UTC Oxfordshire
Newsletter - 26th March 2021
Dear all,
Students this week have been working hard both inside the classroom and in the exam hall. The assessments for year 11 and year 13 are looking positive and providing evidence for those final grades. This weekend sees the clocks go forward on Saturday night which marks the start of British Summer time and hopefully some better weather.
Today is national Epilepsy Awareness Day - Purple Day
Epilepsy Awareness Day on March 26th aims to increase the public’s knowledge of a neurological condition affecting nearly 50 million people worldwide. Also known as Purple Day, people are encouraged to wear purple in support of epilepsy awareness.
The neurological condition, epilepsy, impacts the central nervous system causing seizures and other symptoms. The types of seizures vary depending on the cause and type of epilepsy.
Some known causes of epilepsy include:
• brain injury
• genetics
• metabolic disorders
• immune disorders
• infection
However, sometimes no known cause can be found for epilepsy in a patient.
While epilepsy is not contagious, any age group can develop epilepsy. The good news is that it’s highly treatable. In some parts of the world, treatment can be challenging to find. Another important goal for the day is removing the stigma associated with epilepsy. Those with epilepsy can lead normal lives, especially when their epilepsy is controlled.
HOW TO OBSERVE #EpilepsyAwarenessDay or #PurpleDay
Join the Purple Day movement. Here’s how:
- Learn more about epilepsy.
- Show your support by wearing purple.
- Donate to research to cure epilepsy.
- If you or someone you know has epilepsy, speak up, and help eliminate the stigma associated with epilepsy.
- Know the signs of a seizure and what to do.
If you are interested in finding a cure for epilepsy, then a career in medicine or scientific research is the route for you. Gaining top grade A' levels here at UTC Oxfordshire in the STEM subjects including Chemistry is one route in or studying medical sciences at University from the vocational stance. Alternatively, a degree level apprenticeship in Biomedical research could be an option.
Please look at our opportunities page on our website, it's password protected so please use UTCOpps2020 for access.
Covid Update - Testing at home throughout the Easter holidays
Following the success of the asymptomatic testing programme on the return to school and college, it is vital to keep testing at home throughout the Easter holidays and into the summer term.
Please continue to:
- Test twice a week at home from now on (all those who are able to)
- Report results online as positive, negative or void. This information is critical in helping us to understand the prevalence of the virus across the country
- Continue to test twice weekly over the Easter holidays
- Test before returning to school or college for the summer term, either the night before, or morning of, the first day back, to find and isolate any positive cases
As well as registering your test results on the Government Website please also log them for our school records Covid Test Result Log.
Comic Relief
Last week's activities for Comic Relief raised a grand total of £392.05.
Thank you to everyone involved.
Opportunities
Events at the Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum have some fantastic upcoming online events, you can see their events calendar and sign up for a place here: https://oumnh.ox.ac.uk/events
Events hosted by Oxford Physics - March and April 2021
Oxford Physics School Seminars
Target audience: School children in Y10-Y13 (but everyone is welcome)
Join us this spring for an exciting programme of talks exploring a range of different topics of current Physics research! Perfect for students studying Physics at GCSE and A-Level who want to broaden their knowledge and learn a little bit more about the science we do here at Oxford Physics. Each seminar is 40 minutes long, which includes a 20-minute Q&A following a 20-minute talk. More details and registration links can be found below:
- 30th March, 4:00pm - Aleksander Ulatowski: “How To Find a Good Semiconductor (Using Lasers)” Semiconductors are present all around us, in modern light bulbs, TV screens, solar panels, and laptops. Miniaturisation of semiconductor devices resulted in billions of tiny transistors currently being used in a single computer chip. But what exactly are semiconductors, how do they work, and how do scientists keep finding newer and better semiconducting materials? Register here.
- 13th April, 4:00pm - Wangping Ren: "Macroscopic Quantum Phenomena". Since the birth of quantum mechanics in the last century, it has been developed to interpret the laws in the microscopic world (atomic/sub-atomic). It would seem bizarre when quantum mechanics is applied to macroscopic objects, for instance, the Schrodinger’s cat. In this talk, we’ll introduce the macroscopic quantum phenomena that naturally occur as well as our current understandings of them in terms of quantum physics. Register here.
