As part of National Apprenticeship Week, we would like to shine a light on one of our students, Olivia who graduated from Duke’s Sixth Form in 2021 after studying A Level Art, BTEC Business and BTEC Media. Olivia is now working as an Apprentice Tattoo Artist at Emporium.

How did you get your Apprenticeship?

“I got my apprenticeship by searching online and having a friend show me the advertisement for the apprenticeship. I contacted the shop and we arranged an in-person interview where I visited the shop with my portfolio of art work. They looked through my art and asked me questions about my work ethic, work experience and what I wanted in the future from my apprenticeship.

“My employers had decided that from my portfolio and the interview that I would be a good fit in the studio and I started working there in early September.”

What is the best thing about being an Apprentice?

“The best thing about being an apprentice is meeting new people and getting experience. I have learned so much about the tattoo industry and business side of things from my apprenticeship that I didn’t know beforehand. I also got to have experience using different tattoo machines (rotarys and coils) and I gained experience with tattooing onto fake skin.

“I really enjoyed learning about the health and safety side of things. There’s so much to learn and being surrounded by people who share the same love and passion for an art form as you is amazing. I’m very lucky to be surrounded by generous and kind people.”

Any advice for anyone looking for an Apprenticeship? 

“My advice would be to get some work experience if you can. With tattooing, you’re constantly interacting with clients. I was very nervous at first and very quiet but now I’m more confident when dealing with strangers.

“For a tattoo apprenticeship specifically I would advise on starting a portfolio of your best artwork. Draw things you are passionate about, but try to have a slight variety of different styles (traditional, colour, black work, realism, etc) Start searching online for local tattoo studios that have taken apprentices in the past and reach out to them! But don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself and don’t let yourself be taken advantage of by employers.

“Post your work online and don’t be afraid to show it off! Keep practicing with your art as you’ll only continue to grow and get better. Don’t be afraid to reach out to other artists and apprentices to ask for advice and questions! I’d be more than happy to answer anyone’s questions.

“Advice for apprenticeships in general is to try and get some work experience. With any job you’re most likely going to need teamwork, conversation and leadership skills. Communication is a MUST.”

Anything else? 

“I would say that there have been times where it’s tiring or hard, and there will be times where it’s tiring and hard. It’s easy for tattooists to get burnt out especially if you’re busy with a lot of bookings.

“Sometimes you will get clients who are difficult to deal with, you’ll sometimes get rude clients, but you’ll also get regular clients who will keep coming back to you because of your personality and your art. You will find clients who choose you specifically because they trust you and love your artwork. A big part of tattooing is making sure the client is always comfortable and happy. But you also need to be comfortable and happy. Don’t overwork yourself. Surround yourself with a good support system, friends, family and believe in yourself.

“Anyone looking for an apprenticeship should know that apprenticeships can help further your future careers. You’re learning and making some money at the same time, which is always great.”

You can find Olivia at

“Emporium” – It’s on Milburn Road, and it’s the old bingo hall.

Also her social media is @Crybby.tattoos on Instagram.

Dear parents/carers,

It has been brought to our attention by a parent from one of our Trust schools that a suspicious looking email, seemingly sent by members of staff within the Trust, has been issued. The emails have a ‘zip file’ attachment and password to use to open it, however, this is not a legitimate email so please do not click on the attachment.

While a thorough investigation is still being carried out by our IT team, we can confirm that this is part of a wider cyber security issue which highly likely originated from outside of NCEAT, but is now having a direct impact on our own communications systems.

We have increased our internal online security as far as possible and are working with providers to ensure that as many of these potentially harmful emails are ‘filtered out’ of our network, however, if you do receive any suspicious looking emails, claiming to be from Duke’s, please do not click on any links or attachments and mark the email as ‘spam’.

To help you to identify a potential scam, please see some guidance below:

• The “sent by” address will either be a jumble of random letters and numbers or have an unusual domain (not .com or .co.uk)
• The email will contain links to click to ‘confirm your details’ or ‘make a payment’
• The email may have an attachment which looks strange or unsafe to open
• The email may give you a limited time to reply
• There might be spelling mistakes, bad grammar and sentences which don’t quite make sense
• If the email contains any logos or images, these may appear ‘pixelated’ or blurry
• If requesting money, the amount will usually be quite specific, not rounded up to the nearest pound/pence to try and make it seem legitimate, eg £692.88 instead of £700,00.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. We are working as quickly as we can to resolve the issue. If anyone has any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

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

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