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We are delighted to welcome prospective students and their families to our Open Evening on the 23rd September between 4.30 - 7.30pm. Please sign in at the reception on Gipsy Lane. We have limited parking for disabled visitors only, located on Gipsy Lane only.
Very well done to all our Year 11 and Year 12 students receiving their GCSE/Level 2 results today.
As I said earlier in the week when talking about Post-16 grades, these results have been awarded according to a new system which schools across the country have had to create following the Department for Education’s decision to cancel external examinations in March this year due to Covid.
This will mean that the results will be very difficult to compare to previous years since our assessment process was different to the normal end of year exams. We chose to collect evidence of the achievement of our students across a range of evidence points to give each individual student the best chance to show what they were capable of in a range of assessments. Thanks to the hard work of our students this has led to an excellent set of results for them to take forward and build upon.
This absolutely does not mean that what our students have achieved is any less valuable than previous years but it is different. Indeed, in some respects being consistently successful across five different evidence points requires even more work, dedication and commitment than just pulling out all the stops for a final examination which might suit some students but which others find really difficult.
I am therefore sure that the whole community will be really proud of what these students have achieved given the huge disruption to their learning over the past 18 months.
In any year each individual student has their own story to tell about their journey and the barriers they have had to overcome. In a time of Covid, these barriers are only amplified by issues such as struggling with remote learning, difficult family circumstances and new assessment systems. We understand and recognise those difficulties and by working together with students and their families have achieved some phenomenal results.
So as you move onto the next stage in your life, whether that is with us in Post-16 or elsewhere, we wish you the best of luck. I hope you are very proud of what you were achieved (we certainly are) but use your results and experiences this year wisely in the next stage of your education so that you can become the very best version of yourself that you possibly can be. If you are still unsure about what to do next year or indeed if, at the start of the Autumn Term, you change your mind about your chosen option please do not hesitate to get in touch with us to see how we can help.
As always, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the parents, carers and family members for all their help in supporting our young people over the past five years.
I also sure the students would wish to join me in thanking all the staff, teaching and support staff, involved in helping students achieve these fantastic results. From the Key Stage 4 team led by Mr Holt and ably supported pastorally and academically this year by Mr Findel-Hawkins, Mrs O’Donnell, Mrs Luff, Mr Taylor and Mrs Hewitt in KS4 student reception, Mrs Rowsell and Mrs Needham in KS4 study centre, our SEND, Pupil Premium and STEPs teams as well as a great team of teachers, tutors and other support staff.
As your Head of Year, Mr Findel-Hawkins summed up,
“I have been so impressed with the way that this year group have worked during their GCSEs. They have had to cope with everything that the COVID pandemic has thrown at them and have somehow managed to do this whilst remaining positive and focused on their studies. They deserve the very best and it’s so good to see so many of them achieving such good grades today. We wish them all the best in their futures and we are really looking forward to seeing so many of them returning to us in post 16. It is always a very proud day as a head of year but particularly so this year.”
Well done to you all – despite all of the trials we have faced together you have been a fantastic group of young people and a privilege to work with!
All the best.
Andrew Davis
Principal
What a journey.
As families will no doubt realise this year has been a very difficult one for many students and families and this equally applies to our Post 16 students who were receiving their results today.
As with GCSE results which are awarded on Thursday 12th August, these are Assessment Awarded Grades. This is because in March 2021 external exams were cancelled by the Department for Education due to Covid and all schools were asked to create their own robust examination system. With the help and hard work of support and teaching staff, over a very short time scale, we have developed and implemented an examination awarding process which we believe is fair, consistent and robust. Our aim was to put in place an assessment system which took into account a range of assessments across a student’s portfolio so that all students got a chance to show their abilities.
This will mean that it will be hard to compare to results from other years. This does not mean that this year’s grades are any less valuable or deserved – in many respects using evidence from assessments across a range of tasks is gives a better indication of a student’s ability than one final long written examination and also requires students to work hard across their whole course rather than saving all their efforts for the final exam.
Because of this I am not intending to talk about Post-16 headline rates or “best results ever” since ensuring our young people are successful in their next step after ECC is far more important.
