Dear UCC Families

We've reached the end of another half-term, and this one has certainly flown by! Today is the final day when Year 11 will attend normal lessons. They still have lots of work and revision to do, with many exams remaining after half-term, but it is always fitting for us to mark their final day of secondary school with a celebration assembly. They've been a great cohort to work with and it only seems like yesterday we were welcoming their fresh little faces as new Year 7 students. Whilst that time seems to have elapsed quickly for us, I expect it has gone even faster for all of you. It is wonderful to see students grow up and mature as they progress through secondary school, and it won't be too long before they've sat their final exam and then head off into the big wide world. I always say to our students that I am just as concerned with them developing into great young adults who are kind, honest and respectful, as I am about the grades they achieve. The qualifications can open the next set of doors in their lives, and give them choices about the pathway they take, but how they treat others and how they take care of the world around them will be even more important. Alongside yourselves, I hope we have played an important role in helping them shape their own set of values as they take their next steps towards adulthood. 

Work has continued to progress well on the Margaret Jennings Building, which will be the MFL and Business Studies home, alongside Maple Lodge which will become our Mainstream Plus SEND base. The finishing touches should be applied over the half-term break and teaching should start for MFL and Business on June 5th, with the SEND classrooms a couple of weeks later. We've also benefitted from a Fire Safety project, which involves new doors being installed across the school. This work is taking place overnight, with contractors working 6pm-6am to reduce disruption during the school day. It is a project that will be ongoing throughout the rest of the summer term, but it is not only making the school a safer environment, the new doors are far more aesthetically pleasing in appearance! We continue to seek ways of improving the school facilities for our students and over the summer we will see the demolition of the 2-storey mobile, which will be open space for the time being and allow an easier flow of students during lesson transitions, whilst allowing lots more natural light into the main building. We are also completely refurbishing the Block 1 toilets, which have incurred a high amount of damage and misuse during this year. We hope the new facilities will eradicate some of the issues we have encountered and that students treat these respectfully. 

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

I hope you have an enjoyable half-term break.

Take care,

Mr B Solly