A MESSAGE FROM OUR HEADTEACHER
The Cambridge dictionary recently announced ‘Perseverance’ as their word of the year for 2021. Perseverance is defined as the ‘continued effort to do or achieve something, even when this is difficult or takes a long time.’ It seems to truly capture the spirit of our time: our determination to overcome the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, our commitment to battle against climate change, and to heal the divisions in our society. None of these issues will have easy or quick solutions, but we know that the reward will be worth the effort.
Becoming the best people we can be is not a short or simple task. It takes commitment, effort and time. It requires a ‘never give up’ spirit and throughout the Autumn term, the learners and staff have once again had to dig deep and rise to the challenges presented by the pandemic showing real perseverance in their efforts.
We have embraced every opportunity for a more normal school life. Pupils have remained in school and our core business of face-to-face teaching and learning has resumed at full tempo! We have welcomed back the return of sports fixtures, afterschool clubs and the chance to recognise and celebrate national events.
As a school, we are grateful that, thanks to the efforts and focus of our pupils during lockdown and beyond, we are seeing that many have remained on track with their learning this year. In other words, our pupils are not a million miles away from where we would expect them to be, if they had not spent several months learning through a screen.
2021 has been another very hard year, but we must not focus on what we may have missed. Instead, let us be thankful for the fact that we are here and we are together at the end of this incredibly difficult year.
The pandemic will of course still be with us in the New Year ahead and there will undoubtedly be many more challenges coming our way. But we are strong, we are ‘TeamTred’ and we set no limits on what we can achieve. We will continue to ‘work together for success’ because when we persevere, we can and we will accomplish incredible things.
Have a wonderful Christmas break.
Nadolig Llawen pawb!
WHOLE SCHOOL
uniform
As the weather is colder and windows have to remain open due to COVID guidelines, pupils are allowed to wear a plain navy or plain black, V neck tank top or jumper under their blazers. Plain jumpers/tank tops can be purchased from most supermarkets as they do not have to have the school logo.
Pupil Broadcast
Our pupils requested a line of communication where pupils were able to share with their school community, the information from school council meetings. The first broadcast played out during assembly last week and it was amazing! Pupils were able to feedback on decisions that had been made as a result of student council meetings and they were able to explain why some requests couldn't be met. We look forward to the January broadcast.
Congratulations to
- Liam Hamer (Y9)
- Ffion Griffiths (Y9)
- Rhys Price (Y9)
- Asyia Ilahi (Y11) Senior Prefect in charge of Celebrations and Communications
Stamp donations
Miss Williams is collecting used stamps for a charity that provides medical aid and vaccines to countries in Africa and Asia. If you can help, please cut the stamp off the envelope and send into Miss Williams (Science) in January .
English
It has been a productive term here in the English Department. Our learners have hit the ground running since being back in the classroom. From group discussions on recycling to written diary entries straight from the trenches, students at Ysgol Gyfun Tredegar have been putting in their best efforts when it comes to their English lessons.
Year 7
Year 7 have settled in well. After meeting their new English teachers, they began with a scheme all about themselves so everyone could get to know each other! The department were inundated with beautifully decorated mood boards that the students used as a sounding board for discussing their identities with their peers. Currently, Year 7 have been considering how language has evolved to become what it is today. They have delved into the realm of the 8th century by studying the story of Beowulf, which is considered to be one of the most important works in literature!
Year 8
With a whole year under their belt, Year 8 have returned to their learning with enthusiasm! They started the year with our Disasters scheme, studying different disasters and the impact that they have on people and their environment. Year 8 pupils collated all of their knowledge to write an open letter about recycling in school. There are definitely future eco leaders among us! At the moment, Year 8 are investigating superhero traits and asking themselves; what makes a superhero? This has proven popular with our learners although we do have a clear Marvel / DC divide!
Year 9
Year 9 began the year by delving into something that is very prevalent in today’s society; our digital world! Students had to think outside the box to consider whether technology is always helpful or if it is a hindrance in our lives. Learners had an intense discussion about the impact that Instagram can have on a young person’s mental health, (we even had an oracy ping pong match!) whilst also beginning to practise exam style questions ready for their GCSEs! However, the work didn’t stop there! In their most recent lessons, Year 9 have been reading poetry from the First World War which was especially hard-hitting during November and on Remembrance Day. They have used empathy skills to write about the experiences of soldiers after being inspired by poetry such as ‘In Flanders Fields.’
KS4
In KS4, GCSEs have been the centre of both Year 10 and 11’s focus. Year 10 are working tremendously hard through revising and completing their coursework in lessons. From Macbeth to poetry, our year 10 students have been engaging their critical skills in regards to themes in literature. So, don’t be surprised if you find them quoting Shakespeare dramatically at the dinner table!
Having left literature behind them, Year 11 are currently honing their skills at language questions, both reading and writing, to prepare them for their upcoming PPE. They have studied various themes such as extreme sports, childhood and even sharks! Through these themes, they have studied a variety of exam questions and they all have been equipped with an English language handbook to help them revise.
MATHEMATICS
New Curriculum update
We have been working closely with other departments and faculties looking at collaborative opportunities in our Schemes of Learning. We have linked in with PE looking at scores, times and distances. From here we have used this data to analyse it using Mean, median, mode and range analysis. We are then looking to link with ICT and process this data in Microsoft excel, creating accurate representations in both average and graphical form.
Further to this, we linked in with Science and explored Speed, Distance and Time allowing students to deepen their understanding of what we are looking at and how we can use it. In our Tre-lympics Scheme we have seen ICT create Minecraft stadium that we will explore in the New Year, looking at area, volume and population density.
TT rockstars
All classes have taken on the challenges of Times Tables Rockstars this year, having regular sessions in class and taken the opportunity to push on at home challenging themselves, friends and teachers. We look forward to our whole school and inter school competitions in the New Year.
Year 11
Year 11 have completed their first round of PPE Mock exams in Mathematics which has been excellent preparation for the summer assessments. There will be a results day for all pupils in January. Some Year 11 Mathematics classes have already had an opportunity this year to have an interactive session, where careers, A’ level options and further options involving Mathematics could be explored. We have follow up sessions planned in the New Year, including university visits/interactive sessions.
Assessments
All year groups have now completed their end of year assessments and have reflected on what has been a great start to 2021/22. We as a department are very proud of the efforts every pupil has put in and now look forward to seeing what steps they can take next in the New Year.
All in all we have had a really strong start to the school year, we have overcome certain challenges and persevered taking pride in our mathematics lessons. We will continue to push forward, challenging and extending ourselves into the New Year.
We would also like to mark a farewell to a well-loved and integral member of the department. This term marks the end of Mrs Folu’s Journey with team Tred. She has been an outstanding Maths teacher, Form Tutor, Mentor and colleague, inspiring young mathematicians for 20 years at Tredegar. She will be greatly missed. Thank you Mrs Folu, we all wish her all the best in the future
SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
SCIENCE
We started the term with some exciting news, Inspire 2 Achieve presented us with our 1st place Lego Mindstorm trophy! This was thanks to the Y9 pupils who took part in the challenge back in June. This is the second time for our school to win first place and we look forward to competing again in 2022!