Of course, it is fantastic that two of our students earnt places at Oxford (and will be studying in the same College at Oxford though in diverse academic fields – Music and Biomedicine) with another going off to study Medicine at Exeter along with students studying from as far away as Edinburgh (Applied Mathematics), Sheffield (Physiotherapy) and York (Environmental Science) with 23 students gaining places at Russell Group universities. As well as geographically diverse universities, there is also a real diversity amongst the courses students have chosen from Live Sound (Plymouth) to Marine Biology (Swansea) to Forensic Investigation (Winchester). It is also great to see so many of our students moving into apprenticeships (about which we are still awaiting information confirming courses) as well as into the world of work.
However, today feels more about recognising how difficult the last 18 months have been for our young people during their two or three years in Post-16.
Each of these students will have their own stories to tell, whether that is about family circumstances, the battles of learning from home or worries about what the final assessment would look like. Each of them will also have been on an amazing journey and shared those experiences with our incredible Post-16 team, their tutors and teachers. Our staff know it has been really tough for many of the students which is why we are so exceptionally proud of your individual achievements and the way you have persevered to overcome the barriers that you have often faced.
Talking to students as they left our school this morning, many with beaming smiles and ready to start the next chapter in their lives, it was clear that they were overjoyed with what they personally had achieved and, I am sure that for those who may have had a tinge of disappointment about a missed opportunity, over time, they will come to realise how amazing their achievement was given the difficult circumstances under which they were having to study.
Whether students left telling me about their plans to “chillax” for a while, carry on working, start an amazing apprenticeship or get ready to start universities across the country we are all really proud of each and every one of you and wish you all the best for the future.
Finally, I am sure the students would wish to join me in thanking parents, carers and other family members for all their support over their time in Post-16 and in many cases for the previous five years at the College before that. Thanks should also go to all the staff, teaching and support staff, involved in helping students achieve these fantastic results. From the Post-16 team led by Ms Craddock and ably supported pastorally and academically this year by Mrs Thomas, Mrs Wright, Miss Burch and Miss Collingwood as well as a great team of teachers, tutors and other support staff. Thank you all.
Andrew Davis
Principal
Appeals
Please see the guides below for more information and guidance about what to do if you have a query about your results:
If you have an appeals query, please e-mail:
Appeals2021@exmouthcollege.devon.sch.uk
Exam Resit
Any student who would like to improve their grades will have the opportunity to take the full suite of A-levels/ GCSE exams in the Autumn series or Summer 2022 (fee information tbc). You need to complete an entry form in order to make an entry. The deadlines for entering for the Autumn series are:
If you wish to enter for a resit, please e-mail the Exams Officer: cirstie.rennie@exmouthcollege.devon.sch.uk
Dear Parents/Carers,
We know that preparing for the new school year in September can be challenging. To help support you, please find attached our Uniform and Equipment Expectations Guide.
This document has been created to ensure that all parents and carers are clear about both uniform and equipment expectations from September. The information is designed to guide you when purchasing uniform and equipment for the new academic year.
It is extremely important that students come to College in September ready to learn, meeting the correct uniform and equipment expectations for every lesson.
In September, tutors will check every morning that the expectations of uniform and equipment are met. Should uniform or equipment expectations not be met, students will be given negative points on class charts. Please can you review the lists attached and only purchase items listed.
Many students find it helpful to organise their uniform and equipment the night before by looking at their timetable for the next day. This helps them establish good routines and ensures they learn to take responsibility for their uniform and equipment each day.
UNIFORM SUPPLIERS
Proserve Group Unit 3, Dinan Way Trading Estate, Exmouth EX8 4RS
Ship Shape 16-18 Albion Hill, Exmouth, EX 1JL
We appreciate your support in ensuring your child will be ready to learn in September with the required uniform and equipment. Hopefully you will find this information helpful to receive at the start of the summer holiday. We wish all students a restful summer break, stay safe and well and we look forward to welcoming everyone back in September.
Yours sincerely,
Mr D Turner
Deputy Principal
The closing date for responding to this consultation is: Monday, 9th August 2021 at 5pm
This consultation invites you to comment on the proposal to increase the physical pupil capacity at Exmouth Community College, an 11-18 secondary academy trust in Devon. The proposed changes are intended to address the demands for increased local pupils to attend their local secondary school. This is because of the delivery of East Devon District Council’s local plan for increased housing development in Exmouth and Devon County Council’s responsibility to provide places for all pupils in Devon.
