A message from our Headteacher
Dear Parents/Carers,
… and just like that we find ourselves at the end of a long but successful Autumn term, culminating today in yet another fantastic Xmas Factor event! Well done to everyone who took part!
Throughout this term we have once again welcomed visitors to our school including the Education Minister Jeremy Miles, Professor Jas Pal Badyal (Chief Scientific Officer for Wales) and Dr Simon Breakspear, a renowned educational researcher and speaker on evidence-based practice and educational change from Australia. All had the opportunity to observe and engage with our learners, recognising and celebrating the fantastic opportunities provided in our school.
In October we welcomed Year 6 pupils and their families to our Open Evenings, allowing them all to experience a snippet of what’s on offer at YGTCS! We very much look forward to welcoming our Year 6 learners in July for their transition days where we will get to know them all more in readiness for September!
In our annual Prize Evening event, we were transported to London’s ‘West End’ as we welcomed and enjoyed the wonderful journey and voice of our guest speaker Hywel Dowsell as he treated the audience to a glorious rendition from his current show, The Phantom of the Opera.
Our Christmas concert, in a very packed church, certainly got everyone in a jolly mood as we saw some of our most talented performers showcasing their skills with a festive twist. It is one of my favourite evenings of the year and I am always blown away by our performers, who wowed the audience with their amazing talents.
The Autumn term was certainly packed with events and has been a real opportunity for our students and staff to shine. I have highlighted a small sample above and am sure you will thoroughly enjoy reading about the plethora of activities in our newsletter.
We do not take the support from you as parents and carers for granted. I am fully aware that our school has lots of cogs and wheels that make it work and you are an essential part as we work together for success. Thank you for your continued support. I would like to finish with a personal thank you to all the staff in school. As always, every single one has worked tirelessly for the good of all our pupils. Christmas will hopefully bring some rest and recuperation. I look forward to seeing everyone refreshed when we return in January.
Wishing you all a happy and restful break.
Charlotte Leaves
Headteacher
Maths
Year 11
Year 11 students are currently working hard towards their summer qualifications in GCSE mathematics and Numeracy. This term has seen nearly all classes complete Mock examinations in the hall and all candidates have been excellent! Whilst the majority of the year group have been completing these examinations, some candidates have had the opportunity to complete a secondary qualification in financial studies. These groups have completed half of the course in a very short period of time and hope to complete the course in the new year.
Year 10
This term has been a busy first term back for year 10 with a mixture of mock examinations and new qualification opportunities. 2 groups have already completed a significant portion of the financial studies course and the rest of the year group has now begun their journey with the hopeful completion of unit 1 (¼) before christmas. There will then be an opportunity to look to complete the rest of the units before the end of the school year, which will see all pupils in year 10 given the opportunity to gain a further GCSE level qualification.
Year 9
A very new and exciting time for year 9 as they begin their journey into GCSE studies; they have all now experienced new levels of content, building a deeper understanding of mathematics and numeracy. This will continue to develop through the year and all pupils will experience GCSE level challenges throughout. We are very proud of how well the majority of learners have engaged so positively in this.
Curriculum for Wales (y7-8)
This year has seen our year 7 pupils progress to year 8 and we have welcomed the new cohort of year 7. It has been truly inspiring to see how hard they have worked and given all the work their best efforts. We have lots to celebrate and more to look forward to as the year progresses. In the most recent weeks we have seen our pupils engage in treasure hunts, murder mysteries and physical activities both in and out of the class. We have most recently been building our data project with year 7 who have been out to collect data ready for analysis and presentation.
Extra curricular
We have a significant number of our learners staying behind after school to positively engage in revision, support, Homework activities and more. We have homework support/access support Mondays and Wednesdays with Mrs Lloyd. There is also past paper and question support for all classes available Monday, Wednesday and Thursday (unless otherwise stated).
We will also be offering the opportunity to engage in the UKMT mathematics challenge again this year, with year groups 7-11 being eligible. Last year we saw a great level of success for our young learners with a number of graded certificates at Bronze, Silver and Gold. We look forward to this again this year.
Sparx and TTrockstars
Our learners have engaged so very well this year with their Sparx maths activities, celebrating great achievements. We want to keep this going and will be looking to celebrate those learners in the future. Please remember XP boost and Targets are refreshed regularly and every single learner has the opportunity to succeed in their own homework and independent learning.
TTrockstars is also continuing to be immensely popular with our learners and competitions will be continuing in the new year!
Both TTrockstars and Sparx have been proving very popular in form times and this success has lead to significant improvements for many of our learners.
Parental engagement night
This term saw our inaugural Numeracy engagement evening with over 60 families attending to gain support and further their understanding of Mathematics and Numeracy. The feedback was immensely positive and we look forward to facilitating the next one so keep a look out for further communication in the new year.
Science and Engineering
It has been a busy term for Year 11 as the Applied Science groups have completed their GCSE Unit 3 Task Based Practical Assessments. Attendance was superb and all pupils engaged in the exams very well. All pupils have been busy revising for their December PPE’s and this will stand them in good stead for the WJEC GCSE Practical exams they will return to, the week after the Christmas break.
Revision material for the January exams was given out during Parent/Carer Evening in October and was uploaded to Google Classrooms for pupils to access. They can also be accessed by clicking the button below.
GCSE practical exams will start the week commencing January 15th. Dates for individual classes and exams will be announced during the first week back. Excellent attendance is vital in order to engage in preparation lessons for the assessments and for the exams to be run in an orderly fashion.
11 set 1 will have assessments spanning 3 weeks. During each of those weeks, there will be a practical exam, followed by a written exam. In total, set 1 will have three practical exams and three written papers.
11 sets 2 & 3 will have assessments spanning 2 weeks. During which time, there will be two practical exams and two written papers.
11 sets 4-6 will have one practical exam and one written paper.
Year 10 engagement has been excellent this term with many learners of the lessons being awarded for outstanding work. As we near the start of 2024, exam preparations will be underway as pupils will embark on their first GCSE examinations in the Summer Term.
Year 9 have been busy achieving great results on Educake as pupils showcase their learning since September. We have been very impressed by their efforts and the quality of their 6 mark QER questions they have been completing also. Pupil practical skills have developed wonderfully since September, they have shown a great degree of independence and maturity in many aspects of their lab lessons.
Educake and GCSE Pod should be used by all pupils for revision and especially those who have GCSE exams in the Summer Term. Student League tables will be monitored from January so please encourage your children to use both platforms at home.
Curriculum for Wales:
We were fortunate to have been awarded grant money in the Summer Term, thanks to support from the Blaenanu Gwent STEM Facilitation Project. The money came from the Welsh Government and it enabled us to purchase 17 hot plates with magnetic stirrers and digital thermometers. We have used these with our pupils in the ‘Great Tredegar Bake Off’ theme, as they investigated the chemical and physical changes in food. Having grant money like this, enriches our curriculum and the experiences of our learners.
