4 Jul 2024

WEEKLY MAILING

Message from the Head

Dear Parents

There have been many highlights to celebrate this week, including some absorbing matches in the Cricket Festival, keen competition at the final Inter-House sports events of the week, the efforts of our oarsmen at the Henley Royal Regatta and keen debate at the OX14 Model United Nations event. I commend our students on the way that they have sustained their efforts over the course of the term and I hope you will enjoy this slideshow of photos of the term which captures their good humour and enthusiasm.

In school today we are encouraging students to celebrate their background and heritage at our Culture Day, including a barbecue for all on the Upper Field; a great opportunity for the school to come together before we break up for the summer holiday.

As I write, voting is also underway round the country but also here in school as we are holding a mock election, the results of which will be announced tomorrow. I plan to write to all parents once the outcome of the General Election has been announced with some further thoughts as to the consequences for Abingdon. I’ll also share some further thoughts about the last few weeks and the future of the School in that communication but for now I would like to express my thanks to you all for your continued support of the School and our students.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to remind you that from September our weekly mailing will move to the new Abingdonian Community platform, with a password required for access. Please see further information about this change below.

I hope that you are able to enjoy some downtime over the summer and I look forward to welcoming everyone back to school in September.

Best wishes, Mike Windsor

 

UPPER SCHOOL

  • Reminder: 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]

MIDDLE SCHOOL

  • Reminder: 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.
  • For parents of 3rd year pupils opting to take IGCSE History, here is a list of films books and websites they can access over the summer in preparation for September.  Any pupil who writes a full book review of one of the books, having read it, will be rewarded in September.  Enjoy!  Mr Knowland
    • Russia reading list (first module in September) is here.
    • Germany reading list (second module from January) is here.
    • Further suggestions can be found here.

LOWER SCHOOL

  • From Helen Keevil, Deputy Head Pastoral – For Lower School students and Third Years from September 2024:
    • At the start of the new academic year, we have the opportunity to reestablish expectations on mobile phone use in a school setting.  Whilst we will not be fully following suggestions being given to schools at the moment that would involve banning phones completely, we are very much seeking to minimise their use.
    • To this end, we wish to discourage Lower School and Third year pupils in particular from bringing in a mobile phone at all.  If you still wish your child to have a phone in school, for example for contact in emergencies, we suggest you purchase a cheap, non-smart phone device such as this.  There is absolutely no need for them to have a smart phone in school.
    • If phones are brought into school, in Lower School the device should continue to be handed into the Head of Lower School upon arrival each morning as per the current policy.  For Third Years, any device brought into school should be switched off and left in a locker or kept in a bag out of sight for the entirety of the school day.  Third year students will be issued with iPads and thus have no need to bring in a smartphone for things like appropriate access to the internet, viewing their timetables etc (whatever they may tell you!).
    • Failure to adhere to the above rules is likely to result in a sanction – which may include losing access to their phone for a period of time.
    • Our morning and afternoon cafés are cashless.  Therefore students will need to bring a bank card if they wish to purchase food from the cafés; they will not be able to make payments with their phones.
    • From September 2024, we will be reminding pupils of the restrictions we already have in place, and sanctions will be issued where necessary.
    • We are grateful to you for supporting this initiative and wish you a restful summer.

 