The Proposal
Exmouth Community College, at the request of Devon County Council, is proposing to increase capacity from 2,418 pupils to 2,650 (an increase of 9%) to ensure there are sufficient school places to support local need.
Cohorts of students within the local learning community are forecasted to exceed 500 in the next few years and all will be above 400 for the foreseeable future, currently the College offers an intake of 390 per year which aligns to the current capacity of the College including post 16 provision. As a result, the College will not have sufficient capacity or accommodation to support local children to attend their local secondary school.
Whilst Devon County Council forecasts recognise there will be migration to schools outside of the catchment area, there is still a statutory requirement to ensure there is capacity in the Exmouth area to meet known and future numbers including increased local housing development and future local plans. The East Devon Infrastructure Delivery Plan 2013-2031 confirms ‘Secondary education facility - With the potential for over 1300 dwellings within the College catchment area, the institution will be over capacity within the plan period’.
To accommodate the increased capacity, it is proposed to build an eight-classroom extension to the existing Maths Block at the Gipsy Lane site. This new extension will provide sufficient accommodation to support the increase in capacity. Plans of the proposed new building are available on our website at: www.exmouthcollege.devon.sch.uk. All capital costs associated with the building will be funded by Devon County Council and East Devon District Council, the latter through proceeds from contributions from new housing.
Therefore, this additional capacity will mean that in the future as Exmouth grows as a community, this new build will ensure that local children who wish to come to their local school will be able to do so as well as providing modern facilities suitable for delivering a 21st century curriculum.
Background
As a larger than average school, due to the economies of scale, we are able to offer high quality, wide ranging and inclusive provision which includes:
As well as providing additional accommodation, the proposal will support improved curriculum delivery for our Maths department and Post 16 education. In addition the proposals will enable the College to expand its SEND provision by freeing up other spaces in the College as dedicated SEND resource areas. The new building will also provide a number of smaller teaching spaces for specific intervention and one to one work. The new block will also be fully accessible and provide spacious and bright classroom environments
This new block will enable us to realise our ambition to provide our students with a College campus which is amongst the best in the south west.
Consultation
The College values highly the views and opinions of the community within which it operates. We now seek your views regarding the physical expansion of capacity at the College to meet the increased demand for pupil places in the local area of Exmouth.
As the College is an academy trust, the decision maker for the expansion of the physical capacity rests with the Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC). The College will submit information gathered from this consultation to the RSC as part of its business case for the increased capacity.
The College will carefully consider your views, and this will help us plan for the future.
If the decision is made to proceed further with the increase in capacity, then the timetable for the remainder of the process is likely to be:
Consultation –Monday 2nd August 2021 – Monday 9th August 2021
RSC makes decision – August / September
Building work commences – October/November 2021
Building work completed – July 2022
Responding to this consultation
You can respond to the consultation by:
emailing: consultation@exmouthcollege.devon.sch.uk
or by writing to:
Consultation on changes to provision
Exmouth Community College
Gipsy Lane
Exmouth
EX8 3AF
Please note that all comments will be properly considered, but we will not send individual responses to any specific points raised. Consultation responses will be shared with the Governing Board and the RSC.
Closing date for responses is Monday, 9th August 2021 at 5pm
Please open the attachments below to view the plans for the build
Dear Parents and Carers
As we approach Step 4 of the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown I wanted to contact you about some changes to the guidance which will come into effect on Monday 19th July. I am sorry for the late notice, however, we only received guidance on this from the Department for Education (DfE), Public Health England (PHE) and the Local Authority on Friday afternoon.
You will no doubt be aware that nationally the country experienced almost 52 000 new infections last Friday and, whilst the link to hospitalisations and serious illness is weakened, it certainly isn’t broken as these numbers also continue to rise.
In our own local area, Devon saw a 61% increase in positive Covid cases up to the 11th July according to the Government’s interactive map and so I fully expect this to be much higher based on the increased number of cases ourselves and other schools are experiencing.
