Hello Everyone
I hope that you are enjoying the Whitsun half term break and that you will have some rest before the end of the week. Once again, it has been very busy here at Bro Edern, with years 10, 11, 12 and 13 beginning their long-awaited exams. The punctuality, attendance and dedication of our pupils as they face the challenges of the exams must be commended. Your child may have complained about a few papers, but please note that this is in line with the general feeling about the exams across Wales, not just at Bro Edern, as you can read by clicking here.
All we can say to reassure you at this point is that all pupils in schools in Wales face the same exams. At Bro Edern, pupils didn’t miss any lessons, as our constant online live learning provision saw staff going the extra mile daily to ensure that our pupils did not miss out. All you can do now is continue to support your child for the rest of the exams and we will continue to support everyone here at school. Please contact your child’s head of year if you have any queries or worries.
Exam Arrangements
The same arrangements will continue after half term. Please remember that all pupils are required to wear full school uniform during any examination. Also please keep in mind the necessary equipment required, including a clear pencil case. All pupils need to get to school in good time before an exam. No last minute panics!
School Campaigns
We continue with our school campaigns, in order to ensure the highest standards at Bro Edern. Punctuality, attendance, uniform and speaking Welsh continue to be our focus, alongside our clampdowns on mobile phones, AirPods, jewellery, false nails and chewing gum. Thanks to all parents for their continued support in tackling these issues.
Revision Sessions
Thanks once again to the staff who have come in during these holidays to conduct revision sessions with our pupils. Sessions are running from Monday to Thursday this week. The timetable was sent to you before half term, and a final copy is below for you to see again.
Eisteddfod yr Urdd
We wish those pupils who are heading to Denbighshire by the end of the week all the best. The Ymgom will compete on Friday in the Green Pavilion, with the competition starting at 10am. The Bro Edern Band will be competing in the “Arddorfa” (outdoor orchestral space) on Saturday with the competition starting at 11am. Many thanks to the staff who have been preparing pupils for these competitions.
- Friday’s arrangements: Meet at 9am in the main entrance to the maes.
- Saturday’s arrangements: The band’s minibus will leave Bro Edern at 5am and will return after the competition.
Trips
It’s great to be able to announce that schools are finally able to start organising trips abroad. We have had to put our school travel plans on hold for over two years and it is great to be resuming our plans.
Grünstadt Exchange
Our German exchange school, the Leininger Gymnasium in Grünstadt, wants to restart our exchange as soon as possible. We are also keen to continue with the friendship between the two schools. We are currently confirming the arrangements with their teachers. The intention is to welcome the Germans to Bro Edern for a week during term time in April or May 2023, when they will stay with the current year 7 and 8 pupils. Our pupils will return to Grünstadt in June or July 2023 (when they are at the end of years 8 and 9). Once we have confirmed the arrangements, a letter will follow.
Skiing Trip
A skiing trip to Austria is being planned by the PE Department and an initial meeting has been held last week for interested pupils. All the relevant details can be found by clicking here to view the letter.
Llangrannog
Closer to home, our annual trip to Llangrannog with the cluster can resume in November, when the current year 5 and 6 pupils (years 6 and 7 in November) will spend time at the Urdd camp.
Cricket
Closer still, some of our cricket enthusiasts will have the opportunity to play a game against Glantaf on 7 June and then head over to Sophia Gardens to watch Glamorgan play Gloucestershire in the Vitality Blast Twenty20 competition. A bus will take the pupils there, but any pupils attending the game will need to be picked up around 9pm outside Sophia Gardens. Further details to follow.
Year 9
Year 9 pupils start their GCSE courses immediately after half term. This means that the whole school will go to a new timetable. The new timetable should update on ClassCharts sometime before next Monday. Year 9 reports will follow in the next few weeks and will appear as an “Announcement” on ClassCharts. Staff are currently writing them.
An important letter was sent to year 9 parents before half term:
Year 12
Congratulations to year 12 on completing their AS courses. They have all worked hard this year, despite all the challenges of COVID.
Year 12 will return to their year 13 lessons on Monday 13 June. During these lessons, students begin their A Level (A2) courses. Everyone is expected to attend the assembly during lesson 2 in the hall on Monday 13 June.
Important date for year 12:
Wednesday 22 June: Subject Taster Day / University Taster Day – University of South Wales. Meet outside the Atrium, University of South Wales CF24 at 9:45am.
