Regents Review Spring '16

The Regents Review Spring 2016

WELCOME

Headteacher’s Welcome

Welcome to the Spring 2016 edition of Regents Review.

Year 10 – new specification GCSEs to be sat in English (literature and language) and Maths (graded 9 to 1);

I was pleased to be advised that Regents Park is the first choice for many parents wishing to send their child to secondary school in September and we are full, in fact we have been asked to additionally students into Year 7. I believe this is testament to the progress the school continues to make. The DFE performance tables indicate that student progress is again in the top 15% nationally and place us 2nd overall within Southampton. I hope you have an enjoyable and safe Easter break and look forward to an exciting Summer Term ahead. I am sure you would like to join me in wishing the Year 11 students the best of luck in their GCSE examinations that start soon after we return. Jonty Archibald

Although this has been a short half term, there have been lots

remaining GCSEs graded A*-G Year 9 – students to sit new

events going on across the school community; I hope you enjoy reading about all exciting opportunities that Regents Park students have both in and out of the classroom. We are encountering a period of significant change in the world of education and I am conscious that it is not always easy for parents to keep abreast of the latest developments so a brief overview of the assessment framework for each year group is provided below: Year 11 – final year of sitting old specification GCSEs which will all be awarded grades A*-G

specification GCSEs in humanities, science and languages as well as English and maths (graded 9 to 1) in 2018 Year 8 – students to sit new specification GCSEs in all subjects (graded 9-1) Year 7 – introduction of assessment without levels; students assigned a ‘flight path’ based on their prior attainment Keeping parents fully informed is vital in securing positive and constructive partnerships with us here at school, please do not hesitate to contact the school if you have a query.

General News

Farm School A new opportunity for students has presented itself in the form of attending sessions on Mrs Rogers’ farm. Lauren Rebello and Abi Flynn were keen to share their experiences of Farm School: Mrs Rogers takes a group of people to her farm with Miss Ruberry for Farm School every other Tuesday. When we get there, students have the option to choose between looking after the dogs or horses. Looking after one of the horses is good for therapy because the horse is calm and you have to be calm and cautious around them, which takes a lot of patience. The students who don’t like horses or who feel nervous around them have the option to look after the dogs. When they do this they get to take one of them for a short walk and feed them. Looking after animals is proven to be good for anxiety and make people feel happier. Horses are big and friendly but it takes effort to look after one. Dogs are energetic and fun to play with. Mrs Rogers and other staff make sure we are

confident and safe around the animals. Instructions are given clearly before we get to the animals, however if the students don’t listen they are banned for a session. Farm School makes us feel better about coming in to school because it gives us something to look forward to. Also, we know that we’ve achieved something because we’ve earned a privilege. When we are at Farm School we are surrounded by people who understand our troubles so it makes it easier to go. We are all very happy and grateful to be able to go to Farm School.

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