Stakeholder Survey:
We would love to hear from parents, carers, businesses and local industries so if you have any ideas of what you think we could include in our themes or what experiences you think our pupils should experience for the themes, please click the button below, and we’d be more than happy to consider your suggestions.
ENGINEERING
WVEP - Welsh Valley’s Engineering Project
Our Year 11 learners studying BTEC Engineering had the opportunity to visit the site offices of the Heads of the Valleys Construction at Baverstocks. They met with Civil Engineers and Project Managers from Future Valleys Construction. It was a hugely informative experience where they learned about the Heads of the Valleys Dualling Project and about the wide range of roles connected with it. They learnt about the complex engineering, environmental and business challenges and the solutions faced by such a project. Our pupils were the first group of students taken on site and were fortunate enough to be taken onto the Taf Fawr Viaduct as it was under construction.
HIVE Hub
We were delighted to host Professor Jas Pal, the Chief Scientific Adviser for Wales, here at Ysgol Gyfun Tredegar Comprehensive School, this term. He met with Year 10 Engineering students and Year 9 Computer Science students, the Professor chatted to them about their experiences of STEM and about future careers. He also gave an exceptionally inspirational speech to all of Year 9, and it was during this time that pupils had the opportunity to ask questions. Over the course of the day our students were excellent ambassadors as they showcased their problem solving skills in the Green Powered Vehicle workshop which was run in collaboration with Coleg Gwent, and in Mr Callaghan’s Lego Spike Robotics workshop which saw Year 9 programming for some pretty complex challenges.
More information on Professor Jas Pal can be found by clicking the button below.
https://www.gov.wales/professor-jas-pal-badyal-frs
Social Media
Follow us on Twitter:
@Science_TCS
Follow us on Instagram:
@ygtcs_science_and_engineering
ENGLISH
What an excellent start we have had to the new academic year!
Year 7
The English Department has thoroughly enjoyed welcoming our bright and shiny year 7 cohort into Tredegar Comprehensive School. We have been mightily impressed by their enthusiasm and engagement within their lessons. This term, students have been exploring a range of festivals and celebrations, whilst practising their extended writing and communication skills. Students have skilfully produced a radio script, advertising The Big Cheese Festival and have used their digital competency skills in order to produce it!
Year 7 were also the lucky audience members of The Dead Poets Live Tour who visited us in October. This brilliantly fascinating and humorous show introduced us into the world of ‘nonsense poetry’ and showed us just how weird and wonderful our language can be!
Year 8
Once upon a time, a cohort of year 8 students studied the genre of Fairy Tales! Our students have read a range of stories and fairy tales throughout history, exploring the motifs and characters that exist within this genre. We have been developing our descriptive writing, producing detailed descriptions of Frankenstein’s monster and even creating our own fictional monsters. We thoroughly enjoyed reading through your spine-tingling, bone-chilling descriptions.
Every children’s Fairy Tale has a hero, right? We have been thinking about who our personal heroes are, and many of our students have taken this as an opportunity to celebrate heroes in their own lives and inspirational role models. Ranging from our parents to talented celebrities, we are writing speeches designed to inform our audience about our hero. We can’t wait to see the finished products.
Year 9
Kindness makes the world a better place! This term’s year 9 topic has been kindness. Students have engaged in a range of exciting activities such as reviewing Selena Gomez’s smash hit: ‘Kill ‘em with kindness’, in which they became true musical critics, and writing an argumentative speech questioning if kindness really does make the world a better place. Students have delivered their speech, using cue cards and carefully considering the art of excellent speech delivery.
In the summer term, year 9 will be completing their first English Literature NEA on Macbeth. This piece of work will contribute 10% to their overall GCSE in English Literature. Keep working hard, year 9!
Year 10
We are immensely proud of our year 10 cohort, who have been working hard towards their first GCSE examination in English Literature on ‘Of Mice and Men’ and unseen poetry in January. The English Department was pleased to run its first Film Night of ‘Of Mice and Men’ in order to enhance our understanding of Steinbeck’s famous character. The rest of the academic year will see us complete our second NEA on poetry comparison, and go on to complete our Unit 2 exam in which we study An Inspector Calls and Heroes. Good luck to you all.
Year 11
Year 11 have worked incredibly hard this term, as they have completed their Individual Research Presentations and Group Discussions. The English Department were treated to a range of fascinating topics that had been extensively researched and presented with confidence and enthusiasm. We look forward to building our English Language skills in the run up to the summer exams. Congratulations, year 11.
Rve
Year 7 has had a great start to their first term. They have been busily engaged in looking at the skills involved in studying RVE, alongside the other Humanities subjects of History and Geography.
Chronological skills have been identified alongside those of Fact, Opinion and Belief.
Pupils have also been introduced to the 6 major World Religions of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, Hinduism and Buddhism. Whilst doing this, pupils have completed an extended piece of writing, using their research on Christianity.
Before Christmas all pupils will complete a “FACT DECK” of information they have gathered on each of the 6 religions.
Year 8. This has focused on people who have challenged inequality. Pupils have looked at what it means to be “inspirational”. What people fall in to this category, and what qualities are needed to be called “Inspirational”.
After giving personal examples, pupils focused on the life and achievements of Malala Yousafzai who stood up to the Taliban for the right to an education.
Despite an assassination attempt. She continues with her fight.
The work Year 8 has produced here has been outstanding and moving.
Year 9, are of course on the GCSE trail. Very good progress has been made.
Topics covered have been Qualities of God, The Trinity and the Creation.
The second half of the term has seen coverage of the “10” distinctive Human qualities, and at present the “life of Jesus” in the aptly named “Jesus” File.
Year 10 have completed their Judaism unit. This was a well completed unit, especially “Judaism and the Home”. Pupils enjoyed learning about ”Kosher”. Shopping is not an easy thing if you are Jewish!!
All pupils are now engaged in the “Life and Death” unit. This looks at emotive issues surrounding Creation, such as Science versus Theology, Eden versus Evolution. Current themes are looking at Abortion and Euthanasia.
Year 11, already with a GCSE under their belt, have completed the Relationships Unit and are finishing the last aspects of their final Christianity Unit.
This is appropriately looking at Pilgrimage in Wales, at such places as the beautiful St David’s, where pilgrims have been coming to for centuries.
The final two modules revisit Judaism, before looking at the contentious issue of Human Rights.
We wish them well.
Geography
The department is now fully embedded 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 have investigated the inequalities within a low income (Bangladesh) and a high income (Italy, a country within the EU) countries. Pupils in Year 7 have been introduced to ‘Humanities’ through the basics to Geography by investigating at the continents & oceans of the world, the map of Europe and the British Isles followed by environmental issues and mapskills. Pupils also enjoyed utilising their mapskills in Bedwellty Park for a treasure hunt.
