks of term; their creative writing work derived from our writing unit ‘Fantastic Beasts’ has been particularly pleasing. As a department, we are committed to improving students’ basic reading skills to ensure that they can access all aspects of the College curriculum as well as being able to engage with and enjoy a range of text types throughout their educational journey at Sir John Hunt Community Sports College and beyond.  In order to improve the reading skills of our students, we have introduced and developed the following:

• Investment in a completely new range of books/tests for our reading schemes of learning at KS3
• All KS3 students will be explicitly taught the skills of reading every term during the last two weeks using specific reading schemes of learning
• All year 7s will complete diagnostic reading tests at the start of term so that teaching can be tailored to the needs of our students
• All Year 7s will receive a free book from the Bookbuzz scheme during term 2
• We will be introducing and trialling a new reading programme called Bedrock Learning, which supports the development of vocabulary and using words in context.

The above are additional to the whole school initiatives such as the introduction of the Tutor Reading Programme and the NGRT reading tests.
 
Later this year, we will be resuming our Creative Writing Club, KS3 Book Club as well as encouraging students to take part in national writing competitions for poetry and creative writing. 

We are looking forward to the busy year ahead and to viewing all of the fantastic work and achievements of our students.
 
Mrs Reader
Curriculum Leader for English

Since returning to College we have been exploring the formal elements of art, and getting back into developing our drawing skills.  Already each year group have started off with some fantastic drawings as you can see! Year 7 and 8 have created beautiful shell drawings.  Year 9 have been drawing from real life objects such as shells and ropes.  Year 10 have produced some fantastic cell drawings as part of their new ‘Cells’ project. Students will start to explore a variety of materials such as painting and mixed-media as we progress through the year. We can’t wait to see what they do next!

Miss Costello
Art Teacher

Students have had a focused and enthusiastic start in Hospitality and Catering since returning to College. Year 9 have made a fantastic start to their GCSE studies and Year 10 have been focusing on missed learning to ensure they are 100% prepared for the next year of the course. 

Year 11 have been working hard on their practical skills and have completed a number of highly skilled practicals to ensure they are fully prepared for the practical exam which they will complete later in the year. Year 11 students have focused on pasta making, presentation skills and producing more than one dish in a lesson. This has really allowed them to use new skills and focus on exam technique.

Well done to all the Hospitality and Catering students for a fantastic start, look forward to seeing what happens in the next term.

Mrs Stockton
Hospitality and Catering Teacher

It’s been fantastic being back at College, in our brilliant Music department.  Yes, there were some new routines for all us to get used to, but as ever the students have adapted easily.
 
We are fortunate to have a large, fully equipped Music technology suite, which has enabled all students to make music, in a safe, controlled environment.  Year 7 and 8 are enjoying developing their Garageband and keyboard skills, whilst Year 9 have started the first ever KS4 Music technology sequencing project.
 
Having such large practise spaces, has enabled our KS4 and 5 students to carry on making live music, albeit in reduced group sizes.
 
What has impressed me the most upon returning to College, is finding out how much our music students engaged with their practise (listening, singing and playing) during their time at home, aided by our unique musical instrument loan scheme. 

Mr Cleverley
Music Teacher

Sixth Form Level 3 sport students assess their fitness levels through testing.

Our Year 12 and Year 13 sport students have been put through their paces with a series of fitness tests. The students have learnt how to conduct and participate in a range of fitness tests. When testing, to ensure reliability and validity the students have followed strict protocols and procedures. Furthermore, the students have prepared a presentation to assess the advantages and disadvantages for each test; making sure that they collate an unbiased, research based conclusion on the overall success of each test.

Next, the students will be completing client consultations which will give them the background knowledge they need about a client to be able to plan and deliver appropriate fitness tests. Students will then learn how to interpret the data acquired from fitness tests and how best to feed this back to the client so that they can go on to make informed decisions about their health and fitness training.  

