Dear UCC Families

It has certainly been a hot week, hasn't it? Our decision to make blazers and ties optional has allowed students to cope with the high temperatures, with most students sensibly taking this option. We always make these judgements based on the weather forecast, so we will take it on a week by week basis. We will send out a message on Sunday evening about the uniform expectations for next week.

Year 7 parents' evening was very successful on Wednesday, with a very high turnout. The impact of a strong triangular relationship between a student, the school and their parents cannot be underestimated, and we were delighted to see so many families in school to speak with their child's teachers. It is Year 10 parents' evening on Wednesday next week and we hope for similar high attendance levels. From the feedback we received this week, several parents spoke about how useful it was to have the conversation with the teachers with their child alongside them. Whilst I know this is not always possible, it would be great if all families could aim for this. 

This week we have taken measures to make our toilet facilities safer environments by having a senior member of staff supervise them at all times during the day. We have never had to do this before, but we felt it necessary given the levels of misuse and vandalism we have experienced throughout this year. The toilet facilities are available during lessons, at break, lunch and during lesson transitions, as well as before and after school. The difference this week has been that a member of SLT has supervised these areas to ensure they are used properly. This has had the impact we hoped for, and we have had no misuse or vandalism. There have been times when the queues are longer than usual, but we have asked teachers not to issue late marks when this occurs. We will have the same measures in place next week before evaluating what the systems will be used for the final 3 weeks of term.

Please take the time to read through the rest of the newsletter as there is a lot to catch up on this week.

Have a great weekend.
Mr B Solly