Partnership Courses for year 12 during the last half term:
Due to varying arrangements in the three schools, we have agreed on a block of partnership lessons for the last half term.
All partnership course lessons will be held during the following weeks:
- 13 June
- 20 June
- 4 July
- 11 July
Year 12 UCAS Arrangements
During the last half of the summer term, we will begin to discuss very seriously our students’ plans for life after year 13. These discussions started after attending the UCAS Event in April. Some students may consider going to university after year 13, others may consider apprenticeships and some may consider travelling abroad or volunteering. It is a big decision to face, of course, but we will do our best to support our pupils as they consider all the possibilities. Anyone considering studying at university must apply through the UCAS process. For more information, visit www.ucas.com
In order to begin the UCAS process, students must complete an application form. Everyone will need to start the application form on the same day and we will do this by visiting the University of South Wales, Treforest, where each student will start the application process, one stage at a time. This is a compulsory day for everyone. We will confirm the date once all the arrangements are in place.
Year 12 Work Experience
When considering routes after year 13, many university courses are particularly keen to hear about students’ experiences beyond school life. Some university courses also state that students must have spent time on work experience for a fixed period. We have therefore set aside a block of two days so that our Sixth Formers can arrange valuable work experience during the last half term. See dates below:
- 29 and 30 June
- 18 and 19 July
Because we have organised the work experience days into two blocks of two days, this means that the students have the opportunity to sample two different career paths and arrange two work experience placements for two days at a time. Our students, with the help of parents, will be responsible for their work experience arrangements. All students will be expected to provide us at school with their employers’ details upon their return from the exams, so that we can arrange to visit as many Sixth Formers as possible during the four days of placement. In recent years, we have found that this period of work experience can be extremely valuable. It can spark and inspire ambition, it can solidify a career decision either way, but it can also be boring if students do not organise something aligned to their interests. We will discuss this further with the whole year after everyone returns after the exams.
Transition Days / Sports’ Day – help by year 12
Year 12 pupils will be expected to help with the Transition / Sports’ Days in the final half term and it is hoped that from September some Sixth Formers will be able to attend trips with younger pupils as swogs. Students who help with the above days will be given priority for swogging.
Year 11
We are extremely pleased with the way that year 11 pupils have faced their numerous exams with a smile and lots of perseverance. Many pupils are planning to return to the Sixth Form next year, and our taster days will give them a real experience of life in the Sixth Form at Bro Edern, with smaller teaching groups and individual attention from experienced teachers who know our pupils’ strengths well. Did you know that Miss Anona Harries (Art) and Mr Dewi Thomas (Technology) have just been examining A Levels for WJEC, visiting other schools as some of the foremost subject specialists in Wales? They are part of our excellent and committed Sixth Form teaching team. Please send your child along to see first hand what we have to offer. They won’t be disappointed.
Sixth Form Taster Days for year 11 pupils
There will be two Taster Days this year:
Tuesday 28 June: Taster Day 1
This will be a taster day for partnership courses.
Bro Edern Partnership Subjects:
The first session will be held at Bro Edern from 9.00 – 10.30am for pupils considering studying BTEC Level 2 Engineering, Photography, Medical Science, Computer Science, Criminology or Music Performance. Pupils are expected to register promptly at 8.45am in the hall to attend the above taster lessons.
For the pupils considering the Childcare / CACHE Course, there will be a taster session for the whole morning, between 9.00 – 12.30, also at Bro Edern.
Glantaf Partnership Subjects:
Pupils who are considering studying one of the partnership subjects at Glantaf will need to arrive at Bro Edern promptly to register (in our hall) at 10.20am.
These are the Partnership Subjects offered at Glantaf:
- Politics
- Tourism
- Music
Plasmawr Partnership Subjects:
Pupils who are considering studying one of the partnership subjects at Plasmawr will need to arrive at Bro Edern promptly to register (in our hall) at 10.20am.
These are the Partnership Subjects offered at Plasmawr:
- IT
- Public Services
- Music Technology
- Spanish (pupils must have an external GCSE / or already speak the language)
If your child is considering studying one of the partnership subjects at Glantaf or Plasmawr, they will need to register at Bro Edern at 10.20am and then we will travel on to Glantaf and Plasmawr.
Every pupil will travel back from Glantaf / Plasmawr before the end of the school day.
Wednesday 29 June: Taster Day 2
This is the taster day for all the usual subjects offered at Bro Edern (apart from the partnership subjects). This is a day for everyone, whether they have definite plans for next year or not. The full timetable for the day is to follow. Everyone will be expected to register promptly in the hall at 8.45am. The Lolfa will be free for year 11 during the day, as year 12 will be on work experience.