Given this I would continue to urge caution and even though, according to the new Government guidance, Schools do not have to continue with bubbles and some other measures, we will continue to operate our Covid protocols such as staggered starts, collection points and separate entrances through to the end of term. We would also urge you to continue regular testing next week and continue to encourage your child to keep their distance from others and sanitise their hands on a regular basis.
As announced by the Prime Minister on 12th July he intends that Step 4 of the roadmap will go ahead as planned on Monday 19th July. This means that the following changes will come into effect:
Mixing and bubbles
Track and Trace and Isolation
The requirements for self-isolation may change on the 16th August when the Government has suggested that double vaccinated adults and young people under the age of 18 will no longer have to self-isolate.
When the school are informed of a positive case
Testing over the Summer holidays
Return in September
Face Coverings
Remote Education
We all recognise it has been a very challenging 18 months for everyone.
We are also so sad that this hasn’t been the end of the academic year any of us hoped for. From having to cancel the Year 11 Prom through to lots of students and staff having to self-isolate over the last few days it has been a very stressful time for everyone.
In due course we will obviously provide refunds to all those students who have missed out on trips that they were due to take part in during Celebration Week.
We hope that when we return to school in September we will be able to live with the virus as best we can, whilst keeping everyone safe.
Thank you once again to all the students, families and staff for all your wonderful support over the year.
We wish you a very safe and restful Summer period and look forward to seeing everyone in September.
Yours sincerely
Andrew Davis
Principal
Please find below a copy of the OFSTED report from the Monitoring visit we received in March.
The report can also be viewed by clicking on this link OFSTED Monitoring Visit 23rd March 2021
The closing date for responding to this consultation is: Wednesday, 23 June 2021 at 5pm This consultation invites you to comment on the proposal to increase the physical pupil capacity at Exmouth Community College, an 11-18 secondary academy trust in Devon. The proposed changes are intended to address the demands for increased local pupils to attend their local secondary school. This is because of the delivery of East Devon District Council’s local plan for increased housing development in Exmouth and Devon County Council’s responsibility to provide places for all pupils in Devon.
Exmouth Community College, at the request of Devon County Council, is proposing to increase capacity from 2,418 pupils to 2,650 (an increase of 9%) to ensure there are sufficient school places to support local need.
Cohorts of students within the local learning community are forecasted to exceed 500 in the next few years and all will be above 400 for the foreseeable future, currently the College offers an intake of 390 per year which aligns to the current capacity of the College including post 16 provision. As a result, the College will not have sufficient capacity or accommodation to support local children to attend their local secondary school.
Whilst Devon County Council forecasts recognise there will be migration to schools outside of the catchment area, there is still a statutory requirement to ensure there is capacity in the Exmouth area to meet known and future numbers including increased local housing development and future local plans. The East Devon Infrastructure Delivery Plan 2013-2031 confirms ‘Secondary education facility - With the potential for over 1300 dwellings within the College catchment area, the institution will be over capacity within the plan period’.
To accommodate the increased capacity, it is proposed to build an eight-classroom extension to the existing Maths Block at the Gipsy Lane site. This new extension will provide sufficient accommodation to support the increase in capacity. Plans of the proposed new building are available on our website at: www.exmouthcollege.devon.sch.uk. All capital costs associated with the building will be funded by Devon County Council and East Devon District Council, the latter through proceeds from contributions from new housing.
Therefore, this additional capacity will mean that in the future as Exmouth grows as a community, this new build will ensure that local children who wish to come to their local school will be able to do so as well as providing modern facilities suitable for delivering a 21st century curriculum.
As a larger than average school, due to the economies of scale, we are able to offer high quality, wide ranging and inclusive provision which includes:
• a very broad GCSE curriculum which includes courses from Engineering to Health and Care as well as differentiated courses within subjects, such as academic and vocational routes through Business Studies and Physical Education.
• a highly academic offer at Post-16, including Photography, Psychology, Criminology and Textiles, that has enabled students to regularly earn places at top Russell group universities including Oxford and Cambridge.
• a vocational offer at Post-16 with a wide suite of courses including Media Studies and ICT which allows students to bridge across to further study and potentially university as well as providing access to high quality apprenticeship schemes.