Following this, pupils in Year 7 will investigate the Humanities theme of ‘Who am I?’, where they will investigate 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? And also investigate Welsh traditions; industry, transport in Wales and issues in Wales.
Pupils in Year 8 will experience the theme of conflict, which has proven to be a successful and enjoyable theme for learners in recent years. In geography, this is an opportunity to see how natural resources can lead to the causes and consequences of conflict, particularly in countries in the Middle East.
Still lots to look forward to in this the new curriculum landscape with another year for our learners in Year 8 to look forward to in 2025! The spring term newsletter will feature some outdoor experiences as pupils continue to embark on their Humanities learning journey! Have a safe and enjoyable Christmas!
If you don’t already do so, can you please follow @GeographyTCS on Twitter and geography_ygtcs on Instagram.
ESDGC / Eco Schools / Fairtrade Schools
News:
Members of the Eco Schools committee regularly join the gardening club, managing the garden outside S block. A special thank you to Ms Bowd for her help with the club. Pupils from the eco school committee in Year 9 have continued to assist Rob Magee from Gwent Wildlife Trust in monitoring the hedgehog and bird boxes around the school grounds. Thank you to his help also.
If you don’t already do so, can you please follow @EcoSchoolsTCS on Twitter and ecoschools_ygtcs_ on Instagram.
Outdoor Learning
Several fabulous outdoor learning opportunities have taken place this term. Our Forest Schools co-Ordinator Mr Roles has continued the programme with pupils across the school, which is a fantastic opportunity for our learners for enjoying the outside environment. There have been several outdoor learning lessons taken place in the school grounds, through P.E. lessons and extracurricular activities such as PSG football coaching, rugby and cricket coaching sessions.
There has always been an abundance of outdoor learning opportunities in YGTCS and many Areas of Learning are continuing to offer these wonderful opportunities for our learners. Pupils in Year 7 & 8 have also been introduced to the YGTCS Outdoor Learning Award, which we hope that all pupils in Year 7 & 8 will achieve a Bronze Award by Summer Term 2024. We now have 82 pupils across Year 10 & 11 registered for the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award. Year 11 pupils will complete this by the Summer Term 2024.
If you don’t already do so, can you please follow @OutdoorsYGTCS on Twitter and outdoors_ygtcs on Instagram.
International Languages
Year 7 Pupils began the year by making a language Identity Profile. It was really interesting to find out about their diverse language experiences. In September, we celebrated European Day of Languages and the pupils completed a QR code retrieval quiz and a passport activity where they discovered interesting facts about other countries and their languages. The pupils also produced some excellent posters, where they highlighted the importance of learning languages. Some of the class winners can be seen below:
The pupils also enjoyed learning about the differences between Halloween and the Mexican festival of Day of the Dead. They wrote messages for the memory trees and decorated some fantastic masks in class. 15 pupils also attended a screening of El libro de la vida ( The Book of Life) where they sampled non-alcoholic mojito type drinks and tortillas mexicanas.
Year 8 Pupils have begun making their websites about Spain and Spanish Speaking countries, which they will publish at the end of the year. They also took part in European Day of Languages activities. They enjoyed completing an escape room activity and a fact finding treasure hunt.. Following these activities, we had some excellent entries for the mini book competition, where pupils made a booklet filled with facts as to why we should learn languages. Some of the class winners can be seen below:
To celebrate Day of the Dead, Year 8 pupils watched the trailer for El Libro de la Vida ( The Book of Life) and wrote some excellent synopses.
Once again, our school was lucky to be selected to take place in the Cardiff University MFL Mentoring Project. 8 pupils from 8F have had the opportunity to have 5 mentoring sessions with Keyin. 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 working with Keyin next term.
Year 9
Many thanks to our Year 9 Language Ambassadors who have carried on supporting the department. Their help at the Year 6 Open Evening was invaluable and I think we have some excellent teachers in the making!
íFeliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo!
History
We have had a wonderful Autumn Term in the History Department:
Year 7 have fully embraced their ‘Humanities’ themed lessons. All pupils were taught the theme ‘Introduction to Humanities’ in their History, Geography and RVE lessons. All pupils thoroughly enjoyed this topic area and were able to gain an understanding for the basic skills required in each subject. We began our study with pupils being a part of a murder mystery and using various different sources to help develop their own interpretation on how the Tollund Man died. The teaching of this theme has enabled pupils to gain key skills such as chronology, enquiry, historical interpretation while developing their problem-solving skills by inferring from a range of primary and secondary sources.The pupils have then further enhanced these skills when looking at the causes, events and consequences of the First World War.
Year 8 have also fully embraced their ‘Humanities’ theme of ‘Inequality’ in their History, Geography and RVE lessons where they looked at the big question of what inequalities face humanity in the world today? What opportunities, as ethically informed citizens can we take to challenge them?
All pupils thoroughly enjoyed this topic area and being taught the same topic in all 3 subject areas as they were able to gain a much deeper knowledge and understanding of the topic and also how the three disciplines link together. The pupils are now currently working on their end of topic assessment raising awareness on the various types of inequalities and how we as ethically, informed citizens can combat against these inequalities.
Year 9
Year 9 have started their first GCSE unit; USA: A nation of contrasts 1910-29. They have been amazed to find out all about the problems that immigrants who flocked to ‘the land of opportunity faced’ and saddened to hear about the intolerance that certain groups faced in 1920s America such as the appalling treatment endured in the hands of the KKK. Their knowledge and understanding of the topics covered has developed and they now know about key events that effected the American people greatly such as the ‘Monkey Trial’ and the ‘Sacco and Vanzetti case’. They have shown great maturity in starting their GCSE course independently and have already displayed all of the requirements needed to be successful at GCSE level; determination, hardworking, resilience and a desire to succeed and a thirst for learning!
Year 10 have started their Unit 1 course on the Depression, War and Recovery of Great Britain focusing on how the Great Depression affected Britain and what many have done in response to this key event. The pupils were surprised to discover how much of an impact the depression had on families and the extent of the Hunger Marches to ensure the people’s voices were heard.
All pupils have 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 for both Unit 1 and 2 in the Summer term.
Year 11 pupils have spent the first term completing their Unit 4 studies on Nazi Germany. Pupils examined the factors which led to the rise of the Nazis and the impact of the Nazi regime upon the lives of the German people. They were certainly shocked and outraged by some of the changes that the Nazis made to ordinary German people’s lives that they discovered during their studies!
Year 11 pupils will now begin their final Unit of study on the changes to Crime and punishment from 1500 to the present day and will sit their final examination on this Unit in the Summer term.
