12 Jan 2023

WEEKLY MAILING

Message from the Headmaster

Dear Parents

I hope you were able to enjoy a restful and happy break over Christmas and the New Year. I’ve enjoyed welcoming students back to school this week as we have quickly got back up to speed. Our Fifth Year students are currently sitting their GCSE mocks and they are applying themselves to their exams with focus and determination.

An aspect of our provision that we take very seriously indeed is our After Abingdon programme that ensures our students are prepared for their next steps after school as well as for life at university and in the workplace. We want to make sure that our students can make informed decisions about their future and that each individual can find the right path for them. I am proud of the many different directions that our students take, with some going straight into work and others moving on to degree apprenticeships and a wide range of prestigious universities. Indeed, our Upper Sixth students have already received a highly encouraging set of offers from fantastic institutions both overseas and in this country. I feel that there generally tends to be an excessive focus on two particular universities in the UK – I’m talking about Oxford and Cambridge of course, and that’s not just because I’m a bitter Durham graduate. However, I did want to share that 93% of Abingdon students who were invited to interview at Oxford subsequently received offers; Cambridge applicants will hear back shortly. My congratulations go to all our Upper Sixth students as they navigate their last year with us and also to my colleagues who put in a great deal of work to support applications and interview preparation.

I wanted to take this opportunity to keep parents in the loop with regard to some changes to the Senior Leadership Team. At the end of this academic year, Mr Dawswell is stepping down as Second Master, although I am pleased to say that he will remain on the staff as a teacher of Mathematics. As a result, with effect from September, we will re-shape the team, with Mr May and Mr Hindley taking on roles as Senior Deputy Heads. Mr May will continue to focus predominantly on the academic life of the School while Mr Hindley will take on many of Mr Dawswell’s current responsibilities for the Other Half and the day-to-day running of the School. Mrs Reading will take on some more of Mr Dawswell’s current responsibilities in her capacity as Deputy Head (Teaching & Learning) and the rest of the team will remain as we are currently. These changes mean that we are currently advertising for a new Deputy Head (Pastoral) and Designated Safeguarding Lead, to start in September 2023. We believe that we will attract an outstanding field for this post and the appointment will be made in the second half of term.

So, a short but busy term lies ahead. There is much to look forward to and I hope to meet many of you at concerts, drama productions and on the touchline.

Best wishes, Mike Windsor

 

UPPER SCHOOL

  • Revision leave for the Upper Sixth begins at 1pm on Friday 12 May.  Thereafter they will not be expected in school unless they have a public exam.  Our revision leave policy on this is that pupils may take the morning off as revision leave for an afternoon exam but no additional revision leave is granted for a morning exam.
  • Reminder – 6th Form Parents: Gap Year Advice Evening Webinar, Thursday 19 January 2023, 6:30-8:00pm, on Zoom.  Is your L6 or U6 child thinking – even remotely – about taking a Gap Year? If they are, this is an event they and you will not want to miss. You both are invited to attend a Gap Year Advice Evening Webinar on Thursday, 19 January 2023, 6:30-8:00pm on Zoom. The event is being co-hosted by Abingdon School and St Helen and St Katharine and is open to all students in the OX14 Learning Partnership. The webinar starts with a brief presentation on electing, planning, and managing a Gap Year. This is following by a further presentation from Independent Gap Advice (https://independentgapadvice.org/) on travel abroad during a Gap Year. Then, a panel of school leavers from Abingdon School and SHSK will share their individual stories of what they did during their Gap Year and how they felt about the choices they made. This will be followed by a Q&A session for any of the speakers or panellists. To attend, you must register in advance: bit.ly/GapYearAdvice2023.
  • To the parents of Sixth Form Scholars
  • Parents of GCSE or A-Level Pupils Studying Art or Design & Technology: Abingdon School students, especially those who are studying Art or DT at GCSE or A-Level, are invited to attend an event called ‘What is an Art Foundation Course?’ at St Helen and St Katharine during Period 8 on Monday 23 January.  Students who wish to attend need to register at bit.ly/OX14artfoundation.  The format of the event includes a welcome and introduction from the Head of Art at SHSK, a panel presentation by three SHSK leavers who completed Art Foundation courses, a presentation by a representative from Oxford Brookes University’s Art Foundation course, and a Q&A for the panel or OBU rep.  If your child is thinking about studying an art or design subject at university, possibly preceded by an Art Foundation course (during a Gap Year), this event is strongly recommended to them.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