• additional support for students through our REACH Centre and STEPs behaviour for learning hub. • a well-resourced pastoral team to look after individual students.
• a very well-regarded transition programme for new students moving to the College.
• a very wide range of extra-curricular opportunities including Dance, Drama, Music and PE amongst other areas.
• excellent sporting facilities with two floodlit artificial grass pitches, several gyms, climbing wall and fitness suite.
• modern facilities across the College, with other new facilities being developed including a new £13.5 million block for Drama, Library, Humanities, PE, Technology and Science and a new purpose-built auditorium which will seat 450 people.
As well as providing additional accommodation, the proposal will support improved curriculum delivery for our Maths department and Post 16 education. In addition the proposals will enable the College to expand its SEND provision by freeing up other spaces in the College as dedicated SEND resource areas. The new building will also provide a number of smaller teaching spaces for specific intervention and one to one work. The new block will also be fully accessible and provide spacious and bright classroom environments.
This new block will enable us to realise our ambition to provide our students with a College campus which is amongst the best in the south-west.
The College values highly the views and opinions of the community within which it operates. We now seek your views regarding the physical expansion of capacity at the College to meet the increased demand for pupil places in the local area of Exmouth.
As the College is an academy trust, the decision maker for the expansion of the physical capacity rests with the Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC). The College will submit information gathered from this consultation to the RSC as part of its business case for the increased capacity.
The College will carefully consider your views, and this will help us plan for the future.
If the decision is made to proceed further with the increase in capacity, then the timetable for the remainder of the process is likely to be:
Consultation – Wednesday, 19 May – Wednesday, 23 June 2021
RSC makes decision – June / July 2021
Building work commences – August 2021
Building work completed – June 2022
Responding to this consultation You can respond to the consultation by:
emailing: consultation@exmouthcollege.devon.sch.uk
or by writing to:
Consultation on changes to provision Exmouth Community College Gipsy Lane Exmouth EX8 3AF
Please note that all comments will be properly considered, but we will not send individual responses to any specific points raised.
Consultation responses will be shared with the Governing Board and the RSC.
Closing date for responses is: Wednesday, 23 June 2021 at 5pm
Please find attached below the plans for the new building
Dear Parents and Carers,
I hope you remain safe and well.
As you may be aware this week the Department for Education released updated guidance on the use of face coverings in schools.
Before going through the key points of the new guidance, I would just like to repeat how proud and grateful I am for the support of students, families and staff during this period where we have had to wear face coverings.
This has been a huge undertaking for everyone and wearing a mask for several hours a day is an inconvenience for everyone which has made communication much more difficult. This is especially the case for certain groups of students and staff who have done particularly brilliantly during this period of disruption.
Thank you all once again for your support on this issue.
With infection rates now low across East Devon we will be following government guidance on face coverings and so the following will apply from Monday 17th May.
Unless exempt, students will still be required to wear face coverings
• On public and school transport to and from College
• In all dining areas within the College
• Where a member of staff or student within a class remains vulnerable and therefore, in that particular lesson, will need to wear a face covering
Students will not be required to wear face coverings in
• Lessons (with the exception above)
• Communal areas such as collection points or when crossing sites
Staff are no longer required to wear face coverings unless they are in communal areas and social distancing cannot be maintained.
Of course, if students still wish to wear a face covering when they are moving around the site because of a vulnerability then they are more than welcome to do this. Please could you write a short note in their planner to explain why if you would like this to happen. If a face covering is required by your child when being taught, then please contact your child’s pastoral team at the College to discuss this issue further.
Since we will now be taking face coverings on and off more often it is really important that we do so safely. I have therefore included guidance below from the Government on how to do this.
It is really important to recognise that as a school community we have done exceptionally well with no large Covid outbreaks at the College over the past 14 months or so.
However, it is still important that we do not become complacent, particularly since coronavirus is very good at mutating and becoming easier to transmit. Therefore, all of our other measures such as collection points to avoid crowded corridors with mixed year groups, regular hand sanitising and staggered breaks will all remain in place for now.
The full updated guidance for schools can be found here and guidance on how to safely put on and take off a face covering can be found here.
