Revision and study support for Year 11
Although students will be in exams for significant periods of the coming weeks, students should use the time in between to attend their normal Year 11 lessons where they will be supported with revision and teachers will be available for support and help. Revision/exam prep is difficult and having the structure of a school day is helpful. Uniform and conduct during the exam period, in and around the exam hall and while otherwise in school, should meet school expectations at all times.
Uniform reminders
As the weather warms up, an increasing number of students are asking about the uniform requirements during the summer term. When governors ratified the uniform policy in Spring 2024, they considered this question explicitly and the new uniform code is published here: William Ellis School - Uniform
Please can I emphasise the following:
- A blazer is compulsory in school up to the end of May
- Students are not allowed to wear tracksuit tops or hoodies in and around the school
- Students need to have correct PE kit: the blue t-shirt and shorts from our uniform supplier
- Any trousers or shorts must be grey or black and smart (no jeans, chinos, combat trousers, tracksuit style or material). If their socks are visible with shorts, they must wear white, black or charcoal grey socks.
Survey for families
Thank you to those families who filled in our recent survey. The responses were positive about students feeling safe and happy, high expectations of learning and behaviour, and the range of subjects and extracurricular opportunities on offer and students’ wider personal development. The comments provided to the survey have been summarised as follows:
“The school excels in nurturing personal development, particularly in areas of gender, sexuality, and feminism, creating a well-rounded experience for the boys. It effectively manages resources to support pupils with challenging behavior and is praised for its responsive and caring staff. The smooth transition from primary school, facilitated by summer school and kind teachers, is highly valued by parents. The school’s pastoral care is excellent, with form teachers and heads of year providing outstanding support. Parents feel the school is welcoming and open, offering a supportive and inclusive environment. The extra-curricular support and GCSE preparation are also commended, as they contribute significantly to the students’ academic success. Overall, the school is celebrated for its dedicated staff and the positive community it fosters, making it a commendable choice for parents.”
Responses were less positive about how well families understand what the students learn within each subject, and the speed and clarity of communication is not as good as some families would like it to be. These were the key areas of improvement that were commented on, and what we are doing this term to address it:
- Improve the cleanliness of the toilets: we are increasing the presence of duty staff in and around the toilet area during break and lunch and between lessons, and not allowing students to visit the toilets unsupervised during lessons
- Reduce reliance on substitute teachers, especially for GCSE subjects: as we know that teachers will be supporting students on residential camps this term and not with their classes, we will be employing additional permanent staff to cover lessons in school, so that if lessons are covered it is by teachers with whom students are more familiar.
- Increase regular communication of school achievements: we will endeavour to do this though the newsletter, our Twitter/X platform and other means!
- Provide greater curriculum transparency, including academic challenge: as our website is upgraded over the summer, curriculum information will be clearer and more accessible to all
- Improve sports opportunities and inclusivity.
- Increase students’ self-discipline and sense of responsibility: this has been considered in the way that we have planned the curriculum for Key Stage 3 camps this year, and the importance of representation and community is a theme that will run through assemblies – including the LaSWAP consortium. It will also be an increasingly prominent theme in our Professional Development for staff.
We will re-open the survey for one further week, for families to give any additional responses. This is the link: https://forms.office.com/e/0c8n1SPrAJ