Dear GA families

Our aim for every student at Gloucester Academy is that they climb their own personal mountain to the very best universities and professions.  As your child begins their transition into Year 11 there is a range of information to share with you to explain how we will be supporting your child to achieve the very best.

Extended School Day

At this time of year, we are able to extend the school day so that our Year 10 students have increased access to expert tuition. One of the biggest indicators of pupil success is the amount of time that students spend being taught by outstanding teachers and we are proud to be able to give this extra time to all of our students to ensure their success.  This means that between September and the start of their GCSE examinations, students will receive an additional 264 hours of learning time, which equates to 44 extra school days. 

The school day for Year 10 will now end at 4.00pm each day from Tuesday 28^th June 2022. 

Mock Examinations

The third assessment cycle of this academic year is fast approaching and as such your child will again sit a series of assessments allowing them to demonstrate their learning over the last year. These will enable us to see how well our students are revising and learning and also identify any gaps they have in their knowledge. 

These assessments will take place under a full Exam Protocol to prepare them for their GCSE examinations next year. We will write to you separately with a personalised Exam timetable and your child’s seating plan. Examinations will start on Wednesday 29th June 2022. 

Students are expected to be in school from 8am every morning of the examination cycle.  This is to allow them to access the full experience of ‘Learning Breakfast’ and ‘Warm Up’ sessions that they will have from now on.  Students will sit both KIP and exam style assessments. In addition to the ‘Knowledge Organisers’ that students already carry, they will be given an Assessment Booklet that outlines the core skills and knowledge that they will need to demonstrate in both their end of year assessments as well as their formal examinations in 2023.

Academic Review Evening: Tuesday 19th July 2022 5.30pm until 7.30pm.

We are excited to invite you to our end of year review where we invite parents to come and discuss the progress of their child as they prepare for Year 11.

The evening will start with a talk which will cover

• • Expectatins of Year 11
  • ‘Hliday Schools’ - what they are about and how they work
  • Attendance in Schol 
  • Exam preparatin at home

You will then be able to collect your child‘s exam results which you can discuss with school teachers.

This will be followed by an opportunity to meet the teachers, discuss the work covered by your child over the year and look through their books and assessments. You will not need an appointment to talk to individual teachers as you should be able to talk to them at your convenience throughout the evening. 

This will take place in School from 5.30pm until 7.30pm.

We look forward to your full support in ensuring that the students at Gloucester Academy are able to climb their own personal mountain to the best professions and Universities.

Please indicate your attendance by filling in this form so that we can plan refreshments accordingly.

Looking to the future

Over the remaining weeks of term, we have some exciting opportunities for students to meet and discuss 6th Form options with a range of schools. This will take place in school over lunch and is voluntary for students. 

We are also very excited to offer our highest performing students a taster session at Oxford University. This will take place after the mock examinations. More information on this will follow.

Yours sincerely

Mrs V Pearce

Assistant Headteacher