  • Revision leave for the 5th Year begins at 5.20pm on Tuesday 9 May.  Thereafter they will not be expected in school unless they have a public exam.  Our revision leave policy on this is that pupils may take the morning off as revision leave for an afternoon exam but no additional revision leave is granted for a morning exam.  There will be the usual optional revision and supervised study sessions up to half term.
  • Parents of Fifth Year students – Parents’ Evening Letter
  • 5th Year Parents: Summer Work Experience Placements.  If your 5th year child has already applied for, and even secured, an online or in-person summer work experience placement, please praise them for their initiative! The ‘early bird catches the worm’ when it comes to summer work experience, especially at employers with popular schemes. If your child has not yet applied for a summer work experience placement, please encourage them to do so…and soon. The late winter/early spring period is when many schemes are advertised, and there is a special page on Firefly (the pupil intranet) with links to employers who offer online and in-person placements. Of course, your child can also approach employers of interest who don’t run formal schemes, but may be happy to host a placement from time to time.  Parents are strongly advised to download from this web page a checklist of things to consider when preparing for their child’s work experience placement. Your support and encouragement is very much appreciated. Michael Triff, Head of Career Guidance.
  • To the parents of Middle School Scholars
  • Parents of GCSE or A-Level Pupils Studying Art or Design & Technology: Abingdon School students, especially those who are studying Art or DT at GCSE or A-Level, are invited to attend an event called ‘What is an Art Foundation Course?’ at St Helen and St Katharine during Period 8 on Monday 23 January.  Students who wish to attend need to register at bit.ly/OX14artfoundation.  The format of the event includes a welcome and introduction from the Head of Art at SHSK, a panel presentation by three SHSK leavers who completed Art Foundation courses, a presentation by a representative from Oxford Brookes University’s Art Foundation course, and a Q&A for the panel or OBU rep.  If your child is thinking about studying an art or design subject at university, possibly preceded by an Art Foundation course (during a Gap Year), this event is strongly recommended to them.

WHOLE SCHOOL

  • From Paul Gooding, Head of Wellbeing:
    • Dear parents and carers, please find attached HERE details of the RSE and PSHCE provision for the rest of the academic year.
  • Safeguarding at Abingdon.  The School’s safeguarding policy has recently been updated. The policy has no material changes but it has been comprehensively reviewed, reorganised and updated to ensure readability and clarity. The governors approved the new policy at the end of last term and it came into effect from 1st January 2023. The updated policy can be found under the ‘school policies’ section of the website and is also now linked from a new safeguarding page on the website (under ‘pastoral care’): https://www.abingdon.org.uk/school-life/pastoral-care/safeguarding/
  • UKHSA advice re: Covid, flu and strep A: You may have read the recent advice in the news from the UKHSA about keeping children who are unwell, or have a high temperature, off school amid the rise in flu, Covid-19 and strep A cases. In order to further mitigate the spread of these and other infections, we will continue to emphasise the importance of good hygiene at school including handwashing and the use of hand sanitiser. In addition, we ask for your full support in adhering to the UKHSA advice and keeping your children off school if unwell.  More information about symptoms to look out for can be found by following these links:  Covid-19 symptoms; flu symptoms; strep A symptoms.
  • All Parents: Volunteer Career Representatives needed for Abingdon Independent Schools’ Careers Convention, Thursday 16 March 2023. Thank you to all parents who have volunteered to represent their profession at the upcoming annual Abingdon Independent Schools’ Careers Convention on Thursday 16 March 2023 at SHSK, 6-9pm (with set up and buffet supper for volunteers from 5-6pm). However, there are a number of career areas for which we still need volunteers. If you work in one of the following career areas and would like to volunteer, please complete this online Registration Form. We are in need of volunteers to represent the following career areas: Architecture; Aviation (Piloting); Cybersecurity and Crime Prevention; Data Science & Artificial Intelligence; Dentistry; Drama and Acting; Economics; Education (Primary & Secondary); Engineering (Chemical, Electrical, Mechanical, Aerospace, Software); Environment & Sustainability; Fashion; Film, TV, Radio, Online; Financial Services (Accountancy, Corporate Finance, Financial Planning and Wealth Management); Government; Human Resources/Recruitment; Journalism & Publishing; Nursing & Midwifery; Pharmaceuticals; Policing; Product/Industrial Design & Manufacturing; Psychology, Therapy & Counselling; Scientific Research (Physical Sciences); Sport & Fitness. Thank you for considering being a volunteer at this important event!  Michael Triff, Head of Career Guidance
  • From the Drama Department:
  • Music:  
    • Welcome to a Lent Term full of music making of all kinds. Below is a summary and this link will take you to a more detailed description for your diary.
      • Two Solo Concerts
        Annual Chamber Concert
        Solo Singers’ Platform
        Rock Concert
        Spring Concert
        Intermediate Solo Competition
        Thames Vale Youth Orchestra Concert
        School Choirs Evening
    • Christmas Concerts 2022: The recording of the Christmas Concert is now available to watch here.
  • OX14 Learning Partnership Upcoming Events
  • News from the week
  • Food menu for the following week – Week 2
  • School calendar
  • Weekly mailing archive
  • Box Office: