Dear Parents/Carers

YEAR 11 EXAMS

I hope you are well and that your child is progressing well through their revision plan and preparing for the exams ahead.

I wanted to provide you with some information about events that lay ahead for Year 11, in addition to some logistics about school timetables.

Year 11 exams begin on Monday 15th May.  Your child will this week be issued with a paper copy of their personalised exam timetable which has also been added to their ‘Edulink’ account under their ‘exams’ tab. When not in exams, pupils will continue with their full lesson timetables and therefore should attend school as normal, including form time, in full school uniform. In essence, nothing changes from their usual school pattern throughout the exam period.  For instances where afternoon exams finish earlier than the end of the school day, pupils will be released to their lessons and expected to stay in school up until the end of the school day, again as normal.

Whilst in school over the exam period, pupils will benefit from the expertise of their subject teachers for the longest duration possible as well as school providing a calm, relaxed and studious environment for self-study when a subject’s exams have been completed. With this in mind, we ask that you help prepare your child to organise themselves with plenty of revision materials that they can bring to school with them when a subject class becomes a self-study class (once its associated exams have been sat). 

Included below, you will see the three further avenues of preparation that we offer over the exam period. Exam warm up sessions run from 3.15-4.15pm the evening before the following day’s AM and PM exams, a morning warm up runs from 8.00am-9.00am for the AM exam on the morning of that exam and P3 timetables are altered so that Y11 can warm-up for PM exams with their subject teacher. These are invaluable opportunities. As the text is small, we have also uploaded it here: https://st-cecilias.co.uk/parents/revision

The Year 11 Celebration Mass will take place on Friday 26th May at 3.30pm until approx. 4.30pm. Parents and carers are invited, and we will contact you shortly to advise us on your intended numbers.  Traditionally, pupils will have their school shirts signed on this day.  However, to attend the Mass, pupils will be required to change into a clean white school shirt and remain in full school uniform. Food and drink will be provided after the Mass, leavers’ hoodies will be distributed and there will be opportunity to celebrate together.  Pupils who cannot attend the leavers’ Mass can collect their leavers’ hoodie following their next exam in school.  Pupils can wear their leavers’ hoodies in school from this date but cannot wear them in exams (due to them containing writing).  Pupils must remove the hoodies before exams and replace them with their blazer.

Once pupils have completed their final exam with us, they needn’t attend school anymore.  This will be no earlier than Friday 16th June where the whole cohort sit their Physics exam that morning, finishing at either 10.30am or 10.45am depending on the tier sat.  Pupils who study Geography, Design and Technology and/or Food Preparation and Nutrition would stay in school potentially until their final exam is complete, at the latest Tuesday 20th June. 

The awarding bodies have designated Wednesday 28th June as a ‘contingency day’ for examinations. For the June 2023 exams, the awarding bodies have introduced two additional half-day contingency sessions. These are on Thursday 8th June and Thursday 15th June 2023.

The designation of a ‘contingency day’ within the common examination timetable is in the event of national or significant local disruption to examinations in the United Kingdom. It is part of the awarding bodies’ standard contingency planning for examinations.  

Therefore, candidates must remain available until Wednesday 28th June should an awarding body need to invoke its contingency plan. 

As your child’s journey with us comes to an end, we would very much appreciate items of uniform that your child has grown out of or no longer needs.  These kind donations would enable us to support some families with acquiring school uniform.  We are particularly in need of school skirts.  Should you be able to assist then please send in this uniform with your child who can drop it off in our ‘Damascus’ room.  We will also appeal to you closer the time for blazers, skirts, ties, PE kit and revision guides/textbooks that can be donated after your child’s last exam.

If you require any further advice then please contact the relevant member of staff via info@st-cecilias.lancs.sch.uk

Many thanks for your continued and valued support.

Mrs H Hall

Headteacher