It has been a busy week for Year 11 - on Wednesday they had the opportunity to get a first hand experience of life at The Island VI Form - they experienced lessons from the wide variety of subjects that are on offer at A level. I really enjoyed visiting them during the day. They were amazing and teachers have commented on how engaged students were in their lessons.

I was super proud of them yesterday when they received their trial exam grades. They took it seriously and were very supportive of each other - as I said to them yesterday, these results are a stepping stone to help them understand where they are excelling and to identify specific topics or skills to focus on in the coming weeks. They need to think about a revision programme leading up to their exams. Over the Christmas break, they need to engage in the Tassomai challenges, Sparks and make sure that they put time aside to study.

It was lovely to see so many Parents/Carers of Year 11 attended the Parents’ Evening yesterday. We hope you found it informative. These evenings are a great opportunity for you to discuss any concerns you may have about your child and I’d also like to thank all the staff involved. There will be a second Year 11 Parents' Evening next term.

Our Academy Committee met for the first time this week. They have emerged from the previous governing board along with a new staff and a new parent member. Richard Bridgford is the new chair and Sara Higgs vice chair. We are looking forward to working closely with them in the coming months.

As you will see below, a trip to Vietnam that our very own Mr Briscoe ran last year has won first place in the national School Travel Awards. We are very proud of Mr Briscoe and all of the staff and students that made this happen. Please see further details below.

We are continuing to collect donations for our Food Bank collection. If you have any items of pre-packed food or toiletries that you would like to donate, please drop them into reception. Thank you to those who have already brought in their donations. Year 7 are collecting items for the Salvation Army Charity Christmas Boxes. Thank you all for the donations received so far, any more would be greatly appreciated.

The Duke of Edinburgh Award is still very much an important part of our curriculum. We were not successful in recruitment of a member of staff to deliver the programme at the end of last term. We are looking at options to work with the Isle of Wight Council. We will update you on progress in the new year.

There is less than a week now until our student performance of ‘Alice’. Tickets are available on Arbor. As a reminder, we also have our Christmas Concert which is free to attend and no tickets are required. This will be on Wednesday 18 December at Newport Minster (St Thomas' Square, PO30 1SL). Seasonal refreshments will also be available.

A gentle reminder that students are not permitted to bring fizzy drinks, energy drinks or large amounts of sugary sweets/chocolate to school. If these items are brought into school they will be confiscated. We also ask that you are mindful of allergies and try to avoid your child bringing in items containing nuts.

Our canteen will be serving a Christmas lunch on Wednesday 18 December. Here is the menu.

Congratulations to our highest achievement point winners last week, Amelia in Year 7, Evie Year 8, Summer and Lana Year 9, Melody Year 10 and Cameron Year 11.

Have a lovely weekend.

Miss Begley
Head of School - Carisbrooke College