September 2012

We welcomed our pupils back on a wet September morning staring with the new

Y7. I visited the Y7 assembly to welcome them to their new school. I was very

impressed with their appearance and the way in which they conducted

themselves. I also went to see how they were getting on in their form rooms and

in some of their classes. I have received many positive reports from staff about

the good start that Y7 have made which is very encouraging.

Equally, the rest of the students in Y8 through to Y11 have made a good start

too. Students have quickly engaged in lessons and set about the task of

exceeding MEGS (Minimum Expected Grades).

There is a good, positive working atmosphere around school and it is a delight to work with polite, courteous and smartly dressed young people. They are a huge credit to us and of course to parents and carers. I would like to thank parents and carers of students in all years for your cooperation in preparing the youngsters for the new term.

New staff

We also welcomed a number of new staff to our school who I have no doubt, will bring expertise and experience that will help move the school further forward. I wish them well.

September

The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney. September 2012 Issue

Miss Oliver (Chemistry) Mr Workman (Graphics)

Miss Lavelle (Pastoral Support Coordinator) Miss Antwis (Higher Level Teaching Assistant in Mathematics

Señor Alguacil-Jimenez. (Spanish Assistant)

Mr Carney visits a Y7 ICT lesson and

Maths lesson. Students from Y11 meet and greet our

new Y7.

Examination Results 2012

The start of a new year always involves some degree of looking back and more often than not it concerns the GCSE results. Last year‟s Y11 produced the best results ever, something I have been able to say for the past seven, consecutive years!

What was remarkable about last year‟s results however was the significant improvement we made across the board and in particular in the benchmark of 5 or more A*-C including English and maths GCSE. With 54% of students succeed-ing at this level, it meant that we improved on last year by an incredible 10%. Given that the national average fell slightly, I am doubly delighted by these results.

I was also very impressed by the fact that 45% of students gained at least one A* or A grade compared to the national average of 22% which means that more than twice as many Grange students gained the top grades of A*/A!

Sensational Singing Success

At the end of last term, eleven of our students were entered for graded singing exams with the London College of Music. The results were outstanding thanks to the hard work of our talented youngsters and also the expert tuition of our vocal tutor Miss Smith who commented on the success as follows:

“I am delighted with the wonderful results achieved by my singing students this academic year. They are such talented students who have all worked extremely hard, both in their singing lessons and in their own time. Overall, the students achieved a fantastic eight Distinctions and two Merits. Out of these eleven successes, we had one exceptional achievement by Reece Moore who gained 100% for his Grade Six Exam. I am so proud of you all, well done!”

Singing Miss Smith‟s praises in return, Mrs Hughes who organises and manages the extensive music tuition programme at the Grange said; “Miss Smith has achieved a fabulous set of results again this year with a large group of pupils. She worked tirelessly with them in assuring that they all met their full potential.”

This was a great team effort; well done to you all.

Reece Moore (Grade 6, Distinction), Lily Gaynor (Grade 4, Distinction), Alisha Nuttall (Grade 4, Distinction), Natasha Preston (Grade 4, Distinction), Shannon O‟Reilly (Grade 4, Merit), Anthony Goble (Grade 3, Distinction), Sarah-Jane Thompson-Mayers (Grade 3, Distinction), Aaron Owen (Grade 3, Merit), Samantha Box (Grade 2, Distinction) and Olivia Carmon (Grade 1, Distinction).

The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney. September 2012 Issue

Mamma Mia

Auditions are underway for our musical spectacular “Mamma Mia” to be performed later this term in December.

Grange Graduation

I was very pleased with the turnout to our Graduation ceremonies at the end of the summer term. It is so much better and more meaningful when parents, carers and family help to celebrate our pupils‟ success.

Since its introduction four years ago, Graduation has become a driving force be-hind our continuing success and very much a part of the school culture. This year I have introduced a “Graduation Tracker” in the student planner to help the youngsters monitor their progress towards bronze, silver or gold.

It was my pleasure to give out the lapel badges to the Gold Graduates during assembly last week and to remind all students about the criteria. All students who graduated last year should have been given their lapel badge by their Progress Tutor.

I was also pleased to see articles in both the Weekly News and the World about our Graduation Ceremonies early in the summer holiday. This year‟s criteria are set out below.

Out of hours Vivos Attendance Progress

BRONZE 3 hours 100 95% in any

period Reach target in any 5 subjects

SILVER 6 hours 150 95% in any 2

periods

Reach target in English & maths plus 6 other subjects

GOLD 12 hours 200 95% at the end

of period 3 Reach target in all subjects

The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney. September 2012 Issue

Gold and silver Graduates from last year‟s Y7

New building update

Progress on our new building continues at a pace and it is very clear now, the scale and the quality of our new premises. As you can see from some of the photographs, work inside the building has also been progressing swiftly. It is an impressive sight and I am looking forward to moving in to what will be, in my opinion, the best accommodation in Runcorn.

