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Parent Bulletin 17/09/21

Please see the latest bulletin from Mr Solly below...

Dear UCC Families,

Last week we re-introduced face coverings in liaison with Public Health England and the East Midlands Health Protection Team. We have continued to receive positive cases amongst the student community, but we have not seen a dramatic spike, which was a concern. The face coverings are making a difference and we are grateful to everyone who continues to support us in protecting our school community.  We will continue to keep a close eye on the situation and liaise with the necessary authorities, before formally reviewing our face covering arrangements on Wednesday 22nd September.

Last night we hosted our annual Open Evening event for families with children in Year 6. It was a huge success and we received a high number of visitors. We limited the number of student volunteers, but those who did attend the event represented UCC magnificently. It was also great to showcase some of our new facilities for the first time, including the refurbished Humanities classrooms, the rejuvenated PE facilities and a brand new Fitness Suite (albeit with a temporary carpet). We were also able to show families some other improvements we have made to the school site, including our new Art and Graphics classrooms, which have doubled in size, along with the Wignell Drama Studio, which opened last year. I appreciate that most of you reading this, particularly Year 7 and 8 parents, will not have had the opportunity to see these facilities, so I have attached some 'before and after' images of some of our new learning spaces (please see below.) Also, we have a BBC East Midlands film crew visiting UCC on Tuesday next week, to follow up on the recovery work we have completed following the 2020 fire, so look out for us on the news next week. 

Last year was the Centenary year of UCC, marking 100 years of education on this site. This landmark moment for us was certainly compromised by the fire and by the pandemic. However, through these considerable challenges we have unquestionably emerged a stronger, more united community, more determined than ever to provide a superb education for the young people in our school and for future generations. There are many quotes from notable experts about resilience and overcoming adversity, but the one that has resonated with me the most over the past year comes from a film: "It's not about how hard you can hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward" - Rocky Balboa. We certainly took a lot of hits last year, in one way or another, but we continued moving forward, positively and with relentless optimism. This week, with the completion of our fire recovery work, I can really start to see the impact of the magnificent new learning spaces our students will benefit from for years to come. Thank you all for your continued support during this time, your patience and understanding has been greatly appreciated. 

I hope you have a great weekend.
Mr B Solly