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NEWSLETTER Friday 7th June
Dear parents and carers, I hope that you enjoyed a restful half term. I appreciate that for many of our students it would have been overshadowed by their focused preparation for their exams. It was tremendous to see so many students in the academy over the half term week. We ran ‘revision schools’ in a variety of subjects and these were well attended. Students in Year 11 who are maintaining their effort and hard work will find this makes a huge difference to their confidence and performance as they continue with their exams. We have hit the ground running as always and have held our Year 12 university, apprenticeship and employment information evening on Thursday of this week. It was fantastic to see this so well attended and our students really engaged positively in this. This evening was part of our all year round sixth form charter which, in addition to timetabled weekly work experience and enrichment opportunities such as Young Enterprise and the Duke of Edinburgh award, guarantees high quality post 16 university and careers support for all sixth form students. Thank you also to the Languages Department, who over half term and this week have been in Spain with Year 8 and 9 students on our first ever Spanish Exchange trip. Students are having a fantastic time abroad and really developing both their confidence in using Spanish and also their understanding of Spanish culture. We are excited about the Spanish students joining us later this term. This week we have also begun our programme of lunch and school visits for Yr6s who are starting to settle in with us as they move towards their transition in September. We can’t wait to get to know our new Yr7s and welcome them into the Cowes family and are so thrilled to find ourselves oversubscribed on first choices and with a waiting list for our new intake in September. Finally, we have been delighted to have been featured in the national publication The TES, or Times Educational Supplement, over half term for our curriculum development work. The TES has reported on the innovative universal key stage 3 curriculum that we are currently developing for our new Yr7s which marries our key island industry of maritime with a knowledge pathway across academic subjects, culminating in our exciting design and technology-led boat-building project. The report also mentions the £2 million the Ormiston Trust has been awarded by the Big Lottery which Cowes Enterprise College will also be one academy to benefit from. We are using this funding to put in place what we aim to be a world-class PSHE and career curriculum which will launch with years 7, 8 and 9 in September. I continue to enjoy my parent surgeries as meeting parents and hearing your thoughts is key for me. This term my parent surgeries continue on Tuesday afternoons. Please either email dharrison@cowesec.org or phone the school on 01983 203103 asking for Donna Harrison to book a pre-booked slot. With best wishes, Rachel Kitley Click the arrows or swipe to turn pages .