Enrichment
Two STEM Ambassadors spoke to our pupils this term, this was great! This was thanks to STEM Learning UK who provide profiles for professionals willing to volunteer their time to enrich our learners experiences of STEM.
A Flight Lieutenant for the RAF spoke to our pupils about Communications Engineering and Cyber Security. It was interesting to hear how his career has changed over the years and how he has invested time in educating himself as new developments have come through in technologies.
The Physics Mentoring Project with Cardiff and Swansea University has started its new cycle. We have 12 Year 9 pupils taking part this term and it's been an interesting journey so far! Our Y9 participants have shown a great degree of maturity throughout the programme and have been real models for our school #YGTCSPride!
Engineering
We are very excited to share the news released by Welsh Government this month. We are having just over £100’000 funding to develop an Engineering Hub at our school. We are the first school in Wales to collaborate with a college and design a curriculum to support high value, advanced engineering technologies.
Welsh Government investment to see robotics workshop established in Tech Valleys
A high-tech robotics workshop is to be established in Wales’ Tech Valleys to help inspire local students to become the next generation of engineers, helping to provide a pipeline of talented new recruits for local advanced manufacturing businesses, Economy Minister Vaughan Gething has announced.
The workshop will be set up at Coleg Gwent with a pilot hub at Tredegar Comprehensive School, thanks to a £600,000 investment by the Welsh Government.
We will be busy designing projects to enrich the Engineering curriculum from January. Our hub will run from September 2022.
To read the full press release from Welsh Government, please click below
Art & design, eXPRESSIVE ARTS
Year 7
Pupils have been producing some amazing work on their Expressive Arts Identity theme below are some examples of their paintings and drawing based on artist’s Munch, Van Gogh and Nathan Wyburn. There has been some excellent skills on show by all and we are proud of the homework’s sent in on Nathan Wyburn, we even got to show the artist’s you work he was impressed!
YEAR 8
Pupils have been also producing some impressive work on their Expressive Arts Comedy & Tragedy theme, below are some examples of illustrations inspired by Quentin Blake & Tony Ross and the books by David Walliams, including characters from Billionaire Boy, Gangsta Granny.
Year 9
Cultures theme art has shown the pupils high level of skill and artists taking GCSE, we are very proud of you all year 9 keep up the excellent work. Here are some examples of Day of the Dead, Aboriginal Art & Egyptian Art.
Year 10
Have begun their individual Portfolios and shown some inspiring ideas and themes, this work shows the variety of individual skills and personal ideas.
Year 11
Are continuing to produce their GCSE Portfolios and it has been a pleasure to see the hard work continue and their skills develop to such a high standard.
An evening with Nathan Wyburn (Homecoming Evening)
A lovely evening was spent at Nathan Wyburn’s ‘Homecoming’ at Ebbw Vale where he spoke about his art work he has produced over the past decade. Well done to those pupils who attended the event and were lucky enough to meet the artist and get his latest book signed. Here is Mr J Withycombe & Ruby Howard, we look forward to sharing an exciting new project with Nathan and the Art faculty in 2022! Watch this space.
We use the following accounts to show the weekly progress of our pupils in the Faculty,
GEOGRAPHY
The department has continued its collaboration with subjects in the Humanities Area of Learning and have continued to expose the cross curricular themes for pupils currently in Year 7 and 8. This includes ‘Inequality’ in Year 8, where pupils will investigate the inequalities within low income (Bangladesh) and high income (Italy, a country within the EU) countries. Pupils in Year 7 have been introduced to ‘Humanities’ through the basics to Geography by looking at the continents & oceans of the world, the map of Europe and the British Isles.
Following this, pupils in Year 7 will investigate the Humanities theme of ‘Who am I?’, where they will look at physical and human geographical maps of Wales to establish what makes Wales, Wales! What gives us our sense of identity? And, how our landscape has shaped us and continues to shape us?
Pupils in Year 8 will experience the theme of conflict, which was successfully delivered to pupils in Year 8 over the last two years. In geography, this is an opportunity to see how natural resources can lead to the causes and con sequences of conflict, particularly in countries in the Middle East.
Year 7 will finish by looking at the Humanities theme of ‘Natural Disasters’, a classic in Geography is volcanoes & earthquakes and how these events impact on humans around the world!
Lots to look forward to as we enter a new curriculum landscape over the next academic years in the Humanities area of learning! Hopefully, the Spring term newsletter will feature some of the usual outdoor experiences pupils normally have! Have a safe and enjoyable Christmas!
Plans:
At the time of writing, all pupils in Year 7 are visiting Bedwellty Park to conduct their mapskills treasure hunt! Photos to follow in the Spring Term newsletter. There are also plans for Year 8 to make a visit in relation to the conflict theme and Year 9 to the coast, which is also related to their in class studies. Year 10 will conduct their fieldwork in the Summer Term. Hopefully all of this will go ahead and photos will follow in the Spring Term newsletter.
ESDGC / Eco Schools / Fairtrade Schools
News:
Eco Schools members met to participate in an online lesson in relation to the Cop26 conference. They also met to discuss future plans in order to sustain their green flag status. There are quite a few ideas in the pipeline regarding recycling in the school. Discussions for Fairtrade Fortnight 2022 and ESDGC week 2022 also took place. Coverage and photos of these events will follow in future newsletters.
If you don’t already do so, can you please follow on Twitter.
HISTORY
Year 7
Year 7 have all settled in very well to their first term here in the History Department at Tredegar Comprehensive School. They have all thoroughly enjoyed their first topic this academic year – ‘World War One’. They now have an in depth understanding of why the First World War began, why so many men joined up to fight and how the reality of war was very different to the myths they were told. They were shocked to discover what life in the trenches during the First World War was really like, which aided them greatly in being able to empathise with the soldiers to complete their first written assessment which was a letter from the trenches.
Year 8
As part of our Humanities theme of ‘Equality’, pupils in year 8 have been investigating the events surrounding the murder of George Floyd and consequent Black Lives Matter protests that were held across the world in 2020. Pupils carried out an enquiry to help them understand what has happened to black lives throughout History, beginning with the slave trade that had a massive impact on so many lives, so that they could understand why these protests were so important, what they were and are still fighting for fighting for and what we can do today to ensure as citizens of the world that we continue to fight for equality for all.
Spring Term
Year 7 and Year 8 are now very much looking forward to starting their Humanities topics in their History, Geography and RE lessons, after our Christmas break in preparation for the New Curriculum 2022. The New Curriculum is centred on 4 key purposes. These four purposes have been the starting point for all of our decisions on the content and experiences developed as part of the ‘Humanities’ curriculum to support our children and young people to be: healthy, confident individuals, ready to lead fulfilling lives as valued members of society. As well as enterprising, creative contributors, ready to play a full part in life and work. The themes we have designed for our Year 7 and 8 pupils will help them become ethical, informed citizens of Wales and the world as well as healthy, confident individuals, ready to lead fulfilling lives as valued members of society. These four purposes have been at the heart of our new ‘Humanities’ curriculum and we are feeling very excited about starting these with our Key Stage pupils next term.
Year 7 pupils will be looking at the theme ‘Who am I?’ where they will learn about their identity and culture through looking at the History of Tredegar – an industrial town that has changed greatly from its origins where there was nothing but a few scattered farms. It was one of the first ‘iron towns’ of its time and offered many opportunities to the migrants that flocked here looking for work.
