Dear Parents and Carers,
I am pleased to report that year 11 have made a strong start to the year and we are proud of the effort and engagement shown by many. This year, I continue to focus on raising achievement of all students at NFS and therefore will have a key role in year 11 as they move through the final stages of their time with us.
We are aware that the GCSE’s evoke different emotions in students, therefore I will send out a half termly newsletter to keep you up to date with information on the different activities we will be putting in place to help secure the best possible outcomes for all students.
Our aim is for all students to secure the best grades they can this summer and we are dedicated to providing every opportunity possible to help with this. Please do not hesitate to contact your child’s tutor, Head of Year (Mr Baines) or myself if you have any questions or concerns.
Kind Regards,
Mrs Farnie
Deputy Headteacher - Academic
Do you know your child's attendance?
Attendance in year 11 and student outcomes are directly linked. Compared to those students with over 95% attendance, previous year 11's at Nottingham Free School whose attendance was:
Every lesson missed by your child creates a gap in their knowledge, this missing piece of information could be the key to those few extra marks in the exam which tips them over to the next grade. Our teachers carefully plan their time with year 11 and often do not have time to repeat content. Attending a lesson when a child has missed the previous lesson can impact on their motivation, confidence and enjoyment of the learning.
Please refer to the following link from the NHS when deciding if your child is well enough to attend school Is my child too ill for school? - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
There will be two opportunities for Year 11 parent teacher meetings this academic year; Thursday 5th December and Thursday 27th March. Parents will be invited to both these evenings and we hope you are able to take both these opportunities to hear directly from subject staff how your child is doing and to find out what they need to focus on to gain the best grades possible in the GCSE exams in the summer.
You will receive three reports home this year, these will be in the weeks commencing; 2nd December, 24th March and 28th April. These will tell you your child’s current working grade, a predicted grade, the grade your child should be targeting and their attitude towards their learning in each subject.
Whilst assessments are done regularly in class to inform staff about students’ progress through year 11 and to help inform their planning, we also complete formal mocks in year 11.
These will be held during the two weeks commencing 4th November. Students have their timetable, but this can also been seen by clicking here. These exams will be sat in the school hall, under full exam conditions, with all access arrangements being put in place for those students who require them.
We would like students to become comfortable within this environment and believe that giving them this opportunity early, will help prepare them for the final GCSE exams in May and June. It also allows us to time to put any further access arrangements in place should they be needed.
If you feel your child may be eligible for access arrangements not yet in place please contact our SENDCO, Mrs T Marks to discuss on tmarks@nottinghamfreeschool.co.uk
It is important students take these mocks seriously as they will be retained as official evidence of their progress should it be needed, as well as used to complete college application reference requests with predicted grades.
Please note some of the more practical subjects do have to hold mocks outside of this time for example art, food, drama, music and Spanish speaking – students will be given plenty of notice for these.
We are pleased to be able to provide intervention sessions for students. When deciding who requires intervention, or the best time for them to receive intervention, we consider a number of factors; whether intervention now or closer to the exams would be most beneficial, putting them with the most appropriate group of students, which topics they need support on within a subject. Therefore, please be patient, as although we would like to have all students receiving intervention straight away, we do have to lots of factors and students to consider when ensuring they all get the best deal possible.
Some examples of the current intervention’s students have been invited to:
If a student feels they are struggling in a subject, please ask them to speak to their class teacher and find out what they could be doing differently, or in addition to, their normal practice. Our class teachers are always happy to help and sometimes a small tweak can make a huge difference.
Subject teachers will start to put on subject boosters for year 11 over the coming weeks. When things become a little busier we will look to put a two-week timetable on, to allow students to attend as many as possible. For now, the following are available after school:
Starting from Tuesday 5th November, we will be offering Year 11 a silent study space after school. This will initially run each week at the following times:
If students wish to attend, they should come to the library with homework or revision materials. Students will be expected to work in silence throughout, and there will be some access to computers. They will receive a REACH! Token each time they attend which will go into a draw for some amazing prizes.
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 certain students in reaching their potential.
It was lovely to see so many of our year 11’s, and some new faces, attend the 6th form open evening. The application process is now open, with a deadline of 31st January. Interviews will commence after this date.
Please remember our subject blocks are written based on your child’s applications. Therefore, if you would like their combination of subjects considered in the setup of next year’s 6th form, it is really important they make the application deadline.
Careers Interviews:
During the Autumn Term, all of our year 11’s receive a careers interview from a trained advisor. They will have the opportunity to discuss the career they are thinking about going into, the types of qualifications they may need and the best places to gain these qualifications. If they are not sure on a career just yet, they will still receive lots of advice on possible next steps and keeping their options open.
Open Days:
Please ensure you attend sixth form and college open days this term. Please see individual websites for information, or speak to your tutor or Mrs Barrett if you are unsure.
Useful links:
If you need any further careers advice please contact Mrs Barrett at pbarrett@nottinghamfreeschool.co.uk
Nottingham Free School
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