17 Sep 2021

WEEKLY MAILING

This week’s mailing is:

Letters:

Notices:

From the Headmaster to all parents:

Dear Parents

It has been wonderful to see our students settle into the routine of the Michaelmas term. Our new students seem to be getting to grips with the layout of the school quickly and I’ve been impressed by the older students who have gone out of their way to assist them and to welcome them to Abingdon.

I enjoyed meeting parents on the touchline last week and hope that you will all feel welcome to visit the school to support our students during the course of the term. We also look forward to seeing you at concerts and productions, as well as the various Meet the Tutor events that are taking place during the week ahead.

You will no doubt have heard the news that the government has announced a Covid vaccination scheme for children aged 12-15 which will be undertaken in schools. We now await further guidance from our local Public Health authorities and will be in touch as soon as we know more.

A key message for all our students as we settle into the new academic year is that mutual respect should underpin all our relationships. This clearly extends to relationships outside school and the accounts on the Everyone’s Invited website, which emerged earlier this year, certainly helped focus minds on the need for respect between men and women, as well as the need to counter the problems of misogyny and sexual harassment in our society as a whole.

We believe that there is real value in working with our counterparts at St Helen & St Katharine on this issue and so we have agreed a joint approach, which is outlined here. This is an issue that we will return to frequently in school but I hope the joint statement may prompt some useful conversations at home too.

Best wishes, Mike Windsor

 

Open Day: Saturday 2 October – 9.00am-2.00pm – information for students in the Second Year and above

We will be holding our annual whole school open day on Saturday 2 October and all students, except first years, are expected to attend.

Students should arrive at School no later than 8.30am to register in their houserooms before beginning their Open Day activities. They should arrive wearing full uniform unless directed otherwise for a specific activity. All students will be guiding our visitors. Unless involved in an away match all students will be required to stay until 2.00pm.

Please note that for students who use the joint bus service, all the morning routes will be operating 15 minutes later than the normal weekday schedule. Students on school buses should go straight to registration in their houserooms when their bus arrives. For the return journey, the buses will depart on all usual routes from the coach park at 2:15pm.

Requests for absence at open day should, as usual, be made to the housemaster, as for a single weekday absence.

We have received exceptional interest in open day this year, as it is the first onsite event for prospective parents for over a year, and so we regret that we are unable to invite current parents – unless they are visiting with a sibling who is a prospective pupil. However you will be most welcome to join us at sports fixtures, year group socials, tour with your own child at a time to suit you and all the other events that are planned for the Michaelmas Term. A full list can be found on the calendar.

Parents of Upper Sixth Students – UCAS university application deadlines

Upper Sixth students applying to UK universities are working on their personal statements, researching final choices and filling in their UCAS applications. A reminder of key internal and external deadlines for those applying for 2022 entry and 2023 deferred:

  • Friday 24 September – internal application deadline if applying for Oxbridge/medicine/vet science & dentistry
  • Friday 15 October – UCAS final application deadline for Oxbridge/medicine/vet science & dentistry
  • Wednesday 3 / Thursday 4 November – Oxford admissions & BMAT test dates
  • Friday 26 November – internal deadline for all non-Oxbridge/medicine etc applications
  • Wednesday 26 January – UCAS deadline for all non-Oxbridge/medicine etc applications

If students have questions about their UCAS application or would like to discuss university options, they can speak to Mrs Hoddinott or Mrs Gibbard in the UCAS office or email them on [email protected].

Lower Sixth STEP (Summer Term Extension Programme) and Upper Sixth Summer Research Presentation Evening – Friday 24 September – Amey Theatre – 5.30-7pm

Next Friday a number of sixth form students will give presentations in the Amey Theatre based on research they undertook during the summer term and over the holiday. The projects demonstrate a great breadth and depth of scholarship. It promises to be a fantastic afternoon of research, ideas and insight; parents, students and staff are most welcome to join us in the Amey Theatre.

from Andrew Jamison i/c Middle School Scholars

Music:

  • Adult involvement in the Joint Choral Society with St Helen’s School
    We are sorry to announce that St Helen’s have taken the decision to pause the involvement of parents in the chorus this year for reasons of wishing to limit the chorus numbers in the current health climate. I am sorry to disappoint those parents who were hoping to sing alongside their children this term – there will be no JCS adult rehearsal next week as earlier planned.
  • Alexander Technique – one to one lessons with Cathie Kidger
    A reminder that there are one-to-one lessons available this year. Please see this explanation of how these lessons offer fantastic support to our musicians.
  • Wednesday 29 September at 6pm – Piano masterclass with concert pianist Masayuki Tayama
    Parents are very welcome to join us to witness this open lesson with six of our senior pianists.

Amey Theatre Box Office:

We are pleased to be able to welcome you back to the Amey Theatre this term for a wide range of both School and public events. For a list of our upcoming events this term, please visit www.ameytheatre.co.uk.

Please be aware that several events may change dates due to the ongoing pandemic and if this happens, changes will be reflected on this webpage and we will contact patrons who have purchased tickets.

We will be running the events following the latest Government guidance and this is liable to change over the coming few months. A few key points are:

  • We will be asking all patrons to wear a mask when attending events at the Amey Theatre at all times with the exception of those who are exempt.
  • To reduce queuing, where tickets are necessary, we will be operating an online box office only using the link above. You will be unable to purchase tickets on the door. This will help us manage queues and the number of people attending events. If you have any queries, please contact [email protected].

The most up to date information on our policies and procedures can be found here and will be updated as the guidance changes.

Date changes, which have been put on the on-line calendar:

Ultimate Activity Camps at Abingdon School Sports Centre this October half term – Early bird booking offers available to parents

We are pleased to let you know that Ultimate Activity Camps will be running their fun and engaging holiday programmes at Abingdon School Sports Centre during October half term. Established by a team with over 25 years’ experience of running high quality Ofsted-accredited holiday camps, children aged 5-14 years will have the chance to try over 40 exciting sports, games and creative activities each week.

An early bird booking offer is available until Tuesday 5 October. Please click here for more information and to book.

News from the Week:

Food Menu for the coming week – Week 3

School Calendar

Please continue to consult the School Calendar for up to date information.

Here is the link to previous weekly mailings.