Happy Half Term!

Heads have been down all week as the Juniors joined the Shell in being examined. The vast majority of the Remove to Lower Transits have spent a great deal of time and effort in preparing for these examinations, and we look forward to them being rewarded as the marks come in. As parents you need to know that I have asked staff not to hand back results until the second week after half term. This way, staff with late examinations can have a break over half term and come back ready for the last part of the year refreshed and ready for the rush to July. Times change and so many girls no longer have a wrist watch due to the ubiquitous mobile phone. However these are absolutely banned in examinations  so please can I ask that all girls have a (named) wrist watch either digital or analogue so that they can manage their time and question limits?

The Upper Transits and Study I will be taking their end of year examinations in the second week after half term. Neither of these year groups has yet faced examinations at the level they will deal with next year and so I would like to emphasise that we expect the girls to have worked very hard for these school examinations. Girls who fail or who perform below expectations will be expected to re-sit in September.

Shell have been on study leave for two weeks now and are working hard doing GCSEs and we as staff have been very impressed by their calm determination to get the job done to the very best of their ability. Study II are starting study leave today and the staff all have a clear eye on 28th June and the last examination when the annual round of marking, feedback and individual meetings to clarify, finalise and encourage will be over for another season.

Over half term the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award candidates will undertake their practice expedition and I wish them every success as the practice of navigation swiftly becomes much more complicated than it seemed in theory and training.

After half term and the final round of examinations come, we do continue with lessons and prep and for the Upper Transits and Study I these lessons are part of their courses and are very important. In about 5 weeks’ time the end-of-year and summer events that are such a pleasure will begin: we have a Golden Lunch for former pupils of Shell 1968 and before! Study I General Studies week, which provides that very successful transition from Study I to Study II, will take place in the week of 25th-29th June. The Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award expedition will happen over the weekend of 30th June and 1st July and The Private View of the GCSE and A Level Art, Textiles and Photography exhibition coupled with summer jazz is on Monday 2nd July from 5.30pm – please do come to wish Ms Art Jones every success in the future at her final Private View.

We return to the Cross Curricular project for the Remove to Lower Transits on the subject of Votes for Women – What Influence Has This Had? between 28th June and 3rd July in the year when women over 30 first achieved the vote. The Upper Transit Taster Day for Wychwood Sixth is on 3rd July as well and Upper Transit parents are warmly invited to ask questions at the information evening. The girls will wear home clothes and attend a selection of Study I lessons while following the Wychwood Sixth rules rather than those applying further down the school. We find this day to be very successful in giving the Upper Transits an understanding of the progression of education within Wychwood. Please encourage your daughters to pack as many different lessons and activities into the day as possible so that they emerge with a realistic flavour of what is to come. We also invite girls from other schools who have expressed an interest in Wychwood Sixth so if you know of anyone who might be interested in attending, please do encourage them to contact us at admissions@wychwoodschool.org.   On the last weekend of term, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Bronze Award candidates will set off on their expedition. We wish them strong navigational skills and cool weather as they walk a significant distance carrying the necessities of life with them. I am quite sure they will have an energetic, valuable and enjoyable weekend. The  Sports Dinner will be on 6th July, the school picnic is on 5th July and the final certificate assembly is on Friday 6th July at 11.00am and all girls leaving or on Study Leave are warmly invited.

Next term there are two days when all girls are expected in school, so I would be grateful if you could set those dates aside. The Open Morning is on Saturday 15th September and all girls will be expected to attend please. The Careers fair is on Saturday 29th September and again all girls are expected to attend as it is never too early to start thinking about the working life. This runs from 10.00am to 12.00pm and my thanks go to all the Old Girls who give their time and experience so generously.

The start of the school year is a time for excitement as new girls join the school, some start their exam courses and others prepare for their final exams. Girls and parents renew friendships after the summer break and those new to the school get to become part of the Wychwood community. Also next term we plan to change the format of the Welcome to Wychwood evening that the Friends of Wychwood run:  our new Welcome to Wychwood evening in September will introduce key year groups and their parents (Years 7, 9, 10 and 12) to what lies ahead across the next nine months and finishes with the Friends of Wychwood social – a chance for all parents to have a drink and a chat. The key year groups will be invited in for 6.00pm and everyone else please join us for 7.00 pm.

As usual towards the end of the year may I remind you that we offer French and Spanish oral tuition to girls from Remove to the Lower Transits. Individual language lessons last half an hour and are charged at £20 per lesson. Small group lessons are also possible at £15 a lesson. These will happen after school in prep time. French is available from Remove upwards and Spanish from Inters upwards. In order to assess the level of interest please could you email Mme Collcutt as Head of MFL on ccollcutt@wychwoodschool.org  by the Monday after half term, if you would be interested in these lessons for your daughter in the next academic year. We also have a German tutor for anyone interested in German tuition, although in practice in this city we can usually find a well-qualified tutor for any language that a child is interested in pursuing.

The 2017-2018 edition of the Parents’ Directory will be issued early during the Michaelmas term, enabling direct contact between parents. We would be most grateful if you would take a little time over half term to let us know of any changes of address, telephone number or email address. Information should go to Miss Tyers please at admissions@wychwoodschool.org. If you are already included, we will assume you wish to remain. If you know of anyone else who would like to be included could please ask them to contact Miss Tyers at admissions@wychwoodschool.org to confirm their agreement and the relevant name(s) address(es), telephone number(s) and / or email address(es) to be listed. It does make your lives much easier when you need contact details for other Wychwood parents.

May I wish you all a very enjoyable and productive half term with your daughters.

Mrs Andrea Johnson
Head