Year 11 Sports Studies
 
The year has started quickly with the students beginning their work on the exam unit of the course. The Contemporary Issues Unit covers a wide range of topics, from gender in sport, to the Olympics, to how national governing bodies run sport in the UK. The groups have settled back in to College life well, and it is great to see more and more of them taking an interest in sport outside of the College. With their exam coming up in January it is essential that they have a wide knowledge of what is going on in the sporting community, many have downloaded the BBC Sport App, which is a fantastic way for them to keep up to date. 
 
In their practical session the students have been working on improving their netball and football scores, and the effort shown in lessons is fantastic. They are demonstrating an increased knowledge of tactics and have been fabulous at implementing these during their practical lessons.
 
If the level of commitment myself and Mr Fort have seen is anything to go by, the students should do extremely well in January. 

Miss Warring
PE Teacher

Year 9 Step Up students have settled in to the new course very well since returning from the Summer break. They have actively been involved in a number of practical activities so far such as gardening, mask making and blackberry picking.  Working as a team and erecting a shelter was also an activity that students enjoyed. The pictures above show Laicee, Alisha, Travis and Edward relaxing after successfully getting their shelter all ready for a sudden storm!

Mr Smart
Step Up Teacher

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as the new Curriculum Leader for EBacc and welcome Aleasha Udal (History Teacher) and Laura England (Philosophy & Ethics Teacher and Assistant Curriculum Leader) to the team.

Over lockdown the team have been working hard to improve our resources, schemes of learning and lesson plans to create an inspiring and exciting curriculum across the EBacc subjects. Alongside other subjects in the school we have invested in an online learning program, Seneca, and will be using this as a homework and revision tool for our students. All homework is on Google Classrooms to enable both students and parents to easily access what has been set.

As a department we have been concerned with the lost learning over lockdown and we are working to catch up Year 11 pupils with the Period 7 sessions and through tutor periods. Year 11 can also access the learning café from 4pm-5pm.

I have been very impressed with the start of the year and it has been a privilege to visit the classes within the team and see all the varied and inspirational learning that has been achieved this term. Covid 19 has unfortunately put a stop on our field trips for the moment, but we are currently planning a new EBacc trip to run in the summer term.

Watch this space!

Mr Pring
Curriculum Leader for EBacc

The Year 7’s have made an amazing start at Sir John Hunt after being out of College for so long, coming from 18 different primaries across the city. It has been such a shame that they did not have the opportunity to complete their final year or have our usual induction into College, but we have all been so pleased at how well they have adapted to their new school life.
 
All students are so smart in their new uniform and have taken on their new timetable and even our new one way system around the College.  The Year 7 students have taken to their new timetable having up to 15 different lessons per week and have enthusiastically engaged in their learning. They have been collecting praise points and have amassed 6980 points so far. We have seen students giving pitches to their tutor group to be considered for school council, which was just amazing to see how confident and mature they were.
 
We have ‘Star of the week’ taken from nominations from our tutors and teaching staff for outstanding work, homework, bravery and projects completed. We have seen some amazing eco systems for a Biology homework project and students have volunteered to go sailing with the Plymouth Youth Sailing Club.
 
I am so proud of how the year group have come together and integrated into College life and hope their enthusiasm and energy continues into the rest of their time here at Sir John Hunt.
 
Mrs Jordan
Year 7 Pastoral Leader

Well, what a start to the year it has been for Year 8. From the moment you walked into your first roll call on Tuesday 8^th September you have been fantastic! The impression you have made has been simply awesome. You have shown great pride and excitement in being back to school. Since that day we have gone from the beautiful late summer days, to the less than desirable stormy autumn. But, this hasn’t stopped you from behaving impeccably in and around the College.  

We have had the fantastic Drop Down Day in which students discovered the importance of democracy in our Country. This then led to students voting for their Tutor Representatives, which is the first step for any young MP! I look forward to hearing their thoughts in the future up and coming year group council meetings. Later in the day the students were treated to an assembly led by two of our local Police Community Support Officers. Students had prepared questions relating to their role in the local community and were amazed by some of the stories they shared.

