General Information
You may find the information below useful. Please click on the links:
School hours and attendance
School Closure
Sickness
Code of conduct
Bullying
Rewards and sanctions
Homework and planners
Uniform
Lunches and breaks
Bus routes
Valuables in School
Complaints
School hours and attendance
The school day starts at 8.45am and ends at 3.45pm. Students may arrive at school from 8.00am.
If students are unable to come to school, parents are asked to notify the school either by telephone or email on the first day of their absence, giving an indication of when a return to school is likely. If it is not possible to predict accurately the date of return, parents should continue to telephone the school each morning to confirm their child's absence. To enable us to record the absence as approved, a letter explaining the reason for absence is required on the student's return to school.
Parents who wish to take their children out of school during normal term time should apply to the Head teacher in writing, in advance, giving details of the proposed absence. Leave of absence will be granted in exceptional cases only. Any authorised leave of absence must be documented on a request for absence form.
Top of page
School closure
In the event of the School being forced to close due to adverse weather conditions (e.g. snow, flooding etc.) a message will be displayed on the home page of this website. We shall also notify the following local radio stations who will broadcast this during their early morning programmes:
Power FM (103.2FM)
Power FM (103.2FM)
Wave FM (105.8)
Radio Solent (96.1FM and 103.8FM)
Parents who have subscribed to the Text4Schools service will also receive notification via text messages to their mobile telephones.
Sickness
Parents who have subscribed to the Text4Schools service will also receive notification via text messages to their mobile telephones.
Sickness
The procedure for informing the school of absence through sickness is as described above. Infectious illnesses must be reported to the school as soon as these are diagnosed.
If, on the student's return to school, medicine is required, a letter explaining how much and when to administer the medicine is required. Please note that without written consent signed by the parent or guardian, staff cannot give medicine. With the exception of asthma inhalers, students are not permitted to carry medicines on them whilst in school, and must leave these with the school office each morning.
Top of page
Code of conduct
If, on the student's return to school, medicine is required, a letter explaining how much and when to administer the medicine is required. Please note that without written consent signed by the parent or guardian, staff cannot give medicine. With the exception of asthma inhalers, students are not permitted to carry medicines on them whilst in school, and must leave these with the school office each morning.
Top of page
Code of conduct
We expect all students to show courtesy and consideration to others. A high standard of self-discipline and behaviour is expected from all students.
The full Code of Conduct is printed in the student planner.
Anti-bullying
Anti-bullying
Bullying may be verbal, physical, emotional or "cyber-bulling" and will not be tolerated by the school in any form whatsoever. Students are encouraged to report any incident, no matter how small, to a member of staff as soon as it occurs.
Top of page
Rewards and Sanctions
Top of page
Rewards and Sanctions
The school aims to promote high standards of behaviour, self-discipline and learning through positive encouragement and reward.
Outstanding effort or achievement may be rewarded with credits. These contribute towards Commendation Certificates awarded at the end of year. Credits also contribute to the house credit system. A trophy is awarded to the house gaining the highest number of credits.
Citizenship points are awarded for efforts made outside the academic boundaries: for contributing on special school occasions, for being involved in charity work, or for volunteering to support staff. Citizenship Certificates are awarded at the end of the year.
An individual Citizenship Trophy is presented annually for outstanding contribution to the school community.
Inevitably there must also be a punishment for misbehaviour. Debits are given for behaviour that is not acceptable, incorrect uniform or work that is neither completed nor of a standard that reflects a student's ability. The accumulation of six debits during one half term results in a detention.
On some occasions students will be expected to attend overdue work sessions. These will mostly occur in Years 10 and 11 if coursework deadlines have not been met.
Detentions take place on Fridays from 3.45pm to 4.45pm. Parents will receive at least 24 hours` written notice, explaining the reason. Slips must be taken home, signed by parents and returned to school. Only in extreme circumstances will a detention be rearranged.
Where deemed appropriate, students may be placed on report. Each teacher will write a comment after every lesson and the Report Sheet will be checked by the Head of Year or the student's Tutor and sent home for parents to sign each day.
