Dear Parents and Carers
I hope you and your children have had a restful and well-derved break over half-term.
It was a real pleasure to welcome parents to our Sixth Form Information Evening prior to the half-term break. The Sixth Form at Ark Soane will guarantee your child exceptional quality explicit teaching across a full range of A-level subjects alongside greater independence, a range of additional activities and a high level of personal support. To view the entry requirements for each A-level course please follow this link https://arksoane.org/about/welcome/sixth-form
We look forward to supporting our Y11 pupils through their second set of mock exams which run for one week from Tuesday. They did us proud in their first set of mocks in the summer and we are looking forward to seeing just how much progress they have made ahead of their real GCSEs in six months time.
I am delighted that attendance last half-term was our highest yet at 96.8% (roughly 1 day of absence per pupil over the half-term) with Year 7 and Year 8 coming in at over 98% (half a day). Nationally, we have struggled to return attendance to pre-pandemic levels and I am delighted that we are almost there. As we get into the colder months please continue to ensure your child maintains full attendance: school is so much more difficult - both academically and socially - with patchy attendance. Pupils should attend school before and after essential out-of-school appointments. If your child is feeling under the weather then please send them in and let us know by email so that we can keep an eye on them and support them through the school day.
We are working with Ealing Council to secure improvements to local roads and bus routes. I will keep you updated on progress. In the meantime please do not bring your car into Woodlands Avenue (the cul-de-sac bu Chaiiwala) as cars create dangerous obstructions during pupil arrival and dismissal time.
Future dates for your diaries:
Monday 2nd November - INSET (school closed to pupils)
3rd-10th November - Y11 mocks
9th-12th November - Y12 exams
11th November - Remembrance Assemblies
30th November-4th December - Y7-10 exams
3rd December - Y12 Parents' Evening
7th December - School Closed
10th December - Exhibition Evening
17th December - Exploration Day
18th December - End of Term (12.45 finish)
This Week's Highlights
Time for another exhibition! Our Year 10 are currently thriving in art GCSE. Thursday's exhibition showed work from 43 Year 10 students who have been building up their portfolios this term.
They have made work on the theme People and Places and have developed unique perspectives that they loved to discussing with their teachers and peers. And their teachers loved it too, and with such amazing work, who could be surprised!
Have a sneak peek below...
More sporting highlights this week as our Netballers took the floor. Our Year 9 Girls team had an excellent 5-3 win against Greenford! Rufaida, Livia, Kainat all standout players! All seriously well deserved.
Our Year 8s started strong too however, after a flurry of shots, ended up losing 13-6 to Greenford. Nevertheless it was an incredible match from Mila, Sirine and Riya.
Keep up the good work, ladies!
There is plenty of fun that goes on in the background this and every week at Soane too. Enrichment for our KS3 students is always a highlight, whether it is mastering chess or learning CPR. Our frequent art competitions lead to some beautiful creations like Lidia's model of Paris. And of course we have so many clubs, from sports, to STEM, to Japanese and Manga where students can learn new skills, make new friends and become more interesting people!
Notices
Cold weather clothing: As the weather becomes colder, please ensure that your child’s outer clothing meets the academy uniform policy.
- Coats: Must be plain navy or black. No slogans or wording. No logo larger than a pocket pack of tissues.
- Accessories: If worn, scarves, hats, gloves and other cold weather accessories must be plain navy or black.
Poppy Appeal 3rd–11th November
We are collecting donations for the RBL Poppy appeal to fundraise for veterans. If you wish to donate, please send your child/ward in with a minimum donation of 20p to receive a poppy. Donations will be collected during form times or at the stationary shop.