USA History and Art Tour 2024
Year 10 pupils have been given the opportunity to be a part of our upcoming tour of the USA. GCSE History and Art pupils will take off for New York in April 2024 for a 7 day tour of some of the most famous landmarks of America, such as the Empire State building, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Wall St and the 9-11 memorial that they have studied about as part of their GCSE course on the developments of America. We will then move on to the capital Washington DC via Philadelphia where we will visit the Liberty Bell and the ‘Rocky Steps’. Our itinerary in Washington includes visiting the Capitol building, Arlington Cemetery, the Vietnam memorials and the White House, to name just a few! This is a fantastic opportunity for our pupils to actually see and experience the places they have been learning about first hand and an opportunity that will certainly enrich their learning experiences as we literally ‘bring History to life’ and make memories that no doubt will stay with them a lifetime!
Cymraeg
Many exciting things have taken place in the Welsh department. Pupils in year 7 and 8 had the opportunity to compete in an Eisteddfod. This year’s Eisteddfod consisted of an off stage competition for each Area of learning and experience; Expressive Arts, Health and Wellbeing, Humanities, Languages, Literacy and communication, Mathematics and Numeracy and Science and Technology.The winners of these competitions were awarded pride points for their hard work and creativity. Alongside the Eisteddfod the Criw Cymraeg have been busy promoting Welsh across the school. The Criw Cymraeg have been continuing to post their ‘Phrase of Week’ every week and both staff and pupils are continuing to use this to develop their Welsh language skills. The Criw Cymraeg have also created a website using Google Sites to showcase everything they have done this year to promote Welsh including reviewing Welsh apps we could use on the school iPads and reviewing Welsh language TV programmes. This term, Ysgol Gyfun Tredegar Comprehensive has been awarded the Siarter Iaith bronze Certificate, as a department, and as a school, we are incredibly proud of this achievement.
Gwnaeth yr Adran Gymraeg llawer o bethau cyffrous dros tymor yr haf. Mae disgyblion ym mlwyddyn 7 a blwyddyn 8 wedi cymryd rhan mewn Eisteddfod. Yn yr Eisteddfod mae disgyblion wedi cystadlu yn gystadlaethau am bob Meysydd dysgu a phrofiad; Y Celfyddydau Mynegiannol, Iechyd a Lles, Y Dyniaethau, Ieithoedd, Llythrennedd a Chyfathrebu, Mathemateg a Rhifedd a Gwyddoniaeth a Thechnoleg. Mae enillwyr wedi cael ‘Pride Points’ am eu gwaith caled a chreadigrwydd. Hefyd mae’r Criw Cymraeg wedi parhau i hysbysebu’r Gymraeg dros yr ysgol. Mae’r Criw Cymraeg wedi postio ‘Ymadrodd yr Wythnos’ pob wythnos ac mae staff a disgyblion dal yn defnyddio’r ymadroddion i ddatblygu eu sgiliau Cymraeg nhw. Hefyd mae’r Criw Cymraeg wedi creu gwefan gan ddefnyddio ‘Google Sites’ i ddangos popeth maen nhw wedi gwneud dros y flwyddyn sy’n cynnwys adolygu apiau Cymraeg mae disgyblion yn gallu defnyddio mewn gwersi, hefyd mae’r Criw Cymraeg wedi ysgrifennu adolygiad o raglenni Cymraeg. Yn ystod y tymor mae Ysgol Gyfun Tredegar wedi ennill y dystysgrif Efydd Siarter Iaith. Fel adran ac ysgol rydyn ni’n falch iawn o'r cyflawniad hwn.
Expressive Arts
September - October
It has been yet another busy term for the music and performing arts department! We started the year with auditions for our forthcoming production of Les Miserables. So many pupils auditioned and we were blown away by their talent and enthusiasm. Our final cast was announced in October and rehearsals have been underway since then. Our wonderful choir performed a medley of songs from Les Miserables at Prize giving evening which gave the audience a small taster of what’s to come next year!
At the end of the month the Expressive arts department attended the Children’s International Film Festival of Wales after being nominated for 5 awards for our production of Little Shop of Horrors last July. We were overjoyed to walk away with 3 awards for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Costumes and Props.
November - December
In November, we were able to provide pupils from Year 9 - 11 with a wonderful enrichment opportunity to see the fabulous production of ‘Everybody’s Talking about Jamie’ in the Wales Millenium Centre in Cardiff. We then got stuck into Christmas concert and Les Miserables rehearsals.
Key Stage 3
Year 7 have been exploring the theme of ‘Identity’ and looking at how we can express ourselves within the areas of Music, Drama, Art and Digital media. Through this topic we have found some truly talented singers! Year 8 have been developing their performing skills alongside their ‘Fantasy and Mystery’ topic. We have been so impressed with Year 8 pupils, many of which are developing into excellent drummers and pianists through their commendable attitude to learning and ability.
Key Stage 4
Pupils in Year 9 have been getting their teeth into the GCSE curriculum, gaining musical knowledge and developing their performing skills. Year 10 have demonstrated excellent independent skills in conducting their own research and creating their own tasks and activities for the class to complete. Year 11 pupils have started working on their NEA and taken their mock examinations in preparation for the real exams in the summer.
Extra Curricular
We have been so impressed with the commitment and enthusiasm shown by pupils attending choir every Monday and with all the pupils attending Les Miserables rehearsals. We currently have over 70 pupils attending choir every week and run drama and music club every lunchtime which is also extremely well attended.
‘Les Miserables’
After the huge success of Little Shop of Horrors’ last July, we are delighted to announce that our summer production of Les Miserables will be taking place over 3 nights on the 10th, 11th and 12th July at the Beaufort Theatre. Follow us on Twitter @Music_YGTCS and Instagram ygtcs_expressive_arts_drama and ygtcs_expressive_arts_music for regular updates including rehearsals etc.
The department would like to thank all our pupils who have shown such commitment and dedication to the department this term by attending rehearsals and performances. It has been a joy to work with you all! We would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy new year!
Asd base
Tredegar ASD Base has officially completed its first term. The learners have settled into their routines and adapted to school life very well. The learners have taken part in lessons at the base and within the main school.
Learners have enjoyed being in assemblies and having the opportunity to vote in the student elections. It has been great to see interactions with year 7 peers in the PC Powell talks and heart start activities.
We have focused on building our independence and teamwork skills through a variety of activities and tasks. The learners are developing the spaces within and around the base and making the environment a place where they are happy and confident to learn.
We are excited for our first trip out with the school to ice skating and looking forward to our sensory room installment in January.
Mr Rees.
ART
Christmas Fayre
Our talented Year 10 artists developed their skills further by supporting GCSE Business and produced these beautiful hand printed lino Christmas cards which were sold at Bedwellty House Christmas Fayre. They produced a variety of designs which proved popular at the School stall.
Year 10 Art GCSE Lino Print Art
Our Year 10 Art have been developing printing skills as part of their GCSE Art work. Below are some examples of the lino print that they have carved and printed. This is a very traditional art skill and all learners produced prints to a high standard as part of their coursework.
USA 2024 NYC & Washington
We are so excited to take 47 Year 11 pupils to New York & Washington at Easter in March. The trip has been organised by Mrs L Greenway as part of a cross curricular educational visit with Art & History. We are looking forward to visiting The Empire State Building, The White House and many more of the famous sights. There will be a parental meeting planned early next termJan 2024 to discuss the itinerary and finer detail.