In serious cases, students may be excluded from school for a period of time and then invited to come in with their parents and agree to accept a written Code of Conduct before being re-admitted. As a last resort, students may be permanently excluded from the school. The Headteacher will discuss the reasons for this exclusion with parents.
Top of page
Homework
Outstanding effort or achievement may be rewarded with credits. These contribute towards Commendation Certificates awarded at the end of year. Credits also contribute to the house credit system. A trophy is awarded to the house gaining the highest number of credits.
Citizenship points are awarded for efforts made outside the academic boundaries: for contributing on special school occasions, for being involved in charity work, or for volunteering to support staff. Citizenship Certificates are awarded at the end of the year.
An individual Citizenship Trophy is presented annually for outstanding contribution to the school community.
Inevitably there must also be a punishment for misbehaviour. Debits are given for behaviour that is not acceptable, incorrect uniform or work that is neither completed nor of a standard that reflects a student's ability. The accumulation of six debits during one half term results in a detention.
On some occasions students will be expected to attend overdue work sessions. These will mostly occur in Years 10 and 11 if coursework deadlines have not been met.
Detentions take place on Fridays from 3.45pm to 4.45pm. Parents will receive at least 24 hours` written notice, explaining the reason. Slips must be taken home, signed by parents and returned to school. Only in extreme circumstances will a detention be rearranged.
Where deemed appropriate, students may be placed on report. Each teacher will write a comment after every lesson and the Report Sheet will be checked by the Head of Year or the student's Tutor and sent home for parents to sign each day.
In serious cases, students may be excluded from school for a period of time and then invited to come in with their parents and agree to accept a written Code of Conduct before being re-admitted. As a last resort, students may be permanently excluded from the school. The Headteacher will discuss the reasons for this exclusion with parents.
Top of page
Homework
Homework is both important and compulsory. Homework that is undertaken regularly throughout a child’s school career can be equivalent to an additional year of study. Students are given a homework timetable to help them organise their work and time.
Planners
Planners
Every student has a planner. These are used to record homework set, and are also a very effective two-way method of communication between school and home. The planners also contain general information on a range of school policies and procedures including uniform requirements and the School's Code of Conduct.
All students should be correctly dressed and come to school with the correct equipment. All items of clothing and equipment should be clearly marked with the student's name.
Students are not permitted to wear jewellery, except wristwatches. Hair that is shoulder length must be tied back at all times.
Please click here to view the full list of school uniform and equipment; our sole-supplier is Stevensons.
Top of page
Lunches and Breaks
All food is cooked on site. The canteen is open before school from 8.00am for breakfast. Students may buy bacon rolls, sandwiches and hot drinks. A range of healthy snacks is available during mid-morning break. During lunchtime there are
three main meal choices each day, which always include a vegetarian option. In addition, a pasta dish, jacket potatoes, and salads are always available. Menus are changed each week.
Students in years 7-10 are not permitted to leave the school boundaries during the school day. Year 11 students may be given permission to leave the site at lunchtime to visit the local shops to purchase lunch. This is a privilege which may be withdrawn if a student's behaviour is deemed to be unacceptable.
Chewing gum is forbidden in school, and any student found chewing gum will be given an after-school detention.
The School operates bus routes within a 15 mile radius of the School to suit the needs, where possible, of the students. Routes are reviewed annually, and we are always willing to consider the addition of new routes if a demand exists. Prospective parents should be assured that if the current routes do not include a stop near their home, we will endeavour to change the route accordingly. Please follow this link to view the current School bus routes. Students are required to adhere to the minibus code of conduct at all times.
Valuables in School
Valuables in School
The School takes no responsibility for valuables which are not handed in for safe keeping at the beginning of the day to the Reception or Office. (This includes, in particular, mobile `phones and portable audio equipment).
If a student needs to bring a large quantity of money to school for a particular reason please ensure it is clearly labelled in an envelope and that it is handed in as they arrive in School.
Our Complaints Policy and Procedure can be found on the School Policy request page of this website. We have a regulatory requirement to state the number of formal complaints made in the last academic year. This stands at 1.
Top of page