Quantum Science & Quantum Technology
- When: Saturday 10 April 2021, 5:00pm
- Where: Online – Zoom Webinar
- What: Online talk - Leading international researchers in the field of quantum science and quantum technology will share their latest findings.
- Target audience: General public
- Booking: Free event. Registration is required for this event; please register here
- More information visit: Quantum Science & Quantum Technology
Cosmic Knowledge and the Long-term Strategy of the Human Race
- When: Thursday 29 April 2021, 5:00pm-6.30pm
- Where: Online – Zoom Webinar
- What: Online talk - For the first time in history, the human race is poised to use the knowledge of the cosmic past to predict Earth's cosmic future, and it looks extraordinarily bright ahead!
- Target audience: Some background knowledge required, so most suitable for those with GCSE/A-Level Physics
- Booking: Free event. Registration is required for this event; please register here
- More information visit: 21st Hintze Lecture: Professor Sandra Faber
Details of all upcoming events can be found here: https://www2.physics.ox.ac.uk/events
Elements Cafe
The elements café will be running a full menu next week Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with the famous ''Friday Fry up'' moving to Wednesday for one week only!
Jen and her team made some great Easter treats and will have these available next week too.
Upcoming Progress Consultation Evenings
Year 11 - Wednesday 28th April, 16.00 - 19.00
- Appointment bookings will open at 9am on Wednesday 21st April
Year 13 - Wednesday 5th May, 16.00 - 19.00
- Appointment bookings will open at 9am on Wednesday 28th April
The link to book your appointment and a useful user guide is available on our website here.
Something for the Spring break
Updates on Assessments for year 11 and year 13
We have been incredibly impressed by the way both year groups have approached their return to school and the attitudes they have taken to managing the Covid testing alongside their current assessments. Our clear goal is to provide as much support as possible over the next few weeks and ensure that Year 13 leave in a strong position for their next destination and Year 11 move seamlessly into our Sixth Form, or post-16 equivalent. We are also looking forward to celebrating the end of this stage for all of our students and acknowledge how well they have managed their education through a pandemic – an experience that we have never had to manage before. We cannot stress how important it is for all students to make every effort during this time and to know that no amount of effort and focus over the next few weeks will be wasted. All staff will be working hard to cheer them over the finish line and your support in this will be greatly appreciated.
After the Spring Break we will continue to carry out the assessment programme to gather as much up to date information as possible about every student to make an informed final recommendation to the examination boards. After initial announcements that exam-style tests would be available before Easter, these will now be issued after the Spring break, and we will use Term 5 to continue to manage assessments which enable students to feel highly supported and not overwhelmed. During Term 5 and early into Term 6 we will be able to share much more information with you about the process of grade determination, and as you would expect, we will be open and transparent at all times to keep you well informed. Across the Trust we will planning this carefully, to ensure the system for grade determination is both robust and fair, as we gather more detail from the Examination Boards, and we will be using the collective expertise of all the senior leaders across the Trust to do the very best for our students.
The DfE is still yet to make a formal decision on end dates for Year 11 and 13, which we understand may be very frustrating. However, we are intending to have the last Day of Term for year 13 as Friday June 11th and the last day of term for year 11 as Friday June 18th with a number of activities planned across these weeks for the students. Details to follow in the coming Term.
The next steps therefore are:
- To keep you updated on ongoing assessments
- To keep you updated on the process of determining grades
- To confirm end of year arrangements (including celebrations) for both year groups
- To confirm arrangements for Sixth Form in September
Dates for the diary
- End of term Wednesday 31st March 2021 16:00hrs
- Thursday 1st to Sunday 18th April - Spring Break UTCO will be closed during this time
Monday 19th April - INSET day no school for students
Tuesday 20th April - All students in for Term 5
- w/c 17th May and w/c 24th May
- Summative Assessments under formal exam conditions for year 11 and year 13.
- Students will be given clear guidance on what will be tested to ensure that the final grades submitted will have sufficient evidence to back them up.
- Looking further ahead
- 31st May to 4th June - Half term
Wednesday 21st July - Summer break (finish lunchtime)
Tuesday 10th August - A-level results (onsite)
Thursday 12th August - GCSE Results (onsite)
Stay safe
With good wishes
Sam