WHOLE SCHOOL

  • Reminder: Weekly Mailing will move to the new Abingdonian Community platform from the beginning of next term
    • As part of our ongoing commitment to improving the way in which we communicate with our parents, this is a reminder that we will be moving the Weekly Mailing over to our new Abingdonian Community Hub from the beginning of the new term. This will allow us to have a far more targeted approach to the information we share with you and, as we all become increasingly mindful about security and safeguarding, provide an even more secure channel through which we can share information.
    • To activate your account: To make the process as seamless as possible, your details have been automatically transferred onto the new system. However, in order to activate your account, you will need to create a unique password. Please click here to access the ‘Reset password’ page in the first instance. You will be asked to enter the email address associated with your school account. A password reset link will then be sent to this email address. Once you have reset your password, you will be taken to the webpage where you can log in to the platform as normal.
  • Term Dates & School Calendar.  For information on school events, please access the online calendar which is kept regularly up to date.  It is available from the front page of the website under ‘What’s On’ then ‘Calendar’.
  • Parents’ Evenings 2024-25
  • Summer Reading Challenge – from Dr Gardner and Mr Coolin. If you want to encourage your child to read over the summer – which we strongly recommend – and are looking for inspiration, you can take advantage of the reading lists prepared by the English Department and the Library. Each list, for Lower School, Third Year, Fourth & Fifth Year and Sixth Form, features ten gripping books.   The English Department and the Library are also inviting all pupils to take part in the Summer Reading Challenge 2024. The challenge is to read and provide a verdict on between four and eight books. Ideally, the books will be spread across four or eight literary genres respectively, but we’re not being strict on this point. Instructions and a reading record form are attached. Please encourage your child to take part and to use the relevant reading list for ideas. At the start of the Michaelmas term, every child submitting a completed form to their English teacher will receive a chocolate prize. We’ll also be giving a bonus prize to be the most committed reader in each year group, which we’ll assess according to the number of books read, the type of books read and the quality of the written verdicts!
  • From Helen Keevil, Deputy Head Pastoral – Uniform, dress and appearance:
    • From September 2024 students in the 6th form only may wear a quarter-zip jumper.  All students in 1st year through to 5th year must wear a navy V-neck rather than a quarter-zip pullover.
    • Hair should be tidy and appropriate for a professional workplace.  Pupils’ hair should be off the collar and out of the eyes.  For reasons of safety, long hair should be tied up or held back, with plain and inconspicuous hair accessories, so it’s off the collar and out of the eyes.  Bleaches or dyes that are in blatant contrast to a student’s natural colour are not permitted.
    • Black trainers of any sort are not deemed appropriate for school uniform.  Polishable, leather shoes with a solid heel are expected for all year groups.  Only 6th formers may were brown shoes if preferred.
  • From the Sports Department:
    • Rugby Club Pre-Season 2024 dates 
    • All fixtures can be found here on the SOCS school website link.  Click Sport, Team – you can download to your iCal.
    • Mouthguard Fittings: 
      • Opro dentists will be coming in to do mouth guard fittings on Tuesday 3 September between 1.30pm and 4.30pm and Thursday 5 September between 12.30pm and 3.30pm in the Sports Centre.  First, Second and Fourth Years will have their fittings during their sports lesson on Tuesday.  Third Years, Fifth Years, Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth should attend when available on either day.  An email with a link to an order form will be sent to all parents later this month.
  • Music:
    • Reminder – Letter from Richard Stafford re Joint Choral Society’s Production of Handel’s Messiah.   The first rehearsal will be on Tuesday 10 September at 7pm in the Charles Maude Room.
    • Music Lessons from Michaelmas 2024: From September 2024, the process of timetabling Music lessons will be slightly different to that in previous years. The Visiting Music Teachers will be doing their own timetable using the SOCS platform, the same platform from which the Sports Department releases teams and details for fixtures. Pupils therefore should be reminded to check their SOCS timetable for their music lessons but also, parents can access their weekly times via this platform. Music Lessons for some will commence from Wednesday 4 September, but pupils must check their SOCS accounts at least twice a week so that they know when these lessons will take place.
    • ASMS: The Abingdon School Music Society are a parental body who support the events and continued development of the Music Department. Any parent who might be interested in joining the committee is very welcome to get in touch with either Director of Music, Richard Stafford ([email protected]) or Tamsin Keene (Chair) to discuss the various roles. The committee meets once a term whilst members support an array of events throughout the year. On Thursday 12 September at 7pm, the AGM for ASMS will take place and all are invited to join in person in the Music School or via zoom at 7pm. A link will be sent out at the start of next term.
    • Tom Green Septet – On Wednesday 25 September, we are delighted to welcome the Tom Green Septet to Abingdon School to give masterclasses and an evening concert. This will be an evening of Jazz in the Amey Theatre in which the Big Band will join forces with these professional musicians in a series of items. Further details and tickets can be found at: https://www.abingdon.org.uk/sports-and-leisure/performance/tom-green-septet/ 
    • Music Calendar: The Music Calendar for next term is attached here where all concerts, events and masterclasses can be viewed.
    • See other upcoming Music Events
  • OX14 Learning Partnership Upcoming Events
  • News from the week
  • School calendar
  • Second Hand Uniform Shop (SUS).  SUS will be open on Monday 2 September (induction day) between 9am and 4.30pm.  Thereafter it will be open every Wednesday (12.30-1.30pm) and Saturday (11am-12pm) during term time (with the exception of the final week of each term).  Dates and times are available here.  When visiting the shop, please park at Faringdon Lodge Reception.  The postcode for this is OX14 1BQ.
  • Weekly mailing archive
  • Box Office:   
  • Summer sports camps available to book over summer:
    • Development Level Tennis Camp: 9.00am – 4.00pm 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 15 – Friday 19 July; Monday 12 August – Friday 16 August
    • Competition Level Tennis Camp: 9.00am – 4.00pm 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 – 4.00pm 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.
  • We look forward to school beginning for all pupils on Tuesday 3 September.  The timetable will be an A week.  Best wishes for the holiday. The next weekly mailing will be on Thursday 29 August.