Dear Parents and Carers,
As we progress through this extremely busy final half term I would like to thank parents for their ongoing support. I know that this really does make all the difference to our staff who continue to do their very best to support all the children in our care.
Last week students brought home information about our annual Enrichment Week at the end of term. We are really excited this year to be able to put on the whole range of activities that have been partially restricted over the past two years. Please take a moment to look through the Enrichment Week booklet with your children and encourage them to return their replies to the optional last day activities as soon as possible.
Last week saw the information evening for the Year 9 London trip and this week we have evening meetings for the Paris, Barcelona and Germany trips. We look forward to seeing families at these events. I am also pleased to say that following unprecedented demand for next year’s Ski trip we have been able to arrange a second trip for the Easter break. Many thanks to Mr Goldsmith and Miss Powell for offering to do this.
We are looking forward to celebrating with students at the Year 11 and Year 13 Proms this week. A reminder that we have a large selection of dresses and suits at school for anyone who may still need one. If this is the case please contact the Year 11 or Year 13 pastoral teams. We would like to thank all students for their outstanding commitment throughout the summer examinations.
I would like to draw your attention to a letter that will come home at the start of next week about our uniform expectations for next year. Families will remember that we wrote home in January to give early notice of what this will look like in line with our commitment to ‘Poverty Proof’ our school. We are also very aware of the current cost of living crisis and will look to support families in any way we can at this difficult time.
Families joining us from Hong Kong
Migration Yorkshire have created a Hong Kong Hub www.migrationyorkshire.org.uk/hongkonghub, which is a virtual Hub with information for people from Hong Kong who are settling in our region and for the services supporting them. They also run online drop-in sessions for new arrivals and have a directory of organisations providing further support for this group. For more information, you can also ring this number or the email below:
Direct line: 0113 37 89017 www.migrantinfohub.org.uk
Head of Year Awards
| Year Group | Name | Form | Reason | Link to School Values |
| Year 7 | Isabel Weyman | 7MPe | For collecting litter around school and looking after our school environment! | Compassion |
| Year 7 | Maisie Bone | 7Bl | For collecting litter around school and looking after our school environment! | Compassion |
| Year 8 | Edward Smith | 8Ob | For fantastic buddying and demonstrating care and consideration. Well Done. | Compassion |
| Year 8 | Lilly -Jo Hemmings | 8KCe | For making full use of opportunities and for consistent diligence and hard work and consistently getting everything right day by day. | Individual Liberty |
| Year 9 | Alisha Barker | 9KGn | For being positive and supporting others around her. Well done. | Compassion |
| Year 9 | Konrad Kochanowicz | 9SLa | For showing great resilience in improving his attendance. Well done! | Individual Liberty |
| Year 10 | Arda Timur | 10Gs | For helping someone in their time of need | Mutual Respect |
| Year 10 | Dan Clarke | 10SMr | For setting a good example to those around him | Justice |
| Year 12 | Curtis Thompson | 12SRe | For fantastic contribution to the Career Ready programme – well done. | Individual Liberty |
| Year 12 | Lento Yamagata | 12Wbn | For superb work across the board – staff are hugely impressed. | Individual Liberty |
Head of Year Updates
Year 7 – Miss Kincell, Miss Powell and Miss Cooper
We have had a really exciting week with all of our Year 7s joining in with an enrichment day which was focussed on sustainability. We worked out our current carbon footprint number and came up with lots of really good ideas on how to be more sustainable in our everyday lives. It was wonderful to see everyone getting involved with creating their own sustainable brand and the judges from the University of York were so impressed with all of the pitches that Year 7 put forward. Our runners up came up with a brand that would produce affordable jewellery made from recycled plastics collected from the beach. The winners called ‘The Packaging Beesness’ thought about making fruit packaging from bee’s wax and sustainable cotton. Year 7 were all fantastic and the external visitors were very impressed with how polite and enthusiastic they were.
We are excited to see you all at our Parent’s evening on Wednesday 29th June. Year 7 have already started to make appointments with their teachers. If you have any concerns or questions about the evening then please get in touch with the Year 7 team.
Well done to our Head of Year Awards:
Maisie Bone 7Bl – for collecting litter and looking after our school environment! Well Done!
Isabel Weyman 7MPe – for collecting litter and looking after our school environment! Well Done!
The Library Newsletter:
How exciting to have a visit from Y7 Nurture disguised as the royal family! I was delighted to see them, not only because of their fantastic face masks, but because each of them entered the Jubilee Poetry Competition.
