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School reports
ST CLARE’S SCHOOL
A term like no other, the past few months have tested children,
parents and teachers alike. Here at St Clare’s the adaptability, resilience and stamina of our school community has seen us through an academically highly successful term, despite logistical challenges. Whilst our buildings may have been closed until 29th June, the school itself has certainly remained virtually open throughout. We have risen to the challenge of online education and been grateful to see the structure of our school day remain as normal as possible. Learning has continued at a fantastic pace! GCSE and A-Level students took part in the Inspiring Futures programme, as we joined forces with 10 other Cognita Schools to prepare our Year 11s for post-16 studies through online taster lessons and Year 13s with online courses delivered by institutions such as Yale University. Admissions have been busy conducting virtual open days and virtual tours, even integrating new pupils into online classes mid-term. Parental feedback has been overwhelming and kept us motivated in our efforts to deliver a meaningful and quality education for pupils. We wish you all a safe and relaxing summer. Please don’t hesitate to contact Admissions should you have any queries prior to September.
Helen Hier, Head Teacher
PORTHCAWL PRIMARY SCHOOL
It has been a strange few months but we are so proud of all the amazing work our pupils have produced. Foundation Phase children have excelled themselves using Google Classroom. They have enjoyed completing learning tasks based on various topics such as space, spiders and pirates. Nursery have enjoyed sharing their learning with us as part of our ‘Wellbeing Wednesday’ and Reception class had great fun writing their own songs and performing them using the musical instruments they made. Year one pupils took on the ‘Funky Friday’ challenges every week and the Year 2 pupils were amazed to see a video of a real dragon appear in their teacher’s garden one day! In Key Stage 2 both the staff and pupils also needed to become Google Classroom experts quickly. Each week our pupils have got creative in an art challenge as well as taking part in weekly photo competitions. They have also been writing every week and even though we have missed the pupils we have really enjoyed reading their amazing work each week. The children and their families have blown us away with their enthusiasm towards their home learning and we are looking forward to them returning to school in September.
Evan Richards
NEWTON PRIMARY SCHOOL
On June 29th we opened our doors for the first time since lockdown and warmly welcomed our pupils back. The school had been transformed into a sea of rainbows to make it as welcoming and appealing to our learners. It has been lovely to see all of our pupils who returned to our check in and catch up sessions. Our year six pupils have been busy making a video diary of their memories of Newton Primary School before they move onto secondary school. We would like to take this opportunity to wish our year 6 the very best of luck on their new adventures. Always remember to shine, as you are all super stars! Newton Primary staff would like to reiterate our thanks to the NHS and key workers for their amazing work that they have done throughout this pandemic. Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to thank our parents and carers for their continued support in working with us to home school their children. You really have all been truly amazing! Just a little reminder, if your child is aged 3 before the 31st August 2020 you can enroll online at BCBC for your child’s nursery place. Keep an eye out on our school’s web site for up-to date information or please email the school on newtonprimaryschool@bridgend.gov.uk for our schools settling in process. We wish you all both old and new pupils and their families a lovely summer. Take care and stay safe, we look forward to seeing you all in September.
Rachel John
PORTHCAWL COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL
As a most challenging and uncertain school year draws to a close, we say a final goodbye and good luck to Year 11 and Year 13 pupils who formally leave PCS to go on to their next adventure. Although reached rather differently this year, August results still await them with A Levels on 13th and GCSE on 20th. The anticipation and expectation is the same this year as any other and I would like to wish all our learners well in achieving their goals and obtaining the results that they deserve. School closed so suddenly that there was not time to say a proper goodbye, which was distressing for many. Pupils and staff have worked incredibly hard under extremely difficult circumstances and I thank you all for your dedication and wish you luck for the future. Years 7-10 were given the opportunity to “Check in, Catch Up and Prepare” and focused on pupils’ wellbeing, including reflecting on and sharing their experiences during lockdown with their teachers. Other topics covered were resilience, self-care and looking out for each other in these unusual times, finishing with an online safety blockbusters quiz. The second sessions were skills-based activities centred on the Olympics, a theme park on Locks Common and a post truth world. Year 12 had the opportunity to catch up with their Head of Year and class teachers to prepare for Year 13 courses in September when we look forward to welcoming all pupils back to school. Further information regarding return to school will be shared via the Parent App and the school website. www.porthcawlschool.co.uk
