Important change to the school calendar – Advanced notice:
The return to school for all pupils and students has been a great success and it has been an absolute delight and pleasure to see them all back in school safe and well. I do hope that the transition back to face to face learning has been a smooth one for all members of our school and I look forward to having all learners back full time from the 12th of April.
Back in 2020 when planning the school calendar, I, along with all five cluster primaries, decided to place the two remaining INSET days in the summer term, after the exam season. This meant that the High School could maximise teaching time for exam classes and the INSET days only took place after these vital groups had left for the summer break. Since those plans were made there have been announcements and guidance from Welsh Government regarding the way by which we are to assess, devise and award Centre Determined Grades (CDGs). This new guidance has meant we have to amend our systems and change several plans to ensure that all of our examination pupils and students get the best chance to achieve the highest grades they are capable of.
Recently the Welsh Government has informed us that we can use one of these INSET days for moderation and standardisation of CDGs, allowing us the opportunity to spend time to ensure that these grades are as accurate and fair as possible. We are committed to developing the best system for our learners so that they get the most accurate grades possible and so, with this latest guidance in mind we have taken the decision to move the July 5th INSET day to the earlier date of 21st May. This will give teachers moderation time before the grades have to be submitted to the exam boards.
New INSET day date:21 May 2021
Cancelled INSET day: 5 July 2021
If there any issues with this change of INSET date please contact the school.