We managed to write an epic called Our Rainbow Queen, thinking about what the queen does depending on what colour she’s wearing. We came up with gorgeous rhymes such as indigo/bingo, blue/Zoo and violet/place a bet. So, as you can imagine we had the queen doing all manor of activities. However, I thought it was only fair to enter the poems that hadn’t had any input from me into the competition. I made the hard decision to select a really lovely simple acrostic poem using the word jubilee, by Sid Smith. (Sid who also wrote a poem in the shape of a diamond using four nouns in the same line which were palace, posh, pearls and corgi which really made me smile.)
Our Queen Is…
Joyful as a summer party
Unbelievably like a summers day
Believable
Intelligent
Loyal
Elegant lady
Excellent elder
Recommendations:
Bad Dad by David Walliams (Quiz 233062. Level 4.2. Colour Purple)
Dads come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. There are fat ones and thin ones, tall ones and short ones. There are silly ones and serious ones, loud ones and quiet ones. Of course there are good dads. And then there are bad dads…
I’m delighted to have found the whole audio book that you can listen to for free! You can listen by opening the link below. Although, I wasn’t very happy at the start of chapter six when we meet Auntie Flip. ‘The lady had the smell of old books about her. That was probably because she’s a librarian. Listening to her poetry was torture…’ I hope that she doesn’t remind you of anyone! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJm9_sVIhOE
Rescuing Dad by Pete Johnson (Quiz 211248. Level 4.3. Purple)
In a bid to get their parents back together, brother and sister Joe and Clare try to transform their dad from being scruffy and useless round the house, into a super husband. What will happen when mum starts seeing creepy Roger before the transformation is complete?
You can read the first two chapters by opening the link. https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Rescuing_Dad/kbAxiET9iL0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover
Uncle Gobb and the Dread Shed (Quiz 229866. Level 5. Colour Green)
Uncle Gobb stared at Malcolm and said, “Listen here you disrespectful little weasel. If you don’t do more homework I’ll put you in the Dread Shed!” A long time ago when street lamps were lit by gas, a lady called Elizabeth Fear went to the prime minister to ask that great sheds should be built to house naughty children. However, some while later dread sheds were abolished, terminated, finished. However, no-one seems to have told Uncle Gobb…
You can read the first five chapters by opening the following link. https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Uncle_Gobb_and_the_Dread_Shed/aFOxBwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover
Library Event
To celebrate Refugee Week, we are having an event on Thursday 23rd June at lunchtime. Some of our students who attend AHS arrived from their home country leaving behind their friends, school and home. They came to school and are now taught lessons in their second language. We are lucky enough to hear first hand from some of these students, about how their old school compares to an English school, and how they manage to fit in and make new friends.
Well done to the 50 of you who returned your very overdue books. If you are one of those people, please tell your friends that we were very happy to see both you and the book, and that you weren’t in trouble for bringing back a late return. It is really important that we get as many books back as possible. We are looking to purchase new books for September, but will have to spend some of our book budget on replacements (especially if they are part of a series) rather than new titles.
Year 8 – Mrs Avey, Mrs Mennell and Mr Handley
Attendance last week was a little below what we would like to see. Year 8 still has the best overall attendance in the main school which is excellent. As ever we are grateful for your support in ensuring students are attending school and making the most of the opportunities on offer to them.
This week in our whole year act of collective worship this week was about hidden conditions such as Autism. Students were taught about what life is like for a person with Autism and how their surroundings can affect them. As we have an act of collective worship previously in the year about hidden disabilities students have been reminded about the importance of being compassionate and caring to others at all times as you may not know what another person may be going through or having to deal with or about hidden disabilities or conditions.
We have had a few questions about Enrichment week so have added a day by day break down of Enrichment week for Year 8 including some whole group activities the week before as well:
| Date | Event Information |
| 14/07/22 | The Trading Game – students should have received letters about this. Please can the reply slips be returned to the school reception. |
| 15/07/22 | Sports Day – students will need to be coming to school in their AHS P.E. kit as there will not be enough space to change in school. |
| 18/07/22 | Devising Theatre – students will be taking part in a day of Drama, English, Music and Art in a day themed ‘The Haunted House’. |
| 19/07/22 | Trip to Flamingo Land. Any students interested in going need to return reply slips to the school reception as soon as possible. We have spare letters if any students need another. Please just ask the Year Team. |
| 20/07/22 | Young Leaders Coffee Morning – students will be hosting a coffee morning and other initiatives as part of their Young Leaders award. This will be an even that can be attended by parents. More information will follow shortly. |
| 21/07/22 | Day of Sports – this is different to Sports Day in that students will not be competing along with the whole school. Students will instead be enjoying a variety of different sports and activities on offer from the P.E department. Students will need to arrive in the AHS P.E Kit. |
| 22/07/22 | Activities Day – This is a shorter day that will finish at lunch time. Students need to pick 3 activities (and two backups) from the list of options in the back of their Enrichment Week Booklets handed out in form. The sooner these are returned to the school reception the more likely students will be placed in the sessions of their choice. |
With the hot weather we have had this week we’d like to stress the importance of students keeping hydrated. Dehydration can really impact concentration and the ability to focus. It is important however that students make sure they use break and lunch times to fill up their bottles so they can help to stay hydrated throughout the day. It is really pleasing that so many of our students are using reusable bottles instead of single use plastic.
