Dear UCC Families

It has been a wonderful start to 2023 at UCC. It was great to see students returning to school on Tuesday, ready for the new calendar year ahead. We have dived straight into our Pre Public Exam season with Year 11 and their approach has been excellent so far. This is a critical experience for our students, so that they are well prepared for the real thing in the summer. I know families will have been working hard to support Year 11 students with their revision over the Christmas break and I am very grateful to everyone that has contributed to making the first week of PPEs successful. Our exams officer, Mrs Koelling, manages the process meticulously and we mirror the same conditions for these exams that are required for the official ones. 

We appreciate the support you provide in ensuring your child/children attend school each day with all the correct equipment and uniform. As a father of a teenage boy, I know this requires persistent reminders and a lot of patience! The vast majority of our students wear the uniform correctly and always have the correct equipment with them; we are working with the few who find this challenging and we value your support in this area.

Another area we are continually trying to tighten up on is punctuality. Being on time is an important habit to develop, so young people go into the world of work understanding the significance of being punctual. We would encourage you to monitor the number of late marks your child accrues on a regular basis through the school gateway app: https://www.uppinghamcollege.org.uk/page/?title=Parent&pid=21 There are 5 minutes movement time slots between each lesson, which allows the vast majority of students to get to their next lesson on time. If your child is receiving late marks then please have a conversation with them about the importance of punctuality.

You might have seen that The UK Health Security Agency has issued some advice to parents on how you can help to ensure your child doesn’t catch and spread illness in school or college. Specifically, the guidance says:

• emphasise routines of handwashing
• keep your child off school if they are ill and have a temperature
• get a flu jab for your child if they are eligible

You can read the guidance here. I have seen a number of media outlets report this advice in a rather derogatory manner, but I think it is useful at a time when there are a lot of illnesses affecting families, and this is all designed to keep our schools open, and to protect the NHS.

We have an exciting 2023 ahead of us, with the completion of Redhill Lodge (converting our former nursery into a teaching space for vocational qualifications) due in the next few weeks, and our new teaching block for MFL, Business Studies and SEND, which will be completed April/May time. We are also planning to refurbish 3 of our science labs, and continue the rolling programme of site improvements around the communal areas of the school. 

Please take the time to read through the rest of the newsletter. 

Have a great weekend
Mr Solly.