Dear Parents and Carers
This week we held our first online Parents’ Evening for Year 11. We were pretty pleased with the software and I’d like to thank all the parents who took part and embraced the new technology. Parents make appointments as normal then log in on the night to join each video appointment in turn. The automated nature of it means appointments can’t overrun and you are sure to be speaking to your child’s teacher at the exact time you expect. After 5 minutes, the appointment shuts down to allow parents and teachers to join their next appointment. It does mean that some of us were cut off mid-sentence on occasions, but overall the feedback from parents and staff was very positive. Thanks to Mr Cannon, the parents who volunteered to trial it a few weeks ago in preparation, and all our tech team for moving us onto it. We can now look forward to the remaining parents’ evenings through the year.
On the subject of Year 11, and also of Year 13, we are watching carefully for any news on exams next summer. Quite often something reaches the news about what is happening but then closer inspection reveals it to be mere speculation. What we do know is that the beginning of the exams has been pushed back by around 3 weeks. It also appears that the end of the exams hasn’t been pushed back quite as far, which has the effect of squashing the exams together more than previous years; not ideal. The teaching representatives in this debate are pushing for fewer papers and some safety nets to be in place, and we will let you know as soon as things become clearer.
Exams are a multi-million-pound industry; the cost to Myton School each year for exam entries is around £150,000. Multiply that out to cover the whole of England and you can possibly see why exam boards are reluctant to reduce the number of papers students will sit. The cynic in me is yet to be convinced that it is all about maintaining the rigour of the exams process. Admittedly it is a complicated question this year, with the great variation of experience between schools and even within schools for students in Year 11 and 13. But whatever happens, the best way for our students to prepare is to expect the full exam season, dial into lessons on Teams if they are at home, follow the guidance of their teachers, and take advantage of additional study opportunities such as master classes through the holidays and revision classes after school. You can have faith that we will always keep your children’s best interests at heart and do everything we can to ensure that periods in self-isolation will not count against the students affected.
With best wishes
Andy Perry – Head Teacher
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