In Year 8 we have started to see some of the finest in human attributes being displayed. Corey won Star of the Week for his efforts to help improve the conduct of his fellow students during break and lunch time and has continued his hard work across the College. Elliott has also won the award this term, which includes a certificate and 50 praise points from his Pastoral Leader. He won this for doing some volunteering to conduct a litter picking session. There have been many stars though shining brightly as we continue to move through the term.

Finally, as we near the end of term I would like to remind our students of the importance of being punctual and that roll call starts at 8:30am and the importance of being prepared and having the correct equipment.

As I said at the start, Year 8 have been fantastic so far and have made a great impression upon everyone at Sir John Hunt! Well done.
 
Mr Beynon
Year 8 Pastoral Leader

Welcome to the Year 9 section of the Newsletter!

It is with great pleasure that I am able to lead the year group as they embark on their first year of study towards their GCSE’s.  We understand it has been a difficult period of adjustment for many of our students but, now they have returned to College, they can really focus on the learning that is required to achieve the outcomes they deserve. 

The year group as a cohort have impressed me with their adaptability and how they have embraced the new challenges we face in College.  This includes their cooperation with new Covid guidelines within the school community, but also the development of their ICT literacy skills and use of technologies to enhance learning including the use of online platforms.

We have also completed our democratic process of nominating our tutor representatives who will share their thoughts and ideas around school development on the School Council.  They are: Dulcie Pinhey, Josh Roberts, Luke Mewton, Grace Mealing, Reece Borda, Marley Sleep, Zak Mussa, Kacey Marshall, Logan Walkling and Summer James.
 
Mr Holliday
Year 9 Pastoral Leader

It felt like a lifetime that myself and Mrs Davies were away from them, and it feels absolutely fantastic to be back, working face to face (at a safe distance!) with our year group. 
 
They have made an absolutely fantastic start to Year 10, demonstrating maturity and a brilliant work ethic across all subjects. It seems crazy to think that this time next year we will be in to their final GCSE year at the College, and I want to take this opportunity to reiterate how important homework and extra learning is. Homework for all subjects is now set on a weekly basis on google classroom. There is a free app that can be downloaded to both Apple and Android phones and this will help to allow them to access this work. If they do not have access to a laptop or tablet, they can complete work on paper, take a photo of it and then upload this to the appropriate classroom.  On the College Website there is also a full list of staff emails, so work can also be submitted this way. Learning Café is open just for year 10 on a Tuesday and Thursday, it is a brilliant work space, and a great way for them to get homework completed. 
 
During Lockdown, the engagement from Cohort 22 on our Pastoral Classroom was fantastic, and we were the first year group to get every single student on and active. This platform also allowed students to stay in touch with us and each other, and we loved seeing what they were doing.  From learning to drive a digger, to meeting up for socially distanced, mask wearing study sessions. Seeing new family members arrive, both human and furry, to getting brilliant PS4 tips from some of the boys.  It made it so much easier being away from them knowing that they were ok!
 
Now we are back, and we need to keep pushing.  Mrs Davies and I hold this year group in the highest regard, and we will do everything we can to ensure that they get the most out of their time at the College. We would also like to thank you at home. The level of support that your child has is exceptional, and we cannot tell you how grateful we are as a year team to have such a fabulous team of Parents/Carers at the end of the phone.  Please do continue to keep in touch, let us know of any worries and of any brilliant things they are doing outside of their College time. 
 
I'd like to finish with a quote that I love, “The only difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.” We truly believe that this year group has the power to be extraordinary, we just need to work together to help them achieve the best outcomes, both academically and pastorally. 
 
Miss Warring
Year 10 Pastoral Leader

I am delighted to announce that after a rigorous recruitment process, which included an application and interview and a cross referencing to students previous achievement and attendance data, the Year 11 prefects have now been recruited. The awarding of the prefect ties singles these students out as the role models of the College. These students epitomise the very best character traits of dedication, resilience, perseverance, self-discipline and compassion.

The process which started during lockdown will now see these students take a very different role compared to the “normal” non covid years which would have seen them act as ambassadors for College events and become year group guardians. It will enable them however to enhance their CVs, job and university applications.

Congratulations to all of the students.

A further opportunity to apply will be available in January.

Year 11 Update

As the pressure of GCSE looms the current Year 11s have risen to the challenge of the new routines and longer school day taking all these changes in their stride. I am immensely proud of the mature and focused way the year group have returned and with their single minded determination to get the very best from their last year at KS4 with us.

Many students are even staying from 16:00 to 17:00 for the Year 11s champion hour in Learning Café to really catch up on all their lockdown learning and consolidate the learning over the last 3 years ready for the summer exams.

Well done keep it up!

Mr Carpenter
Year 11 Pastoral Leader

Throughout the period of COVID-19 College closure, we were keen to encourage our students to maintain some kind of focus.  Naturally, we wanted them to complete school work but we also wanted them to spend some time being creative and developing their skills on projects of their own choosing.  We were inspired to run a Lockdown Art Challenge by one of our parents, who suggested it, after seeing the joy that creativity brings to her daughter.
 
I am delighted to announce that the winner of the SJH Art Challenge is Year 11 student, Autumn, who continued to submit entries over the summer break and really impressed with the range of her inspiration and commitment to trying new mediums.  Autumn receives the prize of a Gaomon Professional Graphics Tablet.  Worthy runners up are Year 8 students: Hannah Green, Liam and Adam, who all received art equipment.

All prizes have been donated by the Heath family - a huge thank you!
 
Mrs Stanton
Assistant Principal
 

 

The first in a series of 6 drop down days throughout the year provided an opportunity for students to learn the importance of ‘British Values’. The sessions included themes such as democratic government, what it means to be British, voting systems and Human Rights. Other sessions which ran in parallel to the day encompassed student’s aspirations, careers and employability as well as study skills.
 
The day was a huge success, with students producing some incredible and insightful work and a number of interesting debates where witnessed by the pastoral leaders between the tutors and the students.
 
Impressing their peers with their manifesto promises, a big congratulations must go to the following students who were elected to represent their tutor groups:

Further elections will take place with two representatives from each tutor group being elected to represent their year group on College council. 
 
We would also like to congratulate the following students for receiving Curriculum Leader Praise Points for their excellent work:

• Jaden Simmonds
• Charlie Lipinski
• Leah Lancefield
• Niamh McKenna
• Katelyn Wills 

The next Drop Down Day is on 11th November, which has the theme ‘Keeping Yourself and Others Safe’.
 
Miss Harris
Personal Development Lead

Our students have recently been applying their knowledge of democracy to choose a charity for the College to support this year.  The plans initially started back in July, where students were able to nominate charities to be considered and has culminated in Cancer Research UK being chosen for us to support. 

This charity was originally proposed by Maddy Stanton in Year 10.  During the Drop Down Day, students learnt about each charity whilst improving their reading and comprehension skills.  They chose which charity they wanted to vote for, justifying reasons for their choice.  Each tutor group then held a vote, and Cancer Research UK won by an overwhelming amount.

We are looking forward to seeing what ideas our students come up with for some fundraising.  Our Council Reps will be able to bring their tutor groups ideas to the council meetings, where they will get to plan some events.
 
Miss Harris
Personal Development Lead

In a normal school year the College would be welcoming over 250 students and their parents to our packed open events.

This year to ensure the safety and security of all, these events have been given a digital makeover transferring from the physical to the virtual.

While there can be no substitute for the actual academic family feel our College radiates, our new dedicated Year 5/6 webpages now contain everything a student and their families might need to make that import a choice of choosing the right secondary school.

Over the summer a number of our students volunteered to come to College to help create our new welcome video and support the creation our new virtual tour. The site also contains a digital copy of our prospectus, a taste of our enrichment programme, testimonials from our students and their parents, frequently asked questions and answers and a guide on how to apply for a Year 7 place at our College. Please visit: http://www.sjhcsc.co.uk/year-5-6

The College has been heavily oversubscribed for the last few years so get your applications in soon. If after viewing the site you still have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us on admissions@sjhcsc.co.uk

The closing date for securing a Year 7 place for September 2020 is 31st October  to apply please visit: http://www.sjhcsc.co.uk/year-5-6/applying-for-a-place-at-sjh

Mr Carpenter
Assistant Principal

Every year a team of our teachers visit our feeder primary schools to talk to students in Years 5/6 about the transition into secondary school life.

This year some of these assemblies took a very different approach. Instead of dashing around, this year we “zoomed” straight into their classrooms!

The virtual assemblies broadcast from Sir John Hunt and watched in the primary school classrooms showed our prospective students our new College video and virtual College tour followed by a discussion of the main differences between primary and secondary school life. All the resources and information you might need to make an informed decision on joining our College can be found here: http://www.sjhcsc.co.uk/year-5-6

We look forward to seeing our primary school students in real life next year!!!!

Mr Carpenter
Assistant Principal

You may be aware that we’re using Seneca Learning to support our students’ digital learning. 
 
Seneca offers high-quality free online learning courses for students to study from a computer, tablet or phone. 
 
Seneca also provides free parent accounts. Their free parent accounts allow you to track your child’s learning and help make conversations about school and learning easier. 
 
Seneca’s parent accounts also allow you to learn alongside your child if you wish to do so. This might be helpful in supporting you to work with your child on areas of their school work that you are less familiar with.
 
You can sign up for a free Seneca parent account here: app.senecalearning.com/parent
 
Seneca have made this handy 2 minute video to help you get started. 
 
Or you can read how to get your free account if you’d prefer. 
 
If you have any questions about how Seneca works, you can get support from the Seneca team using the live chat on their website or you can email them at learnmore@seneca.io.
 
I hope you find Seneca’s free parent account useful!

Mr Gardiner
Curriculum Leader for Science

Key Stage 4 students have had a fantastic return to College and have been working hard both in lessons and making the most of the other opportunities that we offer.
 
Learning Café (Year 9 and 10)
 
Starting options and working towards GCSEs qualifications can often feel a little different to Key Stage 3. We have an excellent facility to enhance the students learning day. The Learning Café is a Key Stage 4 only resource, available after school for student to spend time on class topics, new learning, additional study and revision. There are Learning Mentors there to support and provide guidance with both subject knowledge.
 
The Learning Café is open to Year 9 and 10 students at the times below:

Opening Hours:
Monday 3pm - 4pm – Year 9
Tuesday 3pm - 4pm – Year 10
Wednesday 3pm - 4pm – Year 9
Thursday 3pm - 4pm – Year 10
 
Champions' Hour

Our Year 11 students have been working hard in all their subjects and are making the most of Period 7. In light of this change to the College day, we have now opened the Learning Café exclusively to Year 11 from 4pm – 5pm from Monday to Thursday. 

There are fantastic rewards and prizes available for those attending  and we look forward to seeing students there.
 
Learning Platforms

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. All students have access to these and passwords to support their additional study.
 
GCSEPOD (All Subjects): www.gcsepod.co.uk
HEGARTY (Maths): www.hegartymaths.com
SENECA (All subjects): https://senecalearning.com/en-GB/
 
The usage so far on GCSEPod this year has been impressive with many students using it to support independent study. Seneca is a new platform which we have invested in this year and so far the student response to it has been extremely positive, with students from a range of year groups and subjects enjoying how it is used.
 
Competitions

There is currently a praise points competition for all Key Stage 4 students running throughout October with fantastic prizes to be won. Students can achieve praise points in all aspects of their College day from tutor time, lessons, outstanding homework and classroom contributions.
 
If you have any further questions please feel free to contact me on c.pownall@sjhscsc.co.uk
 
Miss Pownall
Raising Standards Lead Key Stage 4