Headteacher’s Update
Dear Families
We have much to be proud of this week. In particular the inspiration and leadership skills demonstrated by our students.
On Tuesday we welcomed next years’ year 7 parents to school. We left the talking to the students who were proud to talk to parents about their experiences at school. We had lots of year 7 students who were keen to talk to parents- no easy task to converse with adults they didn’t know!
Then we helped out with planting trees to surround our new sports hall, which is nearing completion. I hope to share some images of this as we near completion over the coming weeks. The students were really excited and keen to help plant trees which will be there for generations to see.
Finally, our core values were evident last night as our Manor’s Got Talent event took place. The entire evening was organised by our Year 11 students who have been truly inspirational in their approach to getting acts together, auditioning and making sure they were of the standard expected. All pretty much done single-handedly.
Of course credit goes to the students performing, they were incredible and displayed true resilience to get up and perform for their peers and their families. There was representation from a range of year groups, not just year 11 students. There is real talent amongst the student body.
Our students are working hard at the moment and really demonstrating our vision of ‘excellent people, excellent results’. We are rightly proud of the character our students show and hope you as parents are too. As we said in our email last week, we are stronger working together to ensure our students can be the best versions of themselves.
With best wishes
Mr S Greiff
Manors Got Talent
A huge congratulations to all the incredible performers who took part in Manors Got Talent.
Special recognition goes to the Year 11 organising committee, whose dedication and planning made the entire event such a success.
We are delighted to announce this year’s winners:
🥇 1st Place: Ikjot
🥈 2nd Place: Storme
🥉 3rd Place: The Band With No Name – featuring Rowan, Ezra, Freddie, and Robert
Well done to each of you for your outstanding performances. And a big thank you to everyone who took part—you all made this an unforgettable evening.
Year 11 Art & Design
Our Year 11 Art & Design students have been demonstrating exceptional dedication and creativity this term as they prepare for their final exam piece. Their commitment has extended well beyond the classroom, with many attending additional lunchtime sessions and even a Saturday morning workshop to refine and perfect their work.
These extra efforts have been focused on making final improvements and honing their designs in preparation for the practical exam, which will take place during the first week back after the Easter holidays. Over the course of a demanding 10-hour exam, students will bring their artistic visions to life in a final masterpiece that reflects months of hard work.
We are extremely proud of their commitment and resilience in this fast-paced, high-pressure but extremely rewarding project.
Arbor Communications
In January we changed our main database for pupil and parent data. The new system is called ‘Arbor’.
From 28th April 2025, we will be switching over our communications from School Gateway to Arbor. This will allow us as a school to communicate with you more efficiently
Between now and 28th April 2025 please download the Arbor Parent App and register. It can be found in the app store or google play store. The logo you require is:
Please follow this link to help you get started –
Parent Portal and App – Getting started and logging in – Arbor Help Centre
If you experience any issues, please let us know via admin@manorhigh.leics.sch.uk If you have a child at another school and you currently use Arbor, Manor High School should appear automatically.
At the start of the next academic year we will also be moving from School Gateway to Arbor payments, which will allow you to use one app rather than 2 different apps. This will prevent you having to remember multiple log ins and passwords. During the summer term we will send out communications to support this transfer, but for now you should continue to use School Gateway to pay for services such as meals and trips.
College Applications & PS16
School and college offers meetings – important dates
Thursday 1st May – Beauchamp City Sixth Form will come into school to meet with any students who are holding offers with their school (same as Beauchamp College but the date is to be confirmed).
Year 11 – Positive Steps 16 site (PS16)
Please can all Year 11 be aware of these key next steps regarding Post 16 applications. Thank you.
Next steps:
- Regularly log into PS16 to see if you have had any offers or messages from schools or colleges. Be patient as different schools/colleges work with different time frames. You should hear back by the end of March latest.
- Regularly check your emails (the email address you gave on your PS16 profile e.g. school or personal email) as schools / colleges may email you here
- Do not worry if your friends have already heard from a school / college and you have not. This is totally normal.
- Accept all offers that are made to you. You can hold multiple offers. Do not ignore an offer whilst waiting for your favourite school/college. Accept any offers you are given. On results day you will choose where you go to (after you have seen the grades you get).
- If you wanted to make changes to any of your applications you need to call the school/college and speak to them. If you have any issues come and find Mr Croucher / Mrs Mahomed.
Leicester College Applications
If you have applied to Leicester College through Post 16 they have emailed students (on ps16) to say they will be dealing with your application through their College Learner Hub. Please do not worry! They have said that they will email you information about how to log into the College Learner Hub and how to then manage your application etc. Please check your emails regularly (the emails you sent to them via your profile on PS16) to keep an eye out for their messages. If you have any concerns you must contact Leicester College and then also come and speak to Mr Croucher / Mrs Mahomed.
Simply put this means that Leicester College will manage your application through their College Leaner Hub. Any other schools/colleges you applied to will still be managing your application through Post 16.
Pathways at Post 16 (all years)
It is always good to plan ahead. As a result we have started talking to our Year 9 and 10 students about different options available to them in Post 16 education after Manor High School.
On Tuesday our Year 9 students had an additional assembly that was led by Gateway College. The assembly highlighted the different routes available to students in Post 16 education (including A Levels, BTECs and T Levels all available at Gateway). On Thursday our students in Year 10 heard from Leicester College about the pathways they offer (including Apprenticeships and T Levels)
It is important for all students to be aware of pathways available to them. We have attached a presentation from Gateway and the following links take you to various areas they showed:
A video of their facilities – https://www.youtube.com/@GatewayCollegeLeics
Their home page for open events – https://gateway.ac.uk/
For all students and parents/carers it is never too late to start looking at the different schools/colleges available and thinking about possible routes after Manor High School.
| Here are some explanations of key terms that may help when looking at Post 16 course – it is never too early to start looking 😊
|
|
| Level 3
|
The next stage of qualification after GCSEs. A levels are a Level 3 course. BTECs and T Levels run Level 3 courses too. |
| Level 2 | GCSE passes (grades 4 and above) are Level 2 qualifications. At post 16 a Level 2 qualification holds the same weighting as a GCSE pass. These courses may be suitable for students who need to retake a GCSE (E.G. English or Maths) and they then open the doorway to Level 3 qualifications. There are BTECs run at Level 2 and some colleges also offer Foundation T Levels which are Level 2 |
| Level 1 | A qualification that is equivalent to a GCSE grade of 1-4. These qualifications are suitable for students who may need a more accessible course to help them move towards higher levels. There are a range of vocational subjects that are at Level 1. |
| T Levels | A vocational qualification that is linked directly to a career. They are 80% coursework and 20% work in experience in the career area. T Levels are a Level 3 course that are equivalent in weighting to 3 A Levels. Some colleges do offer Level 2 foundation T Levels that bridge the gap into the Level 3 courses. |
| BTEC | A vocational course that is linked to an employment sector or area. BTECs are split into units and these are completed as coursework. There is usually an examined unit too but the majority of a student’s grade comes from the coursework. BTECs do run from Level 1. Some BTECs are worth more in terms of weighting than others e.g. L3 EXTENDED/ADVANCED Diploma – 3 ‘A’ levels, L3 Diploma (National/Technical) = 2 ‘A’ levels, L3 Extended Certificate = 1 ‘A’ Level. |
| Apprenticeships | These are courses that involve a large placement for paid work within an employment sector. The student then also attends college in order to learn more about the sector and gain qualifications. Apprenticeships run from Level 2 all the way to Degree Level. |
| A Level | An academic course. These are set up in the same way as GCSEs but are clearly harder (being Level 3). They are assessed at the end of a two year course via an exam. Some A Levels do have smaller elements of coursework too such as PE, Music etc. They are offered for the same subject areas as GCSE subjects as well as some more additional subjects too. |
Alumni
We are really keen for former Manor High School students to share their experiences of the world of work with our students.
If you, a family member or even friend who was a Manor High School student and could possibly help us with this please email us via the Admin email (FAO Mr Croucher).
Many thanks.
Sport Shirt Day
In an exciting initiative to raise funds for brand new equipment for the school’s state-of-the-art sports hall, students are invited to join in on a fun and spirited fundraising event on Friday, 11th April. The campaign encourages every student to wear a sports top representing their favourite team, club, or sporting outfit.
Dress Code Details
Participants are encouraged to showcase their sporting allegiance by donning any sports top that reflects their support for a team or sporting club. However, a reminder has been issued that hoodies are not permitted as part of the day’s attire. For those students who choose not to participate in the theme, it is required that they wear their full school uniform on this day.
Donation Information
A modest donation of £1 is being requested from each participant to contribute towards the necessary sports hall equipment. All contributions will be collected via SchoolGateway, ensuring a smooth and efficient process for all involved. Please make you payment no later than Thursday 10th April, there will be no option to make the payment on the day.
On the day during breaktime, make sure to stop by the samosa and bake sales for a tasty snack while supporting a great cause. Then, at lunchtime, cheer on your classmates or join in the action during the football and basketball competitions against the teachers. Think you’ve got what it takes to take down the staff? Bring some change to participate!
Safeguarding Update
Guide to Emojis
People of all ages use emojis in their digital communications. In addition to adding humour or emphasis to messages, for some communities and peer groups, these symbols can form a language of their own. This is particularly true of young people and teenagers, who sometimes use emojis as a code to disguise their true intentions from adults.
While hidden meanings behind emojis used by young people can be harmless, some may indicate risks including extremism, drugs, sexual interactions and bullying. This was recently brought to life on the Netflix limited series, Adolescence, which depicted the devastating consequences of harmful online interactions, and the warning signs (in the form of emojis) that are easily missed by adults.
To help schools and parents decode potentially harmful messages, we’ve compiled a list of emojis commonly used in dangerous contexts. This includes specific emojis used on the show, and others highlighted by the work of Olivia Brown, Associate Professor in Digital Futures at the University of Bath. Please see attached guide – Guide To Emojis
Understanding the Intimate Behaviour of Teens – Lucy Faithfull Foundation
Every child will develop in their own way. During their teenage years most children will go through puberty, start to have sexual feelings, form different types of relationships and look for sexual experiences. As a parent or a teacher charged with their education, it can feel uncomfortable to think about this and to know how to help for them. Teens get information and ideas about sex and relationships from the media, social media and friends. Needless to say, this is not a particularly conducive to a good knowledge transfer. Indeed, learning in this manner can expose them to unnecessary risks. The Lucy Faithfull Foundation has published an article on these issues over on their website, if you’re interested please follow the link below: https://www.lucyfaithfull.org.uk/advice/concerned-about-a-child-or-young-persons-sexual-behaviour/helping-parents-and-carers-understand-the-sexual-behaviour-of-teenagers/
Other useful links
Many thanks for supporting your children this week in making safe choices. We have had assemblies all week around making good decisions and what to do in situations that might escalate. Students have been great in their response to this and will have some consolidation work in PSHE over the forth coming weeks.
A great website for you to look at with your children is below:https://livesafe.org.uk/
Loneliness is a difficult feeling for anyone, so its not surprising that children can really struggle when they feel lonely. By learning more about loneliness, you can work with your child to help them. https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/support-for-parents/how-help-child-feels-lonely
Please read the attached Online Safety Newsletter
Headteacher’s Update
Dear Families
Firstly I would like to wish all families that are celebrating a very happy Eid and we hope that you enjoy your celebrations.
In school we have focussed this week upon Careers Week, there have been several opportunities for students to engage in enriching careers assemblies in addition to our usual assembly offer.
We have focussed a lot of our time this week looking at Respect and reminding students what our expectations are.
Many of you will be aware of the Netflix Series ‘Adolescence’. I would strongly suggest you watch it. It depicts the stark realism of the situation in society today and the challenges teenagers face. It is significant time since most of us were teenagers and it is important that we are all aware of the risks our teenagers face.
The series highlights various issues. Knife Crime is highlighted and the disturbing rise in incidents amongst young people. Bullying is addressed and the severe impact this has upon mental health. In addition the series highlights how online platforms can influence young minds leading to dangerous ideologies and online radicalisation alongside misogyny.
We all have a responsibility in working with young people and whether we like what we see or not, we all have a responsibility to address this.
In school we do the following-
- We provide a bespoke and responsive PHSE programme to address safety and well-being explicitly. We also ‘stop the clock’ and amend our curriculum content in response to prevalent local and national issues.
- Assemblies follow themes around school and British Values. Respect is core to this and we regularly remind students what we expect in school from them, and what happens when they fall short of that expectation.
