UTC Oxfordshire
Newsletter – 11th November 2022
Dear all,
Today our staff and students paid their respects to those who gave their life for their country. 'Armistice Day' was when fighting was suspended on the Western Front in 1918, so Germany and the Allies could reach a peace agreement, and the guns fell silent at 11am. Whilst this special day was first commemorated to remember the huge losses after World War One, today the anniversary is used to remember all the people who have died in all wars since.
We paused our school day to honour the two-minute silence and students who are involved in the cadets were encouraged to wear their uniform in place of their usual business dress.
Visit to Diamond Light Source
UTC Oxfordshire were successful in the ballot for tickets for the 'Schools Inside Diamond' Open Day on Tuesday 8th November.
DLS is the UK’s national synchrotron science facility, located at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire. It works like a giant microscope, harnessing the power of electrons to produce bright light, that scientists can use to study anything from fossils to jet engines to viruses and vaccines.
A group of Sixth Form Physics students went along and listened to a talk about what DLS is and what it does, before being given a guided tour around the facility.
Diamond welcomes students to do work experience with them over the summer on a variety of projects (e.g., physics, engineering, maths, IT). The next round of applications will open in December. It’s a great opportunity for UTC Oxfordshire students and they should be encouraged to apply. Here is the link for when the round opens in December: Diamond Work Experience
Visit to the London Transport Museum
On Thursday our Year 12 engineers took a train to the London Transport Museum using the New Elizabeth Line. The trip was to aid them with their Unit 57: Sustainable Transport. The engineers were not only able to learn about London transport but the evolution of public transport and how it has shaped our country. The museum has dedicated spaces for sustainable transport and engineering careers, which we hope our students found informative.
UTC Oxfordshire 6th Form Open Event and Careers Fair
We held a very successful open evening on Wednesday night, with over 200 visitors experiencing all the wonderful things UTC Oxfordshire has to offer. The evening included a talk for prospective students with guest speakers Koppany and Jude from our current 6th form and Student Leadership board. They gave a fantastic speech and did UTC Oxfordshire proud. Our staff were also on hand to showcase their subjects and share their passion for UTC Oxfordshire.
The evening also offered a very busy careers fair with representatives from many of our business partners including, the NHS, all the Armed Forces, Activate Learning, OAS, Williams Racing, Solent University – Southampton, The Engineering Trust, Oxford Brookes University, Diamond Light Source, Milestone Infrastructure, St Modwen, UKAEA and Baxter Healthcare. Our thanks go to them for the advice and guidance they provided, which will play a part in helping students make the right choices about their futures and chosen career pathways.
The evening brought together all the things that make UTC Oxfordshire so unique. Applications to join us for either year 10 or year 12 next September are now open and you can apply here: UTC Oxfordshire - Join Us
Parent Survey
Next week we will be sending out a parent survey for the autumn term, so please keep an eye on your emails for that. We would really appreciate you taking the time to give us your feedback on how the school is performing.
Attendance – week ending 4th November
Here are the attendance figures for each tutor group for Term 1. We are seeing a high level of absence due to illness and whilst we appreciate that as we move towards winter there will be more seasonal infections, we would like your support to enable students to manage their symptoms by using paracetamol (which can be carried in their bag) and other over the counter medicines. It is well known that symptoms are worse first thing in the morning and in the evening, so please encourage your student to attend – if they are too unwell to stay, we will contact you.
We also notice a high level of stomach upsets and sickness bugs – if your student is suffering from this frequently, please seek medical advice to rule out an underlying condition.
Your student’s Head of Year, tutor or I will be in touch with you about frequent absence due to illness. A referral to the School Health Nurse may be considered. Thank you for your support.
Penalty Notices for Term-Time Holidays
Following on from our focus on attendance, please read the following letter with regards to penalty’s for taking term time holidays: Penalty Notices for Term-Time Holidays
Opportunities
Invitation to screening of Star Makers - 29 November
In December last year the world’s largest and most advanced fusion energy experiment, JET in Culham, broke the record in produced fusion energy. In the run-up to the successful experiments, a documentary, Star Makers, was filmed that follows researchers and engineers on their endeavours to realise the record. Watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeKzQccOngM.
