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Parent Bulletin 21/01/22

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

Dear UCC Families,

On Monday this week our Year 11 students completed the final assessments of the Pre Public Exam programme. I have been delighted with the superb level of focus our students have shown during this period. Successfully negotiating a period of 11 school days filled with exam after exam is no mean feat, but completing this in a pandemic, with all the additional challenges this brings, is deeply impressive. I know Year 11 students will have received a huge amount of support from home during this period, and I am grateful for the contributions everyone has made to ensure these important assessments were a success.

Throughout an academic year we often invite experts into school to support us with evaluating the quality of our provision. Sometimes these are headteachers or senior leaders from other schools, sometimes our regular School Improvement Partner who is a former head and Ofsted inspector, and sometimes these are experts in a particular aspect of education or young people. This week Mr Anderson, Deputy Principal and Designated Safeguarding Lead, hosted a safeguarding expert from Leicestershire County Council, who reviewed our processes by scrutinising every aspect of our safeguarding provision. The visit was very positive and the actions we have identified as part of our safeguarding priorities for 21-22 mean that we are keeping up to date with all of the guidance in what is often a very changing landscape. 

Yesterday I wrote to you about the last minute update schools received regarding face masks. It was reassuring yesterday, as I walked around school and visited classrooms, to see the vast majority of students chosing to continue wearing them to protect our school community and their families. 

Ever since we experienced the fire back in August 2020, I have been determined to use this awful event to benefit the school in the long term. Following a year of disruption and rebuilding, we started 21-22 with the opening of superb new facilities in Humanities, PE and English, which our students are greatly benefitting from. Furthermore, we are using this opportunity to enhance other areas of the school and between now and the end of the summer term we will be completing the following:

  • further curriculum enhancement displays in Humanities
  • further curriculum enhancement displays in PE
  • further curriculum enhancement displays in English
  • refurbishment of all English classrooms
  • further investment in the e-library and literacy materials
  • D&T curriculum enhancement displays
  • refurbishment of the dining room

Beyond these investments we have a 5 year site plan which we are working towards to ensure the teaching accommodation for students is of a high standard for current and future generations. This plan includes a new block for MFL and subsequent investment in our music and science facilities, all of which are very exciting. The MFL, music and science projects are dependent on us successfully bidding for Conditions Improvement Funding from the government and we should learn the outcome of this in March.

Please take the time to read the rest of the newsletter this week.

Take care and have a great weekend.
Mr Solly

P.S. - well done to the Year 9 boys football team on their excellent victory over Babington Academy on Thursday night!