- We have a clear behaviour and anti bullying policy in place and reward students for their excellence and level of respect they show and sanction those that fall below our expected standards. We expect parental support with this, not parental challenge. This sends the wrong messages to our young people.
- We provide clear channels for reporting any issues that arise and we work very closely with external agencies such as the Police and Social Services.
You as parents can keep yourselves safe by-
- Monitoring your child’s social media use online to manage the risk of online radicalisation, or cyberbullying. You can ensure your child gets enough sleep and exercise and does not spend too much time, alone in their bedrooms with no monitoring from the adults in the family.
- You must also be alert to any changes in behaviours, language used, secrecy or extremist language.
- You should also have honest conversations about the dangers and legal consequences about the use of or carrying weapons.
- Be aware of our behaviour policy and what the expectations of school actually are.
What is most important is that we work together. As a school we are proud of our partnerships between parents and school. It is the cornerstone of a successful school. Even when things are challenging, working together is the best thing we can do to support children. This includes supporting teachers in applying the behaviour policy when students make mistakes and being mindful of not inadvertently undermining colleagues and therefore the school when there are areas of difficulty.
Working together we can address the issues and support children with the challenges they face today.
For more information about the Netflix Series, please see here Raising Boys: What ‘Adolescence’ (Netflix) Reveals – Happy Families
With best wishes
Mr S Greiff
French Play
This week, 150 Year 9 and 10 students had the opportunity to watch Prendre Sa Revanche by Onatti Productions. The play was performed by French native speakers and aimed at students of 13-16 years learning French as a foreign language. There was lots of audience participation and four Year 10 students in particular absolutely stole the show, performing live and spontaneously for their peers and showing great character and resilience! In June, Onatti Productions will visit again, this time to perform a Spanish play for our Y9 and 10 Spanish students – we can’t wait!
Tabla Drumming Demonstration
Last Thursday the Performing Arts department hosted a Tabla drumming demonstration and workshop delivered by Bill Waiwala, one of the finest Tabla exponents in the UK. Bill works for Leicestershire Music Service and has over 15 years teaching experience. He is a very talented and inspiring performer and we thoroughly enjoyed hearing him play. Bill would like to start offering small group Tabla lessons here at Manor High. Please let us know if this is something your child would be interested in.
Supporting Your Child’s Final GCSE Mathematics Preparation: Virtual Workshop for Parents of Students in Year 11
As the GCSE Mathematics exams draw closer, we know many of our students and their families are feeling the pressure of the final preparations. To help ensure that your child has the best possible support during this critical time, we are pleased to invite parents and guardians to a Virtual Workshop focused on how you can assist your child in their revision and exam preparations.
Workshop Overview: The workshop will provide practical advice and strategies for supporting your child through these final weeks of GCSE Mathematics preparation. Topics will include:
- Effective Revision and Examination Techniques
- Revision Resources
- Time Management Tips
Workshop Details:
- Date: Tuesday 8th April
- Time: 4.30pm
A link to access the workshop will be emailed to all parents of students in year 11 closer to the time.
This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with the Maths department and gain valuable insights into how you can best support your child during this challenging but important period.
We hope you can join us for this session and look forward to partnering with you to ensure your child is as best prepared and confident as possible heading into their GCSE Mathematics exams.
Year 11 Easter 2025 Intervention Sessions
Staff remain fully committed to supporting Year 11 students. Targeted intervention sessions will be held during the first week of the Easter break. Please find below a programme for week commencing Monday, 14th April 2025:
| Session | Time | Monday 14.04.25 | Tuesday 15.04.25 | Wednesday 16.04.25 | Thursday 17.04.25 | Friday 18.04.25 |
| 1 | 09:00 – 10:40 | English X
Maths W |
Geography
History |
Science
|
Food
Creative iMedia Enterprise and Marketing
|
Bank Holiday |
| Break | 10:40 – 11:00 | |||||
| 2 | 11:00 – 12:40 | Maths X
English W |
Computer Science
Business Studies Drama
|
Science
|
Creative iMedia
Enterprise and Marketing
|
|
| Lunch | 12:40 – 13:00 | |||||
| 3
|
13:00 – 15:00 | Media | Business Studies
Music |
|||
Parents will have received invitation emails for students who would benefit from intervention sessions in different subjects. Please complete the linked proforma, giving permission for your child to attend. The session will be tailored to help your child with revision in preparation for their final exams.
Please note:
- Uniform: Students will not need to be required to wear school uniform; however, they must wear clothing and shoes that are appropriate for a school environment.
- Ready to Learn: Students will be expected to bring in their school bag, with their knowledge organiser, equipment, and any additional resources specific to the subjects they study.
- Refreshments: Students are welcome to bring a snack and a drink should they wish to as the school dining facilities will not be in operation.
- Behaviour: Students will be expected to respect our school standards and routines, follow instructions, and stay focussed on task during all intervention sessions. Same behaviour expectations apply as any other school day, and this includes bringing and using a mobile phone.
- Safeguarding: Students who are invited must attend and staff will need to contact home should they not attend. Please ensure students have a safe means of getting to school and returning home once finished.
Students are at an important stage in their studies, and these intervention sessions are aimed at helping them reach their full potential. As our staff dedicate their time to providing this additional support, it is only fair that invited students attend and actively participate to gain the most from these sessions.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
Mr Karavadra
College Applications & PS16
Some students will be receiving invites to attend offers holding events / offers events at schools/colleges they have applied to. We can not let students offsite during the school day unless we have had consent from a parent / carer in the same way a students would need consent to attend a medical appointment etc.
School and college offers meetings – important dates
Thursday 1st May – Beauchamp City Sixth Form will come into school to meet with any students who are holding offers with their school (same as Beauchamp College but the date is to be confirmed).
Year 11 – Positive Steps 16 site (PS16)
Please can all year 11 be aware of these key next steps regarding Post 16 applications. Thank you.
Next steps:
- Regularly log into PS16 to see if you have had any offers or messages from schools or colleges. Be patient as different schools/colleges work with different time frames. You should hear back by the end of March latest.
- Regularly check your emails (the email address you gave on your PS16 profile e.g. school or personal email) as schools / colleges may email you here
- Do not worry if your friends have already heard from a school / college and you have not. This is totally normal.
- Accept all offers that are made to you. You can hold multiple offers. Do not ignore an offer whilst waiting for your favourite school/college. Accept any offers you are given. On results day you will choose where you go to (after you have seen the grades you get).
- If you wanted to make changes to any of your applications you need to call the school/college and speak to them. If you have any issues come and find Mr Croucher / Mrs Mahomed.
Leicester College Applications
If you have applied to Leicester College through Post 16 they have emailed students (on ps16) to say they will be dealing with your application through their College Learner Hub. Please do not worry! They have said that they will email you information about how to log into the College Learner Hub and how to then manage your application etc. Please check your emails regularly (the emails you sent to them via your profile on PS16) to keep an eye out for their messages. If you have any concerns you must contact Leicester College and then also come and speak to Mr Croucher / Mrs Mahomed.
Simply put this means that Leicester College will manage your application through their College Leaner Hub. Any other schools/colleges you applied to will still be managing your application through Post 16.
Pathways at Post 16 (all years)
It is always good to plan ahead. As a result we have started talking to our Year 9 and 10 students about different options available to them in Post 16 education after Manor High School.
On Tuesday our Year 9 students had an additional assembly that was led by Gateway College. The assembly highlighted the different routes available to students in Post 16 education (including A Levels, BTECs and T Levels all available at Gateway). On Thursday our students in Year 10 heard from Leicester College about the pathways they offer (including Apprenticeships and T Levels)
It is important for all students to be aware of pathways available to them. We have attached a presentation from Gateway and the following links take you to various areas they showed:
A video of their facilities – https://www.youtube.com/@GatewayCollegeLeics
Their home page for open events – https://gateway.ac.uk/
For all students and parents/carers it is never too late to start looking at the different schools/colleges available and thinking about possible routes after Manor High School.
| Here are some explanations of key terms that may help when looking at Post 16 course – it is never too early to start looking 😊
|
|
| Level 3
|
The next stage of qualification after GCSEs. A levels are a Level 3 course. BTECs and T Levels run Level 3 courses too. |
| Level 2 | GCSE passes (grades 4 and above) are Level 2 qualifications. At post 16 a Level 2 qualification holds the same weighting as a GCSE pass. These courses may be suitable for students who need to retake a GCSE (E.G. English or Maths) and they then open the doorway to Level 3 qualifications. There are BTECs run at Level 2 and some colleges also offer Foundation T Levels which are Level 2 |
| Level 1 | A qualification that is equivalent to a GCSE grade of 1-4. These qualifications are suitable for students who may need a more accessible course to help them move towards higher levels. There are a range of vocational subjects that are at Level 1. |
| T Levels | A vocational qualification that is linked directly to a career. They are 80% coursework and 20% work in experience in the career area. T Levels are a Level 3 course that are equivalent in weighting to 3 A Levels. Some colleges do offer Level 2 foundation T Levels that bridge the gap into the Level 3 courses. |
| BTEC | A vocational course that is linked to an employment sector or area. BTECs are split into units and these are completed as coursework. There is usually an examined unit too but the majority of a student’s grade comes from the coursework. BTECs do run from Level 1. Some BTECs are worth more in terms of weighting than others e.g. L3 EXTENDED/ADVANCED Diploma – 3 ‘A’ levels, L3 Diploma (National/Technical) = 2 ‘A’ levels, L3 Extended Certificate = 1 ‘A’ Level. |
| Apprenticeships | These are courses that involve a large placement for paid work within an employment sector. The student then also attends college in order to learn more about the sector and gain qualifications. Apprenticeships run from Level 2 all the way to Degree Level. |
| A Level | An academic course. These are set up in the same way as GCSEs but are clearly harder (being Level 3). They are assessed at the end of a two year course via an exam. Some A Levels do have smaller elements of coursework too such as PE, Music etc. They are offered for the same subject areas as GCSE subjects as well as some more additional subjects too. |
Alumni
We are really keen for former Manor High School students to share their experiences of the world of work with our students.
If you, a family member or even friend who was a Manor High School student and could possibly help us with this please email us via the Admin email (FAO Mr Croucher).
Many thanks.
After School Expectations for Students
Our after school expectations are that all students should leave the site unless they:
- are waiting to be picked up (these students should wait in the study centre only and must not be wandering around the site etc)
- attending an intervention session (students must head straight to their intervention session, not leaving site briefly and then returning)
- attending a detention (students must head straight to detention)
- attending an extra-curricular club (students must head straight to their club)
- students should not be waiting around for friends to be let out of class, or for friends to come out of detention etc
- Lastly, we cannot have students staying after school to play recreational sport on the ball courts as this is not supervised.
Thanks for your support with this.
Safeguarding Update
Please read the attached Online Safety Newsletter
Headteacher’s Update
Dear Families
During this week we have seen a turn in the weather, with lighter mornings which always brings a spring to the step. Spring appears to be upon us at long last. We all feel a little more invigorated as the dark nights start to leave us.
Here at Manor High, as we have said many times, we are committed to developing excellent people. Leadership and character development are key to this. Whether this is displayed through sporting participation, performing arts, or being involved in projects or competitions, it doesn’t matter as long as there is participation.
This week has seen a week of character development. Our well-being ambassadors spent the day at South Wigston High School at the wellbeing conference this week and they are very keen to develop their ideas further in school.
Our Maths Department had a busy week too, attending the Maths Feast at City of Leicester College on Wednesday and the Maths team Challenge at Leicester Grammar School on Tuesday.
On Thursday we topped that all off with a Tabla session in school for some of our students- they were thrilled and inspired by the skills shown and this is something we will be exploring further as part of our music offer.
Finally from me, our iPads are really enhancing students’ classroom experience but I must ask for something please. You must ensure that your child does not remove their iPad from it’s case and that the device is treated with care, in the same way students treat their mobile telephones. They should store them safely in their bags and not with liquids, or other equipment that could cause damage. iPads are crucial to the learning experience at Manor High, and we have worked hard to keep the cost of these to an absolute minimum therefore if there is damage beyond what is reasonable wear and tear you will more than likely receive a telephone call from our pastoral team to discuss replacement costs. To the vast majority of students, this does not apply as they are looking after their school equipment very well and reaping the benefits of using this technology in classrooms.
With best wishes
Mr S Greiff
Maths Competition
This week, a group of four Year 8 and 9 students participated in the UKMT Team Maths Challenge at Leicester Grammar School. Ruhama, Joel, Jude, and Elyas demonstrated exceptional cooperation, resilience, hard work, dedication, and a passion for mathematics that truly shone throughout the competition. Each team member proved they could remain composed under strict time pressures, fully aware that every point mattered in this closely contested event.
