NewsletterYear 11 Half Termly Updates

Dear Year 11 Parents and Carers,

Firstly, I would like to congratulate year 11 on their conduct throughout the mock exams. Many students put a lot of time and effort into revising, and we look forward to seeing their reactions to the results on the mock results day (Friday 23rd February).

When we return after half term there will be 10 schools weeks left until the start of the GCSE exams. For these last 10 weeks, our foci will be:

• ‘Revising smarter, not harder’ - Smaller, sensible, chunks of revision; ensuring students are preparing in a productive and sustainable way for the final two half terms. 
• 'Planning with a personalised exam timetable' -  To support students with time management, if any Year 11 needs support planning a revision timetable, they can approach their tutor, Head of Year, Dr Simpson or me.
• 'Study and Revision Support Classes' - As we move closer to the exams we will be offering more support classes, as detailed below.  If students are struggling with what to revise,  we urge them to speak to their subject teacher. Our teachers are great at helping students break the subject content into smaller chunks and making a student-specific revision list. 

We hope you find the following information helpful and please do not hesitate to contact your child’s tutor, Head of Year (Miss Harmer-Weston) or me, if you need any further support.

Kind regards,

Mrs Rebecca Farnie

Deputy Headteacher - Academic

A number of staff are putting on revision sessions in the February half term.

It is important students arrive on time for these sessions as the staff will be waiting for them in reception, to sign them in and walk them up to the classroom. If students are late, they may not be able to gain entry into school and will miss the session.

If your child has been invited to one of the 'invite only' sessions, you will have received a separate email, or phone call, from their class teacher.

Monday 12th February

• 9-11:30am PE Theory (Invite only) in the library
• 9-11:30am DT in 0.15
• 9-11:30am Food Coursework in 0.15
• 12:30-3pm Food Practical in 1.01
• 12:30-3pm History in 1.43 

Tuesday 13th February

• 9-11:30am Chemistry Higher in 1.15
• 9-11:30am Spanish Foundation Speaking Practice (Invite Only) in 0.29

Wednesday 14th February

• 9-11:30am Chemistry Foundation in 1.15

Thursday 15th February

• 9-11:30am Maths Higher Grade 5+ (Invite only) in 1.22 
• 9-11:30am Maths Higher Grade 7+ (Invite only) in 1.25
• 12:30-3pm Maths Foundation (Invite only) in 1.22

Friday 16th February

• 10am-12pm Biology Foundation in 1.20
• 12:20-2:30pm Biology Higher in 1.20

Staff will continue to put on sessions for year 11 next half term, to support revision. Class teachers will update students reguarly on key topics to be covered in the sessions.

Students receive a ‘REACH! Ahead’ ticket for each session they attend. These tickets go into a draw at the end of each term where they will be able to win gift vouchers, or even an iPad.

Below are the sessions planned for next half term.

We have been really pleased with the dedication of year 11 towards their revision this half term. Our silent study sessions have been well attended, and we look forward to seeing more students next half term. 

What is Silent Study?

• The silent study sessions provide students with a space to work on their revision.
• Students must plan this time and bring homework or revision with them.
• They will complete 45 minutes of study, followed by a 15 minute break, before completing a final 45 minutes of study.

When does Silent Study happen?

• The sessions run on a Tuesday and Thursday 3:45-5:30pm and on a Wednesday 2:45-4:30pm.

What if my child has a subject booster straight after school, but wants to attend the Silent Study too?

• Students are able to attend a subject booster and then join us in Silent Study once the booster finishes.

Are there additional incentives for my child to attend?

• We provide biscuits in the break!
• Students also receive a ‘REACH! Ahead’ ticket for each 45 minute session they stay for.
• These tickets go into a draw at the end of each term where they will be able to win gift vouchers, or even an iPad.

Is there an expectation for my child to attend these sessions?

• Please encourage your child to use this facility.
• We will be speaking to some of our year 11 families to strongly recommend attendance to these sessions, to support students in reaching their potential.
• Parents can request that their child attends. Please contact your child's tutor to arrange this. 

There are a number of practical subjects completing their mocks and final exams over the next couple of months, please support your child if they are taking one of these subjects, with their preparation or any materials needed. Any further information required will be sent to you directly from the class teacher.