Regards
Andrew Davis
Principal
Dear Parents & Carers
Year 11 Update and Leaving Arrangements – May 2021
First of all, thank you for your understanding and support over recent weeks as we have implemented the Government guidance, as it was provided to us, on Assessment Awarded Grades leading to the mini-assessment period.
Our students have shown great maturity and focus during this time and deserve a huge well done for their work in preparation for their mini-assessments. Staff will continue to provide the opportunity for students to revise for the remaining few. Please be aware that in some subjects, such as Languages, additional assessments are needed and students will be written to specifically about this.
Post Mini-Assessments: Once the mini-assessments are finished, staff will deliver any remaining content for their courses that the students have studied, obviously with no assessment, to ensure that each qualification has been completed. We feel that this is important for the integrity of student's education and obviously in view of their continued education, training and employment.
Some subjects will give a real-world slant to their delivery, such as in Maths, helping students navigate the world of bank accounts, bills, loans, mobile phone contracts etc., which I am sure you will agree is so important to their adult life.
Staff as always, will be creative and will look to plan enjoyable sessions, so Business Students, prepare yourselves for the Dragons Den!
Expectations including attendance and uniform: We will continue to expect students to meet all college expectations including wearing the College uniform well, with full attendance until half term and being punctual to all lessons. Students must not leave site at any point during the day for obvious safeguarding and educational reasons. Unfortunately, we will not be able to authorise absences if students stay at home to study before half term. We will continue to record all such information that will subsequently be contained in future references.
Mini-assessments missed through absence: On the afternoons of Wednesday 5th May / Thursday 6th May and throughout the day of Friday 7th May, we will be providing a 'catch - up' opportunity for students who have missed their mini-assessments. Our starting point for this will be the absences on the relevant days and assessments likely missed as a result. Information will be sent to those students with specific details.
Students must ‘remain local’ and be available to come into the College should there be any issue with regards to their assessment evidence for grading. Their grades will be set by the College before the 18th June 2021, which is the deadline for all results to be sent to the examination boards.
Signing off process: Students will be given a 'signing off' form which they will be required to complete, gaining signatures from relevant staff before returning to their tutor. The form itself will require signature from;
· Teachers in return for books and resources
· Student's with a College laptop must return them to the SEN Department on Gipsy Lane site.
Library books will also be checked and returns or payments will need to be completed (signature not needed). This form will need to be completed before Monday 24th May.
Supporting transition into Exmouth College Sixth Form: For those Year 11 students who are coming back to Sixth Form in September, these students will be invited to return to the College, after May Half Term to attend a number of lessons and complete some Post 16 preparatory tasks in relevant subjects. Students will receive a timetable and more detailed information about these sessions. The purpose of these sessions will be to help support the transition from Key Stage 4 to Key Stage 5. In the absence of a Parents Evening this year due to Covid disruption, that took us very quickly into preparation for evidence awarded grades, we are planning a Parents Evening in the last half term, supporting student's progression into Post 16 at ECC.
Supporting transition to other providers: For those students who are not returning to Sixth Form and therefore attending other providers, we would encourage you to contact them to find out about their transition packages. We are aware that the majority of establishments will be offering transition or bridging work onto next steps.
Last Day / Leaving celebration / Prom: We are planning to hold an end of term assembly, in accordance with Covid regulations, on their last day which will be Friday 28th May. This will be an opportunity for students to hear a few parting words from members of the SLT and Key Stage Team, to bring in a shirt for signing and to enjoy being together as a Year Group for the final time. In view of the road map unfolding and opening up of restrictions, we are actively exploring plans for holding a 'Prom' which may be slightly different to previous years, particularly as we have major road works being undertaken along the seafront but may still give an opportunity to celebrate together. Please hold the date of Thursday 15th July and we will send a Forms Quiz asking for the students' thoughts and preferences about this.
We would like to reiterate how proud we are of the way in which our Year 11 students have coped with the challenges of this past year. They have worked hard and shown incredible maturity and resilience. Your support throughout the last 5 years has been incredible and we are privileged to work in and benefit from an amazing community.
If you would like to discuss any of the information in this letter, please do not hesitate to contact myself or Mr Findel-Hawkins.
Yours sincerely,
Dave Holt
Assistant Principal
Ben Findel-Hawkins
Head of Year 11