Dear parents/carers,
It has been a really positive first week back and good to finally feel the sun after a very wet Easter break!
A lot has been happening in our Sixth Form – at the end of last term our year 12 Geographers had a fantastic urban field trip to Totnes as part of their ‘local place’ study, undertaking various data collection and interviews. The students were an absolute credit to the college and got a lot of practical learning out of the day. The summer term has started slightly differently for year 12 though as they have had a week of mock exams which have taken place in Dyron’s House to try and provide them with a very calm and quiet environment. They have approached the exams really maturely and I hope that the experience of doing them and the feedback from them will help them make good progress towards achieving some excellent results in their final year with us. Well done.
On Wednesday, we welcomed back one of our 6th Form alumni, Libby Evans, to talk to all of year 12. Libby spoke about her university experience and gap year travels across Central America, Europe and South East Asia. Libby is currently studying Multimedia Journalism at Bournemouth University and won best journalist in her year. She explained how she secured work experience at SKY Studios, ITV and BBC Spotlight and has an ITV mentor – all through her willingness to put herself out there and use social media to reach out to key professionals/organisations. Libby hosts a radio show and a podcast and spoke about the importance of following your ambitions and told our students to get out there and make it happen! This fits nicely with a recent 6th Form Assembly on the importance of ‘backing yourself’ and also sets Y12 up for their upcoming Personal Development lessons on preparing for ambitious post-18 pathways.
Our year 12 Food Science students completed their Unit 3 practical exam this week and performed really well, producing some delicious creations. A huge well done to them.
It has been a quiet first week back on a PE front. Our year 8 boys Basketball team travelled down to Penryn in Cornwall to take part in the Junior NBA league. A strong performance from the team was not quite enough to overturn a very good opposition, but the experience of travelling to a fixture and playing against stronger competition is valuable in their development. The year 10/11 girls’ football team did amazingly well at the Central League being unbeaten in all three games – winning two and drawing one. The football that was on display was of great quality.
Our Gold Duke of Edinburgh students have completed their practice walk on Dartmoor this week with three days’ walking and two nights’ camping. They have experienced all four seasons and differing weather conditions during the expedition but have shown great team spirit and perseverance to complete the practice and prepare themselves for their final expedition later this term.
On Wednesday next week we will be hosting our rescheduled Performing Arts showcase ‘Dimensions’. The students have prepared tirelessly for this and it will be a fantastic evening’s entertainment. The show runs from 19:00-21:15 and tickets can be purchased for £5 on ParentPay.
We have seen some very positive improvements in students’ punctuality to college over the last few months which is really encouraging to see, knowing how important every minute of learning is! A huge well done to those students who have played their part by getting into school on time.
Our supply of spare uniform is running quite low, so if over the Easter period you have replaced your child’s uniform and now have some spare uniform that you would be happy to donate to NAC, it would be very gratefully received. Please could you drop it into reception.
I hope you have a good weekend.
Amy