If your child is unsure of their next step, please send them along for the day to try out a variety of different subjects. A warm welcome awaits everyone!
Goodbye Year 13
We had a wonderful day saying goodbye to year 13 on 20 May. There was a great assembly in the hall before staff and students enjoyed an afternoon of socialising at Pizza Express in Cardiff Bay. The students’ behaviour was excellent, as usual, and everyone had a good time together, despite lots of tears! The clear message at this final assembly was that Bro Edern’s door is always open to our former pupils, and that they should keep in touch with their teachers, especially if they need help or a chat.
Canteen Debts
With year 11 and 13 pupils leaving for the summer soon, we need to ensure that all debts have been cleared with the canteen. Many year 11 and 13 pupils continue to use the canteen daily, before and after exams, but when the exam season ends, please ensure that debts have been cleared. Pupils in any year group should not be getting into debt. “Auto Top-Up” can be set up for ParentPay accounts so that no account goes into debt. The canteen is run as an external business, it is not run by the school.
Year 7 and 8 Personal Assessments
The Personal Assessments for years 7 and 8 will take place straight after half term. These are set by the government, meaning they are national statutory tests, therefore all pupils need to be present on the following days:
| Lessons 1 + 2 | Lessons 3 + 4 | |
| Tuesday 7 | Welsh Year 7 | Welsh Year 8 |
| Thursday 9 | Maths Reasoning Year 8 | Maths Reasoning Year 7 |
| Tuesday 14 | Maths Procedural Year 7 | Maths Procedural Year 8 |
| Thursday 16 | English Year 7 | English Year 8 |
Pupils will require their fully charged Chromebook for each assessment, but for the Maths Reasoning assessment, pupils will also need a calculator and headphones with an aux input that fits into their Chromebook. Pupils with a broken Chromebook will be taken to a computer room to take the tests.
Important Dates
Here are the important dates between now and the end of term, and the main headline dates for the forthcoming year, taking us as far as summer 2023.
Friday 24 June – Cluster Inset – no school for all cluster pupils
Friday evening 24 June – Sixth Form Prom
Monday 27 June – Bro Edern Inset – no school for Bro Edern pupils
Tuesday 28 June – Year 11 Sixth Form Taster Day
Wednesday 29 June – Year 11 Sixth Form Taster Day
Thursday evening 30 June – Preparation for Numeracy Meeting for Year 10 and their parents
Friday 1 July – English Individual Oral Exam Year 10 Sets 3 and 6
Thursday 7 July – Year 6 Transition Day
Thursday evening 7 July – Transition Meeting for Year 6 parents
Friday 8 July – Year 6 Transition Day
Thursday 14 July – Summer Concert
Tuesday 19 July – The last day of the school year for everyone
Wednesday 20 July – Inset Day, moved from January, but completed in twilight meetings in September 2021
Thursday 21 July – Inset Day, but completed in twilight meetings in October 2021
Friday 22 July – Jubilee Bank Holiday – all schools had to pick a date – this is our date
Thursday 18 August – Sixth Form results
Thursday 25 August – GCSE results
Monday 5 September – Inset day – no school for pupils
Tuesday 6 September – Years 7 and 12 return to school
Wednesday 7 September – Beginning of the year for everyone else
29 October – 6 November – Half Term
Tuesday 8 November – WJEC Numeracy Year 11 Exam
Thursday 10 November – WJEC Numeracy Year 11 Exam
14-18 November – Llangrannog Years 6 and 7
Friday 9th December – Cydag Inset Day – no school for pupils
12-16 December – Year 12 and 13 Internal Examinations
Thursday 22 December – Last day before Christmas
Friday 23 December – Inset day – no school for pupils
2023
Monday 9 January 2023 – New term begins for everyone
Friday 17 February 2023 – Cluster Inset – no school for all cluster pupils
18-26 February 2023 – Half Term
1-16 April 2023 – Easter Holidays
Monday 1st May 2023 – Bank Holiday
27 May – 4 June 2023 – Whitsun Half Term
Friday 21st July 2023 – Last day of the school year
Monday 24 July 2023 – Inset day – no school for pupils
Thanks once again for your continued support of Bro Edern and everything we do.
Best wishes
Iwan Pritchard
Headteacher
Blog Clwstwr Bro Edern 