Y11 Important Information
Please see a farewell message from Mr Solly - and lots of important information regarding GCSEs
Dear Year 11 students
Today is a significant milestone for you all; the last official full day of secondary school at UCC. I have been so incredibly impressed with our students in Year 11 throughout their time at UCC, but especially during the past 18 months. Your Key Stage 4 experience has been disrupted in a way none of us has ever experienced before, but you have met the challenges head-on and with smiles on your faces. In years to come you will look back and remember that you developed resilience, courage and tenacity; these characteristics will serve you well throughout your lives and you have demonstrated them in abundance recently. I have also witnessed our school values amongst this cohort of young people; in particular I have seen kindness from our students during a period of uncertainty for everyone. I have always said, I am just as concerned about you leaving school as respectful, kind and honest people, as I am about the qualifications you achieve. When you reflect on your school days in the future, I hope you remember these values and how they became an important part in your lives as adults.
Qualifications have been organised in a very different way this year. I have made no secret of my thoughts about how this has been handled by the DFE, but we have worked within the guidelines we have been asked to, and I have never seen a group of teachers work as hard as they have done, to ensure you all get the grades you deserve. However, my parting message to all Year 11 students is that your grades do not define who you are, they are merely a gateway to your next steps in life. You are in control of your life and what happens next, you will write the next chapter and you will choose the attitude you take towards how you progress into adulthood. I hope your time at UCC has helped shape and guide you in many ways, so that you go onto lead happy, and fulfilling lives in whatever you choose to do.
I am immensely proud of you all and I wish you all the very best for the future.
Yours faithfully
Mr Solly
Principal
Teacher Assessed Grades
The evidence that will be used in awarding Teacher Assessed Grades for this year's GCSEs. must be based on the evidence produced by students (JCQ 2021).
JCQ have published guidance for students and parents with useful information about the process. We would recommend that you read this alongside the information that we send to you.
Attached to this email is the list of assessments that staff will consider in making a holistic and objective judgement of students’ performance. It is important to note again that not all assessments in the list below will be considered of equal value in the grading process. The JCQ criteria above should give you an indication of how we will judge the value of each of the assessments.
The evidence listed in the attachment is the range of evidence that teachers may use to determine students’ grades and is listed by subject. JCQ has stated this year that it is important that final grades reflect current performance. Therefore, the assessments taken at the end of the course are going to be the most important in determining the grade that the students are currently working at.
Some subjects are considering additional evidence, including practical elements of the course and NEA (Non-Exam Assessment) work. Where subjects are considering additional evidence, this is also detailed in the attached document.
If you have any questions about this process, please email uccexam@ucc.rutland.sch.uk
Results Day - Thursday 12th August 2021
Results will be available for collection by students from the Maths building between 9:00 – 12:00.
If you wish any other person (including family members) to collect your results on your behalf, you must give your signed written authorisation.
If you do not collect your results on results day, you will receive notification through the normal post. Letters will be posted on 12th August and not before.
No results will be given out by telephone or email under any circumstances.
Special consideration for May Assessments
How do I inform the school if I believe my child should receive special consideration?
Please follow this link to complete the Microsoft form:
All submissions must be made by 4pm on Friday 4th June. Please note that this request is specifically for the May assessments.
In order to avoid the need for additional follow-up calls we will be asking you provide the following information:
Details of the category (as indicated above) which you believe the special circumstances correspond to.
Specific details of how the special circumstances affected your child’s performance.
The dates between which the assessments you believe were affected occurred.
The subjects and the specific assessment that you believe were affected.
Home Testing with Lateral Flow Testing Kits
Our advice, which is in line with current government guidance, is that all Year 11 students should continue twice weekly testing for the foreseeable future. However, after Friday May 25th, it is no longer necessary for Year 11 students to upload their results to UCC. You must continue to report your results on the NHS system here. Once you run out of testing kits that were supplied by UCC you can order more kits here. These are free and usually come in 1-2 days.
We would also ask that students who are attending the UCC Prom, scheduled for Thursday June 24th, must take a test 2 days in advance ie. Tuesday June 22nd. If the result is positive, students should take a confirmatory PCR test by following this link. If the subsequent PCR test is negative, then of course the student will be able to attend the prom. If the PCR test is positive, then the student and their family should follow the self-isolation guidance here.
Following this guidance will help to keep you and your families safe over the coming weeks.