Principal's update 22 September 2023
Published on 22/09/23
Dear Parents and Carers
As you all know, attendance at school is incredibly important. The rest of this email outlines all the fantastic opportunities that our children are offered every week and they can only make the most of these if they are in school. Thank you for all your support in returning children to school. Our attendance rate is slightly higher than this time last year and we continue to work with you and students to improve this further.
Thank you to those parents and carers of our KS4 students who attended our Information Evening yesterday. We hope you found the evening useful. A copy of the presentation shown can be found here.
We are looking forward to our forthcoming Open Evening for current Y6 students on Thursday 5th October. There is an online booking system for the Open Evening which can be accessed here. Please share this with any parents and carers of children in Y6 who may like to come and look around our school.
What’s going on in school:
- Attached is our Programme of Extra Curricular Activities for this term. Please encourage your young person to go along to any of the sessions that are of interest to them.
- Y7s played very well in their first football game away against New Mills, which resulted in a draw. Well done to all players.
- This week we have hosted the first round of auditions for our school musical We Will Rock You! We are super proud of everyone that has taken part so far, and excited for the show to begin. In case anyone missed signing up or auditions we will be hosting an extra audition on Tuesday lunchtime. Please encourage your young person to come along if they are thinking of joining the show. Our first rehearsal will be Thursday lunchtime. A full rehearsal timetable will be released once we have finalised the cast.
- Our Y11 students completed their Duke of Edinburgh expedition last weekend, with an overnight camp in Edale. Well done to all who took part and thank you to staff members who gave up their weekend to volunteer. Special thanks go to Mr Fitton and Mrs Oldfield, our DofE coordinators.
- Y10 students took part in our Interhouse competitions this week. Losehill were the football champions!
- Top author Phil Earle spent a day at HVC on Thursday, talking to students from Y8 and Y9 and from Post-16. Phil's very entertaining and wide-ranging talks looked at the many ways there are to read, bands, superheroes, Frazzles (Phil's favourite snack!), books that got him started and where to find ideas for writing. At the end of each session, he signed copies of his books, and posters and bookmarks which he had brought to share. Lunchtime was a chance for last year's Word Millionaires (top readers who clocked up more than a million words in Accelerated Reader) to meet Phil over a celebratory lunch in the library. Thanks, Phil, for a really enjoyable day!
- Our Outdoor Activities for Y9 students started last week on the HVC climbing wall. Students did brilliantly and we have already spotted some talented climbers!
Road closure at Mytham Bridge
As you may already be aware, there will be a planned road closure on the A6187 at Mytham Bridge Bamford from Monday 25th September until Friday 29th September. Derbyshire County Council have confirmed that school buses will be escorted through the road closure during the morning and afternoon journeys so that students can travel without any disruption, but cars will not be allowed through. Below is a map of the diversion route. If your young person travels to school by car, then we suggest that you leave plenty of time to travel as the diversion is lengthy and the roads are likely to be busy.
Y7 Information Evening – postponed
Due to the aforementioned road closures as Mytham Bridge, we have taken the decision to postpone our Y7 Information Evening, in order to allow as many families as possible to attend. We will be in touch as soon as possible with a new date.
Locker Rental Scheme
We have taken feedback from parents & carers with regards to the amount of equipment students have to carry and the lack of lockers in school. We are currently exploring a locker rental scheme for students through an external company - the cost is £26 for the school year for a standard 30cm by 45cm locker. The lockers are booked using an online portal and parents/carers are then issued with a unique 4 digit access code sent your email to avoid any issues with lost keys. The lockers are also given an annual deep clean.
Information about new qualifications post-16
T Levels are rigorous technical qualifications that enable 16–19 year olds to move onto a job, a higher apprenticeship or further study at university. T Levels have been designed with over 250 leading employers, so students can be confident that they will get the skills and knowledge that employers really want - and will be able to progress in their chosen career. All T Level students will complete a minimum of 45 days on an industry placement, spending at least 20% of the course getting on-the-job experience with a real employer. T Levels also attract UCAS tariff points in line with three A levels and over 130 higher education providers are currently accepting T Levels in their admissions criteria. Clear and helpful information about all post-16 choices, including T Levels, can be found by searching Get the Jump, a new content hub which has been created on the National Career Service website. There is also more detailed information on T Levels available at T Levels for students | T Levels, including a search function where you can use your postcode to search for T Levels available in your area.
Job vacancies
We are currently recruiting for Exam Invigilators. Please see our website for more information about this role - Vacancies - Hope Valley College (chorustrust.org) . The closing date for applications is 1st October 2023.
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Thank you for reading our communication. Here are some helpful email addresses, should you need to contact us:
Kind regards |
Gaynor Jones, Principal
Hope Valley College
T: 01433 620555
