Having been told by the government exams are 'cancelled' only to find that this may not be the case, with the disruption of lockdowns to their learning over the past year and the uncertainty about their GCSEs, it is not surprising that our Year 11s may need a bit of encouragement and positivity. 

Year 11 have important PPE examinations upon the horizon, and with that in mind we wanted them to keep focused, working hard and showing their resilience. To do this, we organised a ‘motivation’ day where our Year 11 students could experience different sessions from external speakers. In addition, our Curriculum Leaders produced personalised videos to their students to offer reassurance and encouragement.

Motivation Day

• Maximize Your Potential sessions:
  'Maximize Your Potential’ is a company we have used with Year 11 before, and their sessions have always been well received and useful. These sessions by Jeremy Dry, focused on Study Skills and Top Tips for Success. Year 11 students had a pack of resources sent to them, which they used during their sessions. The sessions were well received by students. We have worked with Jeremy several times before, he is always engaging and parental feedback is always positive about his sessions.  
• Y11 Oxbridge Aspiration session:
  James Neville, from English Martyrs and formerly of Ratcliffe College, delivered an online Teams session for Year 11 on Wednesday afternoon. The focus is upon aspiring to apply and how to apply to Oxford and Cambridge universities and also early entry courses, such as medicine, veterinary and dentistry. As with last year, the session was excellent. The presentation given  can be viewed here.