End of Summer Term Update

As we approach the end of term we would like to share with you our plans for welcoming all students back to school from the start of the autumn term. All details of how the school will operate are within the attached ‘GSA Recovery and Rebuild’ document (see Letters Home page), please read this in conjunction with the below general ‘end of term’ information.

End of this term

We will be continuing all of our offers for our students until the end of the school day on Friday 24th July. On Friday 24th July the In-School Offer will run as normal and the final face to face sessions for Year 10 and Year 12 will take place as timetabled.

Results Days for Year 11 and Year 13

A Level results day is Thursday 13th August and GCSE results day is Thursday 20th August. On both days results can be collected from school site. We have created a process that maximises the safety of students collecting their results, including various collection points based on surnames. Please read the attached ‘GSA Results Days 2020’ document to source relevant information on the logistics of our process.

Students in Year 11 who are staying on into the Sixth Form will be able to enrol on GCSE results day. Full details on Sixth Form enrolment is within the GSA Results Day document. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact our Sixth Form team. The school does not know the final grades the students will be given following the centred assessed grades submitted in June. There will be plenty of staff available on the day and in the days following to support with post-results well-being. This year there is no appeals process and we await further guidelines on the proposed autumn term exam series for students who decide to sit their exams.

The first day back for students is Thursday 3rd September. Staff will be in school on 1st and 2nd September as these are INSET days. During the afternoon of the 2nd of September, we will welcome our new Year 7 cohort into our school for the first time so they are able to meet their Learning Managers and have a tour of the site. Parents of this cohort will receive additional information about their child’s visit.

The first day back (Thursday 3rd September) will see a staggered start for year groups to support a smooth return to school. Arrival times are:

All students will spend their first morning back with their Learning Manager in their allocated form rooms. Please refer to our website during the summer break for the rooms students must go to when they arrive to school on their first day back. The session will cover: time for reflection, information on social distancing and hygiene expectations, the well-being support available, road safety considering allocated entry points, discussions around the new ‘norm’ at school, and their timetable for the first part of the academic year.

Friday 4th September onwards: All students to arrive at the gate indicated on the ‘Recovery and Rebuild’ document attached. Their daily arrival times are indicated on the Recovery and Rebuild document attached.

Uniform

As you prepare for the new academic year please ensure you are familiar with our uniform expectations which can be found on our website. The one significant change to September 2019 is that our blazer and skirt will now include our new logo, with the old logoed blazer being discontinued. There are no expectations for parents to buy a new blazer for the new logo, we aim for the old logo to fade out over time as children out grow their uniform.

We want to ensure all students start the academic year looking smart in order to set the tone for everything else.

I would particularly draw your attention to hair colouring and piercings within the uniform expectations. The lockdown period appears to have been a time for students to experiment with hair colouring etc and we need to ensure unnatural hair colouring and piercings are removed prior to the start of term to avoid students having a negative start to their academic year.

Parent Information

We have recently updated our school website. Further details of our uniform expectations and form room allocations can be found there along with other useful information.

Thank you

This year has been a year like no other before it and probably no other after it and I want to thank you for all your support and for your positive feedback during the unprecedented time we have all found ourselves in. The supportive and strong partnership with home has made the unknown journey these past 4 months much clearer and I thank you for working with us to strive for the very best for the children at George Spencer Academy.

I wish you all an enjoyable, safe and relaxing summer.