Our Year 8 theme is ‘Conflict’ and here pupils will look at the big question of ‘how has and is conflict shaping the world we live in?’ We will begin our study by looking at a ‘day that shook the world’ – 9/11 and then began looking at the causes, events and consequences of this event.
Year 9
Year 9 pupils have all settled in very well to their new GCSE History classes. We have been very impressed by the standard of work, effort, engagement and attitude to learning from these pupils. We started our GCSE journey by looking at the role of the USA in world affairs from 1930 – 2000. We began with looking at America’s role in the Second World War with the attack at Pearl Harbor and the subsequent full involvement of the USA in helping to win the war with major victories at the D day landings, Midway and Okinawa and the atomic bombs dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We are now studying America’s involvement in the Cold War and investigating the causes, events and consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Berlin blockade and Vietnam War.
Year 10 and Year 11
Both year groups have been investigating what life in 1920s, USA was like from the immigrants that flocked into America in search of a ‘land of opportunity’ and the ‘land of dreams’ to the many problems that they encountered such as the violence and interrogation of groups like the KKK, to the crime and corruption of the Gangsters with their illegal bootlegged liquor and Tommy Guns to the elegance and excitement of the new popular entertainment that made the ‘roaring 20s’ come alive with Hollywood, jazz and the Flapper era!
Both year groups have all worked very hard to date this year and have completed a lot of past papers and undertaken revision for regular class tests on past paper questions to ensure that they are familiar with the exam techniques required in the GCSE paper and are confident with their revision style and know what revision technique works best for them. This will make sure that they are fully prepared for when they sit their final GCSE modules in the Summer term.
Presenting to you our History Ambassadors
We are really proud to introduce our History Ambassadors for Years 7 – 11. The sheer number of applications was very impressive - there were 43 in Year 7 alone! A massive well done to everyone who did apply as it was a really tough choice. Our History Ambassadors were selected as a result of their written applications, their effort in classwork and homework and being excellent role models in the History classroom at all times.
Year 7 Ambassadors
Year 8 Ambassadors
Year 9 Ambassadors
Year 10 Ambassadors
Year 11 Ambassadors
The first History Ambassador Meeting has taken place with pupil voice being fully utilised by our Ambassadors presenting lots of ideas and suggestions that will help improve the History department. The next History Ambassador meeting will take place on Tuesday 11th January, 2022.
MUSIC , PERFORMING & Expressive ARTS
It has been an eventful and productive term for the music and performing arts department! From recruiting music ambassadors, to performing in the community, it has been another busy yet thoroughly enjoyable term!
Learning and Teaching news
KS3
The department has continued working collaboratively with the Art department to provide our pupils with authentic learning experiences from the Expressive Arts Area of Learning. Our topic in Year 7 has been ‘Identity’. In Music, this has involved learning about what makes each instrument unique and individual. Pupils have been learning the principal techniques and skills associated with keyboards, guitars, drums, ukuleles and vocals. In Expressive arts, pupils have been creating freeze frame and tableau based on items that they have chosen that expresses the pupils’ own identity. Pupils have developed their ideas into identity performances using devised script which they have ‘blocked’ into individual class performances. Here are some examples from 72D.
Our topic in Year 8 has been ‘Comedy and Tragedy’. In Music, pupils have been learning about how composers use either major or minor tonality to create a feeling of happiness/sadness. In Expressive arts, pupils started exploring the topic of ‘Comedy and Tragedy’ with an introduction to the origins of comedy and tragedy. They have explored gesture, facial expression, gait and posture to develop comic and tragic characters, using the elements of mime, melodrama, improvisation and farce.
KS4
In Year 10 and 11, GCSE Music pupils have been developing their performing, composing and appraising skills and focusing on exam technique in particular. Our year 9 GCSE Music pupils have gotten off to an excellent start showing their commitment to the course with their excellent attendance to peripatetic lessons. Year 10 and 11 Performing Arts pupils have been focusing on acting and musical theatre skills and tracking and reviewing their own progress through regular scrutiny of their practical work.
Pupil leadership news
In October, the department provided all pupils with the opportunity of becoming music, expressive arts and performing arts ambassadors. We were overwhelmed by not only the quantity, but the quality of the applications. Pupils explained why they wanted to be an ambassador, and what personal qualities they believed they had that would enable them to carry out the role efficiently. Every pupil who applied received pride points. Those who were chosen to be ambassadors were selected due to their excellent written applications where they conveyed their enthusiasm and passion and for being excellent role models in the classroom. Da iawn everyone!
Extra-Curricular news
We kicked off this term with preparations for our annual Christmas concert, but just like last year we were unable to perform live for the actual event. After consultation with our ambassadors, it was decided that we would present musical performances in a different format to last year. Our ambassadors came up with the idea to have a ‘Countdown to Christmas’ which would feature daily performances uploaded to our twitter and Instagram pages. The performances featured vocal and instrumental items from pupils in all year groups and even our very first ever pantomime! Congratulations to all the pupils who performed; the department is extremely proud of you all!
Our extra-curricular programme will start back the first week of the spring term. We look forward to seeing both new and familiar faces!
During the last week of term, our Year 9 Performing Arts pupils performed a variety of Christmas songs for the residents of Bedwellty Park Residential home. The pupils loved being able to perform to a live audience which they have missed due to the pandemic and it was lovely to be back performing in the community.
We would like to wish all our pupils and their families a very merry Christmas and we look forward to seeing you for another action-packed year ahead!
Physical educatioN
It's been a busy Term in the PE department!
Year 7 and 8 have completed their Olympic Booklets ready to use in maths and science and have been looking at the life skills that can be learnt through physical activity and sport. One of the focuses this half term has been leadership, and over 40 students in Year 7 will complete the Young Sports Leader Award before we finish for Christmas. Years 7 and 8 have developed practical skills (Hands) in football, Netball, Gymnastics and Swimming and have focused on developing body control, confidence and setting appropriate goals.
Our extra-curricular programme has been jam-packed, with many students attending our clubs each week. During National Sports Week, most of the school attended one of the 'try something new' sessions, leading to increased participation in our sports clubs! We have listened to our student's voice results and added table tennis, basketball, and boxing to the list of afterschool activities students can enjoy.
In regard to fixtures, there have been many, over 30!
We have had successful results for our football, rugby and netball teams, with the Year 7 and 8 football teams making it through the first few rounds of the Welsh cup! Both narrowly missed out (penalties and last min goal). The Year 7 Rugby team remained unbeaten, and we had wins for all of our Netball teams.
Year 7 and 8 Netball- It has been wonderful to spend time with so many enthusiastic, talented pupils after school for Netball training and/or fixtures. I want to bottle their excitement and their motivation and take it with me in their journey through school right up to Year 11! Recently they have been working on positional attacking play including dodging and passing with an introduction to some of the phases of defence. Local derby fixtures have been competitive with 3 wins 1 draw and 2 losses. I am looking forward to seeing how these young inspiring netballers progress over the next few months and years
Year 9 Netball - A strong squad of girls making excellent progress. Between the 2 teams, they have won 5 games, drawn 1 and narrowly lost 2 games. Nominated ‘Players of the Match’ so far this season have been Cerys Bound, Lily Poulton and Holly Jones. Great leadership skills have been on display from Isabella D’Amato and Cerys Bound, who have confidently performed their roles as Captains - thank you, girls!
