13 Jun 2024

WEEKLY MAILING

Message from the Head

Dear Parents

Last Friday saw the Inter-House Athletics competition taking place for pupils in the Lower Sixth, Third and Fourth Years. It was great to see so many students taking part, as well as the encouragement that they gave one another. For some, it was the occasion for their annual reunion with a javelin or a discus with inevitably mixed results but there were some outstanding performances on the day with a number of school records being broken.

This is also the season for Duke of Edinburgh’s Award assessed expeditions. The Fourth Year students are to be commended on their approach to their Bronze expedition last weekend. This weekend 37 Lower Sixth students will be completing an arduous trek in the Rhinog mountains in North Wales for their Gold Award. I wish them every success and would like to extend my thanks to Mr Dempsey and his team for supervising these expeditions so effectively.

Best wishes, Mike Windsor

UPPER SCHOOL

  • A Level Results Day Thursday 15 August:
    • Students and parents will be welcome on site from 8.00am for students to pick up results in person from the Pavilion. NB: Parents are not allowed to pick up results without the student’s permission.
    • For those not able to come into School, results will be available on My Abingdon from 8.00am.
    • There is no telephone results service available at School.
    • For those coming into School, there will be tea, coffee etc available in the Pavilion.
    • Several senior members of staff will be in attendance in person, including the Head and the Deputy Head Academic, Mr Ben Simmons.
    • Heads of House may be in attendance but, if not, they will be available via email/Zoom.
    • Heads of Department may also be in attendance in person but not necessarily.
    • Results envelopes that have not been collected by midday will be sent to home addresses in the post.
    • Priority Post Results will be available for candidates between Thursday 15 August and Wednesday 21 August, standard Post Results will be available until Wednesday 25 September, more information to follow.
    • If you change your home address between now and results day please email the exams office and let them know on [email protected]
  • For parents of Sixth Form students:
    • For students applying to Oxbridge and university courses that require admissions tests, please note there are some changes to how these tests are managed for 2024 onwards.
      • The tests are no longer sat at school and some take place during the October Half Term.
      • Tests are now managed by PearsonVue and students will register for tests directly with them.  The onus is on students to ensure they register for the right test, at the right test centre and at the correct time.
      • There are test centres all over the world so students should be able to sit the test even if they are not staying in the UK over the half term break.
      • Test centres may be busy so students should register as soon as possible over the summer break. 
      • Students with exam access arrangements, need to request the required supporting evidence from Learning Support ([email protected]) before Thursday 27 June. Please note, students will generally need to apply for access arrangements BEFORE they register for their test.
    • For full details of admission tests, please follow the below links:
      • Cambridge test information – The two main ones which will need to be registered for in advance are the TMUA and ESAT. For other course areas there may be a college admissions assessment that you will generally be contacted about after you apply (typically as part of an interview process).
      • Oxford test information – Oxford has only released a brief summary of their arrangements last week and there have been some changes for which courses require tests, with tests now also being administered through PearsonVue.
      • UCAT Information – required for most medicine courses, same as previous years, please follow the link for full details.
      • LNAT Information – required for many law courses, same as previous years, please follow the link for full details.
      • TMUA – required for some selective maths, computer science and economics courses particularly at Cambridge and Imperial but also a few other universities (i.e. sometimes required or encouraged by Warwick, Durham, LSE and occasionally others).
      • ESAT – required for some engineering and science based courses at Cambridge and Imperial.**Universities include an admissions test on the course webpage if one is required, this is generally included in a section on entry information. If there is no mention of an admissions test, then one will not be required. **