The year group section on week’s school Newsletter is Year 8 and we would encourage parents/carers to read this as it has lots of additional information relevant for Year 8. It also includes messages from Year 8 teachers to their classes.
As ever, thank you for your continued support. If you have any issues regarding your child in Year 8, please do contact school reception to get in touch with Mrs Avey (Head of Year 8), Mr Handley (Assistant Head of Year 8), Mrs Mennell (Year 8 Pastoral Support Worker) or Miss Clarke (Year 8 Pastoral Support Worker on Friday).
Year 9 – Mr Arthur, Mr Deamer and Mrs Deacon
As we approach the final stage of the year, there are lots of things for Year 9 to look forward to. As a school, we passionately believe in the words of John 10:10 “I have come so that they may have life, and have it to the full.” We want Year 9’s experience on their AHS Journey to be as rich and fulfilling as possible.
The final week of the year is ‘Enrichment Week’, and whilst students in Year 9 will have experienced a ‘watered-down’ version last year with some lingering elements of COVID restrictions, students across the school will get to experience Enrichment Week to its fullest extent (which will be for the first time for Students in Year 9!) Students have been provided with a booklet to have a look through, that explains what Year 9s will be doing on each day, what they need to be wearing, and what they need to bring with them into school. On the final day, staff have organised a wide selection of activities for students to participate in. They just need to make sure they fill in their choices, and hand them into their form tutor, or into Reception ASAP, as these are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Furthermore, we have the Flamingo Land trip on the final Wednesday of the year. As you may well have already seen, the school is footing the bill for the transportation to the theme park. We have asked if families can pay for the cost of the ticket to the park. However, if this will be a struggle, please do get in touch via the email addresses at the bottom of this bulletin.
Finally, as the year draws to a close, I want to raise an important issue that will only increase in importance over time: attendance. Attendance at school is crucial to the success of students. Recent studies have shown that absence from school has a significant impact on the success of students, and can have a long-term impact through to their GCSEs. In one of these studies, it has shown that of those students that have 100% attendance, 79% of them achieve 5+ good GCSEs. At 95%, this figure falls to 69%. At 90%, this falls even further to 53%, and by 85% attendance, this figure for success becomes 36%. When considering that 5% attendance is around 7 days absence, it really is crucial that students are in school every single day. To put this into further context, if your child has lower than 95% attendance, this means that they are attending school less than the average child across the country. Whilst COVID has impacted on general attendance over the past two years, this factor is increasingly diminishing. Most employers are taking a similar stance with staff absence in their organisations, and 95% will continue to be the minimum expectation in terms of good attendance to school.
As a school, we fully understand that there are appointments that cannot be moved, or emergencies that mean a child may have to take some time off school. However, wherever possible, please can non-emergency appointments be made outside of school time, or ensure that students return to school in the afternoon if their appointment is in the morning (or vice versa). With regards to illness, the message that has been given to students is that if they are feeling unwell, the question they should be asking themselves is not “Do I want to come into school?” Of course, if you’re feeling unwell the answer will be no! However, what they should be asking is, “Can I be in school?” In this instance, the answer is almost always “Yes”. We do have the School Nurse and the Intervention Room for students that are feeling unwell, but we would very much appreciate your support in ensuring your child is in school as much as possible to give them the best chance of success in the future.
Further to this, punctuality is also a key contributor to the success of students. It is important that students are sat in their form rooms ready to start the day before 8:45. This means that students must ensure they arrive on school site well before then – form rooms will be open from 8:35 for them to ‘drift in’ on a morning, and there are wellbeing resources available for when they arrive. This will also ensure that any important messages that are shared with students during morning Tutor Time are given to all of the students. Furthermore, it is also vitally important that students arrive to lessons on time. Studies have shown that re-capping on old content through low-stakes testing is crucial to consolidating their learning. The first few minutes of a lesson is where most recaps take place. It is therefore vitally important that students arrive to lessons promptly and ready to learn to ensure they maximise the input that is given to them by teachers across all subjects. We also strongly advise parents to download the ClassCharts app and sign in using the unique login for your child. This way, you will be able to monitor your child’s attendance and punctuality over time. If you are missing any of this information, please do get in touch via the contact information at the bottom of this bulletin, and we will see what we can do to support.