Huge congratulations to Lacey Vaughan and Maisie Williams for their selection into the U14’s S.E. Wales Netball Squad. Both these talented players have already had the opportunity to represent the county against other regions and we wish them all the very best for the rest of the season.
Year 10 & 11 Netball - An amazing and resilient group of girls. This developing squad, with a number of new players, have won 1 game, drawn 1 and lost 2 games. This season, ‘Players of the Match’ have been awarded to Darcey Howells and Libby Goulding. Both girls have helped to organise and Captain teams. Thank you to the excellent leadership skills of Brooke Jones and Bethan Sullivan, who have managed training session.
Year 10 Sports Leaders completed the assessment element of their course! Congratulations!
Year 9 Girls Active Leaders have been running a Girls active club for Years 7 and 8 and teaching them the importance of physical activity and exercise through fun activities. The number of girls at their club is growing each week, and we are so proud of the job they are doing! Da iawn girls!
In KS4 core PE, our students have had an opportunity to choose a competitive, recreational, and health and well-being pathway. Activities are then provided based on the pathway they have chosen. For example, many of our students who have selected the health and well-being pathway have had the opportunity to use the new gym equipment in the Leisure Centre.
Congratulations charlie birch!
Charlie Birch, in Year 11, has been accepted for a rugby scholarship at Cheltenham College. Charlie had to undergo a day of rigorous tests and show his sporting capabilities. The PE department is so proud of his achievements. I am sure you will all want to congratulate him on this outstanding achievement when you see him.
It has been such a pleasure to see students being active and enjoying all of the benefits of physical activity and inter-school competition! In the New Year, we plan to introduce more to our extra-curricular programme, start our first House Sports events in Year 7 and hopefully create links in the community for our Sports Leaders to volunteer.
@Tredegar_PE
MFL - MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES
International Languages News
This term we have celebrated El Día Europeo de Lenguas ( European Day of Languages) and El Día de los Muertos (The day of the Dead).
Year 7 took part in an EDL QR code treasure hunt and produced some excellent posters about why it is important to learn languages and Year 8 participated in an escape room activity and then created some outstanding mini books looking at the benefits of learning Spanish.
We had some fabulous Day of the Dead masks created by year 7 and after studying the trailer for El Libro de la Vida (The Book of Life) Year 8 wrote some fabulous synopses for the film.
Once again, our school was lucky to be selected to take place in the Cardiff University MFL Mentoring Project. 15 pupils from 81A have had the opportunity to have 6 mentoring sessions with Andrei and the whole class have had two ‘Turbo Boost’ sessions with Anne-Laure. In the sessions, the pupils learnt about what it means to study international languages at GCSE and beyond. We are very much looking forward to continuing our partnership next term, when 81B will be working with the mentor.
We would like to wish everybody íFeliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo!
religious education
The Autumn Term has been very busy in The RE/RS Department.
Year 7 have been researching into the common aspects of the 6 main religions of the world. This task will culminate in a pupil constructed “Fact Deck” to display their various aspects of personal research. The results have been impressive to say the least!!!
In RE in Year 8 pupils have been working in collaboration with History and Geography as part of the Humanities faculty. They, in their RE groupings have been looking at Inspirational figures who have challenged authority. This has been completed as part of the humanities theme of “inequality” which has been running with all humanities subjects. In this unit focus of attention/research has been on influential figures such as Malala Yousafzai, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Ghandi. These multi-skill tasks have again been impressive.
In year 9 of course the subject is Religious Studies and all pupils follow the full course GCSE specification. Topics completed this year have included beliefs about the existence of God, the Trinity the life and message of Jesus and Creation.
Year 10 have busied themselves by looking at moral Issues. Topics here have been issues surrounding Abortion, Euthanasia, Crime and Punishment, focussing on Capital Punishment. Views and opinions expressed in these areas have been mature shows how ethically informed our pupils are!!!!
Year 11 have been quickly heading towards the end of their GCSE course. They, as Year 10 have been looking at moral issues. Topics here have included War and Peace, Forgiveness and Good and evil.
Following on from these areas pupils have been engaged with themes such as the importance, value and uses of Sacred Texts such as the Bible and the Torah. Issues of life and Death and religious journeys or Pilgrimage have also been covered in what has been a busy term for them.
Another occasion of note was when one of our Year 10 pupils Gurkeert Kaur gave an excellent presentation on the festival of Diwali, and what it means to her culture. It was fantastic!!! The quality of the presentation was outstanding and was thoroughly enjoyed by staff and pupils alike!!!
It has to be said that Gurkeert also looked amazing!!!
A very big thank you indeed!!!!
Weekly Assemblies
The RE department is also responsible for weekly assemblies for all Year groups in tandem with the respective Learning Co-ordinators.
Topics looked at this term have included:
- Human Rights Day.
- The Aberfan Disaster.
- Modern Slavery.
- Remembrance Day.
- Stress Awareness Week.
- Mental Health awareness.
- World Sight Day.
- Food Waste Awareness.
The reflection and interest shown by pupils on these issues has been impressive!!! These have also been looked at despite the limitations imposed on us by COVID. It is certainly a strength of our school. Long may it continue!!!!
YEAR 7 Mr howells
Collectively, Year 7 pupils have made a positive transition into life at Ysgol Gyfun Tredegar Comprehensive School. Despite the added challenges, pupils have demonstrated perseverance and resilience in starting their secondary school journey aiming to gain qualifications that will provide foundations for post 16 choices.
Pupils of the month
The following pupils were selected as pupils of the month for September, October and November 2021. Congratulations all, very well done.
Mentoring week
All pupils participated in mentoring week albeit in a different format. The amended process enabled pupil’s to have individual meetings with their form tutor to discuss their transition, their attitude to learning and then set targets for improvement. Follow up phone calls were then made by form tutors to parents & carers. Thank you, parents & carers for your support and feedback throughout the process.
Year group representatives
Congratulations to Amelia Jones & Rhys Waters on their appointment as Year representatives for Year 7. Amelia and Rhys were voted in from a field of outstanding candidates and they will represent our year group on the school council.
Further congratulations to the following pupils elected as form captains. Once again, well done to each pupil who put themselves forward in applying. Form captains will present the view of their form class to the Year group council who will then forward views to school council.
- 7T: Emma Davis & Seren Price
- 7P: Amelia Jones & Rhys Waters
- 7R: Roman Jones & Lois Dann
- 7I: Harrison Hughes & Summer Brown
- 7D: Ava Lapping & Harevy Bridgeman
- 7E: Isabella Templar & CJ Lewis
year 8 miss yates
Pupils of the Month
The following pupils have been commended for their work and attitude to learning and have been identified as role models by their form tutors and Learning Coordinator, Miss Yates. Pupils received certificates and Pride Points for their outstanding work and efforts this term.
