UTC Oxfordshire
Newsletter - 18th March 2022
This weekend sees the first day of Spring, Sunday 20th March. With the weather set to be fair it's an opportunity to get out and about and enjoy the fresh air. Mock exams for Year 11 and Year 13 have dominated this week and the students have been focused. The mood around the building has been calm until the students finish their exams and then there is the wonderful flurry of post-exam chatter. We still have vacancies and a need for invigilators in the summer. If you know of anyone or are interested yourselves, please see our vacancy page on the website: Join Our Team.
Science Week
You are never too young to discover the delights of Science and Engineering! To celebrate British Science Week, we welcomed Year 4 children from Aureus Primary School to show them our facilities and let them join in with some hands-on science experiments. They discovered the properties of liquid nitrogen and sampled cryogenic ice cream! They took part in a flame test investigation, identifying metal ions and finally had to guess what they could see by looking through microscopes at a variety of samples including blood cells, heart muscle, tree stems and pollen.
It was their second school outing ever; they have missed a lot due to covid restrictions, so it was really nice to see them engaging in science and experiencing something new.
Data Checking
Its important that the records we hold for students are up to date and accurate. To ensure the information we have is correct, please complete this Data Check form by Friday 1st April. We understand that in most cases the information hasn’t changed but would be grateful if you submit the form to re-confirm. It should only take 5 minutes and your assistance would be much appreciated.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals and MEDscience
Some of our Year 12 ELP students are working on a weekly basis with Vertex Pharmaceuticals and have been invited to take part in an online workshop with MEDscience at Harvard Medical School (HMS). This is a really exciting opportunity for them.
Opportunities
Our Opportunities section of the website is regularly updated with new apprenticeships and work experience .
There are some tight deadlines on some of the vacancies and a lot of the roles are closing soon. Please do have a look at the posts available and encourage your students to check the pages regularly. The password is UTCOpps2022.
Royal Navy Talent Attract Team
Free Online Learning Courses for Parents / Carers
Through government funding, The Aim Group are able to provide free online learning courses to help parents gain knowledge on areas around their children's wellbeing whilst also gaining a Level 2 NVQ.
Please find below some of the areas you can choose.
- Awareness of Bullying in Children
- Digital Skills
- Functional Skills: English & Maths
- Fair & Diverse Society
- Safeguarding, Prevent & British Values
- Understanding Autism
- Understanding Children and Young People's Mental Health
- Special Education Needs and Disability
These remote courses can be completed at your own pace, resulting in a fully accredited qualification that can help with career ambitions in working with children and education.
If you are interested in gaining some funding, then please CLICK HERE.
Once completed, you'll be contacted by AIM with next steps and login details. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact Charlie on charlie.jiggins@theaimgroup.co.uk
Junior Learn to Row course
Abingdon Rowing Club is running a junior learn to row course from 30th May to 3rd June 2022 and is inviting pupils from Year 8 to Year 10, from south Oxfordshire schools. If you are interested, please email juniors@abingdonrc.org.uk.
Secondary Schools Health Update
Please see the latest newsletter from our School Health Nurse team on our website: www.utcoxfordshire.org.uk/school-health-nurse/
Elements Café
Dates for the Diary
- A reminder that Wednesday 23rd March is Year 10 Progress Consultations Evening and school will finish at 15:00hrs. Vertex will continue to run their ELP on these dates for Year 12 until 16:00hrs and it would be beneficial for those students to remain onsite where possible to continue to work with Vertex. Should any student wish to remain on site the LRC will be available for quiet study.
- Our Red Nose Day fundraising has been postponed to Friday 1st April. It will be celebrated with a dress down, day (wearing red, blue and yellow), plus fund-raising events throughout the day. This is to ensure that all year groups can participate and to minimise disruption to the internal exams.
- 16th May to 28th June – GCSE/A level/Level 3 exam period - please note that BTEC Level 3 coursework may still be required after this end date. Please note students will not be able to finish school until after 28th June
- The Year 13 Leavers Celebration is on 27th June at The Garden House Venue. Tickets can be purchased via ParentPay by 31st March.
- The Year 11 prom is on June 30th, 2022, at Milton Mill House. Dinner and disco included! More details to follow soon.
- Thursday 18th August – A level results day
- Thursday 25th August - GCSE results day.
Remaining Term dates for 2022
- 25th and 26th April INSET, no school for students
- Wednesday 27th April - start of Term 5
- Monday 2nd May is a Bank Holiday
- Half term is 30th May to 3rd June 2022
- Monday 6th June - start of Term 6
- The last day of term is Wednesday 20th July 2022.
Term dates for 2022 to 2023
- Autumn Term 1: Friday 2 September 2022 (Years 10 and 12 only) to Wednesday 19 October 2022. Whole school in attendance from Monday 5 September 2022
- Autumn Term 2: Monday 31 October 2022 – Friday 16 December 2022
- Spring Term 3: Thursday 5 January 2023 – Friday 10 February 2023
- Spring Term 4: Monday 20 February 2023 – Friday 31 March 2023
- Summer Term 5: Wednesday 19 April 2023 – Friday 26 May 2023
- Summer Term 6: Monday 5 June 2023 – Friday 21 July 2023.
Stay Safe
With good wishes
Sam