Thank you for taking the time to read this parent bulletin. If you have any issues regarding your child in Year 9, then please do get in touch by emailing aarthur@ahs.pmat.academy (Head of Year), mdeacon@ahs.pmat.academy (Assistant Head of Year) and/or rdeamer@ahs.pmat.academy (Pastoral Support Worker); or alternatively, you can call Main School Reception and we will get back to you as soon as we can. Thank you!
Year 10 – Mr Avery, Miss Johstone and Miss Montagu
Another great week for Yr 10 with all of us enjoying the wonderful weather. I don’t recall ever seeing so many different football games going on at lunch times!
This week our main focus has been on preparing students for the upcoming Mock Exams. We had an extended form assembly to explain the structure of the week and how we can support them. From now on, both lessons and homework will target the content that will be covered in the exams. We are also using form time for revision.
In addition, we have created a dedicated revision space for students to use. It is being held in Hi6 from Monday-Thursday for 2 hours after school and has proved popular so far. Students can come and go as they please; there is no obligation to stay for the full time.
Mocks will begin on June 27th and last for the full week. During the week, the Yr 10 team will be providing breakfast for students who would like to come in early and sit and chat with their friends before heading over to the exam. We will be glad to welcome them, so please don’t hesitate to come!
When Mocks are over, we have the trip to Alton Towers to look forward to. Please complete the form on Parent Pay. If you would like a paper copy, please come and speak to anyone in the Yr 10 team who will happily help.
Sport: congratulations to Y10 girls cricket – Lottie Langan, Fran Lawson, Esme Pounder, Amy Hall, Lily Davies, Lottie Hardy, Rosie Davies and Anna Tarn – for a great performance against St Peters on Wednesday. It was a very close game with some strong batting and bowling from both sides. St Peters won with three overs to spare, but it was an extremely good effort from AHS and a performance that the girls can build on. Esme Pounder got ‘Player of the Match’ for her batting.
Congratulations to Dan Clarke and Arda Timur for stepping in and supporting others when they need it most. They have been awarded our Head of Year awards this week. Well done!
Should you have any concerns please feel free to contact the Yr 10 team.
Year 11 – Miss Turvey, Miss Reeder and Miss Chambers
As we enter into the final week of Year 11, we are feeling bittersweet about the end in sight. Our strongest feeling in the Year 11 team is one of immense pride. We couldn’t be more thrilled with the way our Year 11s have conducted themselves during the exams over the past few weeks. After the extended period of hard work and commitment, students now deserve to reap what they have sown and we hope they thoroughly enjoy the reward of the long summer ahead. Our Year 11s this year have overcome so many hurdles during their AHS Journey – not just the usual trials and tribulations of navigating teenage life and working through their GCSEs – but also bouncing back from a national pandemic that will shape their generation. The resilience of students during this time has been truly inspirational. All of our students are a credit to their parents for growing into the compassionate, interesting and well-rounded individuals they have become. We now want to wish students the very best that life can bring for their futures, which are looking very bright indeed. A huge well done to Year 11 – we will miss you, keep you in our memories and look forward to hearing about your next chapters. Thank you for all of the highlights!
The main notices left for this week’s bulletin involve arrangements for the final day on Thursday 23rd June:
On Thursday 23rd June, all students will have their final exam (GCSE Physics) commencing at 9am. After students have finished the exam, we would like to encourage all of them to come to the front field during Period 3 for a final celebration and send off. We have hired an ice-cream van to provide free ice-cream and students will be welcome to sign shirts and yearbooks. All Form tutors are off timetable for this hour and usually teachers of Year 11 who are free come along to say their goodbyes too. Students do not need to stay for the full hour; they will be welcome to leave as soon as they feel finished with their goodbyes. All students will leave the site by 12:10pm.
On the evening of Thursday 23rd June, the Year 11 Prom will be taking place. The Prom will be held at York Racecourse and will be taking place in the Voltigeur Suite, accessed via the Marble entrance. Students will be welcome to arrive from 6:30pm for a 7pm start. The evening will begin with arrival photos and a chance to get some (non-alcoholic) drinks, followed by an Awards ceremony, a hot/cold buffet dinner and Dj and dancing. The evening will end at 10:30pm. A professional photographer will be on hand to take shots at the start of the evening and there will also be a professional photo booth. The Little Balloon company has kindly put together decorative arrangements for the venue. We will also have the use of a large outdoor balcony overlooking the Racecourse, so our fingers will be crossed for sunny weather… All members of the Year 11 team and all Year 11 Form tutors will be in attendance in addition to many other teachers who are coming to wish students well on the night. This is always a memorable celebration and we are very much looking forward to it!