September – Awarded for serving as role models
- Molly Bain (P),
- Caelan Lewis (R),
- William Keeble (I),
- William Kearney (D),
- Ianis Constantin (E)
October - Awarded for readily accepting challenge
- Connor Stephens (P),
- Tilly Jones (R),
- Annabelle Brown (I),
- Summa Jones (D),
- Seren Protheroe (E)
November – Awarded for showing kindness to members of the school community
- Keira Wade (P),
- Tynisha Kehely (R),
- Kobe Parfitt-Parry (I),
- Jenson Congreve (D),
- Liam Palmer (E)
December – Awarded for Making excellent progress and attitude to learning
- Riley Wakins (P),
- Lexi Prince(R),
- Finley Mackintosh (I),
- Riley Price (D),
- Libby Phillips (E)
Year Council Reps
Pupil voice is highly valued at Ysgol Gyfun Tredegar Comprehensive School. We are proud to announce that Year 8 representatives have been elected to form part of the School Council. Huge congratulations are extended to Olivia Hudd (8I) and Tilly Jones (R) who were elected by the year group following a series of excellent presentations from pupils who spoke passionately about school improvement. The year group had a difficult decision to make as the quality of presentations made by all pupils were outstanding and the votes were extremely close. It is without doubt that Olivia and Tilly will do an incredible job and we wish them both every success in their new roles. Llongyfarchiadau merched!
Annual Prize Giving - Pupil Awards for academic year 2020-21
Our annual prize giving acknowledged the work of two outstanding pupils in the year group for their attitude to learning and progress made throughout Year 7. The winners of the Year 7 Prize are Seren Protheroe and Ianis Constantin.
Seren has been awarded the Year 7 Academic Prize for her outstanding work and efforts throughout her first year at Ysgol Gyfun Tredegar Comprehensive School. Seren embraces all aspects of school life, has a real thirst for learning and thrives on challenge. Seren serves as a true ambassador for the school and as a fantastic role model for her peers. Seren is testament to her namesake as she is a real 'star'! We are very proud of Seren's work and achievements. Llongyfarchiadau!
Ianis is a worthy recipient of the Year 7 prize for Attitude to Learning. Ianis has worked extremely hard and has served as a real model to his peers. Ianis was the first pupil in Year 7 to achieve his Bronze Award having collected over 350 Pride Points and secured his Silver Award by the end of the academic year with over 650 Pride Points awarded. Ianis has a determined and conscientious attitude which has resulted in him making a significant amount of progress. Ianis is the epitome of #YGTCSPride and we are extremely proud of everything he has achieved this year. Well done Ianis!
Year 9 Mrs Cavender-morris
What a fantastic, busy, challenging term for all. I am totally overwhelmed by the resilience and determination of nearly all pupils in year 9 to do their best on their learning journey. I would like to thank all the pupils and the parents for their support in these challenging times. Most Pupils have engaged amazingly well with their learning in the first term of their GCSE studies. I am so proud to be the Year 9 learning coordinator and I am looking forward to sharing with you lots of success and celebrations we had this term
Mentoring week
Mentoring week was a remarkable success. Form tutors and Mrs Cavender Morris enjoyed making phone calls and having conversations with parents and carers to discuss their child’s attitude to learning and wellbeing. A massive Thank you to parents & carers for your support and feedback throughout the process.
Year Council Reps
We are proud to announce that Year 9 representatives have been elected to form part of the School Council. A massive congratulations and well done to Liam Hamer (9I) and Archie Hares (9R) who were elected by the year group following a series of excellent presentations from pupils who spoke passionately about school improvement. The pupils had the extremely difficult decision to make in choosing the representatives as the quality of presentations made by all pupils were amazing and the votes were extremely close. Special commendation goes to Megan Blake, Charles Holloway, Carys James for their presentation. have no doubt that Liam and Archie Hares will do a wonderful job representing year 9 in the school council and we wish them both every success in their new roles. Fantastic role models well done!
Annual Prize Giving - Pupil Awards for academic year 2020-21
A massive congratulations to this year’s prize winners in our annual prize giving. Pupils were acknowledged for their attitude to learning and progress made throughout Year 8. The winners of the Year 8 Prize are Verity Jones and Isabella D’Amato .
Verity is to be congratulated on her academic attainment throughout Year 8. Verity's academic ability and drive to succeed was highlighted in the excellent work she produced and achieving the Gold award for achieving 900 plus PRIDE points. In all aspects of school life, Verity is a role model to all other pupils, demonstrating a mature, conscientious, and enthusiastic approach. Verity's outstanding attitude to learning has enabled her to achieve and exceed set targets in all subject areas. I am immensely proud of Verity's achievements this year and have every confidence that a continuation of such a committed approach will enable her to continue to achieve success in the future. Congratulations Verity.
Isabella consistently displays an outstanding attitude towards her studies. Her enthusiastic and committed approach not only enables her to meet and exceed her targets but also promotes her as a role model to her peers, the year group and all pupils at Ysgol Gyfun Tredegar Comprehensive School. Isabella shows determination and resilience, she embraced distance learning and produced some excellent work. I have no doubt that a continuation of her outstanding application will help to ensure that Isabella attains the best grades possible in the future. Well done, Bella.
Congratulations Mindstorm competition Champions.
A huge congratulations to all the year 9 pupils who took part in the Lego competition in June coming 1st place!!! An excellent achievement.
Year 9 Vision
I would like to share with you our Year 9 vison that myself, pupils and form tutors have created. It is the mantra we strive to achieve every day within our year group.
“Together We Learn”
L – Leaders of the future
E - strive for Excellence in everything
A – Attendance always matters
R – Resilience in Learning
N – Nobody stands alone (our wellbeing and others is important to us all)
Year 10 mrs green
Mrs Green has been very impressed with the conduct and standards set by the vast majority of pupils in this year group. It is very important that we all work together to enable the pupils to become independent learners.
In prize giving 2 pupils were awarded the Year 10 Prize. Libby Goulding for being hard working and an excellent role model. The second prize goes to Paige Elias for always striving to do her best. In addition to this 5 pupils were also awarded outstanding learners prize for being hard working, meeting high standards, working hard during lock down and their engagement in extracurricular activities. These pupils are Darcey Howell, Darcy Tidmarsh, Jun Chen, Cyrus Dowsell and Evan Griffiths. Congratulations to all pupils your hard work and determination is certainly paying off.
The forms have been recently voting for their form captains and after presenting to their form a vote was taken place. Form captains for Year 10 are as follows:
10P – Libby Goulding and Daniel Britton
10R – Kara Bridges and June Chen
10I – Logan Price and Abby Hawlizcek
10D – Darcey Howell and Cameron Hudd
10 E – Byron Rees and Eddie Evans
6 pupils stood for school council and did presentations to the year group via Teams. Darcey Howell, Olivia Jefferys, Kara Bridges, Logan Price, Cameron Hudd and Eddie Evans presented themselves with confidence. It was a tight vote but the school council representatives are Darcey Howell and Logan Price with Eddie Evans as a reserve.
It has been lovely to see Year 10 get back into extracurricular activities. The girls displayed excellent team work in football and come out with a 2-1 victory against Monmouth and so progress into the next round of the Welsh Schools FA. The girls have also been actively involved in netball, gym sessions and basketball. The Boys have also been busy in both rugby and football. The music department also holds many extracurricular activities which Year 10 actively participate in. Well done year 10 keep up the good work.