The first challenge required the whole team to work together to complete 20 multifaceted questions within 45 minutes. The next challenge, called the Cross Number, divided the team into pairs, with one pair solving across clues and the other solving down clues. The catch was that some answers depended on the other pair solving their clue correctly! Teamwork and clarity were essential, as the rules prohibited pairs from communicating directly— they could only exchange information through the teacher.
The third challenge followed a similar format: the team was split into pairs again, and each pair’s solution provided a crucial value for the next pair’s question. The final challenge was a shuttle relay, where teams were spread across the room and had to solve mathematical problems before submitting their answers to a judge (teacher). A correct answer earned them two points and a new question for the opposite pair, while an incorrect answer gave them one more attempt—failing that, they received zero points.
The UKMT Team Maths Challenge is no easy feat, yet our students showcased outstanding problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and teamwork. Whether tackling complex puzzles, solving tricky problems, or thinking outside the box, each student represented our school with pride and enthusiasm.
A huge round of applause for the effort and commitment shown by the Manor High KS3 students in preparing for this prestigious competition! Their spirit of collaboration, unwavering support for one another, and perseverance in tackling challenging problems with confidence and determination were truly commendable.
This experience has not only enhanced their mathematical skills but also fostered their personal growth as individuals and as a team. We are incredibly proud of Ruhama, Joel, Jude, and Elyas, and we look forward to seeing them continue to excel in future challenges.
National Careers Week
Just a reminder that we are actually running our school Careers Week events this year in the week commencing 24th March. We will be focussing our activities around Labour Market Information (LMI) and looking at the World of Work here in Leicester and Leicestershire. In preparation for this could parents/carers have a look at the World of Work Booklet 2024/25 which has been provided by the Leicester & Leicestershire Business and Skills Partnership. This booklet looks at the range of different career opportunities we have available and helps young people and their parents/carers to really look into potential; careers including pathways into those careers and so much more information. The 2024/25 booklet can be found here via this link: LLEP WORLD OF WORK LEICESTERSHIRE
During our Careers Week (24th March) we will work with students to look at this resource and to understand the opportunities available to them as well as to encourage them to start thinking about potential career routes (or even consider alternative career routes if they already have some ideas in mind). We will also be asking our students to interact with parents/carers to have discussions about this. So please do start looking at this as soon as you have the opportunity as it will be useful for students in preparation for our careers week.
Please note that this extra link also takes you to a World of Work web page that then has different sub links for various sectors if needed: World of Work Leicester and Leicestershire – LLBSP
Arbor Communications
In January we changed our main database for pupil and parent data. The new system is called ‘Arbor’.
From 28th April 2025, we will be switching over our communications from School Gateway to Arbor. This will allow us as a school to communicate with you more efficiently
Between now and 28th April 2025 please download the Arbor Parent App and register. It can be found in the app store or google play store. The logo you require is:
Please follow this link to help you get started –
Parent Portal and App – Getting started and logging in – Arbor Help Centre
If you experience any issues, please let us know via admin@manorhigh.leics.sch.uk If you have a child at another school and you currently use Arbor, Manor High School should appear automatically.
At the start of the next academic year we will also be moving from School Gateway to Arbor payments, which will allow you to use one app rather than 2 different apps. This will prevent you having to remember multiple log ins and passwords. During the summer term we will send out communications to support this transfer, but for now you should continue to use School Gateway to pay for services such as meals and trips.
College Applications & PS16
Some students will be receiving invites to attend offers holding events / offers events at schools/colleges they have applied to. We can not let students offsite during the school day unless we have had consent from a parent / carer in the same way a students would need consent to attend a medical appointment etc.
School and college offers meetings – important dates
Thursday 27th March – Change of day! Beauchamp College will be in school and will be meeting with all of our Year 11 students who have accepted offers at Beauchamp College. Once we have the times for students we will share this with them. No consent from parents is needed here as the meetings will take place on our school site and during our school day.
TBC – Beauchamp City Sixth Form will come into school to meet with any students who are holding offers with their school (same as Beauchamp College but the date is to be confirmed).
Year 11 – Positive Steps 16 site (PS16)
Please can all year 11 be aware of these key next steps regarding Post 16 applications. Thank you.
Next steps:
- Regularly log into PS16 to see if you have had any offers or messages from schools or colleges. Be patient as different schools/colleges work with different time frames. You should hear back by the end of March latest.
- Regularly check your emails (the email address you gave on your PS16 profile e.g. school or personal email) as schools / colleges may email you here
- Do not worry if your friends have already heard from a school / college and you have not. This is totally normal.
- Accept all offers that are made to you. You can hold multiple offers. Do not ignore an offer whilst waiting for your favourite school/college. Accept any offers you are given. On results day you will choose where you go to (after you have seen the grades you get).
- If you wanted to make changes to any of your applications you need to call the school/college and speak to them. If you have any issues come and find Mr Croucher / Mrs Mahomed.
Leicester College Applications
If you have applied to Leicester College through Post 16 they have emailed students (on ps16) to say they will be dealing with your application through their College Learner Hub. Please do not worry! They have said that they will email you information about how to log into the College Learner Hub and how to then manage your application etc. Please check your emails regularly (the emails you sent to them via your profile on PS16) to keep an eye out for their messages. If you have any concerns you must contact Leicester College and then also come and speak to Mr Croucher / Mrs Mahomed.
Simply put this means that Leicester College will manage your application through their College Leaner Hub. Any other schools/colleges you applied to will still be managing your application through Post 16.
Pathways at Post 16 (all years)
It is always good to plan ahead. As a result we have started talking to our Year 9 and 10 students about different options available to them in Post 16 education after Manor High School.
On Tuesday our Year 9 students had an additional assembly that was led by Gateway College. The assembly highlighted the different routes available to students in Post 16 education (including A Levels, BTECs and T Levels all available at Gateway). On Thursday our students in Year 10 heard from Leicester College about the pathways they offer (including Apprenticeships and T Levels)
It is important for all students to be aware of pathways available to them. We have attached a presentation from Gateway and the following links take you to various areas they showed:
A video of their facilities – https://www.youtube.com/@GatewayCollegeLeics
Their home page for open events – https://gateway.ac.uk/
For all students and parents/carers it is never too late to start looking at the different schools/colleges available and thinking about possible routes after Manor High School.
| Here are some explanations of key terms that may help when looking at Post 16 course – it is never too early to start looking 😊
|
|
| Level 3
|
The next stage of qualification after GCSEs. A levels are a Level 3 course. BTECs and T Levels run Level 3 courses too. |
| Level 2 | GCSE passes (grades 4 and above) are Level 2 qualifications. At post 16 a Level 2 qualification holds the same weighting as a GCSE pass. These courses may be suitable for students who need to retake a GCSE (E.G. English or Maths) and they then open the doorway to Level 3 qualifications. There are BTECs run at Level 2 and some colleges also offer Foundation T Levels which are Level 2 |
| Level 1 | A qualification that is equivalent to a GCSE grade of 1-4. These qualifications are suitable for students who may need a more accessible course to help them move towards higher levels. There are a range of vocational subjects that are at Level 1. |
| T Levels | A vocational qualification that is linked directly to a career. They are 80% coursework and 20% work in experience in the career area. T Levels are a Level 3 course that are equivalent in weighting to 3 A Levels. Some colleges do offer Level 2 foundation T Levels that bridge the gap into the Level 3 courses. |
| BTEC | A vocational course that is linked to an employment sector or area. BTECs are split into units and these are completed as coursework. There is usually an examined unit too but the majority of a student’s grade comes from the coursework. BTECs do run from Level 1. Some BTECs are worth more in terms of weighting than others e.g. L3 EXTENDED/ADVANCED Diploma – 3 ‘A’ levels, L3 Diploma (National/Technical) = 2 ‘A’ levels, L3 Extended Certificate = 1 ‘A’ Level. |
| Apprenticeships | These are courses that involve a large placement for paid work within an employment sector. The student then also attends college in order to learn more about the sector and gain qualifications. Apprenticeships run from Level 2 all the way to Degree Level. |
| A Level | An academic course. These are set up in the same way as GCSEs but are clearly harder (being Level 3). They are assessed at the end of a two year course via an exam. Some A Levels do have smaller elements of coursework too such as PE, Music etc. They are offered for the same subject areas as GCSE subjects as well as some more additional subjects too. |
Alumni
We are really keen for former Manor High School students to share their experiences of the world of work with our students.
If you, a family member or even friend who was a Manor High School student and could possibly help us with this please email us via the Admin email (FAO Mr Croucher).
Many thanks.
After School Expectations for Students
Our after school expectations are that all students should leave the site unless they:
- are waiting to be picked up (these students should wait in the study centre only and must not be wandering around the site etc)
- attending an intervention session (students must head straight to their intervention session, not leaving site briefly and then returning)
- attending a detention (students must head straight to detention)
- attending an extra-curricular club (students must head straight to their club)
- students should not be waiting around for friends to be let out of class, or for friends to come out of detention etc
- Lastly, we cannot have students staying after school to play recreational sport on the ball courts as this is not supervised.
Thanks for your support with this.
Safeguarding Update
Please read the attached Online Safety Newsletter
Headteacher’s Update
Dear Families
Assemblies this week has focussed upon students being the best version of themselves. We have spoken about the importance of having dreams and aspirations but alongside this having the belief in oneself to aim high. We talked about mindsets and being positive as well as about what good friends look like. We discussed the following information below and asked students to think about whether they are good friends to others and also whether they have good friends. We also featured upon trying to surround oneself with positive influences and not get caught up in negativity. This I feel is important to all of us in life- to be positive and focus on being the best person that we can be.
Talking about aiming high, Mr Croucher took a group of Year 11 students to Oxford University this week which was a huge success for our students. We hope this encourages our students to focus upon the final few weeks of their time with us and to try to achieve the very best that they can.
National Science Week also concluded this week with a online talk by Prof. Anne Lingford-Hughes on the science of addiction for our Year 7-9s- this was a very informative session.
Staff also attempted to fast on Thursday to empathise with our students who are observing Ramadan. Whilst many succeeded, sadly I have to report that I failed spectacularly-much to the disappointment not only to myself, but also to some of the students! I have huge respect for those students that show true commitment and dedication to their beliefs. It is an incredible achievement and I wish you all well.
With best wishes
Mr S Greiff
Oxford University Trip
It was great to be able to take some of our Year 11 students to Oxford University on Wednesday. Students had a talk about the University, met current Year 1 students, had a chance to tour St Edmund’s Hall College, were able to ask questions and our students also had a session with the Materials faculty focussing on Solar Cells. We look forward to working with Oxford more in the future including inviting them back in to talk to our students as well as getting out to visit them next academic year. We have attached some pictures from the day.
National Careers Week
Just a reminder that we are actually running our school Careers Week events this year in the week commencing 24th March. We will be focussing our activities around Labour Market Information (LMI) and looking at the World of Work here in Leicester and Leicestershire. In preparation for this could parents/carers have a look at the World of Work Booklet 2024/25 which has been provided by the Leicester & Leicestershire Business and Skills Partnership. This booklet looks at the range of different career opportunities we have available and helps young people and their parents/carers to really look into potential; careers including pathways into those careers and so much more information. The 2024/25 booklet can be found here via this link: LLEP WORLD OF WORK LEICESTERSHIRE
During our Careers Week (24th March) we will work with students to look at this resource and to understand the opportunities available to them as well as to encourage them to start thinking about potential career routes (or even consider alternative career routes if they already have some ideas in mind). We will also be asking our students to interact with parents/carers to have discussions about this. So please do start looking at this as soon as you have the opportunity as it will be useful for students in preparation for our careers week.
Please note that this extra link also takes you to a World of Work web page that then has different sub links for various sectors if needed: World of Work Leicester and Leicestershire – LLBSP
Arbor Communications
In January we changed our main database for pupil and parent data. The new system is called ‘Arbor’.
From 28th April 2025, we will be switching over our communications from School Gateway to Arbor. This will allow us as a school to communicate with you more efficiently
Between now and 28th April 2025 please download the Arbor Parent App and register. It can be found in the app store or google play store. The logo you require is:
Please follow this link to help you get started –
Parent Portal and App – Getting started and logging in – Arbor Help Centre
If you experience any issues, please let us know via admin@manorhigh.leics.sch.uk If you have a child at another school and you currently use Arbor, Manor High School should appear automatically.