Food

• Mock: Tuesday 27th February OR Wednesday 28th February 8:30am-1pm
• Final Exam: Tuesday 12th March OR Wednesday 13th February 8:30am-1pm

Art

• Mock: Monday 4th March OR Wednesday 6th March All Day
• Final Exam: Monday 29th and Tuesday 30th April OR Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2nd May All Day

Spanish - Speaking

• Mock: Thursday 14th March - targeted students only, individual time slots will be given nearer the time.
  Please note all students have had two speaking mocks this year, this additional opportunity is targeted to individual requirements.
• Final Exam: Monday 22nd April to Friday 26th April - an individual time slot on one of these days will be given to each student near the time.

• Following the results of the mock exams in February we will be hosting a further evening of Parent -Teacher Meetings on Tuesday 26th March (4pm-7pm). 
• The booking system will once again be through MCAS. If you do not have a log in please email contact@nottinghamfreeschool.co.uk for support.

As a school we subscribe to, or recommend, a number of online platforms students can use to support their revision.

All Subjects

• GCSE Pod – students should use their normal school log in (Office 365 log in)
• Seneca – teachers will give students class codes to access specific content
• Master Class
• Save my Exams GCSE

Subject Specific

• Corbet Maths
• Dr Frost Maths
• Mr Bruff (English)
• Mr Everything English
• Teoria.com (Music)

Does your child attend a language school or speak a language that is not English at home?

• We can potentially enter your child for a GCSE qualification in this language.
• We source the examiner for the speaking element of the exam (April 2024)
• The reading, writing and listening elements take place during the normal GCSE exams (9th May-19th June).
• Please note that we are unable to provide any tuition or lessons, in preparation for the qualification. 
• A number of our students have already expressed an interest in doing a GCSE in their home language. If you would like your child to be entered for one of the following qualifications, please email me: rfarnie@nottinghamfreeschool.co.uk

Possible GCSE language qualifications:

• French
• German
• Italian
• Polish
• Portugese
• Chinese (Mandarin/Cantonese)
• Japanese
• Panjabi
• Urdu
• Gujarati
• Bengali
• Arabic
• Hebrew or Biblical Hebrew
• Greek or Classical Greek
• latin
• Russain
• Persian
• Turkish

• The final GCSE exams run between Thursday 9th May - Wednesday 19th June.
• There are no exams during the half term break (Monday 27- Friday 31 May), but revision is still essential for exams after the break.
• The exams regulator (JCQ) have published contingency exam dates for the summer 2024 exam timetable, in case any exam has to be rescheduled. Students must be available on all three dates even if they do not have an exam.
  The dates are: 
  • Thursday 6th June (PM)
  • Thursday 13th June (PM)
  •  Wednesday 26th June (AM and PM).
• The exam timetables can be found through the following links;  AQA , OCR , Pearson Edexcel , WJEC/Eduqas .
• All students will receive a personalised GCSE  timetable, including start and end times and details of the rooms they will sit their exams in.
• Your child will be able to collect their GCSE results on the morning of Thursday 22nd August (further details to follow).

• Interviews for the 6th form are underway. If your child has not received an interview time, please ask them to speak to Mr Cleveley (Head of Sixth Form) or alternatively you can email him on pcleveley@nottinghamfreeschool.co.uk
• In order to support our year 11 students in their decision making process we intend to hold our annual ‘Quiz a Sixth Former’ event after half term.
  • Year 11 students will have the opportunity to talk to current sixth former students and ask questions about sixth form life and what it is like to actually study for A-levels. Further details will be sent out after half term.
• Students are still able to apply to the 6th form at NFS, if they have not done so already. Please contact pcleveley@nottinghamfreeschool.co.uk, if you would like more information.
• Please remember students are able to apply to more than one 6th form or college and can then decide after results day which would be most suitable to attend.

Careers Meetings: Most year 11s have now had a one to one careers meeting with a trained advisor. Any students that have missed this meeting will be given another opportunity.

Post-16 applications: All students should have applied for a sixth form or college place by now. If your child has not yet applied, please either inform the school so we can support them or apply with them. Applications are made through college websites.

Apprenticeships: Most school-leaver apprenticeships are advertised in March/ April.  They are advertised on company websites or on the government website: www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship
Students wishing to do an apprenticeship are advised to also apply for a college course.  This is a back-up plan in case they are unable to find an appropriate apprenticeship later on in the year.

Useful links: A reminder that the careers section of our website offers many useful links for research and information. www.nottinghamfreeschool.co.uk/page.php?d=careers&p=intro

Unifrog: The school subscribes to Unifrog - students can research careers here.  Their username is their school email address. www.unifrog.org/

Choosing A'Levels: A useful website on choosing the right A’Level courses can be found here  www.informedchoices.ac.uk/

If you need any further careers advice please contact Mrs Barrett at pbarrett@nottinghamfreeschool.co.uk