COVID-19 Update (22nd May 2020 11.00 am)
School will be closed to all pupils and staff for half term (25th - 29th May). No work will be set.
Attendance under the Key Worker Scheme.
Please click here to complete the request for attendance after half term.
Pupils are reminded to check their school email on a daily basis.
Latest newsletter (22nd May) here.
Access to Office 365/Teams and Pupils Shared Files HERE.
Recent guidance on learning at home and supporting mental health from Lancashire County Council.
Additional online resources for STEM (Science, Technology, Enginerring and MAths) courses.
Click here for the Teachers' Pet Quiz.
Year 11
GCSE Exams - OFQUAL have announced the arrangements for awarding grades for this year's GCSE's. Click here for information. Letter to families. Summary of the process
Post-16 Transition - We have asked our local partner colleges to provide advice on preparation that Year 11 pupils can be undertaking prior to starting new courses in the next academic year. Click here for details.
Prayer Resources can be found here
Please see an update on school trips at the bottom of the page.
Parents and carers may choose to supplement the school online offer with support from online companies and in some cases individual tutors. If you do choose online support please select a reputable organisation/individual who can provide evidence that they are safe and can be trusted to have access to children. Support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online includes:
We understand that access to IT for families may be difficult at present and therefore pupils should not worry if they are not able to complete all of the work that is set. Where pupils are finishing the work and looking for more to do they should look up the topics to be studied in the Curriculum Booklet for their year and use the links below (Bitesize etc.) to conduct extra reserach. There are also links to free online resources below.
Where access to IT limits the opportunity to complete assignmetns that have been set, pupils are encouraged to put some time aside each day for silent reading (novel, newspaper, magazine).
Some departments are setting extended challenges - these are optional activities and should be undertaken only when the set work has been completed.
Curriculum Booklets for Each Year
Free Online Resources to Support Learning
Year 11 Resources
MyTutor Online School, are offering extra support during this period of school closure. They are sharing daily lunchtime live group webinar tutorials, as well as short explainer videos and written resources, covering common tricky topics across a range of GCSE subjects. These are all completely free - students just need to register and join via Zoom video link.
Government Guidance on School Closure
The government has asked parents to keep their children at home, wherever possible, and asked schools to remain open only for those children who absolutely need to attend. Families with children in receipt of Free School Meals (FSM) will receive supermarket vouchers through the post on a fortnightly basis (one set of Tesco vouchers per child).
The fewer children making the journey to school, and the fewer children in educational settings, the lower the risk that the virus can spread and infect vulnerable individuals in wider society. Every child who can be safely cared for at home should be.
Letter for families (19.3.20). Updated Letter (20.3.20)
Online Working
Now that full closure has been implemented, staff will be setting work online via the Office365 / Teams platform. Pupils have received a briefing on accessing this work and a link to the video tutorial can be found here (login required). Pupils should use the same username (e.g. 17SmithPa@sarchs.com) and password that they use for their school login to access resources at home via Pupil Shared Files. Pupils can access the resources via mobile phones and we recommend downloading the Microsoft Teams app (Apple or Android). IT equipment has been issued to families who made this request and completed a Loan Request Form. Additional resources can be found via the following links:
Mathswatch Kerboodle Seneca Bitesize
Families seeking support at this difficult and potentially stressful time can access a range of agencies here.
Newsletter 12th May
Trips Abroad
The Government has issued new guidelines regarding school trips abroad, advising against foreign travel with pupils under 18 years (12.3.2020).
France : Year 8, Chateau du Molay 30.4.2020 Update 28th April: "All confirmed Chateau trips that were unable to travel in 2020 will be re-booked for a similar date in 2021. Therefore all money will be transferred over to the new booking with not outstanding payments due."
France : Year 7, Le Touquet 11.6.2020 Families have been sent an email - no further payments are required at this point.
France : Year 9, Paris 24.6.2020 The travel company (NST) are proposing a deferral of the trip until June 2021, carrying the deposit through to next year's trip. We are in negotiation with the company.
Rwanda : Year 10, Kigali 4.7.2020 Postponed until 2021
Costa Rica : Various, 24.10.2020 No decision.
Also, the Geography Isle of Arran trip is confirmed as cancelled.