At the start of the next academic year we will also be moving from School Gateway to Arbor payments, which will allow you to use one app rather than 2 different apps. This will prevent you having to remember multiple log ins and passwords. During the summer term we will send out communications to support this transfer, but for now you should continue to use School Gateway to pay for services such as meals and trips.
College Applications & PS16
Some students will be receiving invites to attend offers holding events / offers events at schools/colleges they have applied to. We can not let students offsite during the school day unless we have had consent from a parent / carer in the same way a students would need consent to attend a medical appointment etc.
School and college offers meetings – important dates
Tuesday 18th March – WQE have invited any of our Year 11 students who have accepted offers with them to attend an offers holding event at their school. The event starts at 1:20pm so our students will need to leave at the start of lunchtime. We will not allow a student to leave site unless we have prior parental/carer consent. Please do this in the same way you would let us know about a medical appointment etc i.e. via the admin email / phoning in to the school line. This will allow school staff to keep a log of consent and we can then dismiss students safely.
Tuesday 25th March – Beauchamp College will be in school and will be meeting with all of our Year 11 students who have accepted offers at Beauchamp College. Once we have the times for students we will share this with them. No consent from parents is needed here as the meetings will take place on our school site and during our school day.
TBC – Beauchamp City Sixth Form will come into school to meet with any students who are holding offers with their school (same as Beauchamp College but the date is to be confirmed).
Year 11 – Positive Steps 16 site (PS16)
Please can all year 11 be aware of these key next steps regarding Post 16 applications. Thank you.
Next steps:
- Regularly log into PS16 to see if you have had any offers or messages from schools or colleges. Be patient as different schools/colleges work with different time frames. You should hear back by the end of March latest.
- Regularly check your emails (the email address you gave on your PS16 profile e.g. school or personal email) as schools / colleges may email you here
- Do not worry if your friends have already heard from a school / college and you have not. This is totally normal.
- Accept all offers that are made to you. You can hold multiple offers. Do not ignore an offer whilst waiting for your favourite school/college. Accept any offers you are given. On results day you will choose where you go to (after you have seen the grades you get).
- If you wanted to make changes to any of your applications you need to call the school/college and speak to them. If you have any issues come and find Mr Croucher / Mrs Mahomed.
Leicester College applications
If you have applied to Leicester College through Post16 they have emailed students (on ps16) to say they will be dealing with your application through their College Learner Hub. Please do not worry! They have said that they will email you information about how to log into the College Learner Hub and how to then manage your application etc. Please check your emails regularly (the emails you sent to them via your profile on PS16) to keep an eye out for their messages. If you have any concerns you must contact Leicester College and then also come and speak to Mr Croucher / Mrs Mahomed.
Simply put this means that Leicester College will manage your application through their College Leaner Hub. Any other schools/colleges you applied to will still be managing your application through Post 16.
Alumni
We are really keen for former Manor High School students to share their experiences of the world of work with our students.
If you, a family member or even friend who was a Manor High School student and could possibly help us with this please email us via the Admin email (FAO Mr Croucher).
Many thanks.
After School Expectations for Students
Our after school expectations are that all students should leave the site unless they:
- are waiting to be picked up (these students should wait in the study centre only and must not be wandering around the site etc)
- attending an intervention session (students must head straight to their intervention session, not leaving site briefly and then returning)
- attending a detention (students must head straight to detention)
- attending an extra-curricular club (students must head straight to their club)
- students should not be waiting around for friends to be let out of class, or for friends to come out of detention etc
- Lastly, we cannot have students staying after school to play recreational sport on the ball courts as this is not supervised.
Thanks for your support with this.
Safeguarding Update
Please read the attached Online Safety Newsletter
Headteacher’s Update
Dear Families
As we approached the latter part of this week it was great to have World Book Day upon us. Many of our classroom doors have been decorated to celebrate particular books and it was great to see the effort made by staff and students alike with this. Reading is so important for many different reasons.
Academic Success– Children who are strong readers tend to do better academically across all subjects. Reading provides them with the foundation for understanding new concepts and acquiring knowledge.
Focus and Concentration– Reading requires focus, which helps children develop their ability to pay attention for extended periods. This skill is beneficial not only in school but in other areas of life as well.
Emotional and Social Development– Many books teach important lessons about emotions, relationships, and how to handle various social situations. This can help children develop empathy and better understand the world around them.
The quote ”reading is to the mind what exercise is the body” presses home exactly how important a contribution reading makes in developing young minds.
I wanted to thank you for your support this week; whilst it has been a challenge, it is always incredible to see the power of community. It would make sense for me to remind people at this point about our safeguarding procedures at Manor High.
We regularly audit our processes and procedures, and the last external and independent audit that took place earlier this academic year stated-
“Pupils were observed during both break and lunchtime. There was a calm atmosphere in all areas. All pupils felt safe in all areas of school and said that is was a good place to be.”
However, we never rest upon our laurels and we know that in an ever changing world we need to be agile and responsive to the needs of our learners. We focus our assemblies upon current issues that are impacting the age group of our learners right now. For example in recent weeks we have covered issues related to internet safety, knife crime and vaping. These are all current issues impacting young people nationally. We have rewritten our PHSE curriculum this year to make it more relevant to the cohort- we cover many issues such as county lines and honour based violence- again all difficult issues relevant to our cohort. There are various workshops across each term that address current needs. We engage with the Violence Reduction Network and every year schedule workshops that are delivered by the Police- these are due to take place this term and were planned many months ago as part of our PHSE curriculum.
You may or may not be aware that we also carry out random searches in school, often using handheld security metal detectors. Anyone who is found with a prohibited item is sanctioned accordingly. We, like most other schools, will take firm action in relation to any student found with prohibited items, both on and off the school premises and the police will be informed. Those sanctions can include the loss of a child’s school place, by way of a permanent exclusion or an offsite direction. This has been discussed with our students in assemblies recently.
However, the best way to engage students is not to threaten with sanctions, it is to educate and support. We remind students regularly to speak with their trusted adult in school should they have anything worrying them, or concerning them. We encourage all students to report any incidents they know about to our in-house email address of safe@manorhigh.leics.sch.uk should they not wish to speak face to face about something worrying them. This email address is monitored by our Designated Safeguarding Leads. They can also speak to any of our trained staff. Whilst the school must have a Senior Designated Safeguarding Lead (Mrs Newbery) we also have Mrs Ghani, who is our full time Operational Safeguarding whose full time role is to support students. Our House Managers and every member of the school leadership team are also trained as Safeguarding Leads. Students can speak to any of us to express a concern.
We will continue to review our practices in order to keep your child safe in school.
Do please read on to see what else is happening in school.
With best wishes
Mr S Greiff
Year 11 Easter 2025 Intervention Sessions
Firstly, we would like to thank all students who have been attending after-school intervention sessions, demonstrating great dedication. We also appreciate the support of family members in encouraging and reinforcing the importance of seizing these opportunities to enhance student progress. Your positive feedback and appreciation for our staff are truly valued.
With just six academic weeks remaining before final exams, our staff remain fully committed to supporting Year 11 students. Targeted intervention sessions will be held during the first week of the Easter break, and we will be inviting students who we believe would benefit from additional revision in preparation for their final exams.
Please find below the programme for the week commencing Monday, 14th April 2025:
| Session | Time | Monday 14.04.25 | Tuesday 15.04.25 | Wednesday 16.04.25 | Thursday 17.04.25 | Friday 18.04.25 |
| 1 | 09:00 – 10:40 | English X
Maths W |
Geography
History |
Science
|
Food
Creative iMedia Enterprise and Marketing
|
Bank Holiday |
| Break | 10:40 – 11:00 | |||||
| 2 | 11:00 – 12:40 | Maths X
English W |
Computer Science
Business Studies Drama
|
Science
|
Creative iMedia
Enterprise and Marketing
|
|
| Lunch | 12:40 – 13:00 | |||||
| 3
|
13:00 – 15:00 | Media | Business Studies
Music |
|||
After the latest round of Pre-Public Examinations (mocks) has been marked, your child will receive an invitation if they are required to attend. This information will also be shared with you during Parents’ Evening on Thursday, 20th March. Please make sure you have booked an appointment to discuss your child’s progress with their teachers.
Please note:
- Uniform: Students will not need to be required to wear school uniform; however, they must wear clothing and shoes that are appropriate for a school environment.
- Ready to Learn: Students will be expected to bring in their school bag, with their knowledge organiser, equipment, and any additional resources specific to the subjects they study.
- Refreshments: Students are welcome to bring a snack and a drink should they wish to as the school dining facilities will not be in operation.
- Behaviour: Students will be expected to respect our school standards and routines, follow instructions, and stay focussed on task during all intervention sessions. Same behaviour expectations apply as any other school day, and this includes bringing and using a mobile phone.
- Safeguarding: Students who are invited must attend and staff will need to contact home should they not attend. Please ensure students have a safe means of getting to school and returning home once finished.
Students are at a pivotal stage in their studies, and these intervention sessions will help them reach their full potential. As our staff are dedicating their time to provide this additional support, it is only fair that invited students attend and fully commit to making the most of these sessions.
Once staff have finalised the list of students required to attend, I will provide further details regarding specific arrangements. Additionally, we are planning to open our study centre for independent study and revision.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you in advance for your support. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Mr Karavadra
National Careers Week
Just a reminder that we are actually running our school Careers Week events this year in the week commencing 24th March. We will be focussing our activities around Labour Market Information (LMI) and looking at the World of Work here in Leicester and Leicestershire. In preparation for this could parents/carers have a look at the World of Work Booklet 2024/25 which has been provided by the Leicester & Leicestershire Business and Skills Partnership. This booklet looks at the range of different career opportunities we have available and helps young people and their parents/carers to really look into potential; careers including pathways into those careers and so much more information. The 2024/25 booklet can be found here via this link: LLEP WORLD OF WORK LEICESTERSHIRE
During our Careers Week (24th March) we will work with students to look at this resource and to understand the opportunities available to them as well as to encourage them to start thinking about potential career routes (or even consider alternative career routes if they already have some ideas in mind). We will also be asking our students to interact with parents/carers to have discussions about this. So please do start looking at this as soon as you have the opportunity as it will be useful for students in preparation for our careers week.
Please note that this extra link also takes you to a World of Work web page that then has different sub links for various sectors if needed: World of Work Leicester and Leicestershire – LLBSP
Careers coffee morning – exciting opportunity
We would like to invite parents/carers into school on Tuesday 11th March to come and meet with Mr Croucher and also Anna Scull (from the Leicester & Leicestershire Business and Skills Partnership). Tea and coffee will be available too! In this session we will be able to provide information about careers and Labour Market Information which can help parents/carers have positive and meaningful discussions with young people around the World of Work and possible job opportunities. If you are interested in attending this morning please can you email Admin@manorhigh.leics.sch.uk to let Mr Croucher know that you are attending by Friday 7th March. This links in hugely to our careers week focus as mentioned above.
Labour market information describes the world of work and how the employment trends are changing. It tells us about the jobs and skills employers are looking for, which industries are set to grow and where the opportunities for promotion and salaries are going to be. Most importantly for young people, LMI covers the future demand – what kind of jobs/sectors will be in demand after leaving school and what sorts of skills will be needed.
The coffee morning will take place at Manor High School on Tuesday 11th March from 9am – 10:15am.
GCSE Art & Design Workshop
Some of our dedicated GCSE Art & Design students spent Saturday at an Art and Design workshop at the school. They were able to develop and refine their work as they near the end of their projects. Mrs Watson attempted to offset the morning of her suggestions and tweaks with donuts to soften the fact they were working at school on a sunny Saturday morning.
College Applications & PS16
Some students will be receiving invites to attend offers holding events / offers events at schools/colleges they have applied to. We can not let students offsite during the school day unless we have had consent from a parent / carer in the same way a students would need consent to attend a medical appointment etc. If you know that your child has been invited to an event during the school day you must contact the school in the same way you would for a medical appointment and also advise whether your child will be making their way to the school/college themselves or whether a parent / carer will be collecting them.
School and college offers meetings – important dates
Tuesday 18th March – WQE have invited any of our Year 11 students who have accepted offers with them to attend an offers holding event at their school. The event starts at 1:20pm so our students will need to leave at the start of lunchtime. We will not allow a student to leave site unless we have prior parental/carer consent. Please do this in the same way you would let us know about a medical appointment etc i.e. via the admin email / phoning in to the school line. This will allow school staff to keep a log of consent and we can then dismiss students safely.