Attendance

We would like to remind parents and carers about our policy with regard to contacting the school if your child is going to be absent.

Parents and carers are responsible for making contact with the school by 9am to inform about any pupil absence. If the absence is likely to be for more than one day, we ask you update us every two days about your child‟s illness and when you might expect them to return to school.

Please note, where a pupil is absent from school without a valid reason being provided, for 10 or more sessions, over a term or academic year, with an overall attendance of 90% or less, a Penalty Fine will be issued by the Local Authority.

Please work with us to prevent this from happening. We look forward to another year of excellent school attendance for our pupils and would like to take this opportunity to remind you of the attendance target for every pupil of 95% or above. Remember, many achieved an attendance of 100% last academic year!

The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney. September 2012 Issue

Holidays during Term Time

The financial incentives to take holidays in term time are often significant but the disruption to a child‟s education far outweighs any discount that might be gained. This is why I will always refuse any request for holidays in term time except for the rare case when there are exceptional circumstances.

At school, staff and students work very hard to make the most of the time available in order to maximise potential. Even then, it always seems like we need more time in order to get the best possible results for each student. Staff and students often create extra time by using school holidays to run and attend extra classes. During the summer break recently, staff from the English department put on additional classes for their students. Other staff use half terms and the Easter break in the same way.

Given the importance of school, the qualifications that can be gained and the extra mile we go to benefit students any absence is frustrating but it is very disappointing when parents and carers take students out for holidays during term time. If parents and carers subsequently ignore the refusal of consent to take a holiday in term time, then a penalty fine will be issued by the Local Authority. This year the fine has increased to £60 per parent per child. This would mean for a family of 1 child a fine of £120; for a family of 2 children, a fine of £240 and so on. Further, if the fine is not paid within 28 days then it would double! Court proceedings are likely to follow if the increased fine is not paid within 42 days. Please support your child‟s education by ensuring good attendance.

Important Dates this Term

Wednesday 19th September: Year 7 Photographs

Thursday 20th September: Year 10 SLT/Parent/Student Progress Evening

Tuesday 25th September: Open Evening

Thursday 27th September: Year 11 SLT/Parent/Student Progress Evening

Thursday 4th October: Year 10 SLT/Parent/Student Progress Evening

Wednesday 10th October: Year 11 „I Choose Halton‟ Event

Thursday 11th October: Year 11 Springboard to Success Evening

Monday 15th October: Year 8 Girls HPV Vaccinations - Dose 1

Thursday 18th October: Year 7 Settling In Parents‟ Evening

Friday 19th October: Finish for Half Term

Monday 29th October: Return to School

Tuesday 6th November: Maths Paper 1 Exam

Thursday 8th November: Maths Paper 2 Exam

Monday 19th November: Year 8 Girls HPV Vaccinations - Dose 2

Thursday 22nd November: Ex Year 11 Awards Evening

Wednesday 12th December: Year 11 Mock Examinations Start

Thursday 20th December: Finish for Christmas Half Term

The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney. September 2012 Issue

The Learning Gateway

The Gateway is fully operational and allows you to view your child‟s attendance, behaviour and progress along with important updates from school. Registration details will be sent out to all of our Year 7 Parents over the next few days. If you have not yet logged on or seem to be having difficulty doing so then please contact Miss McGuffie who will be able to talk you through it. Or if you prefer make an appointment to come into school and be shown how to access it fully. You can access the Gateway though the school‟s website www.thegrange.com. It is situated in the Parents/Carer section under useful websites.

Sam Learning

An updated version of SAM Learning is now available in school. The service, which is accessible to all staff and students, covers a wide range of subjects across the curriculum and can be used both in school and at home. Students can log in and complete interactive tests, exam practice questions and exam papers, while staff can assign homework and monitor students’ progress. SAM has a proven track record: studies have shown that using the service can lead to an increase in exam performance.

Check it out at www.samlearning.com

The Grange School Forum At the Grange we also have a Parent/Carer Forum, which has already met on numerous occasions. The current group consists of nine parents/carers who have met to discuss topics such as communication, how to access on-line school resources, the new school building amongst other topics. Those staff present include myself and Mr Gill who convenes the meeting, and then staff relevant to what is being discussed. The next meeting will be before Easter, so if any parent/ carer wishes to join the group, then please contact Mr Gill at the school.

Target Setting Parents’ Evening Following on from the success from last year‟s meetings, Mr Downey has again written to the parents of pupils in Y9, Y10 and Y11 inviting them and their children to a new style parents evening. These evenings are in addition to the traditional parent‟s evenings when parents and pupils meet with subject teachers. The new meetings will be with a member of the Senior Leadership Team and will typically last for about 15 minutes. During the meetings our expectations will be set out and minimum target grades (MEGs) will be discussed. The guidance and support that pupils and parents can expect from us during the year will also be discussed. I believe that these meetings help to boost performance in examinations and

better prepare both pupils and their parents for the year ahead.

The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney. September 2012 Issue