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Principal's Bulletin

Please see the latest bulletin from Mr Solly...

Dear Parents and Carers,

There has been much to celebrate over the past few weeks at UCC. I was delighted to hear about our recent sporting successes, with the Year 11 boys rugby team convincingly winning their semi-final 50-19 against King Edward VI. Additionally, our very talented Year 9/10 girls basketball team won their quarter-final v Belvoir Priory Academy and on Saturday last week our junior girls won the cross country County Schools Championship at Ratcliffe College with junior boys finishing 5th. As a PE teacher, I always placed more emphasis on participation and healthy, active lifestyles through involvement in school sport than I did on winning medals and trophies, and I do still think this way, however it is always nice to celebrate success when it happens. I really appreciate the efforts from our students who represent UCC so superbly at these competitions and events. It should also be noted that none of these successes would ever happen without the staff and parents who voluntarily give up their time to ensure our students have these opportunities – thank you to everyone who contributes towards this.

Throughout this week we have focussed sharply on internet safety and I hope the information we have been sending out to you has been useful. It is very hard to keep up to speed with the way young people use the technology that is so instantly at their fingertips. A sad and disturbing reality is that there are people out there who are determined to exploit young people through the hidden opportunities of the internet and we must do everything that we can to make sure our children are aware of these risks and what they should do if they are concerned about something. It is also extremely important for us adults to ensure we are continually educating ourselves about these risks, talking openly with our children about online safety and never burying our heads in the sand or telling ourselves ‘it won’t happen to my child’. Students have watched a powerful short film this week in assembly called ‘Breck’s Last Game’ which portrays the horrific events that took place in 2014 in Essex, where a 14 year old boy was groomed through an online game and subsequently murdered. The film is only for use in schools at the moment, with wider distribution not permitted at this time. However, the link here to the Leicestershire police website does give some more information if you are interested in learning more about the rationale for the film and the dangers posed by online games.

 

On Thursday this week we held our Pre Public Exams results day for Year 11 students. I was so impressed with the way students responded and, as I said to them, it is important to go through this dress rehearsal process, so they are well prepared for what will be involved in the summer and how they might feel. The most important thing for Year 11 at this point is to be identifying the key areas within their subjects that they need to focus on and then ensuring they are working hard both in and out of school to prepare themselves for the formal public examinations in the summer. I am looking forward to seeing Year 11 parents at parents’ evening on Wednesday next week – this is the final, crucial opportunity for families to have face to face conversations with teachers before the GCSE exam season, so please do your very best to be there.

I hope you have a good weekend.
Mr Solly