Tuesday 25th March – Beauchamp College will be in school and will be meeting with all of our Year 11 students who have accepted offers at Beauchamp College. Once we have the times for students we will share this with them. No consent from parents is needed here as the meetings will take place on our school site and during our school day.
TBC – Beauchamp City Sixth Form will come into school to meet with any students who are holding offers with their school (same as Beauchamp College but the date is to be confirmed).
Year 11 – Positive Steps 16 site (PS16)
Please can all year 11 be aware of these key next steps regarding Post 16 applications. Thank you.
Next steps:
- Regularly log into PS16 to see if you have had any offers or messages from schools or colleges. Be patient as different schools/colleges work with different time frames. You should hear back by the end of March latest.
- Regularly check your emails (the email address you gave on your PS16 profile e.g. school or personal email) as schools / colleges may email you here
- Do not worry if your friends have already heard from a school / college and you have not. This is totally normal.
- Accept all offers that are made to you. You can hold multiple offers. Do not ignore an offer whilst waiting for your favourite school/college. Accept any offers you are given. On results day you will choose where you go to (after you have seen the grades you get).
- If you wanted to make changes to any of your applications you need to call the school/college and speak to them. If you have any issues come and find Mr Croucher / Mrs Mahomed.
Leicester College applications
If you have applied to Leicester College through Post16 they have emailed students (on ps16) to say they will be dealing with your application through their College Learner Hub. Please do not worry! They have said that they will email you information about how to log into the College Learner Hub and how to then manage your application etc. Please check your emails regularly (the emails you sent to them via your profile on PS16) to keep an eye out for their messages. If you have any concerns you must contact Leicester College and then also come and speak to Mr Croucher / Mrs Mahomed.
Simply put this means that Leicester College will manage your application through their College Leaner Hub. Any other schools/colleges you applied to will still be managing your application through Post 16.
International Women’s Day Saturday 8th March
The theme for International Women’s Day this year is Accelerate Action. Accelerate Action is a worldwide call to acknowledge strategies, resources, and activity that positively impact women’s advancement, and to support and elevate their implementation.
Tutor groups will be discussing the issue of gender equality and celebrating the achievements of women in the community and the workplace this week and we would love for you to have some discussions at home about the positive progress that has been made and what we can do moving forward in our every day lives and our community. Here are some activities that we will be encouraging students to do and reward points are available for any completed tasks from Miss Chudasama.
International Women’s Day Event
On Friday we took 15 of our Year 10 students to an event at Leicester High School for Girls that celebrated International Women’s Day. Our students were able to hear from a range of inspiring and successful women as well as engage in a range of really positive workshops. Thank you to Leicester High School for Girls for hosting and inviting us to this event.
World Book Day
We celebrated World Book Day at Manor High School this year by encouraging students to ‘Read Your Way’. The day was a great success and there was a great buzz around school.
Please read the attached newsletter for more information
Alumni
We are really keen for former Manor High School students to share their experiences of the world of work with our students.
If you, a family member or even friend who was a Manor High School student and could possibly help us with this please email us via the Admin email (FAO Mr Croucher).
Many thanks.
After School Study Centre and Interventions
Please can you reinforce to students that if they are staying behind at school to use the study centre (either to work or to wait for a parent to collect them) they must not leave site first and then come back. We have had a number of students leave site at the end of the school day, head to the shop and then arrive back at school 15 minutes later saying they need to wait in the study centre. We cannot allow students to just come and go like this as it is not safe and also not fair to staff who are supporting in the study centre.
The same is the case for interventions. If a student has an intervention session after school they must leave session 3, stay on site and then head to their intervention. Some students have been leaving site at the end of the day, heading to the shops and then wanting to be let back onto site 15 minutes later. This is also not acceptable.
Thanks for your support with this.
Safeguarding Update
Please read the attached Online Safety Newsletter
Headteacher’s Update
Dear Families
Firstly I would like to thank you all for ensuring that students are present and learning in school. We all know the importance of being present in lessons in order to achieve the best possible standards. We aim for the highest level of attendance possible. Our school target is for students to be present at least 96% of the time. There is sometimes a misunderstanding about attendance rates – if a student achieves 90% in a test we celebrate this achievement. However if a student attends for 90% of the time, this is not good enough as it means 1 day in 10 days of school is missed. This equates to nearly 20 days a year of learning missed – or 130 hours of learning!!
In the event of an unavoidable absence please follow the guidelines below-
What YOU must do:
- Try to telephone the school before 8.30am each day of your child’s absence.
- Tell the school in advance, of any medical appointments and bring in appointment cards/letters. Try to make appointments outside of school hours if at all possible. When not possible please send your child back to school as soon as possible after the conclusion of the appointment.
- If you are not sure whether your child is well enough to attend school, send them in anyway as they often perk up on arrival.
- Have a backup plan for if your child misses transport, call on a family member, neighbour or friend.
- If you and your child are experiencing difficulties with school attendance then talk to us as a first step so we can help!
What WE will do:
- Check your child’s attendance every day.
- Phone home to discuss your child’s attendance with you.
- Invite you into school for attendance meetings if we are concerned.
- If we cannot establish a reason for absence, then we may make a welfare home visit.
Punctuality rates are high at school and we are thankful of the parent support with this also. Being on time for learning is important. If your child is late for school there is impact –
| In a school year, if your child is late every day by … | Your child would have lost approximately … |
| 5 minutes | 3.5 days from school |
| 10 minutes | 7 days from school |
| 15 minutes | 10 days from school |
| 20 minutes | 14.5 days from school |
| 30 minutes | 22 days from school |
Do please continue to encourage high levels of attendance and punctuality at school so that your child can maximise the opportunities available.
There is a copy of our extra curricular timetable attached and we encourage students to take advantage of as many opportunities as they can. Learning and Character building doesn’t just take place in lessons, it takes place beyond the classroom as well.
Extracurricular Club Timetable 2024 25
This enables us to truly achieve to our shared vision of “Excellent People. Excellent Results”.
With best wishes
Mr S Greiff
Ramadan
As Ramadan approaches, we would like to share our process for supporting students fasting during school hours.
We recognise that fasting during Ramadan requires significant strength and willpower, and for some students, this may be their first time observing the fast during their secondary school journey. We understand that fasting can require some physical adjustment, and we encourage students to participate in lessons as they normally would.
If a student is unwell during a lesson, we will monitor their condition. If a teacher has concerns, the student will be referred to a first aider, who will enquire whether the student is fasting, and the feeling of unwell is as a result of fasting there is little that school can do. If the student would like to break their fast we will contact parents. Should parents not be available we will adhere to the student wishes.
We understand the importance of this month and want to support our students during this time and encourage them to attend and participate in all activities.
We wish all following this religious observance, Ramadan Mubarak.
National Careers Week
Next week (w/c 3rd March) is National Careers Week. We are actually running our school Careers Week events this year in the week commencing 24th March. We will be focussing our activities around Labour Market Information (LMI) and looking at the World of Work here in Leicester and Leicestershire. In preparation for this could parents/carers have a look at the World of Work Booklet 2024/25 which has been provided by the Leicester & Leicestershire Business and Skills Partnership. This booklet looks at the range of different career opportunities we have available and helps young people and their parents/carers to really look into potential; careers including pathways into those careers and so much more information. The 2024/25 booklet can be found here via this link: LLEP WORLD OF WORK LEICESTERSHIRE
During our Careers Week (24th March) we will work with students to look at this resource and to understand the opportunities available to them as well as to encourage them to start thinking about potential career routes (or even consider alternative career routes if they already have some ideas in mind). We will also be asking our students to interact with parents/carers to have discussions about this. So please do start looking at this as soon as you have the opportunity as it will be useful for students in preparation for our careers week.
Please note that this extra link also takes you to a World of Work web page that then has different sub links for various sectors if needed: World of Work Leicester and Leicestershire – LLBSP
Careers coffee morning – exciting opportunity
We would like to invite parents/carers into school on Tuesday 11th March to come and meet with Mr Croucher and also Anna Scull (from the Leicester & Leicestershire Business and Skills Partnership). Tea and coffee will be available too! In this session we will be able to provide information about careers and Labour Market Information which can help parents/carers have positive and meaningful discussions with young people around the World of Work and possible job opportunities. If you are interested in attending this morning please can you email Admin@manorhigh.leics.sch.uk to let Mr Croucher know that you are attending by Friday 7th March. This links in hugely to our careers week focus as mentioned above.
Labour market information describes the world of work and how the employment trends are changing. It tells us about the jobs and skills employers are looking for, which industries are set to grow and where the opportunities for promotion and salaries are going to be. Most importantly for young people, LMI covers the future demand – what kind of jobs/sectors will be in demand after leaving school and what sorts of skills will be needed.
The coffee morning will take place at Manor High School on Tuesday 11th March from 9am – 10:15am.
College Applications & PS16
Some students will be receiving invites to attend offers holding events / offers events at schools/colleges they have applied to. We can not let students offsite during the school day unless we have had consent from a parent / carer in the same way a students would need consent to attend a medical appointment etc. If you know that your child has been invited to an event during the school day you must contact the school in the same way you would for a medical appointment and also advise whether your child will be making their way to the school/college themselves or whether a parent / carer will be collecting them.
Please note that WQE have told us they will be inviting Manor High School students who have accepted offers with them to an offers holding event on Tuesday 18th March at 13:30. Students will only be allowed to leave site for this if their parents/carers have provided consent for them to attend (in the same way parents/carers would notify the school about a medical appointment etc)
Many thanks
Year 11 – Positive Steps 16 site (PS16)
Please can all year 11 be aware of these key next steps regarding Post 16 applications. Thank you.
Next steps:
- Regularly log into PS16 to see if you have had any offers or messages from schools or colleges. Be patient as different schools/colleges work with different time frames. You should hear back by the end of March latest.
- Regularly check your emails (the email address you gave on your PS16 profile e.g. school or personal email) as schools / colleges may email you here
- Do not worry if your friends have already heard from a school / college and you have not. This is totally normal.
- Accept all offers that are made to you. You can hold multiple offers. Do not ignore an offer whilst waiting for your favourite school/college. Accept any offers you are given. On results day you will choose where you go to (after you have seen the grades you get).
- If you wanted to make changes to any of your applications you need to call the school/college and speak to them. If you have any issues come and find Mr Croucher / Mrs Mahomed.
Leicester College applications
If you have applied to Leicester College through Post16 they have emailed students (on ps16) to say they will be dealing with your application through their College Learner Hub. Please do not worry! They have said that they will email you information about how to log into the College Learner Hub and how to then manage your application etc. Please check your emails regularly (the emails you sent to them via your profile on PS16) to keep an eye out for their messages. If you have any concerns you must contact Leicester College and then also come and speak to Mr Croucher / Mrs Mahomed.
Simply put this means that Leicester College will manage your application through their College Leaner Hub. Any other schools/colleges you applied to will still be managing your application through Post 16.
Progress Reports and Parents Evening
Year 11 have been focussed in their pre-public examinations (PPEs), which is nearly coming to an end. Once Spring PPEs are completed, teachers will be populating data for progress reports. This will give everyone an idea of the grades as follows:
- Spring PPE result: Pre-Public Examinations (PPEs) results from February mock exams. Grades from these PPEs range from U to 9 for GCSE Subjects and U to LD*2 for Vocational subjects.
- Working at Grade (WAG): This is the grade that students are currently working at.
- Autumn GCSE Prediction: GCSE subject predictions reflect content covered, evidence of work and attainment to date. Teachers have drawn on a range of evidence to determine Autumn GCSE predictions. This evidence may include:
- In-class assessments
- PPE (mock exam) results and internal tests
- Non-examined assessments, for example, coursework
- Classwork and homework
We have done a lot of work with our Year 11 students to help them understand what their progress reports show through our PSHE lessons, and what steps they need to take to accelerate their own progress.
We look forward to meeting parents at the Parents’ Evening on Thursday, 20th March to discuss progress reports. Parents will need to book individual time slots with subject teachers to review their child’s progress. This will be a valuable opportunity to ask questions about your child’s performance, revision strategies, available resources, and the preparation required for the upcoming final exams.
Support Initiatives:
To support students, we have shared the following study skills that you may find useful when talking to your child about revision:
- Structured Revision Timetable: Allocate specific time slots for each subject or topic to ensure comprehensive coverage.
- Active Recall Techniques: Engage in active recall methods such as flashcards, summarising key points, and teaching concepts to others to reinforce memory retention.
- Past Papers Practise: Regularly attempt past exam papers to familiarise yourself with the format, time constraints, and types of questions likely to be asked.