Year 11 miss williams
It’s the final countdown! (Those parents/carers of a certain age might have the Europe song springing to mind, or that could be just me!). Where did those 4 years go? It’s the final year of secondary school and preparation for life before our lovely Year 11 enter the world of further education or the world of work. It has been an unbelievably busy term and the pupils have shown maturity and resilience in their attitude to learning.
IAPs
Year 11 have received two IAPs since the start of the term in September. The both sets of IAP data for the year group was extremely encouraging with many pupils achieving and in some cases exceeding their target grades. As their Learning Coordinator I was filled with pride looking at the greens and the majority of pupils achieved 1s or 2s for their attitude to learning. Congratulations to you all and keep aiming high!
Special recognition needs to go to the pupils who achieved all 1s for their attitude to learning. Their effort and self-drive are to be commended. Below is a list of pupils:
Jess Bird 11R, Caitlin Bound 11D, Maisie Cadwallader 11D, Callie Campbell 11D, Bethan Davies 11D and Marli Harris 11I. Ethan Hopkins 11I, Asyia Ilahi 11I, Mia Lewis 11I, Rhianna Lewis 11D and Alisha Long 11E. Lola Massey 11R, Chloe Moon, Josie Morris, Anwen Phillips and Paige Powell 11E. Amelia Pritchard 11E, Maddie Prosser 11E, Jamie Reynolds 11D and Chloe Simmonds 11D. Bethan Sullivan 11E, Holly Sullivan 11P, Evie Thomas 11R and Holly Winstone 11R.
Virtual Parents Evening
A Virtual Parents Evening was held on Wednesday 13th October 2021. It was an invaluable opportunity for pupils, parents and carers to speak to subject teachers and receive recognition for their hard work. Also constructive advice for further improvement would have been given for pupils to continue their studies in Year 11. I would like to thank the parents and carers who took part, and for their feedback about the evening.
PPEs
Year 11 pupils have been busy preparing for and sitting their PPE exams. These started on the 26th November and ended on the 15th December.
Badges and Pride Points
As a cohort there are many pupils who still have immense pride in collecting their pride points and badges. The majority of pupils would have had the number of pride points boosted by achieving all 1s in their IAPs (an extra 50 pride points). All 1s and 2s would earn them an additional 25 pride points. At the time of writing this article the top pride point holders are listed below:
Top pride point holders
100% Attenders
Despite the unsettled year that we have all experienced and the periods of self- isolation and lockdown 13 pupils have managed to achieve 100% attendance for the time we have spent in school. Well done to the following pupils:
Dylan Aldred, Jess Bird, Chelsea Blake, Emily Clark and Alisha Cox. Kaci Draper, Rhys Griffiths, Tony Hoang, Shay Hougham and Amelia Pritchard. Tegan Rhydderch, Chloe Simmonds and Holly Winstone.
Form Representatives and Year School Council Representative.
At the beginning of term some pupils from each form class put themselves forward for the leadership role of form representative. Each pupil had to complete a speech or presentation in front of the form class explaining the qualities they had to carry out this important role.
I have great pleasure in announcing that the pupils listed below were successful in becoming form representatives.
P- Chelsea Blake and Scarlett Lester
R- Demi Andrews and Elis Bendle
I – Ethan Hopkins and Tegan Rhydderch
D – Rhianna Lewis and Chloe Simmonds
E – Leila Butcher and Joey Morris
Three pupils made very good speeches in the battle of words to become the next Year 11 School Council Representative they were Demi Andrews 11R, Leila Butcher 11E and Chloe Simmonds 11D. The whole of Year 11 then voted for their favourite candidate and Chloe Simmonds 11D became the new Year 11 School Council Representative, a position she has held for the past 2 years. Congratulations to you all for having the courage and enthusiasm to put yourself forward for this leadership role. A massive well done to Chloe for being successful and she will undoubtedly fulfil this role with her usual diligence and determination.
Pupils Leadership Team
Our Year 11 Pupil Leadership Team and Anti Bullying Ambassadors have been very busy and proactive in their roles. Some of the roles they have undertaken are morning duties with Year 7, they have been attached to specific form classes in Years 7 and 8. They hold regular meetings to discuss many issues and the Anti Bullying Ambassadors worked very hard putting together resources for Anti Bullying week, and I know Miss Yates will acknowledge this in her section of the newsletter.
Below I have listed the pupils who are in the pupil leadership Team and the Anti Bullying Ambassadors as a reminder to you all.
Anti -Bullying Ambassadors
The new team are: Jess Bird, Chloe Simmonds, Asyia Ilahi, Bethan Davies, Evie Thomas, Callie Campbell, Josie Morris and Jenna Bedford.
Sporting achievements
Charlie Birch 11P is doing extremely well on and off the rugby field. I know Charlie won’t be happy that he has a paragraph dedicated to him, but I felt that his achievements needed to be recognised. Charlie has been an outstanding player for all of the teams that he has represented. He has captained and is currently captain for the school rugby team, leading by example, communicating well and motivating others. He represented Blaenau Gwent U15s a year early and performed so well that he was presented with a ‘Coaches Player of the Year’ award. Charlie has played for the Dragons U16s team in a number of regional fixtures and he has captained these teams on many occasions. As a result of his impressive skills and talent Charlie has been selected for the Dragons Academy U18s squad and he is one of the youngest players to have ever been selected. Charlie has even captained this team during the summer of 2021. Charlie has been offered a scholarship by Cheltenham College and he had to undergo rigorous tests and prove his sporting ability in a variety of sports. Charlie was successful and will be pursuing his rugby scholarship and AS/A levels at Cheltenham College form September 2022. This is a fantastic opportunity for you Charlie and we are all very proud of you!
Max Godfrey and Reilly O’Connell now represent Caerphilly Schools for football. This is an excellent achievement for you both we are proud of you both.
Jamie Reynolds continues to represent Wales in Wheelchair basketball this year. Huge congratulations!!
The next steps…
The majority of pupils are thinking about their future and the next stages of their lives. Many have already applied for courses in college or are eagerly seeking apprenticeships. Others are considering the world of work. There have been opportunities through virtual open evenings and taster AS level sessions for pupils to have a flavour of some of the courses offered. Also luckily for us there was an onsite visit to the Coleg Gwent Learning Campus at Ebbw Vale during the summer term. There will be other virtual talks and presentations throughout next year to help pupils prepare for the future.
I wish you all a great Christmas with your families and I hope the holidays are a chance for you all to rest and spend time together. I would like to take this opportunities to thank the Year 11 pupils for their positive attitudes, despite some difficult times. Also I would like to thank all the parents and carers for their continued support with this excellent year group.
PSE / Health and Wellbeing
2021 has been another challenging year for our young learners, living in an unpredictable world during unprecedented times. More than ever it is important for young people to take personal responsibility for keeping a healthy body as well as a healthy mind. Added to this it is imperative to gauge knowledge and understanding of the world around us and the role that young people play within the local community and the wider world. It is for these reasons that as part of a whole school theme, Health and Wellbeing lessons for years 7 and 8 have focused on self-care, coping mechanisms and relaxation techniques. Mindfulness activities and creating a personal wellbeing toolkit has been the focus of these lessons.
