Dear Parents/Carers,

I'm sure you are all aware of the death of a young lady in Croydon yesterday. She was stabbed to death on her way to school.

I'm sure you agree we all need to work together to stop our young people feeling that they need or want to carry a knife.

In school, we have lessons, conversations and assemblies on the topic. The School Police Officer also addresses students.

I have attached a leaflet from the Ben Kinsella Charity, that outlines how to have conversations as parents.

Please get in touch if we can help in any way.

Ms J Lumbis

Trust Safeguarding Lead

Click to download the Ben Kinsella Charity Flyer

Dear Parents/Carers,

Year 11 Engagement Evening Tuesday 10th October 2023 16:00 – 17:30pm 

Year 11 is a vital year for your son. It is now a matter of months until his final GCSE exams, so we are holding a face-to-face Engagement Evening on Tuesday 10th October. Since the relationship we have together over the course of the academic year is going to be crucial to your son’s success, we really need attendance from ALL parents and students so please do endeavour to attend this vital meeting. 

The evening will take the following format: 

16.15 - Headteachers Address  

16.25 - Overview of expectations and interventions  

16.35 – Heads of Maths, English and Science give specific subject-based guidance  

17.05 - Top achievers’ program 

17.15 - Pastoral support  

As a school, we cannot emphasise the importance of your attendance enough. You will leave with a greater understanding of the support we put in place this year and be equipped with ideas and strategies to help support your son's studies at home. 

Many thanks for your continued support. 

Mr J. Warner 

Raising standards leader 

Dear parent/carer,

A reminder that the school day will run as normal from Monday 11^th September. 

All students should arrive by 8.25am, in full school uniform and with their equipment. Your child should follow the Week A timetable.

As the weather is still warm, we ask that your child brings a water bottle, which can be refilled during the day. Our food service will be available as normal, please top up your child's account using the MCAS payment.

If you are yet to sign up for MCAS please visit https://www.mychildatschool.com/MCAS/MCSParentLogin

Any absences should now be reported through the StudyBugs app https://studybugs.com/about/parents

Ms S Gurney

Assistant Head Teacher

Dear Parent/Carer,

We very much look forward to welcoming your sons to our school community next week. Below are the timings and dates for the first week back.

Wednesday 6^th September - Your son is expected in school at 8.30am and will finish school at 3.05pm. Please ensure that he attends in full school uniform, his photograph will be taken on the first day. Please also access MCAS so that your son has funds with which to buy his school lunch.

Thursday 7^th September - NO SCHOOL FOR YEAR 7

Friday 8^th September - Academic Target Setting day in which your son will meet his tutor and the HOY 7 team. You will have been sent by email an allocated time slot for you and your son, this process should take no more than 10 minutes. Your son should be wearing full school uniform on this day

Monday 11^th September - A normal school day for all, all year groups in and normal lessons will take place. 8.30-3.05pm

Please let us know if you have queries in regard to the above. My email is gfranklin@woolwichpolyboys.co.uk

Ms G Franklin

Head of Transition & Primary Liaison

Reminder - Arrangements for the first week of term September 2023

GCSE Results 2022-2023 

The Class of 2023 is celebrating a fantastic set of GCSE results at Woolwich Polytechnic School for Boys with increases in English and Maths at grades 4 and 5, as well as impressive results in a wide range of other GCSE's.

Woolwich Polytechnic School for Boys is delighted to celebrate GCSE examination results that make us all proud.   

Our boys have matched our last pre-pandemic results of 2018-19 and, indeed, at 4+ and 5+ in English and maths, even more students have secured these grades, vital for future study. This is a significant achievement as this year’s cohort still bore the brunt of substantial and prolonged disruption to their learning, unlike the class of 2018-19.  

Also, the gap between our disadvantaged students and the whole cohort was significantly below the national gap, proving that our Vision of "Success for Everyone" is at the heart of all we do. 

The boys, staff and parental support have been instrumental in overcoming the pandemic challenges; the students have achieved truly great things by demonstrating resilience, ambition, and discipline.  Many students attended additional lessons voluntarily every Saturday - such commitment is highly impressive and reflects our values of Care and Unity. 

Huge congratulations to our staff, many of whom have been part of The Poly for many years; they have worked incredibly hard and delighted in seeing the students being rewarded with such success. 

Head of School, Mr Tom Lawrence, says: 

‘I am delighted and immensely proud to announce that Woolwich Polytechnic School for Boys have achieved GCSE results that compare very favourably to the pre-pandemic years, now that support given to the last three years’ cohorts has been removed for this year’s students.  Our success translates to even more deserved opportunity for our outgoing year 11s, many of which we are welcoming back to extend their success in our Sixth Form.  I must also congratulate teachers for their enormous efforts and offer my gratitude to parents for supporting their sons and us through these times: everyone’s efforts have been rewarded with great success’.

CEO of PolyMAT, Mr Tim Plumb states:

"I am delighted that the hard work has, once again, paid off and our students have gained the results that they richly deserve.  Our Sixth Form will again be oversubscribed as students’ progress to the next stage of their education.”

This is a reminder that GCSE results day is this Thursday. Students will be able to collect their results at 9.30am from school in person.  Alternatively, if you or your son are not available, you will be able to contact the schools exams office if you haven't already done so, to arrange for the results to be emailed to you.  

It’s important for you and your son to be prepared and focused for results day and have conversations about all possible outcomes beforehand. Being aware of what the next steps are if he doesn't achieve the grades he needs is also crucial, as you will both most likely want to take immediate action on the day itself.

Hopefully your son will get the exam grades they need, but if they just miss out, be aware that the post 16 establishment might accept them anyway, so always check this first. If your son doesn’t get the grades they need, there’s no need for them to feel disheartened. There are many routes to success and be sure to remind them that it is possible to retake their exams.

If your son is unhappy with his results, they should talk to their subject teacher first as they’ll be able to give them an idea if they think they could achieve a better grade or if they should appeal. Re-sitting a GCSE is free if the exams they are taking are mandatory. This includes English and maths if students didn’t gain a passing grade (at least a 4). If the exam is not compulsory, then you will have to pay additional exam fees, but this will depend on the area and exam board.

If your son does not have a confirmed place for September, you can contact help-me-with-my-future@royalgreenwich.gov.uk.  When emailing, they will need to say if they need careers guidance or if they have a good idea about what they want, they will then be offered the support required.  If you can include their name, contact number, email address, and a little bit about their requirements. 

Additional support and guidance can be accessed via the following links:

• https://www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/info/200289/post_16
• https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/groups/cd5exmm663et

In addition to the support available in school today, there will be a  Careers Adviser available to offer Careers Information, Advice and Guidance at The Woolwich Centre (see address below.)  They will be based at the Service Centre in room 3, between 10am and 4pm. 

Information on enrolment for local colleges can be found in the PDF attached.

In addition, you can also request support and guidance via emai: Help-me-with-my-future@royalgreenwich.gov.uk

I look forward to seeing your son on Thursday. 

With best wishes 

Ms Sherren