- Study Groups: Collaborate with peers for group revision sessions to discuss challenging topics, share knowledge, and test each other’s understanding.
- Healthy Lifestyle: Maintain a balanced diet, regular exercise, and sufficient sleep to support cognitive function and overall well-being during the revision period.
- Utilise Technology: Explore educational apps, online resources, and interactive platforms to supplement traditional study methods and enhance learning.
We want to do all we can to support students in their final stretch, this includes:
- Exam timetable – shared with students in December. Please do consider this when planning holidays and other out of school activities.
- Interventions – afterschool targeted intervention sessions are continuing. Please do make sure your child attends as requested by their subject teacher. We are planning some additional Saturday and Easter school sessions. This will be communicated directly by subject teachers to you.
- Revision resources – we have invested in many printed revision resource packs, including past exams papers and your child’s teachers will have provided these. Please encourage your child to use the resources and seek support from their teachers should they need to.
- Study space and support – study centre remains open every day till 5.30pm. Students are welcome to use this for independent or group study, and staff will be available to support and answer questions.
- Pastoral care – House Managers continue to provide pastoral care to all students, but are available for students who need any additional TLC or support.
Furthermore, we are planning the following to maximise every opportunity for Year 11:
- Support clinics – we will be facilitating time and space for students to talk to a member of Senior Leadership Team should students have any apprehensions or questions about their exams.
- Revision breakfast – research has shown a direct link between nutrition and focus in studies. We will be hosting free breakfast for Year 11 students every day of their final exams.
Please do continue to have conversations with your child about how they are getting on in school and about their progress.
Lastly, a polite reminder about Parent Support Webinars hosted by Elevate. The next webinar is taking place on Tuesday 11th of March 6:00 – 7:00pm and will be on Exam Preparation. Parents can register at the link https://go.elevateeducation.com/ukwebinars The company can also send a recording if you cannot attend. Further details can be found here:
First Aid at School
This has improved, thank you for your help in reinforcing this with our students. Please can we have one more push on this.
We have been experiencing a number of students walking to reception if they feel unwell. As a result, we have mapped out the following expectations for students to follow if they feel unwell during lessons or at the start of a lesson. We have also communicated this with staff. Please can you remind our students as well. Many thanks.
- If you have a minor injury before school or during break/lunch you should go straight to reception and ask for first aid. Please note – students should not take themselves to reception at the very end of break/lunch if they are feeling unwell – they need to head straight to their lesson and let their class teacher know they are feeling unwell. The class teacher will contact first aid if needed.
- If you are feeling unwell during a lesson / you need medical assistance during a lesson you must tell your class teacher and stay in class. The teacher will then contact first aid if it is needed.
- You should not be leaving lessons. First aid will come to you (unless you have an underlying health condition the school is aware of ).
- If you are not sure about any of the above, please speak to your tutor who can reassure you.
Please note, in the event of a serious medical emergency, staff are aware of what is needed to be done.
Leicester Riders Ticket Offer
Manor High School have been given the offer of 50% off tickets for the next few home games. Simply use promo code ‘OAK50‘ at checkout to claim your discount.
Click here to view the Leicester Riders Basketball website
If you haven’t been before, we would recommend giving it a try. Basketball is a fast paced game, full of excitement, that is easy to follow. Great for whole families!
Alumni
We are really keen for former Manor High School students to share their experiences of the world of work with our students.
If you, a family member or even friend who was a Manor High School student and could possibly help us with this please email us via the Admin email (FAO Mr Croucher).
Many thanks.
After School Study Centre and Interventions
Please can you reinforce to students that if they are staying behind at school to use the study centre (either to work or to wait for a parent to collect them) they must not leave site first and then come back. We have had a number of students leave site at the end of the school day, head to the shop and then arrive back at school 15 minutes later saying they need to wait in the study centre. We cannot allow students to just come and go like this as it is not safe and also not fair to staff who are supporting in the study centre.
The same is the case for interventions. If a student has an intervention session after school they must leave session 3, stay on site and then head to their intervention. Some students have been leaving site at the end of the day, heading to the shops and then wanting to be let back onto site 15 minutes later. This is also not acceptable.
Thanks for your support with this.
Safeguarding Update
Over the next few weeks, we are going to be speaking to students about the devastating impact of knife crime. As we are all aware, knife crime presents a serious concern to us all and it’s important for all students to understand the risks associated with carrying knives.
Below is a link to a great website and resources to support you as parents in having conversations with your child about knife crime.
The Ben Kinsella Trust – A guide to knife harm for parents and carers.
NHS Mental Health Drop-ins
Headteacher’s Update
Dear Families
As we approach the half-term break, I find myself reflecting on the remarkable achievements that have characterised our recent weeks at Manor High School. Time has passed quickly, yet our students and staff have maintained their commitment to our core values of excellence, inspiration, resilience, and respect.
We have had several visits from professionals at other schools this half term who have been keen to look at our classrooms to glean the best practice for their own schools. All have commented positively on the atmosphere and culture around the school. I too have the pleasure every day of walking the corridors, talking to students and visiting lessons. During my learning walks this week, I have been consistently impressed by the level of engagement and productivity evident in our classrooms. The integration of one-to-one iPad usage has significantly accelerated the pace of knowledge acquisition. I encourage parents to explore the impressive work our students have produced using this technology in their Showbie accounts on their iPad. It is worth noting, however, that a stylus is an essential tool for optimal iPad utilisation, and I kindly request that all students are equipped with one.
Our commitment to fostering creativity alongside academic achievement was exemplified this week as our Year 9 and 10 Design and Technology pupils participated in the Rotary Club’s Design and Technology Challenge at Leicester Grammar School. It gives me great pleasure to announce that our Year 9 team secured an admirable third place in their category, while our Year 10 team emerged victorious in theirs. More information is below. This achievement is a testament to the dedication of Mr Parker and the pupils involved, who embodied our values of excellence and inspiration through their collaborative approach as a team. It is so true that ‘together we achieve more’.
Year 11 continue to demonstrate their resilience and excellence through the relentless conveyor belt of Pre Public Examinations (Mocks). These continue after half term and are the last opportunity for them to demonstrate what they know and where their gaps are that teachers need to fill before the final exams start. It should be noted that we deliberately put a half term break in the middle of their PPEs- not because we are cruel, but because this replicates the final exam series in May and June and they need to be able to manage continuing to revise whilst on a half term break. We are grateful for the parental support and the nudges this will require from home to keep students motivated!
As we celebrate these accomplishments, I would like to mention a key staff member. Today, we bid farewell to Mrs Bee, one of our Teaching Assistants who has devoted an impressive 30 years to Manor High School. Her kindness and caring nature has left its mark on countless students, including, perhaps, some current parents who attended Manor High during her time with us. While we are saddened by her departure, we are heartened to know that Mrs Bee will continue to contribute to our school community by assisting with our after-school homework clubs. We wish her all the very best in her well earned retirement.
I wish all a very lovely half term break and look forward to seeing our students fully rested and recuperated on Monday 24th Feb, at the usual time.
With best wishes
Mr S Greiff
Travel Survey
Manor High School is currently looking at how we can reduce our carbon footprint however, in order for us to establish what this is we are currently gathering data from different areas of the school. Can I kindly ask that the attached one question survey is completed over half term so that we can look at how students get to and from Manor High School: Travel Survey
Many thanks
Mr S Tweed
School Business Leader
Rotary Club Competition
This week Manor High School had the opportunity to attend to attend a Design & Technology event at Leicester grammar school in which 36 teams took part in an engineering challenge. The challenge was for teams to design and make a rocket launcher from a set of given materials. They had to make the launcher reach a certain height but also land within a certain area to gain points.
The competition had representatives from all the top schools in the area including Oadby Beauchamp, Gartree, Crown hills and Leicester grammar. The event was split into 3 categories for foundation KS3, intermediate KS4 and higher KS5. We took one group of four Year 9 D & T students to represent the school in the foundation section. I am very pleased to say they did a fantastic job and came 3rd in their category.
We also took four D & T Year 10 students and I am delighted to say that they won the intermediate section after creating a fantastic design and also creating an outstanding portfolio of work explaining their thought process. The event was great fun and a great experience for the students who had the opportunity to work as a team. Well done to all the students who represented the school
College Applications & PS16
Some students will be receiving invites to attend offers holding events / offers events at schools/colleges they have applied to. We can not let students offsite during the school day unless we have had consent from a parent / carer in the same way a students would need consent to attend a medical appointment etc. If you know that your child has been invited to an event during the school day you must contact the school in the same way you would for a medical appointment and also advise whether your child will be making their way to the school/college themselves or whether a parent / carer will be collecting them.
Many thanks
Leicester College Applications
If you have applied to Leicester College through Post16 they have emailed students (on ps16) to say they will be dealing with your application through their College Learner Hub. Please do not worry! They have said that they will email you information about how to log into the College Learner Hub and how to then manage your application etc. Please check your emails regularly (the emails you sent to them via your profile on PS16) to keep an eye out for their messages. If you have any concerns you must contact Leicester College and then also come and speak to Mr Croucher/Mrs Mahomed.
Simply put this means that Leicester College will manage your application through their College Leaner Hub. Any other schools/colleges you applied to will still be managing your application through Post 16.
Please can all year 11 be aware of these key next steps regarding Post 16 applications. Thank you.
Next steps:
- Regularly log into PS16 to see if you have had any offers or messages from schools or colleges. Be patient as different schools/colleges work with different time frames. You should hear back by the end of March latest.
- Regularly check your emails (the email address you gave on your PS16 profile e.g. school or personal email) as schools / colleges may email you here
- Do not worry if your friends have already heard from a school / college and you have not. This is totally normal.
- Accept all offers that are made to you. You can hold multiple offers. Do not ignore an offer whilst waiting for your favourite school/college. Accept any offers you are given. On results day you will choose where you go to (after you have seen the grades you get).
- If you wanted to make changes to any of your applications you need to call the school/college and speak to them. If you have any issues come and find Mr Croucher / Mrs Mahomed.
Year 11 Update
We are very proud of our Year 11 students. Their hard work and dedication towards their studies will indeed help them reach their aspirations beyond Manor High School. We hope you find the key updates useful.
PPEs
Students have been working diligently during their Pre-Public Examinations (PPE) / mock exams this week. Students know the importance of PPEs.
- Mock exams get students in the right mindset
- Mocks exams provide an opportunity for structured revision
- Mock exams help students to spot errors and knowledge gaps
- Mocks ensure students feel prepared for actual exams
- Mock exams help students cope with pressure
- Mock results are used to determine predictions
Please continue encouraging your child to try their very best in the remaining PPEs as the results will give them and us a good indication of any remaining knowledge gaps, and revision to focus upon ahead of the final exams.
Our exams officer Mrs Hulbert communicated the PPE timetable and reminder about necessary equipment required for exams. Kindly remind your child to be come to school prepared with equipment. This will help ensure that they can focus on doing their best during their exams without any avoidable distractions. It is essential that you make sure your child has the following items:
- Clear pencil case
- Several black pens
- A pencil and eraser
- A ruler
- A calculator
- Any subject-specific equipment (e.g., geometry set, highlighters, etc.)
- A water bottle (with no labels or logos)
We have also shared details with students about exam conditions we expect all students to adhere to during PPEs. Please do talk to your child about the importance of adhering to exam conditions and make sure they do not bring to school prohibited items such as a mobile phone or any other digital devices.
Interventions and Easter School
Subject teachers are hosting lunchtime and afterschool intervention sessions. Students who require support are invited to attend these sessions. Please do talk to your child about the importance of attending interventions they are invited to as it will enable teachers to provide bespoke support in addition to lessons.
We will also be hosting Easter School during the first week of the Easter break. Details for this will be shared closer to time. Please do speak to subject teachers during Parents Evening on Thursday 20th March about this.
Study Skills and Revision
We are committed to providing as much academic support as possible for our Year 11 students. To enhance their preparation for exams, we invited an external company, Maximize Your Potential, to deliver a seminar on essential study skills. This session aimed to help students set clear academic goals and understand the steps needed to achieve them. It emphasized effective time management, enabling students to take control of their learning and reduce stress. Students provided positive feedback, highlighting key takeaways they could apply to their revision.