Expressive Arts Media Crew Launch
We are so proud to officially launch our media crew within Expressive Arts. Our camera crew has been launched as part of Art Digital Film & Media within Expressive Arts as part of a pupil voice listening to learner’s feedback. The media crew will be used within the school calendar to photograph and film events, visitors and functions within the school in all subject areas of the school. The first event we covered was the school Choir and Christmas concert of Celebration of Christmas at St. George’s Church. A massive thank you to Alfie Wooldridge & Thomas Bruton for photographing the event . We look forward to meeting any new members of the crew if you’re a keen photographer and would like to learn more and get involved see Mrs L Greenway.
PE
Ou U15 Girls football teams narrowly lost out by a single goal in a tough away fixture of the Welsh Schools Cup. Neve Powell grabbed both goals in a 3-2 defeat at Monmouth. The girls had beaten Ebbw Fawr in the previous round after being awarded a bye in round 1.
At the time of writing the U14 boys remain in the Welsh Schools Cup at the Regional final stage. The boys have collected wins on the road against Abersychan in round 1, Newbridge in round 2 and overcame an athletic Crickhowell side in the last round. Goals have been shared around in some impressive teams displays.
Alex Godfrey (9) represented Wales U15s in a UEFA International tournament in Poland where Wales competed against the hosts, Spain and Iceland.
Holly Jones (11) represented Boys & Girls clubs of Wales in a recent tournament in Spain.
Congratulations on the continued success of Cerys Bound who has recently won her first competition as a black belt and is the current Welsh Closed Taekwondo champion!
Congratulations to Verity Jones on receiving her Women's U16 international cap!
Congratulations to Charlie Caswell who represent Welsh Schools Boys U16s in an International against Australia!
What amazing role models we have for sport in our school! YGTCSPride
Girls Cricket
This term Year the year 9 girls competed in the Urdd Cricket Tournament at Sophia Gardens. The girls were able to showcase the skills and growth they have worked so hard in develop throughout the past year. They are looking forward to the Schools Indoor Cricket Tournament after Christmas.
Year 7 & 8 Netball
Our year 7 and 8 girls have played numerous friendly games against other schools with great success. They have shown excellent character and resilience this term at training and during matches. Keep this up girls.
House Sports
This term the House Sport Event followed the theme of the Rugby World Cup. We had great engagement from Year 7, 8 and 9 playing both a mixture of Tag and Contact Rugby. The Green and Red house are joint at the top in Year 7. The Green team taking the lead in year 8 and the White team taking the lead in Year 9. We look forward to seeing who the winning houses will be at the end of the year!
The Year 10 football team started their Welsh cup run away to Blackwood Comprehensive School. From the get-go, Tredegar asserted their dominance controlling all aspects of the game which was reflected in their 4-2 win. Morale was high heading into the second round of the cup, where they faced Abertillery Comprehensive School in a home tie. The physical Abertillery side were no match for our Year 10 boys who were once again victorious - Their determination to outwork their opponents carried them to a 4-1 victory.
In good form, Tredegar ventured to Newport, to play Bassaleg High School. Having crossed paths on the pitch with some players outside of school, it was clear that this match would be no walk in the park. Lots of planning and preparation was conducted ahead of this game, however this weren’t enough. Year 10 boys bowed out of the Welsh Cup in the third round.
Our Year 10 boys played with plentiful courage, pride and determination. They put the Tredegar Comprehensive School badge on the map and have done the school and themselves extremely proud. Well done boys!
Year 11 football team progressed to the knockout stages of the Welsh Schools FA U16s plate following their 3 victories in the league stage, beating Gwent is Coed; Gwernyfed and Y Dderwen. Unfortunately, their journey ended against Abserychan Away in the first knockout stage. With time after Christmas being more focussed on preparing to conclude their qualifications, there maybe less opportunities for future fixtures. Mr Strand has enjoyed his affiliation with the boys since Year 7. Due to covid effected years, fixtures in Year 7 and 8 were limited, but across the 5 years, they have managed to find success by winning against all other secondary schools in Blaenau Gwent and also finishing 4th in the U15s Gwent schools cup in 2023. Mr Strand wishes them well as they embark on any post-16 football representation for prospective colleges.
Business
Yet again this year, this has been a very busy term for the Business Department, with fundraising and visits to local businesses. Our GCSE year 11 group raised close to £150 at the Tŷ Bedwellte / Bedwellty House Christmas Market, through the sale of individually and school produced goods as well as raffles and games for all. Thanks also to the companies who provided goods for our raffle, in particular to Nandos, VGA and Beattie’s & Co
The term also saw the Business Department’s first trip of the year to a local business. Our Blwyddyn 11 BTEC pupils were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to visit local company AtalUK who provided a tour of their facility in Tafarnaubach as well as giving an excellent presentation to the pupils which will go some way to help them
understand important practical aspects of business management for their BTEC course. Pupils had a tour of the offices and warehouse during the recent trip to the headquarters and learnt about the operation of the business including a bespoke presentation on recruitment and training. A special thanks to David Rees, Dominic Thew and Tyrion Edwards for their hard work in providing such a useful learning experience for our pupils.
Rights Respecting School
We are now entering the second year in our Rights Respecting School journey. Before outlining our progress, it would probably be beneficial to provide a reminder of what this means: the Rights Respecting School award was created by UNICEF UK to recognise schools that go above and beyond to recognise and deliver the rights that children are entitled to as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Last year, our school progressed through two stages of the award. In October we achieved the bronze award and in May we achieved the silver Rights Respecting School award. Our UNICEF advisor was full of praise for the school and the processes that we have put in place to ensure our learners receive their rights.
As a school, we are incredibly proud of achieving this important accolade. We are the only secondary school in Blaenau Gwent to achieve this and the second in the EAS region overall.
We would like to extend a special mention and thank you to the staff and students who participated in the accreditation visit. Both Mrs Leaves and Mr Llewellyn were filled with pride on the day hearing staff and students talking about the impact of the work we have done this year as a school.
Following the silver accreditation process, we received a banner to display with pride in our school. Before the banner was secured in its final place at the front of the school, each year group had a photo with it to celebrate our success as a school community.
Our journey this year has also included the creation of a school charter. This charter outlines five articles selected by our students that as a school community we will focus on. The charter outlines expectations of staff (duty bearers) and students (rights holders) in relation to children’s rights.
In September, we revamped our School Council feedback procurement process. We now seek feedback from students in relation to each of the five rights we have chosen to focus on as a school as well as giving the students to raise any other concerns that they have. We have also created two new School Council roles for this academic year: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Representative and Physical Literacy Representative.
Finally, an area we have focused on over the past year has been to make children’s rights more visible in our school. We were given framed rights posters by UNICEF and these are now proudly on display in one of our eating areas. Many thanks to the students in 9R who framed them!