Additionally, learners have looked at the importance of healthy relationships in Year 7 and in Year 8 learners have studied personal safety and topics surrounding sexual health.
Ysgol Gyfun Tredegar welcomed back ‘Blues Busters’, Lois and Jamie-Leigh, from Action for Children. To support the emotional health and wellbeing of our younger pupils in the school, Year 7 pupils participated in the ‘Bouncing Back’ programme. This was a two week programme which addressed the impact Covid 19 has had on young people and looked at coping strategies and relaxation techniques. Feedback from pupils was extremely positive and gratefully received their ‘wellbeing first aid kits’.
Some of the feedback from our Year 7 pupils was extremely positive:
“Thank you for helping us on how to control our emotions it really helped.”
“I feel safer to know that if I have problems I know where to go.”
“Bouncing Back really helped my confidence, thank you.”
“Thank you for making us confident and teaching us to never give up.”
pupil leadership
At Ysgol Gyfun Tredegar Comprehensive School we believe that student leadership is one of the central strands of student achievement and we therefore aim to provide many opportunities for students to develop leadership skills through a variety of inspiring and challenging activities. To recognise such achievements, we have introduced the ‘Leadership Diploma’ a reward scheme available to all students. The Leadership Diploma is a dynamic, relevant and powerful educational model that equips and nurtures the unique individuality, talent and self-assurance of each student. Designed to inspire our students to be actively involved in the life of the school, the diploma prepares young people to take on the world with the necessary global skills and self-confidence.
There are 6 key leadership areas. Listed below is not an exhaustive list but it should give you a flavour of the types of leadership activities that are on offer:
1. Sports Leaders e.g. Sports Captains, Youth Sports Ambassadors/County and National Level Achievements, assisting with primary school competitions, take responsibility for refereeing a sports match.
2. Organisation Leaders e.g. assist in the organisation of whole school events e.g. Open Day Guides/Parents Evening helpers, Anti-bullying leaders, assist in the up-keep of school grounds, form time leaders.
3. Community Leaders e.g. Charity or support work either in school or outside of school, raise awareness to key events both locally and nationally, support community events and issues, ECO members, write articles for school ‘Newsletter’ on environmental issues to raise awareness etc.
4. Subject Leaders e.g. involvement in whole school options evenings and open days, organising engaging learning environments e.g. designing subject displays, helping to run after school clubs, dance and drama productions/school concerts, sound and light team leaders, primary school MAT workshop.
5. Learning Leaders e.g. ’Clwb Cymraeg’, maths champions, digital leaders, foreign language leaders, leading in class presentations or group work/taking lead in class debate/discussions, students as classroom assistants, literacy leaders write articles for the school 'Newsletter'.
6. Leadership Leaders e.g. School Council representatives, take responsibility for the role of peer mentor, Prefects, Duke of Edinburgh Award, Head boy and Head Girl. (NB. Prefects, Head Boy and Head Girl must have gained the gold diploma by the end of year 10 to qualify for these roles)
Students must collect five pieces of evidence within two areas for Bronze, twenty tasks in four areas for Silver and forty tasks in at least 5 areas for Gold. Successful students will be issued with a certificate and a lapel badge when they complete each stage of the diploma.
All student leadership opportunities are advertised around the School and students are able to apply or volunteer for positions of responsibility at specific stages in the academic year. I welcome your support in encouraging students to become involved in leadership activities which will not only impact positively on teaching, learning and well-being for both students and staff but also help prepare students for life beyond school.
Gold Leadership Diploma Award
Asyia Ilahi is our first ever pupil to achieve the gold leadership diploma award. This is a fantastic achievement and is a result of the endless amounts of leadership opportunities that Asyia fulfils not only within school but also the community. She is an excellent Ambassador for our school and the leadership skills she has developed as a result have ensured she is now prepared to take on the world with the necessary skills and self confidence. Well done Asyia!
Bronze Award holders in Year 7
Year 7 pupils have made an excellent start in developing their vital leadership skills and as a result 8 pupils have now achieved their bronze award. They have undertaken a plethora of leadership roles from representing the schools netball and football teams throughout the first term, to becoming subject ambassadors in a range of different subjects, to achieving attitude to learning 1’s in all subject areas in their first IAPs and we even had one pupil raise money and complete a 5 mile walk to raise funds for Cancer Research UK. Well done all and we are looking forward to more KS3 pupils achieving their bronze award in the spring term as I know so many are nearly there!
Bronze Award holder in Year 9
Well done to Carys James who has achieved her bronze leadership diploma award this term and now joins the large number of year 9 who have already achieved this and are currently building up there evidence to enable them to reach their silver award. I look forward to hopefully telling you about these pupils in the spring newsletter.
Bronze awards achieved in KS4
Year 10
Year 10 have had a fantastic term in showing examples of pupil leadership and as a result a very impressive 11 pupils have achieved their bronze award. Well done all!
Year 11
School Council
This term we held our annual whole school election day. Throughout the week, pupils who had been nominated to represent their chosen year group made a presentation to their year group in a virtual assembly where they each presented their manifesto. Following this an election was held with a secret ballot and the pupils with the 2 highest number of votes were elected to represent their given year group. These pupils now make up our School Council.
What is a School Council?
• The school council meets with Mrs D’Amato once a month to discuss and sort out problems/issues that are raised by the pupils in form meetings and year group councils. For example: school lunches, reviewing planners, behaviour or ideas for fundraising events.
• Members of the school council will be responsible for carrying out the ideas that have been agreed (such as planning discos, writing newspaper articles, choosing designs for improvements to the school or the homework planners, running the school council shop or meeting with catering staff) and feeding the work that they do back to the pupils in the school.
• The School Council will form part of the School’s Leadership team and will be a vital part of ‘pupil voice’.
Introducing our School Council Members:
Our Senior Pupil Leadership Team
In Year 11, we also have a Senior Pupil Leadership Team who are a vital part of pupil voice in our school and who are vital in helping our school improve and strive for excellence. The 2021-2022 team were announced in the Year 11 area above.
A word from our Head Girl about the School Council
Last week, the student council (composed of numerous year representatives) met with all members of the School Council pupil leadership team, along with the senior prefect of communications and celebrations, to discuss the ideas brought forward by the students within our school. During this meeting, a plethora of great, consequential and noteworthy suggestions were distinguished- all of which were passed on to the senior leadership team. By way of illustration, one of the most prominent suggestions was to introduce more shelters outdoors, which we felt was a fantastic idea! Our SLT are now looking into this and getting costings. Aside from this, it was also brought to our attention that many people were longing for a day that celebrated Christmas, and so to get everyone into the festive spirit we have decided to hold a Christmas jumper day on the last day of term; this day will be filled with fun-filled activities and merry delights! Notwithstanding, we are also excited to announce that our school has now introduced a pupil-news broadcast, led by our Senior prefect for communications alongside a team of year 9 pupils, that informs students of upcoming events, celebrates students’ triumphs and victories and updates everyone on what is going on in and around our school! Not to mention, it was also highlighted that it would be a marvellous idea to enforce litter picking and recycling bins in the canteen area to make our school eco-friendlier and to coincide with being flexible and responsive to a changing society- which is one of our schools' visions and ethos! Lastly, we have decided to hold a SNAG group during break and lunch times to discuss changes to the food menu as there were a myriad of recommendations hinting at an updated dinner list. On behalf of the pupil leadership team and the student council, we wish you a very merry Christmas after a busy term and a wonderful New Year!
