Y11 & Y13 Feb/Mar Mock Exams Timetable

1st February 2022Louise Gatti

Dear Parent / Carer,

Y11 mock examinations are taking place from the 8th February to the 11th March. Please see the timetable link below on our website which shows exactly when each subject exam will take place.

In addition to mock exams, we have final vocational exams taking place on:

7th Feb: Enterprise
9th Feb: Travel and Tourism
10th+11th Feb: Sport
14th + 15th Feb: Hospitality

Each of these exams will be taken in one of our examination halls and will be sat under full test conditions. Students have been provided with a knowledge organiser for each subject they will be sitting a test in and these contain all of the course content that will be covered. Students have also, been provided with a Duke’s revision guide:

Y11 Revision Guide

To support all of our students there is a link on our website for a guide on how to effectively revise for tests and exams. There are lots of ideas, tips and self-help videos to ensure that students develop their skills and effectiveness in this area.

https://sites.google.com/ponthigh.org.uk/how-to-revise/home?authuser=1

The results of these assessments will also help to inform the school of the progress of the students in key subjects and will help us to ensure that they are receiving the correct provision and support. Results of the tests will be reported to parents at a parents evening on Thursday 17th March.

Yours sincerely,

Andy Blight
Asst. Principal

Y11 Revision Guide

27th January 2022Louise Gatti

Mock exams and summer exams are slowly sneaking up on us. This means that you are going to be busy with revision schedules, lesson notes and study posters. We’ve seen up close just how beneficial starting revision early can be. Not only are students better prepared and less stressed, but their final exam grades are likely to be much better than they expect! Follow the advice from Alex and Cameron:
‘Knowing the grades will be worth it in the end, success is a direct link to effort. The more effort you put in the greater the rewards will be, small gains everyday creates big improvements’.

So what are the benefits of starting revision early?

Less Stress!

There really is no better feeling for students than being prepared for upcoming exams, especially when students know they’ve put the work in. Getting on with revision sooner rather than later means much less stress and anxiety and you are prepared in advance.

Explore different revision techniques

Having time on their side means that students can explore different revision techniques rather than just sticking to one. This can involve a whole host of different ways to study.

Time to practice exam techniques

As they say, practice makes permanent. The earlier students start revising, the more time they’ll have to complete practice papers from previous years and get used to the format. All too often students have fantastic knowledge but their exam technique is lacking, which ends up affecting their final grade. There’s a whole load of practice papers available online to download and use, or teachers can provide tests from previous years.

For more exam and revision tips and techniques, check out the content of our Duke’s Y11 revision guide. We’ve got it all covered for every subject. If you have any questions, please see your subject teacher for advice.

Good luck! 80/20 💯

Click on this link to download – Duke’s Secondary Y11 Revision GUIDE 2022

 

Youtube – what do parents/carers need to know?

27th January 2022Leanne Tonks

YouTube is a video-sharing social media platform that allows billions of people around the world to watch, share and upload their own videos with a vast range of content – including sport, entertainment, education and lots more. It’s a superb space for people to consume content that they’re interested in. As a result, this astronomically popular platform has had a huge social impact: influencing online culture on a global scale and creating new celebrities.

In the guide below, you’ll find tips on a number of potential risks such as connecting with strangers, inappropriate content and high visibility.

Duke’s Alumni Assemblies

21st January 2022Louise Gatti

A big thank-you to Duke’s alumni Alex Brown and Cameron Donnelly, who helped deliver assemblies to Y10 and Y11 this week.
They provided key ‘tips’ on revision, planning, discipline, time management and the importance of a strong work ethic to our students. This will hopefully help our students with their forthcoming mock exams.
They are both inspirational role models to our students.
Cameron is studying Sports Science at Sunderland university and Alex is studying Physiotherapy at Northumbria. They both work part time

, alongside their studies.

Horror games: are they suitable for your child?

20th January 2022Leanne Tonks

This week’s Online Safety guidance focus is around apps that go under the broad title of ‘horror games’. A PDF of the advice and guidance poster can be found below.

In the guide, you’ll find tips on a number of potential risks such as adult themes, psychological horror and violent content.