Women in Nuclear Central England with support from UKAEA has organised two free screenings of Star Makers on 29 November at 4pm and 6.30pm including a 30-minute Q&A with the main persons featured in the film. The event is open to all, and tickets are available now, for free, from Cornerstone: https://www.cornerstone-arts.org/whats/star-maker-energy-tomorrow
Get into Medicine
Our aspiring medical students in Years 10-12 are invited to attend a free live virtual Get into Medicine Conference - there are a range of dates in November to choose from Virtual Medicine Conference
Oxford Brookes Open Day
The next Oxford Brookes undergraduate open day will take place on 12th November from 10:00-16:00. This is an opportunity for Year 13 students to chat to staff and students and find out about the courses they are interested in by joining subject-specific sessions and workshops. www.brookes.ac.uk/open-days
RateMyApprenticeship Event
This virtual event will take place on 22nd November from 17:00-20:00. Throughout the evening, current Apprentices will be talking about their experiences. Attendees can meet employers, get an exclusive employability session with The University of Law and receive an attendance certificate for their CV. www.ratemyapprenticeship.co.uk
CAMHS School In-Reach Sessions
The CAMHS School In-Reach team are offering a range of sessions for parents to support their young person over this term. All the sessions will run from 5.30-6.30pm (with time for questions afterwards) and will be held online using MS Teams. The topics being covered are:
- Tuesday 15th November 5.30-6.45pm: NOW: How to communicate with distressed or upset young people
- Tuesday 22nd November 5.30-6.45pm: Supporting your young person with anxiety
- Tuesday 29th November 5.30-6.45pm: Promoting resilience in your young person
More information and the link to join the sessions can be found here: CAMHS School In-Reach Sessions
Ever thought of being a governor?
Becoming a school governor is an invaluable role, contributing to “transforming lives through learning” of all Activate Learning Education Trust (ALET) learners. This is an extremely rewarding opportunity to make a difference and give something back to the local community. Becoming an ALET governor will allow you to use and develop your skills in a board-level environment. You would also be joining the largest volunteer network force in the country, with over a quarter of a million volunteers governing state funded schools in England.
To become a governor, you must be aged over 18 and have the necessary skills, attributes, and time to positively impact our learners. You do not necessarily need an understanding of education systems to be successful in this role as plenty of training and support is available and school governance benefits from a range of backgrounds such as from business, HR, legal, marketing and property. Our schools and University Technical Colleges in Theale, Bicester, Reading, Didcot, Swindon and Hillingdon need the benefit from a wide range of professional knowledge to provide a balanced and diverse range of knowledge, skill, and experience to be effective. As noted by Ofsted – the most effective schools demonstrate effective leadership and management, which includes the governing body.
Should you wish to discuss what this role entails in more detail, please contact Heledd Walker, Head of Governance and Compliance via email Clerk@alet.org.uk.
Elements Café
National Badminton: Free sessions
National Badminton are currently offering free sessions for the rest of 2022 for all new players.
Further details can be found here: National Badminton: Free sessions
Dates for the diary
- Wednesday 23rd November – Year 11 Supporting Success Evening - more details to follow.
- Monday 5th December – PPEs start for years 11 and 13
- Thursday 15th December – Mince Pie Meet Up / Certificate Collection - class of 2021/22
- Friday 16th December – Last day of term, 13.00hrs finish. Christmas jumper day and collection for the food bank.
Term dates for 2022 to 2023
- Autumn Term 2: Monday 31 October 2022 – Friday 16 December 2022
- Spring Term 1: Thursday 5 January 2023 – Friday 10 February 2023
- Spring Term 2: Monday 20 February 2023 – Friday 31 March 2023
- Summer Term 1: Wednesday 19 April 2023 – Friday 26 May 2023
- Summer Term 2: Monday 5 June 2023 – Friday 21 July 2023
Further details can be found on our website: https://www.utcoxfordshire.org.uk/term-dates/
Have a good weekend
Stay safe
Best wishes
Emma