Dear UCC Families

I must start with a huge congratulations to everyone who contributed to the superb Christmas Concert. After such a long period of time without any performances, it was lovely to see our students have the opportunity to showcase their talents. There was a great deal of variety within the show and a nice mix of performances from students. There was a wonderful atmosphere and I am very grateful for everyone who supported Miss Nicklin in making the event such a great success. 

This week our assemblies were delivered by students in our Eco Club. The theme was focussed on educating our school community on how we could all enjoy Christmas in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. Speaking to large groups of people is hard, especially addressing your peer group, so I was incredibly proud of our students, who spoke with clarity, maturity and confidence whilst delivering an important message. 

It is important students treat the final week with the same level of focus as they had during the first week of the academic year. Our expectations will remain high throughout the week and we will be completing normal lessons all the way until the final day of term. There will be opportunities for some festive activities on Friday next week as well as a Success Assembly for each year group, celebrating the achievements of students throughout the autumn term. 

From a family perspective, please remind your child/children about wearing the correct uniform, being punctual, working hard and demonstrating the school values. This is the same message they will receive from the staff in school, so hearing at home too always helps. 

We were visited by the Youth Sport Trust on Monday, who were keen to see our innovative, inclusive and inspirational PE curriculum. Mr Laywood and I were delighted to share the outstanding progress our PE department have made in the past 18 months and we are looking forward to becoming an Ambassador School with the YST, sharing our excellent practice with other schools who are seeking to develop a similar approach. 

On Monday, the High Sheriff of Rutland (and the UCC Chair of Governors), Geoff Thompson, was in school to judge an art competition. Last summer I asked some of our art students to produce pieces of art work, inspired by the theme of Belonging, using the work of Owen Eastwood, a performance coach as a focus for the competition brief (The Ben Ryan Podcast: Owen Eastwood - Belonging on Apple Podcaststhis podcast is a great listen on the theme of Belonging). The art work produced by our students is superb and Goldmarks Art Gallery kindly framed the paintings free of charge for us. Congratulations to the overall winner Sophie, along with the Highly Commended students Maddy, Maisie and Arthur. 

Please take the time to read through the newsletter this week, so you are up to date with everything that has been going on at UCC. 

I hope you have a great weekend,
Mr Solly.