This year we are positive that we will be accredited a gold Rights Respecting School and I look forward to relaying to you the successes we will experience over the course of the year as part of this exciting journey.
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.” This term we have been looking at the differences between bullying and banter. Next term we will be looking at cyber bullying and the new laws around it.
WHAT TO DO IF A PUPIL IS BEING BULLIED?
TALK TO SOMEONE!
• Our Anti-Bullying Ambassadors for 2023/24 can be identified by the posters in every classroom and by their red Anti-Bullying Ambassador badge.
• There are also around the school every morning before school.
· If any pupil or parent needs to speak to someone regarding bullying please contact us on ABAs@tredegarschool.cymru.
Anti-Bullying Week 13th-17th November
On Monday 13th November pupils and staff were invited to wear odd socks to school as part of #AntiBullyingWeek and #MakeSomeNoise. Odd Socks Day was designed to be a fun opportunity for everyone to express themselves and celebrate their individuality and uniqueness. A massive shutout to Year 7 and Year 9 for the amount of pupils that took part! Also, as part of the Anti-Bullying Week activities, students were asked to take part in an anti-bullying poster competition. We had a large number of year 7 pupils enter and the standard was extremely high. The year 7 winners chosen by our Head boy and girl were in first place Lola T 7E, in second place was Lexi F 7T and third place goes to Jessie B 7P. The leadership team also liked Evie J 7I, Holly R 7I and Maisie C 7R. Congratulations girls and a massive Well done to everyone that entered
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
…. pupils have now achieved their gold award which is a fantastic achievement! These pupils have undertaken a plethora of leadership roles such as:
Representing the schools netball and football teams
Becoming subject ambassadors in a range of different subjects
Writing articles for the school’s newsletter
Entering competitions and sometimes winning them too!
Achieving attitude to learning 1’s in all subject areas in their IAPs
Raising money and completing a 5 mile walk to raise funds for Cancer Research UK.
Well done all and we are looking forward to more pupils achieving their bronze, silver and gold awards in the spring term as I know so many are nearly there!
I would like to say a very special well done to Noah Pearsall in Year 9 who was the first KS3 pupil to achieve his Gold Award whilst in Year 8 last year – well done Noah, we are all so proud of you!
Our first KS3 gold badge holder, Noah Pearsall
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 an 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 Mr Llywellyn 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 arranging fundraising events, writing newspaper articles, choosing designs for improvements to the school 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 are a vital part of ‘pupil voice’.
Introducing our School Council Members:
Year 7 Representatives
Seren Phillips and Lyle Richards
Year 8 Representatives
George Richards and Szymon Juryszczak
Year 9 Representatives
Amelia Jones, Howard Edwards and Gabriella Kalanyos (Equality, diversity and inclusion representative)
Year 10 Representatives
Tilly Jones, Kenzie Russell and Will Kearney (physical literacy representative)
Year 11 Representatives
Head Boy and Head Girl
Archie Hares and Ffion Griffiths
Our Deputy Head Boys and Deputy Head Girls
Liam Hamer, Jay Morgan, Ellie Roberts and Ruby Howard
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.
Our Year 11 Pupil leadership team
Our school’s pupil leadership team have had a very busy first term. Below are a few of the events that they have assisted with:
EAS Simon Breakspear event
Open evening tour guides
Parents’ evening hosts
Education Minister, Jeremy Miles’ visit to our school
Last week, the student council met to discuss the ideas brought forward by the students within our school. During this meeting, a plethora of noteworthy suggestions were put forward - all of which were passed on to the senior leadership team. One of the most prominent suggestions put forward by all year groups were more opportunities for fundraising and this was granted through a Children in Need Bake sale in which £222 was raised. 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 ‘wear something festive to school’ day on the 20th December.
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!
Our pupil leadership team acting as tour guides on open evening
Our very successful children in need bake sale raised £222
More Able and 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. Parents have been informed if their child is on the ‘Most Able’ register via Class Charts.
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. Below are some of the enrichment opportunities that our MAT pupils have been involved with at the end of the Summer term and this Autumn term:
Year 8
As part of the school’s provision for MAT pupils, we took our identified MAT pupils in Year 7 on an educational visit to the Senedd in July. Our pupils visited Siambr Hywel, the Senedd’s dedicated youth debating chamber, to learn about the role of a Member of the Senedd, and what happens inside the Senedd. Our learners also debated in the chamber using the new technology voting pods. The visit helped our learners to understand how democracy works in Wales, and how to have their say through the Welsh Parliament. Hopefully it may even inspire some of them to a future in politics, especially after listening to our AM, Alun Davies who answered pupil’s questions and certainly instilled a great sense of pride in them for being YGTCS pupils with a great deal to offer Wales and the World just as he has!
Year 9
As part of the school’s provision for MAT pupils, our year 8 MAT pupils participated in an educational visit to the House of Parliament, London during the Summer term. The visit involved an awe-inspiring tour of the palace of Westminster which introduced the concepts of democracy and representation. As the Palace is the working home of the UK Parliament, we visited: the House of Commons, the House of Lords, a visit to the Public Gallery to observe MPs, and Westminster Hall. After the tour, our pupils participated in a workshop on the passing of laws and legislation and debated whether or not a new law should be passed on ending examinations in schools at the end of Year 11. We were also very fortunate to be joined by joined by the Lord of Aberdare who inspired us all.
Year 9 enjoying their tour around the Houses of Parliament and their ride aboard the London Eye:
Year 10 - The Brilliant Club Scholars Programme
All 12 pupils who were identified in year 9 as Most Able were selected onto the Brilliant Club Scholars programme. The Scholars programme is an opportunity for all 12 selected pupils to develop the knowledge, skills and ambition needed to progress to higher education. The initial launch event was held at Bristol University where pupils enjoyed several workshops informing them about University life as well as a visit around Bristol University.
Pupils spent the Summer Term attending weekly academic virtual tutorials with their PHD Tutor where they developed their communication, research and debating skills. Research was undertaken each week to further develop their knowledge and understanding of the topic of ‘Puffins, Parasites and Puffins; Oh My!” and homework was set each week to help develop pupils’ independent learning and research skills.
Throughout the course pupils were introduced to concepts of parasites, pathogens, zoonoses and One Health. Students investigated and learnt how the concept of One Health can help combat diseases. Pupils were encouraged to think about the 3 main components of One Health; ecosystem health, animal health and human health that are all interconnected through their interactions between one another. They then had to analyse, evaluate and critically examine the benefits and threats to promoting collaboration across all sectors in a One Health approach in their final assignment, before reaching their own substantiated judgement as to whether this approach is what is needed to tackle the ever growing health challenges we face in the 21st century. The programme developed their independent learning, problem solving and critical thinking skills that will help at school and beyond.
Our pupils have now received their very impressive results and graduated from the Scholars Programme in a wonderful graduation ceremony that was held at Bedwellty House and Park and attended by parents / carers and the graduates themselves.
We would like to congratulate all of our pupils on their excellent results which are testament to the hard work, effort and great resilience that they showed throughout the Scholars programme. One of our pupils, Amy Moon achieved a 1st for her dissertation, which is the equivalent to performing at an excellent standard of A level! We are very much looking forward to seeing what bright future lies ahead for these pupils when they are already performing at such a high standard when they are only in Year 9! Well done all!
Year 11
Our Year 11 and 10 MAT learners were selected to participate in an educational visit to Jesus College Oxford University at the end of the Summer term.
Our itinerary for the day included:
Introduction to Oxford Q&A with students currently studying at Oxford
Lunch in the Great Hall
Walking tour of the city
“How to think like an Oxford student” session
Taster lecture
All of our pupils enjoyed the opportunity to access staff at this leading UK University, who ensured they were provided with up to date information, advice and support for future career aspirations.
Year 9, 10 and 11 MAT learners
As part of the Oxbridge/Blaenau Gwent hub initiative to encourage learners’ aspirations to enter top universities, Dr Matt Williams, Admissions Fellow for Jesus College, Oxford held a presentation for our Most Able pupils on Thursday 9th November in the Carriage House at Bedwellty House and Park. Our pupils thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity to develop the vital knowledge, skills and ambition needed to progress to university.
How to help your child revise workshop
In November, Mrs D’Amato and Miss Williams held a parental workshop to help support your child revise. During the workshop we explored activities designed to raise awareness/boost performance such as revision strategies, timetables and a clear vision. Our parents and carers also experimented first hand with different revision strategies and were shown how to help their children identify their own successful study skills. We would like to thank all those parents who attended and for the very positive feedback we received from this session. Please let us know if there are any further workshops that you feel would be useful to you as parents / carers in the Spring and Summer terms.
Equality and Diversity
During the term, we have celebrated Black History Month with a particular focus on celebrating our sisters. We have also celebrated Disability History Month and learnt about the Social Model of Disability. Throughout both months, pupils have learnt about diverse role models who have overcome barriers in order to reach their full potential and make a difference in society.
On 25th October 2023, Mrs Ewins, Mrs Haigh, Mrs Maddy and Miss Carson took a group of years 9, 10 and 11 pupils to Cardiff to watch Everyone’s Talking about Jamie. It was an incredibly inspirational story about a young man overcoming prejudice. The pupils were a credit to the school and we all really enjoyed the musical.
We have continued with our LGBTQ+ club this year. It began running after school on a Monday but has now changed to lunchtimes during week 1.
Mrs Ewins is working closely with year 11 to consider ways that we can promote inclusion throughout the school. We will be sharing our ideas in the New Year.
As a school, we are also continuing to work towards The Allegiance Award.
Year 7
Wow a term gone already! Year 7 have settled in well and are fully engaged in school life. Form Reps have been voted for and the and I would congratulate the following pupils on becoming a form rep: 7T Chayce Price and Grace Arnold, 7P – Jacob Evans and Lyla Hopkins, 7R – Hayden Lucas and Carys Hurrell, 7I Seren Phllips and Lola Williams, 7D –Leon Moss and Lowri Pitman and 7E –Harry Kerchey and Theo Kearney.
12 brave pupils nominated themselves to stand for school council and every pupil did themselves proud in their delivery of their presentations to the Year group, Seren Phillips and Lyla Richards were voted to represent the Year group.
Our DRICE pupils of the month do far this year have been:
September: Grace Arnold and Kyle Price
October: Freya Moore and Codi Dayton
November: Leo Jones and Scarlett Shuck
Congratulations all and keep up the hard work
On National restart the heart day 16th October, year 7 took part in workshops with the ambulance service to learn and understand CPR. The pupils actively engaged in the workshops and enjoyed the hands on approach. An excellent day in which the pupils learnt a valuable life skill.
Year 7 took part in their first house of event in which they played a number of tag rugby games. The Red and the Green house came away victorious earning 7 points each. All pupils were a real credit and showed commitment to their team.
National bullying week started with the pupils showing support of being different by wearing odd socks to school. It was lovely to see so many support such an important issue.
Lots of pupils are actively involving them in extracurricular activities from music, choir and sport. There have been some amazing wins in both football and rugby from both the boys and girls. It is also lovely to see so many Year 7 pupils audition for our musical Les Miserable and attend the weekly choir sessions to be a part of the chorus.
Overall a very successful term and I look forward to working with you closely over the next year.
Mrs Green
Year 8
Year 8 have started back to YGTCS with great enthusiasm and are embracing the new curriculum. It has been lovely to see when popping into lessons.
As always the first half term saw Year 8 voting for their Form captains, and Year group representatives that sit on the school council acting as a voice for our year group. Congratulations to the following pupils who after giving fantastic speeches were elected:
8P – Lewis Hawliczek & Alfie Wooldridge
8R – Abbie Pembrey & Lily Walters
8I – Jasmine Parry & Joseph Williams
8D – Roxi Flynn & Georgia Tovey
8E – Aimee Williams & Jacob Mealing
School Council Representatives: George Richards 8I & Szymon Juryszczak 8E were re-elected, and Ty Searle 8P voted in as deputy.
Every Thursday in assembly we celebrate the pupils who have achieved the most Pride points the previous week, and it has been so encouraging to see so many different pupils getting these certificates. It proves how determined they are to succeed. A huge well done to you all. We also celebrate our DRICE Pupils of the month, who receive a certificate, and hot chocolate with the head teacher on the last Friday of the month.
Our DRICE pupils of the month so far this year have been:
September: Demi Louise Dowding 8P & Taylor Fox 8P
October: Maya O’Dwyer 8R & Deryn Michael 8R
November: Bethany Williams 8P & Rio Morris 8E
Congratulations to you all, keep up the great work.
We also discuss the importance of regular attendance to school, I am very pleased to say that 8I have won the weekly attendance league most often, which is something to be very proud of. We also still have 24 pupils on 100% attendance – congratulations.
Pride Points:
At the time of writing this 10 pupils have achieved their bronze awards for collecting 350 pride points, a massive well done to Bethany Williams, Barbara Uliczki, Maya O’Dwyer, Deryn Michael, Eva Hughes, Sienna Hooper, Shubbar Faris-Arkan, Oli Ewers, Jasmine Parry and Laila-Mae Bevan.
Please enjoy the Christmas holidays, and I look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.
Year 9
Learning Pathways
Year 9 pupils have now completed the first term in studying their selected examination courses and continue to lay the foundations in preparation for the important years that follow.
Attendance
In a very keenly contested battle, 9T currently sit at the top of the Yr. 9 Form attendance league with the remaining forms in close pursuit. Collective form attendance is analysed weekly, with there being a prize awarded for the form who sit at the top of the Year 9 Form Attendance League at the end of the academic year.
