Dear Parent/Carer,
I hope this message finds you and your family safe and well. I’m just getting in touch to give you some small updates regarding the transition of our future Year 7 students to UCC.
I have compiled a few common questions and answers which you can read below. I hope you and your children find these useful. I’m also attaching some advice for pupils on transition from the Public Health 5-19 service. Finally, I’m very pleased to share with you a virtual tour of UCC which will help students to get to know their way around the school site, even before they begin with us in Year 7. You can find our virtual tour here. I strongly encourage you to have a look!
As ever, please don’t hesitate to be in touch if we can be of any help at all.
Yours faithfully,
Chris Pattinson.
What are UCC doing to get ready for the new Year 7s?
Even while schools are closed, we are still really busy preparing everything for Year 7 to start at UCC. Normally, Mr Pattinson would visit all of our partner primary schools to meet Year 6s and their teachers face-to-face. Even though this isn’t possible at the moment, he has been in touch with Year 6 teachers by phone, email and video call. This has allowed him to find out about every single pupil who will be starting in September. This means we will know about the strengths and interests of all our new Year 7s, and where they might need some more support. We are also really grateful for the information parents have supplied on the information forms. All of this gives us a really good understanding of our future students before we meet them face-to-face, and allows us to plan for them to make a successful start.
Will there be a transition day?
Schools are just beginning to plan how they might re-open prior to the summer holidays. When making these plans, the safety of students, their families and staff is of course the top priority. We are still unsure as to what kinds of transition events we will be able to offer. Cumbria Local Authority coordinate the transition day across all schools, and they are thinking very carefully about what opportunities they can offer Year 6 pupils to visit their secondary schools before they begin Year 7. I will contact you as soon as we have any news about this.
What can pupils do to get ready to come to UCC?
First of all, we would encourage pupils to look after themselves, their families and friends in this difficult time. They should also continue to do the work their primary schools set as best they can. If they are able to keep their learning up in any way, then that will be a big help when they get back to the classroom! In order to get ready to start secondary school, Year 6s should look through their UCC prospectus and read through all of the details on the school website. There is lots of information there that will be helpful. We are also busy preparing some answers to questions frequently asked by Year 6s, so they should keep an eye out for that on our transition blog.
Pupils are put into tutor groups in secondary school. Can we give the names of friends who our child would prefer to be placed with?
Of course. It’s helpful to know who students would prefer to be placed with in a tutor group. We can usually accommodate some of students’ preferences when we construct tutor groups. However, parents and children should be aware that, although we do our very best, this cannot always be guaranteed. Any requests can be emailed to admin@ullswatercc.co.uk. It’s also important to know that students won’t be taught as a tutor group for very many of their lessons, so they will mix with students from lots of different tutor groups as they follow their timetable. Within the first few days of starting secondary school most students have made lots of new friends too!
What if I have any questions that aren’t answered on the website?
There will be lots of updates on our transition blog and through the school’s Facebook page, including some messages from key members of staff. Please keep an eye on our website for any updates. You will also receive an induction pack with lots of important information prior to the start of Year 7. If you have any urgent questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch in the meantime.