Horror video games come in a such a variety that the genre can hard to define. The overlapping element is that these games are designed to scare or unsettle the player through gameplay, atmosphere, story, music, setting and ‘jump scares’. The most common sub-genres are survival horror, action horror, psychological horror, jump-scare horror and reverse horror. These games originate from a range of developers, including smaller indie studios which release download-only titles (that is, they aren’t physically sold in shops) and therefore aren’t subject to age ratings.

A thank you from Wansbeck Food Bank

19th January 2022Leanne Tonks

Over Christmas, pupils across Duke’s worked incredibly hard to collect hundreds of food items and raise money for our local food bank which supports people living across our community.

We’ve received a lovely thank you letter from Wansbeck Food Bank which we want to share with you (see below). Well done again to everyone who got involved!

Do you know who your child is communicating with online?

14th January 2022Leanne Tonks

Each week, through our school-wide subscription to National Online Safety, Duke’s receives information about new and ‘trending’ apps and tech which might have a harmful impact on our pupils. This week’s update is about an app called ‘Replika’.

Replika is an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot companion that its developers claim users can form an actual emotional connection with. Once users have created an account and chosen a 3D avatar, they select the type of relationship they want with the chatbot: friend, mentor or romantic partner. Using a neural network to hold an ongoing one-on-one conversation, Replika gradually becomes more like the user as it gathers data from their responses. It isn’t the only AI chatbot app available, but Replika pushes the boundaries of the concept to offer a highly realistic conversational experience.

In the guide below, you’ll find tips on a number of potential risks such as possible addiction, inappropriate content and in-app purchases.

Assessments for Years 7 – 10 will be taking place in school between 24th January and 7th February.

13th January 2022Louise Gatti
Assessments for Years 7 – 10 will be taking place in school between 24th January and 7th February. Over this period of time Years 7 and 8 will take assessments in English, Maths and Science, Year 9 will take assessments in English, Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, French, Geography and History. Year 10 will take assessments in English, Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics and some option subjects. The timetables for these assessments are recorded below.
These assessments are an important opportunity for all students to consolidate their learning and gain vital practice in the revising for and taking of the type of exams on which their final grades at the end of Year Eleven will be based.
Students have been provided with knowledge organisers for each of the subjects they will be taking assessments in. Knowledge organisers contain all of the information that they will need to know to be successful in these assessments and students are expected to use them to revise and prepare in their own time in the run up to the assessment periods.
The results of the assessments will be reported after each of the assessment periods. Outcomes may result in some students moving classes to ensure that they are receiving the correct levels of support in their studies.

Year 7

Date
Period
Exam
Monday 24th January 4 Mathematics
Thursday 27th January 2 English
Friday 28th January 5 Science

 

Year 8

Date
Period
Exam
Wednesday 26th January 4 English
Thursday 27th January 1 Science
Friday 28th January 4 Mathematics

 

Year 9

Date
Period
Exam
Monday 24th January 3 Geography
Monday 24th January 5 Physics
Wednesday 26th January 1 French
Wednesday 26th January 5 English
Thursday 27th January 4 Maths
Thursday 27th January 5 Biology
Friday 28th January 1 Chemistry
Friday 28th January 3 History

 

Year 10

Date
Period
Exam
Monday 31st January 1 Geography
Monday 31st January 3 Mathematics
Monday 31st January 5 Engineering
Tuesday 1st February 1 French (Reading & Writing)
Tuesday 1st February 2 History
Wednesday 2nd February 5 Physics
Thursday 3rd February 1 English
Friday 4th February 3 Chemistry
Monday 7th February 1 Biology
Monday 7th February 3 French (Listening)

Thanks to Ponteland HS for use of their revision website. Some of the content is personalised to Ponteland and does not apply to Duke’s.

 

https://sites.google.com/ponthigh.org.uk/how-to-revise/home?authuser=1

Keeping your children safe online

5th January 2022Leanne Tonks

As school returns after our Christmas break, please see below a really useful guide on how to set up parental controls on new (and existing) devices for your children. It might be that you think that setting up such controls might require difficult to follow instructions, or be tricky, but this guide explains in very simple terms how you can add an extra layer of protection for your son / daughter.

The term ‘devices’ includes X-boxes, PlayStations and any other piece of technology that can connect to the internet.

Adding parental controls can help to prevent and restrict access to inappropriate content, block in-app purchases, restrict who can contact your child online, help you with setting automatic screen-time limits.

If you have any questions about this or need any further advice or assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.