Despite their form not winning the attendance league, it is important to mention that there are many pupils who have an impressive individual attendance. This will also be rewarded at the end of the year.
Impressively, there are 54 Year 9 pupils currently on 100% attendance for the academic Year.
Maintaining good attendance is vital for all pupils in order to maximise the opportunity to learn and develop in order to fulfil potential to reach set goals.
Year Group Council
The year group leadership team has been elected. Congratulations to the pupils in role for this academic year.
Year Group Representatives
Howard Edwards
Amelia Jones
Form Representatives
9T
Monica Butcher
Sonny Pearce-Wadkin
9P
Noah Hill
Riley Evans
9R
Roman Jones
Colton Banks
9I
Harrison Hughes
Summer Brown
9D
Bailey Caswell
Calum Carter
9E
Howard Edwards
Olivia Jones
Special mention to Gabriella Kalanyos who sits on the sit school council as the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Representative.
Pupil of the month
Congratulations to the following pupils for being selected as DRICE Pupil of the month throughout autumn term:
Pupil of the Month
September 2023
Lola Parry
Isabella Templar
October 2023
Mille D’Amato
Indie Gittings
November 2023
Rachel Van Ek
Jake Pearce
Pride points
Congratulations to Mille D’Amato, Indie Gittings, Lili Llewellyn & Noah Pearsall who have attained Bronze criteria as part of the school reward system. Well done all.
Mentoring Week
Thank you to parents/carers who engaged in the recent Year 9 Mentoring week. The week provided a valuable opportunity for parents/carers to meet with their child’s form tutor to discuss recent progress and set targets for future improvement.
Year 10
A positive start has been made to the new academic year for Year 10 pupils who have made excellent progress in embracing the challenges of the Autumn Term. Mentoring Week held in November and was very well attended, providing pupils and parents with the opportunity to discuss progress and set targets following their first interim assessment point for the year. A huge WELL DONE is extended to pupils who have been preparing for their first external examination on Monday 8th January. Pupils have worked extremely hard to prepare for this examination and I am proud of the resilience and dedication they have shown; in class, during a mock exam and by attending after school revision classes. It was also great to see so many parents of Year 10 pupils attend the parent workshop on revision and study skills, facilitated by Assistant Headteacher, Mrs D’Amato. We are now just weeks away from pupils sitting their first ever external examination and I have no doubt that the year group will exceed my expectations and achieve fantastic results!
During the school’s annual prize giving ceremony, Owain Woolf and Tilly Jones were awarded the Year Group prize for their outstanding achievements throughout Year 9. Tilly received her award for her ongoing contributions to school life and academia whilst Owain received his prize for endeavour and outstanding attitude to learning.
The Year Council for Year 10 has been formed this term whereby members were elected after presentations were made to their year group during assembly. Year group council representatives are Tilly Jones and Kenzie Russell. William Kearney has also been elected as physical literacy ambassador for the year group.
All pupils who presented were outstanding and the quality of those presentations were of a very high calibre which made it extremely difficult for pupils when voting. Congratulations are extended to Tilly, Kenzie and William who are serving as excellent role models for the year group.
We are delighted to see so many pupils working hard and embracing the demands and challenges of Year 10 this term. So many role models to celebrate however our outstanding DRICE Pupils of the Month have received a hot chocolate with the Headteacher due to their engagement in learning and for serving as excellent ambassadors of YGTCS.
September: Ioan Jones and Olivia Hudd
October: Alfie Williams and Ianis Constantin
November: Kian Browning and Evie Flanagan
December: William Kearney and Harvey Williams
Da iawn Blwyddyn 10! An excellent first term for Year 10 – keep making us proud of you!
Year 11
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. I was so impressed with the conduct of the majority of Year 11 pupils during their PPE exams, their entry into the Hall and their conduct during all of the exams was exceptional. They have set very high standards for themselves and their peers. I am certain that the students who have put in the hard work and dedication will be rewarded with some very good results. Well done Year 11, keep aiming high!
Pupil Leadership Team
During the summer term there was a rigorous interview process to appointment the new Pupil Leadership Team. Candidates who went for the roles were certainly challenged and taken out of their comfort zones. I was so proud of the maturity and high standards that were set. The successful students are listed below and all of the pupils are doing a fantastic job for Team Tred! They are outstanding role models for the younger pupils that they are supporting around the school and during form time.
Head Girl - Ffion Griffiths
Head Boy- Archie Hares
Deputies- Ellie Roberts, Ruby Howard, Jay Morgan and Liam Hamer.
Senior Prefects – Jasmin Fiorini, Verity Jones, Emmie Campbell, Carys James, Lennon Osland and Holly D Jones.
Prefects- McKenzie Evans, Isabella D’Amato, Myles Bell, Gracie Summerfield and Holly J Jones. Ruby Richards, Lily Poulton, Lacey Vaughan and Ella Colwell. Evie Spooner, Daniel Mead and Lowri Andrews. Carys Jones, Aiden Clarke- Browning, Louie Dole, Fleur Jones and Catherine Evans. Layla Roach, Cerys Bound, Kida Davies, Olivia Jones, Kai Edwards and Gracie Davies.
Form Representatives
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 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- Jake Blake and Georgia- Leigh Glastonbury
R-Brooke Flack and Kai Harrison
I – McKenzie Evans and Paige Griffiths
D – Rhys Price, Neirin Lewis and Jayce Lewis
E – Myles Bell, Ffion Griffiths and Carys Jones
Attendance matters
High levels of attendance are very important and we are all striving to achieve this throughout the school. There is healthy competition between the forms and Form Tutors for the weekly attendance cup. At this point 11I is the best attended form with an average attendance of 89.6% and are in the school Championship Attendance League. At the time of writing this article 3 forms are in the Premiership Improvement League. Remember Year 11 this is the most important school year and being in front of the class teacher and utilising their expertise will greatly aid your chances of securing or exceeding your target grades.
100% Attenders
There are 22 Year 11 pupils who still have 100% attendance and they this is something that they should be very proud of! What a brilliant achievement! The pupils are Emi Aherne, Carys Bound, Charlie Caswell, Kida Davies and Jasmin Fiorini. Archie Hares, Keiran Irish, Carys James, Holly J Jones and Olivia Jones. Owen Moseley Hunt, Lily Poulton, Rhys Price, Evie Probert and Emily Regan. Nye Roberts, Lowri Ruddock, Jakub Sitek, Bailey Taylor, Lacey Vaughan and Kayden Williams.
While many individuals have very good levels of attendance and are reaching their Callio individual target, there are a minority who are letting the year group down. Below is a breakdown of the number of Year 11 pupils in each attendance category.
Maintaining good attendance is vital for all pupils in order to maximise the opportunity to learn and develop in order to fulfil potential to reach set goals.
Year Group Council
The year group leadership team has been elected. Congratulations to the pupils in role for this academic year.