MIDDLE SCHOOL

  • GCSE Results Day Thursday 22 August:
    • Students and parents will be welcome on site from 8.00am for students to pick up results in person from the Pavilion. NB: Parents are not allowed to pick up results without the student’s permission.
    • For those not able to come into School, results will be available on My Abingdon from 8.00am.
    • There is no telephone results service available at School.
    • For those coming into School, there will be tea, coffee etc available in the Pavilion.
    • Several senior members of staff will be in attendance in person, including the Head and the Deputy Head Academic, Mr Ben Simmons.
    • Heads of House may be in attendance but, if not, they will be available via email/Zoom.
    • Heads of Department may also be in attendance in person but not necessarily.
    • Results envelopes that have not been collected by midday will be sent to home addresses in the post.
    • Post Result Services will be available on your return to school and the deadline for application is Wednesday 25 September, more information to follow.
  • To parents of Fifth Year students: Lower Sixth Induction Day, Wednesday 26 June

LOWER SCHOOL

WHOLE SCHOOL

  • Residential Trips for academic year 2024-2025:
    Attached is the updated list of residential trips for the next academic year.  This is the information that we have at the moment.  It is subject to change and regrettably with a plethora of trips available, avoiding clashes between trips is not always possible for each student, as there are many constraints to work with.  Enquiries should be addressed to [email protected] please.
  • Music:
  • From the Eco-Group:
    •   We are restarting blister/pill pack collection for recycling.
      • Blister packs pose challenges for recycling, and the majority find their way into regular waste bins, eventually reaching landfills or incineration. The aluminium foil is heat-sealed onto the PVC and it is particularly difficult to separate, however Boots now collect the blister packs and send them to a specialist recycler.
      • To make the process of getting the packs to Boots easier we now have collection points at Faringdon Lodge, Park Lodge, the Sports Centre reception, the library and the staff room. When the bins are full the Eco-group will take the packs along to Boots.
      • An added incentive is that for each 5 packs Boots will donate 10p to help the Macmillan Cancer Support and Hygiene Bank. I am sure we will soon collect thousands of packs so the donations could really add up.
      • Please collect them from your home, grandparents, or even from neighbours.  Thank you.
  • OX14 Learning Partnership Upcoming Events
  • News from the week
  • Food menu for the following week – Week 3
  • School calendar
  • Second Hand Uniform Shop (SUS) opening dates for the following week: Saturday 15 & Wednesday 19 June
  • Weekly mailing archive
  • Box Office:   
  • Summer sports camps are now available to book:
    • Development Level Tennis Camp: 9am – 4pm each day. Ages 11-15 years.  Take part in what promises to be an enjoyable week full of skill development, gameplay, and tactical aspects. This camp is for players looking to develop fundamental techniques and competitive gameplay. Led by Martin Butler, Abingdon School’s Head Tennis Coach.  Available dates: Monday 8 July – Friday 12 July; Monday 12 August – Friday 16 August
    • Competition Level Tennis Camp: 9am – 4pm each day. Ages 11-15 years.  Our competition level tennis camp is for players who are already playing at the highest level as juniors, representing their respective school or county, and looking to advance into the regional development pathway. Led by Abingdon School’s Head Tennis Coach, Martin Butler, the course will focus on competitive gameplay, advanced tactics, and technical analysis to help improve player performance and support the move into elite-level tennis.  Available dates: Monday 5 August – Friday 9 August
    • Strength and Conditioning Rugby Camp: 8.30am – 4pm each day. Ages 8-15 years.  Join us for our popular Strength and Conditioning Rugby Camp, crafted to nurture young talents, aiding them in refining their existing rugby skills while imparting injury prevention techniques for a safe and enjoyable rugby journey. This camp is comprehensive, covering fundamental aspects such as passing, catching, and kicking, as well as advanced gameplay strategies encompassing attack, defense, breakdowns, and evasion.  Available dates: Monday 22 – Thursday 25 July; Monday 19 – Thursday 22 August
  • Abingdon parent discount for SuperCamps.
    • SuperCamps returns to Abingdon during the summer holidays, offering a wide range of fun and engaging activities for children aged 4-12 years old.  Abingdon parents are entitled to a 10% discount using the code PARENT24. For further information, please click here.