Dear Parents & Carers
We are coming to the end of the Year 10 exams this week and I have to say the students have done very well. It is their first taste of hall-based exams, handing phones in, taking off smart watches and being challenged over labels on bottles – all the checks that must be done before a GCSE exam is sat. It often comes as a bit of a shock, just how formal the process is, but we’ve been pleased with how they have taken to it.
These exams really kick start the final year of study before GCSE exams for this year group, and there will be extensive work done with the students and their exam papers in class to fill in the gaps. But the real message to the kids is that this is now the time to really get hold of their own learning. They will know where they were confident and where their weaknesses were and, following the work in class after the exams, they will know exactly where they can access resources to improve their own performance.
The other key message for these exams is about effort. These are not exams where students are judged for their grades, but we will certainly pass comment on the effort they have put in because this is something they can control. With everything this year group has been through over the last 18 months, we know there will be gaps in knowledge and skills; that is why we do these exams, to establish what the gaps are. However, what we really now want to see is ever-increasing levels of effort to take control of the learning and to fill the knowledge and skills gap. When they are back in the exam halls for their Year 11 mocks, they will see the difference.
With best wishes
Andy Perry – Head Teacher
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