By Josie Morris
Anti-bullying
At Ysgol Gyfun Tredegar Comprehensive School we believe that all pupils have the right to respect and to feel safe. Bullying of any kind is unacceptable at our school. If bullying does occur, all pupils should know how to deal with such incidents and who to tell.
We have a zero tolerance approach towards any form of bullying. We encourage an open culture where everyone within the school community has responsibility for reporting and recording incidents of bullying. Every reported incident will be taken seriously and appropriate action taken with those involved. Anti-bullying is everyone’s responsibility!
What is bullying?
The ABA (Anti-Bullying Alliance) defines bullying as: “the repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. Bullying can be physical, verbal or psychological.
It can happen face-to-face or through cyberspace.” Bullying is not relationship conflict or ‘banter’.
What to do if a pupil is being bullied?
TALK TO SOMEONE!
There are 8 Anti-Bullying Ambassadors from Year 11 who are Jess Bird, Asyia Ilahi, Jenna Bedford, Josie Morris, Chloe Simmonds, Bethan Davies, Evie Thomas and Callie Campbell. Pupils have undertaken online training modules through Anti Bullying Alliance.
Ambassadors can be identified from the anti-bullying noticeboard and the school website. Pupils can communicate with any of the ambassadors who will inform the relevant members of staff. Pupils and parents are reminded to report any incidents to the relevant Learning Coordinator. Incidents will be recorded and investigated as per school policy.
Designated Safeguard Leads will be involved if matters persist.
A copy of the Anti-Bullying policy can be found on the school website. Mr P Maddy is the link governor for Anti-Bullying.
There is a dedicated section on our school website for further information.
Awareness Days
Odd Socks Day was also held on Monday 15th November to promote diversity and difference within our school community and the wider world. It was excellent to see so many of our pupils and staff taking part.
Activities were also held throughout the week during registration. Every form class in the school were asked to think of a positive word beginning with a letter of their name to add to their ‘kindness jars’. It was brilliant to see every form class participating! Our ambassadors are currently working on a display to continue the theme of anti-bullying week within our school community.
Parents & Carers
An interactive anti-bullying information tool for parents and carers can be accessed,
This is a free interactive anti-bullying information tool for parents and carers. There has been some amazing feedback, with over 85% of parents finding the information they were looking for. It aims to give you information about bullying in an interactive way.
There is also a parents’ guide to anti bullying available on our school website from the Diana Award:
MAT - More able & talented
At Ysgol Gyfun Tredegar Comprehensive School we are committed to ensuring our pupils meet their full potential. We aim to ensure that pupils who have been identified as More Able and Talented in subjects or any other area are provided with an enriched and broad curriculum to foster this potential. We also appreciate that some pupils will be exceptionally able and talented and these pupils have been identified as our ‘Most Able’ pupils and placed onto our whole school ‘Most Able’ register. Mrs D’Amato has sent out letters informing parents / carers of all pupils who have been identified as our ‘Most Able’ learners (those identified as MAT in 4 or more subject areas) and you will be invited to be part of your child’s initial mentoring session with Mrs D’Amato that will begin in the Spring term.
We have a policy and a range of activities to meet the needs of all pupils identified as More Able and Talented and a number of enrichment opportunities that this term we have had to deliver virtually to our pupils. Below are some of the ‘virtual’ enrichment opportunities that our MAT pupils have been involved with this term:
Year 11
In partnership with Blaenau Gwent Learning Zone Coleg Gwent, our Year 11 MAT pupils and their parents / carers were invited to a virtual visit hosted by Cambridge University on the 17th and 25th November.
The session looked at choosing the right A levels to study, which our pupils found very informative, useful and aspirational. The opportunity to meet with staff and students from a leading UK University will ensure that even in these current difficult circumstances, our Most Able year 11 pupils are still being provided with up to date information, advice and support for their future career aspirations. There are another 2 sessions availble for any of our Seren Foundation Learners who missed the above dates on:
• Tuesday 11 January, 5pm - 6:30pm
• Wednesday 19 January, 7:30pm - 9pm
The next session will involve a pair of Q&A sessions with Lead Admissions Tutor Dr Jonathan Padley and Widening Participation Officer Sandy Mill aimed at Key Stage 4 learners:
• Tuesday 25 January 5pm - 6:30pm (students)
• Tuesday 25 January 7:30pm - 9pm (parents and teachers)
Links to each of these sessions will be sent out to those that have signed up 24 hours in advance.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you or your parents have any further questions about either of these events offered.
Year 10 and Year 8
As part of the school’s provision for MAT pupils, we are participating in a six week programme organised by the Seren network in partnership with Steve Oakes and Martin Griffin, the authors of the ‘GCSE and A’ level Mindset’ books. The Seren network aims to raise aspirations and provide support to students and teachers to ensure more able and talented young people achieve their potential and progress to the UK’s top universities.
The 6 week intervention programme that our Year 10 and Year 8 Most Able pupils will be participating in will consist of a mixture of the following:
• Online intervention using the VESPA model and platform.
• Group sessions with Mrs D’Amato and other year 10 / 8 MA learners where we will explore additional activities designed to raise awareness/boost performance.
• One-to-one coaching and future-planning with Mrs D’Amato to explore and embed a culture of aspiration.
Our Year 8 and 10 Pupils will begin their VESPA intervention programme when we return to school after the Christmas holidays. I look forward to telling you all about their experience and the benefits that this had on them after participating in the programme in our Spring Newsletter.
Year 9
12 pupils in year 9 who have been identified as Most Able have been selected onto the Brilliant Club Scholars programme. The Scholars programme begins and ends with a virtual visit to a highly selective university and will provide an opportunity for all 12 selected pupils to develop the knowledge, skills and ambition needed to progress to higher education.
Pupils will be given their own PHD Tutor, and following the Easter break they will have weekly academic virtual tutorials with their PHD Tutor where they will be developing their communication and debating skills. Research will be undertaken each week to further develop their knowledge and understanding of the topic that they will be given and homework set each week to help develop pupils’ independent learning and research skills. This will give pupils a university style experience. A final piece of work is to be submitted during the Summer Term which will develop problem solving and critical thinking skills that will help at school and beyond. Our successful pupils will graduate from Cambridge University at the end of the Summer Term and I look forward to telling you more about this programme and event in our Spring Newsletter.
young carers in school programme
We are delighted to announce that at the end of the Summer Term 2021, we were awarded with a wonderful accolade which demonstrates that our school is supporting young carers. The plaque is proudly displayed in our reception area and was presented to us by Young Carers Trust South East Wales.
Please visit our school website for further information.
Community engagement
Many thanks to all who donated food to the food banks this term, all donations were greatly appreciated. Food and toiletries were donated to Cefn Golau Community House. Many thanks to Miss Hanson & Chloe Simmonds (Senior Prefect - Community) for all your efforts in coordinating this.
Thanks goes to the Woodland Trust for giving the school over 100 tree saplings. Our Forest School students planted these along at the grounds of our school.
Projects in the community
'Tea at the Park'
Credits:
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