To ensure the smooth running of the Prom for everyone, parents should be aware of some important safeguarding policies we have in place. Students will not be permitted to drink or bring along alcohol to the Prom. If any student arrives intoxicated or is caught with alcohol on their person, parents will be contacted and students will be asked to leave. This is not only a school rule but the policy of the venue for under-18s. Students and parents should also be aware that York Racecourse is a large venue with other buildings in the complex being used for other functions. From 7pm, we will politely ask that students remain in our building (and enclosed balcony) so we can keep them safe and supervised. Once students have chosen to leave the Prom and have gone away from our building they will not be able to return. We will let parents know if students leave part-way through the event. Thank you for your support and understanding with this.
Please find this week’s timetable overview below. As the key headlines, all students need to be in school for their Science exams on Monday and Thursday morning:
| Day | Overview |
| Mon 20th | Students should come to school at the normal time and go to am reg.
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| Tues 21st | The majority of students will work from home on Tuesday.
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| Weds 22nd | The majority of students will work from home on Wednesday. There is optional science revision taking place P1 and P2 on Wednesday morning, if students would like to attend this they should also attend form time as usual, where their tutors will direct them to the appropriate rooms.
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| Thurs 23rd | Students should come to school at the normal time and go to am reg.
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Thank you for your continued support. If you have any issues regarding your child in Year 11, please contact school reception who will alert the Year 11 team: Miss Turvey (Head of Year 11), Miss Chambers (Assistant Head of Year 11) Mrs Reeder (Year 11 Pastoral Support Worker) or Miss Short (SLT). Thank you.
Post 16 – Mrs De Lashley, Mrs Walton, Miss Balmer and Miss Cox
Year 13 – Year 13 finish their A Level examinations this week. It has been a gruelling few weeks for them but they have been very positive and maintained stamina. We are really proud of them and look forward to celebrating with them this summer. The Prom is on Friday at Hilton, York from 7pm. A reminder of details will be emailed this coming week. If you have any queries about results day on Thursday 18th August from 9am then do get in touch. If your son/daughter is unable to attend but you/they have not yet informed us, then please let us know.
Year 12 Mock Exams – Year 12 will sit their mock exams wc 4th July. In lessons and for homework students will be revising for the next two weeks. Your son/daughter should be busy at home preparing for these with the exception of BTEC subjects that sat a summer external examination.
Year 12 HE Visit – The year group visit Hull this week to attend an Open Day to see first-hand the benefit of visiting their chosen institutions. If you have not yet sent consent for this trip, please do so before the end of Monday.
REMINDER reply slips:
Please return reply slips for the events below if you have not done so already:
- Y12 Admissions Test tuition for BMAT, MAT, UCAT
- Y12 HE Visit Tuesday 21st June
- Y12 Introduction to UCAS Evening Tuesday 12th July
Final week of A Level Exams
| Monday 20th June | Chemistry Paper 2 | 2hr | English Literature Paper 2 | 3hr |
| Tuesday 21st June | Religious Studies Paper 3 | 2hr | Maths Paper 3 | 2hr |
| German Writing | 2hr | |||
| Wednesday 22nd June | Further Maths | 1hr 30 | ||
| Thursday 23rd June | Chemistry Paper 3 | 2hr | ||
| Friday 24th June | Biology Paper 3 | 2hr | ||
| Computer Science Paper 2 | 2hr 30 |
Sixth Form Rewards
| Wk ending 20th May | Y12 |
| 1st | Fenton Griffiths |
| 2nd | Liv Goldsmith |
| 3rd | Charlotte Walker |
Collective Worship
This week our Form Tutor Collective Worship is inspired by Socrates’ thoughts on Knowledge and Ignorance. We also consider the impact that our schools’ Christian Values might have in this area. Our daily quotes are all on the theme of Knowledge.
Quotes
Monday – “Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.” Confucius; 6th C. BC Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher
Tuesday – “The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.” Bertrand Russell; 20th C. British philosopher, mathematician and historian
Wednesday – “People with understanding want more knowledge, but fools just want more foolishness.” The Bible, Proverbs 15:14
Thursday – “If you have knowledge, you have something more valuable than gold or jewels.” The Bible, Proverbs 20: 15
Friday – “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Nelson Mandela, first democratically elected South African president