UWC9 Newsletter (February 2023)

Dear UWC9 parents,

The UWC9 students have enjoyed some exciting learning opportunities during their first term, and the High School leadership team (Damian, Ted and Kate), along with leading members of our UWC programme design team, have had the pleasure of seeing some of these for ourselves during our visits to classes Since the beginning of the term, we have been observing and participating in lessons, speaking with students and teachers, and conducting learning surveys.

The students have been overwhelmingly positive about their learning experiences, particularly their appreciation for the variety of IB-aligned learning engagements and assessment methods, and for the real-world relevance of their studies. And they are rightly proud of their academic progress and personal growth this year. They have also, of course, given us some food for thought about how things might be improved and enhanced, which will directly shape their classroom experiences from here on and our programme development next year

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank our students for their energetic engagement: so many teachers have commented on the high levels of interest, enthusiasm, and independent thinking shown by their UWC9 classes We’d also like to thank our teachers for their passionate commitment to developing and delivering such academically vigorous and meaningful courses.

And finally, thank you to you, our parents, for your continued support, encouragement and feedback You let us know that many of your children would love to study Psychology in Grade 10 and we were delighted to be able to collaborate with Dover and add it to the programme! The Grade 8 students have also just completed their subject choices for next year, and 60% so far have opted for the UWC programme. We anticipate this rising to 65%, almost two thirds of the year group, which is exciting news indeed!

We’re delighted to share with you now what lies ahead for your child in the next few weeks in each of their courses, as well as some highlights from the year so far. (Just a reminder that you can find course outlines here.)

G9 Key Dates

Tuesday, 28 February OED Exploration Trip assembly for students

Friday, 17 March, 8.45–9.45am Coffee Morning #4: information about year-end assessments

Monday, 20 March

Tuesday 21 March Dance Activities Showcase and Dance Production

May G10 course selections to be confirmed

Monday–Friday, 5–9 June End of Year Assessments

Monday–Friday, 12–16 June Grade 9 Outdoor Exploration in Tioman, Malaysia

Monday, 19 June Off site Geography trip (information to follow)

June Product Design End of Year showcase

Monday, 19 June End of Year report: ATL, holistic attainment, mentor reports