In addition, we have arranged tailored sessions for smaller groups through Elevate Education to offer further support. We have subscribed to a comprehensive support package for students, teachers, and parents. Elevate also hosts live webinars for parents, offering guidance on how to best support their child before and during exams. These webinars are free, and the next series is scheduled as follows:
- 11th March, 6:00-7:00pm: How You Can Help Your Child Prepare for Exams
- 25th March, 6:00-7:00pm: How You Can Support Your Child During Exams
Visit https://go.elevateeducation.com/ukparentwebinar for further information and register for upcoming webinars.
Students have also been given a link to access additional resources to support their study skills. These can all be found here: https://ukstudent.elevateeducation.com/
Please encourage your child to access the wealth of information and resources to help them ahead of their final exams. This also includes information about revision timetable, which students should have in place.
Attendance and Progress
Thank you for encouraging your child to attend school every day. Consistent attendance is essential for learning, as it allows teachers to provide the necessary support. With final exams approaching, it is crucial for Year 11 students to be in school daily. Research shows a clear link between attendance and academic progress. We have been sharing the impact of attendance on progress with Year 11 students each week. The graph below illustrates that students with 100% attendance achieve nearly a grade and a half more progress compared to those with lower attendance.
We hope this information helps you understand our school’s efforts to support your child. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need guidance on how to further assist your child during final few months.
Mr Karavadra
First Aid at School
We are experiencing a number of students deciding to walk to reception if they feel unwell. As a result, we have mapped out the following expectations for students to follow if they feel unwell during lessons or at the start of a lesson. We have communicated this with staff. Please can you remind our students as well. Many thanks.
Please can we ensure we all follow these expectations re first aid / illness.
– If a child has a minor injury before school or during break/lunch they should go straight to reception and ask for first aid.
– If they are feeling unwell during a lesson / need medical assistance during a lesson they must tell the class teacher and stay in class. The teacher will then contact first aid if it is needed.
– Students should not be leaving lessons. First aid will come to them (unless they have an underlying health condition the school is aware of ).
– If you are not sure about any of the above, please speak to your tutor who can reassure you.
Please note, in the event of a serious medical emergency, staff are aware of what is needed to be done.
Leicester Riders Ticket Offer
Manor High School have been given the offer of 50% off tickets for the next few home games. Simply use promo code ‘OAK50‘ at checkout to claim your discount.
Click here to view the Leicester Riders Basketball website
If you haven’t been before, we would recommend giving it a try. Basketball is a fast paced game, full of excitement, that is easy to follow. Great for whole families!
Alumni
We are really keen for former Manor High School students to share their experiences of the world of work with our students.
If you, a family member or even friend who was a Manor High School student and could possibly help us with this please email us via the Admin email (FAO Mr Croucher).
Many thanks.
After School Study Centre and Interventions
Please can you reinforce to students that if they are staying behind at school to use the study centre (either to work or to wait for a parent to collect them) they must not leave site first and then come back. We have had a number of students leave site at the end of the school day, head to the shop and then arrive back at school 15 minutes later saying they need to wait in the study centre. We cannot allow students to just come and go like this as it is not safe and also not fair to staff who are supporting in the study centre.
The same is the case for interventions. If a student has an intervention session after school they must leave session 3, stay on site and then head to their intervention. Some students have been leaving site at the end of the day, heading to the shops and then wanting to be let back onto site 15 minutes later. This is also not acceptable.
Thanks for your support with this.
Safeguarding Update
Please see attached list of contacts for Mental Health support for out of school hours – Mental Health Support Out Of School Contact Information
Manipulative marketing in games
Children are increasingly becoming major components in the online games industry. Many games are deceptively pay to play, whilst claiming to be free. For most of these apps the download is free but most of the gameplay is locked. Free in the context of apps is a highly flexible term. Online gaming firms use the ‘free’ label to draw in players, whom when talking about minors may be attractive due solely to that quality. Money making tactics such as these, can be hard to detect even for adults. Their use of bright colours, distracting music and other methods can be highly persuasive in gaining players. Better Internet for Kids has crafted a learning module designed to explore digital marketing tactics. You will learn why companies use these tactics and how they can impact your child and their rights. You will also learn how you can support your child to spot and avoid these issues, as well as where you can seek help and support. If interested, please follow the link below:
https://better-internet-for-kids.europa.eu/en/learning-corner/parents-and-caregivers/marketing-games
NHS Mental Health Drop-ins
Headteacher’s Update
Dear Families
We are starting to see the green shoots of spring now. It is nice for the students to arrive and depart school when it is a little brighter and with the sun starting to shine. It makes us all feel a little better when the sun is shining.
In school this week we have been focussing on Mental Health Week. Our assemblies have focussed around this theme and our student well being ambassadors have done a sterling job selling pin badges to raise awareness amongst our students. Our year 11 students have also been spoken to about managing mental health in the run up to examinations. Their second round of PPEs (mocks) start in earnest next week a separate email was sent to parents reminding them of this earlier in the week. It is hugely important that they try their best to perform in these. There is little time in between now and the final exams starting and teachers want to be able to know exactly what gaps in knowledge they need to fill over the coming weeks. These exams are a good opportunity to practise, as we know, practise makes perfect!
We have conducted some student voice around iPads this week and last. This is all positive and we are pleased with how these are being integrated into our curriculum- do please take a look and an interest in your child’s school work. Positively encourage your child and take an interest in their learning. The key is to support them to develop a positive mindset and passion for learning. Even if you found a subject difficult at school, it doesn’t mean that they will. Instead of saying ‘I was no good at this at school’, you could say: – ‘It’s a long time since I’ve done this, so you need to remind me…’ or ‘I remember doing this at school, tell me more…’ or even ‘This looks interesting, which is the best bit…’
I was pleased to host some visitors in school this week who spent a day with us, looking at various aspects of school life. The school is part of a national programme run by Challenge Partners called ‘Growing the Top’. This programme is only accessible to those schools that are the amongst the highest achieving in the country. the programme brings together small groups of top performing schools for individual and shared school improvement journeys. The visitors that were in school were most impressed by several aspects of school life- 1) the behaviour and conduct of students 2) the quality of education the students receive 3) the level of attainment the students reach after their 5 years with us. Whilst this is always great to hear I am mindful that nothing is possible without the support of parents and the community. Working together is the key to successes for your children and we are very much grateful for the support of parents on our journey to achieving “Excellent People, Excellent Results” for all students.
With best wishes
Mr S Greiff
Year 11 PPE Timetable
Please click below to view the Year 11 PPE timetable starting on Monday 10th February.
Year 10 DMU Trip
This week, Miss Hutchinson took a group of Year 10 students to De Montfort University where they participated in various ‘Gothic fiction’ workshops with senior university lecturer, Dr Alice Wood. The students were impressed with how informative these sessions were – they practised reading fiction closely, paying attention to narrator, setting, language, imagery and genre. Students particularly enjoyed crafting their own writing inspired by the Gothic genre. A big thank you to DMU for providing these opportunities for our students and giving them an insight into what it might be like to study English Literature at A-Level or degree level.
College Applications & PS16
Some students will be receiving invites to attend offers holding events / offers events at schools/colleges they have applied to. We can not let students offsite during the school day unless we have had consent from a parent / carer in the same way a students would need consent to attend a medical appointment etc. If you know that your child has been invited to an event during the school day you must contact the school in the same way you would for a medical appointment and also advise whether your child will be making their way to the school/college themselves or whether a parent / carer will be collecting them.
Many thanks
Leicester College Applications
If you have applied to Leicester College through Post16 they have emailed students (on ps16) to say they will be dealing with your application through their College Learner Hub. Please do not worry! They have said that they will email you information about how to log into the College Learner Hub and how to then manage your application etc. Please check your emails regularly (the emails you sent to them via your profile on PS16) to keep an eye out for their messages. If you have any concerns you must contact Leicester College and then also come and speak to Mr Croucher/Mrs Mahomed.
Simply put this means that Leicester College will manage your application through their College Leaner Hub. Any other schools/colleges you applied to will still be managing your application through Post 16.
Please can all year 11 be aware of these key next steps regarding Post 16 applications. Thank you.
Next steps:
- Regularly log into PS16 to see if you have had any offers or messages from schools or colleges. Be patient as different schools/colleges work with different time frames. You should hear back by the end of March latest.
- Regularly check your emails (the email address you gave on your PS16 profile e.g. school or personal email) as schools / colleges may email you here
- Do not worry if your friends have already heard from a school / college and you have not. This is totally normal.
- Accept all offers that are made to you. You can hold multiple offers. Do not ignore an offer whilst waiting for your favourite school/college. Accept any offers you are given. On results day you will choose where you go to (after you have seen the grades you get).
- If you wanted to make changes to any of your applications you need to call the school/college and speak to them. If you have any issues come and find Mr Croucher / Mrs Mahomed.
Safer Internet Day – Tuesday 11th February
Safer Internet Day 2025 will take place on the 11th of February 2025, with the theme ‘Too good to be true? Protecting yourself and others from scams online‘
Safer Internet Day is the UK’s biggest celebration of online safety. Each year an online issue or theme that speaks about the things young people are seeing and experiencing online are covered. Created in consultation with young people across the UK, this year Safer Internet Day will be focusing on the issue of scams online and for young people, how to protect themselves and others, as well as what support is available to them.
Please follow the link for more information to support your child in staying safe online.
First Aid at School
We are experiencing a number of students deciding to walk to reception if they feel unwell. As a result, we have mapped out the following expectations for students to follow if they feel unwell during lessons or at the start of a lesson. We have communicated this with staff. Please can you remind our students as well. Many thanks.
Please can we ensure we all follow these expectations re first aid / illness.
– If a child has a minor injury before school or during break/lunch they should go straight to reception and ask for first aid.
– If they are feeling unwell during a lesson / need medical assistance during a lesson they must tell the class teacher and stay in class. The teacher will then contact first aid if it is needed.
– Students should not be leaving lessons. First aid will come to them (unless they have an underlying health condition the school is aware of ).
– If you are not sure about any of the above, please speak to your tutor who can reassure you.
Please note, in the event of a serious medical emergency, staff are aware of what is needed to be done.
Leicester Riders Ticket Offer
Manor High School have been given the offer of 50% off tickets for the next few home games. Simply use promo code ‘OAK50‘ at checkout to claim your discount.
Click here to view the Leicester Riders Basketball website
We have also been sent an additional promotion of 50% off for the Leicester Riders Trophy Semi Final home leg on Sunday 9th February. Simply use code ‘BBALL50‘ at checkout.
Alumni
We are really keen for former Manor High School students to share their experiences of the world of work with our students.
If you, a family member or even friend who was a Manor High School student and could possibly help us with this please email us via the Admin email (FAO Mr Croucher).
Many thanks.
After School Study Centre and Interventions
Please can you reinforce to students that if they are staying behind at school to use the study centre (either to work or to wait for a parent to collect them) they must not leave site first and then come back. We have had a number of students leave site at the end of the school day, head to the shop and then arrive back at school 15 minutes later saying they need to wait in the study centre. We cannot allow students to just come and go like this as it is not safe and also not fair to staff who are supporting in the study centre.
The same is the case for interventions. If a student has an intervention session after school they must leave session 3, stay on site and then head to their intervention. Some students have been leaving site at the end of the day, heading to the shops and then wanting to be let back onto site 15 minutes later. This is also not acceptable.
Thanks for your support with this.
Safeguarding Update
Childline has launched a new campaign, Behind the Screen, raising awareness of the sexually coerced extortion of boys and young men. Sexually coerced extortion or ‘sextortion’ is a form of online blackmail involving a threat to share intimate or explicit images or videos to extort money or get someone to do something against their will. The campaign resources include a new film aimed at young people which involves an AI generated image challenge and a guide for professionals which looks at what sexually coerced extortion is and how to support young people.
Find out more: Childline: Our latest campaign – Behind the Screen
Manipulative marketing in games
Children are increasingly becoming major components in the online games industry. Many games are deceptively pay to play, whilst claiming to be free. For most of these apps the download is free but most of the gameplay is locked. Free in the context of apps is a highly flexible term. Online gaming firms use the ‘free’ label to draw in players, whom when talking about minors may be attractive due solely to that quality. Money making tactics such as these, can be hard to detect even for adults. Their use of bright colours, distracting music and other methods can be highly persuasive in gaining players. Better Internet for Kids has crafted a learning module designed to explore digital marketing tactics. You will learn why companies use these tactics and how they can impact your child and their rights. You will also learn how you can support your child to spot and avoid these issues, as well as where you can seek help and support. If interested, please follow the link below:
https://better-internet-for-kids.europa.eu/en/learning-corner/parents-and-caregivers/marketing-games
NHS Mental Health Drop-ins
Headteacher’s Update
Dear Families
Last week I held assemblies focussing on the British Value of ‘Rule of Law’. It was an opportunity to explain to students why we have rules in school. Some of them seem strange to students- such as only using certain entrances and exits but there is always a reason. They ensure that students are safe. Our rules in school ensure that all students are respected and valued. I have been impressed with the students’ response to this.
This week we also had a behaviour reset. We have expectations around uniform and school equipment. This is checked in tutor times and students generally are brilliant at being equipped and ready to learn. We remind parents about uniform expectations through the link here Uniform – Manor High School – Oadby. The vast majority of students wear their uniforms with pride and we thank you for your support with this. The rules we have are not just rules for the sake of rules. They are expectations and a way we can build good habits, support each other, demonstrate equality and to help build a strong community within school.
Next week’s assemblies will focus upon Mental Health Week. This year’s theme is ‘Know yourself, grow yourself’ and is all about self awareness and how we can build and grow our resilience by understanding ourselves and recognising our emotions. We will be reminding students next week about how they can seek help. They should speak first with their trusted adult or form tutor in school but they also have an email address they can contact should they feel they can’t speak directly to an adult, this is safe@manorhigh.leics.sch.uk. I would like to remind you that if there are any concerns to please contact your child’s form tutor in the first instance.
With best wishes
Mr S Greiff
Year 11 PPE Timetable
Please click below to view the Year 11 PPE timetable starting on Monday 10th February.
Italian Ski Trip
Last week 42 Manor students had the amazing opportunity of spending a week in the mountain village of Folgaria in Italy. The group of Year 8, 9 and 10 students enjoyed skiing, soaking up local culture and building both new skills and friendships. Every day was filled with good snow conditions, fresh pasta, Italian practice and progression on the slopes for all. We are really privileged to have this opportunity every year as a school for students to practice independence, grow resilience and build countless new skills.
Year 11 – Positive Steps 16 site (PS16)
Please can all year 11 be aware of these key next steps regarding Post 16 applications. Thank you.
Next steps:
- Regularly log into PS16 to see if you have had any offers or messages from schools or colleges. Be patient as different schools/colleges work with different time frames. You should hear back by the end of March latest.
- Regularly check your emails (the email address you gave on your PS16 profile e.g. school or personal email) as schools / colleges may email you here
- Do not worry if your friends have already heard from a school / college and you have not. This is totally normal.
- Accept all offers that are made to you. You can hold multiple offers. Do not ignore an offer whilst waiting for your favourite school/college. Accept any offers you are given. On results day you will choose where you go to (after you have seen the grades you get).
- If you wanted to make changes to any of your applications you need to call the school/college and speak to them. If you have any issues come and find Mr Croucher / Mrs Mahomed.
Leicester College Applications
If you have applied to Leicester College through Post16 they have emailed students (on ps16) to say they will be dealing with your application through their College Learner Hub. Please do not worry! They have said that they will email you information about how to log into the College Learner Hub and how to then manage your application etc. Please check your emails regularly (the emails you sent to them via your profile on PS16) to keep an eye out for their messages. If you have any concerns you must contact Leicester College and then also come and speak to Mr Croucher/Mrs Mahomed.
Simply put this means that Leicester College will manage your application through their College Leaner Hub. Any other schools/colleges you applied to will still be managing your application through Post 16.
Science Club & Mandarin Club
Unfortunately there will be no Science Club running on Monday 3rd February. The club will resume again on Monday 10th February.
As part of Chinese New Year celebrations, our Mandarin teachers are interested in running a slightly different Mandarin club on Tuesday 11th February only. The session could include paper cutting, Chinese calligraphy, lantern/face mask making etc. All students who are currently signed up to Mandarin Club will have their usual place. If anyone else would be interested in attending this session please email Mr Croucher. We will run the spaces on a first come first served basis.
Unfortunately there will be no Mandarin Club running on Tuesday 4th February.
Cycling to School
Just a reminder for those students cycling to school.
Although the mornings are starting to get a little brighter it is still quite dark.
Can we please remind you to wear the following if cycling in:
- Reflective material
- Helmets
- Lights to be on whilst cycling
The above is so other traffic can see you.
Thank you
Leicester Riders Ticket Offer
Manor High School have been given the offer of 50% off tickets for the next few home games. Simply use promo code ‘OAK50‘ at checkout to claim your discount.
Click here to view the Leicester Riders Basketball website
We have also been sent an additional promotion of 50% off for the Leicester Riders Trophy Semi Final home leg on Sunday 9th February. Simply use code ‘BBALL50‘ at checkout.
Alumni
We are really keen for former Manor High School students to share their experiences of the world of work with our students.
If you, a family member or even friend who was a Manor High School student and could possibly help us with this please email us via the Admin email (FAO Mr Croucher).
Many thanks.
After School Study Centre and Interventions
Please can you reinforce to students that if they are staying behind at school to use the study centre (either to work or to wait for a parent to collect them) they must not leave site first and then come back. We have had a number of students leave site at the end of the school day, head to the shop and then arrive back at school 15 minutes later saying they need to wait in the study centre. We cannot allow students to just come and go like this as it is not safe and also not fair to staff who are supporting in the study centre.
The same is the case for interventions. If a student has an intervention session after school they must leave session 3, stay on site and then head to their intervention. Some students have been leaving site at the end of the day, heading to the shops and then wanting to be let back onto site 15 minutes later. This is also not acceptable.
Thanks for your support with this.
PE News
Big congratulations to Kalan and his older brother Kavi (ex MHS) who won the Leicestershire Badminton Association U17 Double Open Tournament last weekend. Well done! True excellence and resilience on display.
NHS Mental Health Drop-ins
Headteacher’s Update
Dear Families
Firstly, a thank you to our Year 8 parents for attendance at parents’ evening last night. It was wonderful to talk to parents about school and the positivity from parents was great to hear. We continue to work hard to stay true to our core values, and to our vision of creating Excellent People as well as students getting Excellent Results.
We have introduced a thought for the week that chimes with our values- this week’s focus was on resilience and we focussed our rewards around this and catching people being resilient was highlighted in lessons. The thought for the week was an old Japanese proverb – ‘Fall down seven times. Stand up eight.’
Fairly straightforward but effective! School is a place to learn resilience. Sometimes things are difficult, but with hard work, determination and resilience we get there. Students’ attitudes to learning have been impressive since we returned- 11,450 reward points have been issued in the 3 weeks we have been back.
Our ski trip returns this weekend and this is the true demonstration of resilience and indeed ‘fall down seven times. Stand up eight’ is something that I am sure has happened repeatedly on this trip! Mr Lansdale and Mrs Watson will be arranging next year’s trip in due course I am sure- so look out for information if your child is interested.
Finally, I would like to remind you of the importance of student attendance at school. You can see your child’s attendance on ClassCharts. When we see attendance at 90% there is a misinterpretation that 90% is good. A score of 90% in an examination would be exceptional, however in attendance terms, 90% is too low. The graphic below- which is in our Reception area for all to see demonstrates the rationale behind this. The key message is that for children to get the most out of school, they need to be in classrooms. So please do encourage attendance, and even if there is a bit of a sniffle and a cold it is best to send your child to school.
With best wishes
Mr S Greiff
Year 11 PPE Timetable
Please click below to view the Year 11 PPE timetable starting on Monday 10th February.
Rewards & Behaviour
It has been a really positive week in regards rewards and behaviour. This year nearly 90% of points awarded are positive. This shows that the vast majority of our students get it right day in and day out. The rewards store has now been topped up with all the goods available. The rewards range from vouchers, to equipment to sports equipment. There is even a lucky dip option! A reminder that when these items are gone they will be gone. This term there will be reward events again including a Pizza Party. There is plenty to look forward to!!!
In order to keep expectations high we will be reinforcing some basic expectations from Monday:
- We expect students to arrive at school by 8.30 and in their form room by 8.40. Those students late will receive an RTL (30 minute afterschool detention) as well as a further sanction at lunch on the same day so we can reinforce these expectations.
- We expect students to have full school uniform and to be worn correctly. A reminder that Hoodies are banned from the site. Please ensure students are not coming to school in hoodies (This includes the Ski trip hoodies). Hoodies will be taken off students if they are worn on site. We recommend a winter coat at this time of year.
- We expect students to have full equipment. For years 7-9 this includes a stylus to accompany their ipad. These can be purchased very cheaply online.
- We expect when a student receives a detention that they sit it. We will be trialling adding a lunchtime detention for those that do not attend S3 detentions. This will still mean they have to sit an S3 after school detention as well.
Thanks for your support with this.
SEND Reviews
We are delighted to let you know that the SEND reviews are going to be taking place as we are now coming to the end of our first cycle of interventions. The reviews have been organised with either the form tutor or a member of the SEND team, we endeavour to have these arranged by the 7th of February. These reviews are a really great opportunity for us to work together and an important time for parents/carers to be able to discuss the interventions their child has received, as well as working with us collaboratively regarding next steps. As this is the first time that a large number of students have had a review, we kindly ask for your understanding and patience as we go through this new process together.
Year 11 – Positive Steps 16 site (PS16)
Well done to Year 11 – we have sent off all the applications you have submitted. Applications were sent off before the school/colleges deadlines of January 31st so we are ahead!
Next steps:
- Regularly log into PS16 to see if you have had any offers or messages from schools or colleges. Be patient as different schools / colleges work with different time frames. You should hear back by the end of March latest.
- Do not worry if your friends have already heard from a school / college and you have not. This is totally normal.
- Accept all offers that are made to you. You can hold multiple offers. Do not ignore an offer whilst waiting for your favourite school/college. Accept any offers you are given. On results day you will choose where you go to (after you have seen the grades you get).
- If you wanted to make changes to any of your applications you need to call the school/college and speak to them. If you have any issues come and find Mr Croucher / Mrs Mahomed.
Leicester College Applications
Students, if you have applied to Leicester College through Post16 they have emailed on PS16 to say they will be dealing with your application through their College Learner Hub. Please do not worry! They have said that they will email you information about how to log into the College Learner Hub and how to then manage your application etc. Please check your emails regularly (the emails you sent to them via your profile on PS16) to keep an eye out for their messages. If you have any concerns you must contact Leicester College and then also come and speak to Mr Croucher / Mrs Mahomed.
Simply put this means that Leicester College will manage your application through their College Leaner Hub. Any other schools/colleges you applied to will still be managing your application through Post 16.
Mandarin Club
As part of Chinese New Year celebrations, our Mandarin teachers are interested in running a slightly different Mandarin club on Tuesday 11th February only. The session could include paper cutting, Chinese calligraphy, lantern/face mask making etc. All students who are currently signed up to Mandarin Club will have their usual place. If anyone else would be interested in attending this session please email Mr Croucher. We will run the spaces on a first come first served basis.
Unfortunately there will be no Mandarin Club running on Tuesday 4th February.
Duke of Edinburgh Award
We will be relaunching our programme in 2025 and are aiming to run both the Bronze and the Silver Awards. We will be in touch in the new year with more information including the new costs.
We have always felt t
his is a really important opportunity for our young people and it goes without saying that we are excited to be launching in 2025. As a result we have taken the necessary time to ensure we move forward with a model that allows our students to enjoy and succeed with the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme. More information will come out in the New Year.
Leicester Riders Ticket Offer
Manor High School have been given the offer of 50% off tickets for the next few home games. Simply use promo code ‘OAK50’ at checkout to claim your discount.
Click here to view the Leicester Riders Basketball website
If you haven’t been before, we would recommend giving it a try. Basketball is a fast paced game, full of excitement, that is easy to follow. Great for whole families!
Alumni
We are really keen for former Manor High School students to share their experiences of the world of work with our students.
If you, a family member or even friend who was a Manor High School student and could possibly help us with this please email us via the Admin email (FAO Mr Croucher).
Many thanks.
After School Study Centre and Interventions
Please can you reinforce to students that if they are staying behind at school to use the study centre (either to work or to wait for a parent to collect them) they must not leave site first and then come back. We have had a number of students leave site at the end of the school day, head to the shop and then arrive back at school 15 minutes later saying they need to wait in the study centre. We cannot allow students to just come and go like this as it is not safe and also not fair to staff who are supporting in the study centre.
The same is the case for interventions. If a student has an intervention session after school they must leave session 3, stay on site and then head to their intervention. Some students have been leaving site at the end of the day, heading to the shops and then wanting to be let back onto site 15 minutes later. This is also not acceptable.
Thanks for your support with this.
Wellbeing Lunchtimes
NHS Mental Health Drop-ins
