Year 9 sports leaders ran an amazing netball tournament for 5 primary schools yesterday in beautiful winter sunshine. Year 10 have continued to think and plan their work experience, and I spent time with student council in advance of the visit by our local MP today to support them in formulating their discussion points. What I have seen this week are young people who are thoughtful and interested in the world around them and that is wonderful to see.

Year 11 mock exams have gone exceptionally well and it has also been pleasing to see that attendance for this year group significantly improved across this week with attendance on several days being above 93%. We look forward to seeing this trend continue in their last 9 weeks of school as we know that high attendance is one of the biggest things to make an impact on outcomes and attainment. We will continue our weekly revision email, which will be sent out on Monday to support students to continue with their independent study outside of their lessons.

What’s going on in school:

• Twenty-four students from years 7, 8 and 9 competed in the Greater-Sheffield bouldering competition this Wednesday. Hosted annually by the Climbing Works in Sheffield, students must attempt fifteen boulder 'problems' or short, un-roped climbs. Highest scores are given for climbing it first attempt. The students were very enthusiastic and had a great time. Now we have to wait to see if we qualified with enough points to take part in the final, which will happen later in the Spring.

• A group of students from Post 16 visits the library on Thursday mornings to borrow books and take part in Accelerated Reader. Last week two of their keen readers signed off the final book on their AR reading logs and they have now been awarded certificates.

• Year 10 drama students have been continuing to devise their coursework, worth 40% of the course. This week they have been using our new iPads to aid their research and record their work. This helped them be resourceful during their rehearsals and work on their group work/independent work skills. Miss Starbuck is very impressed with the class.

• KS3 students have an opportunity to showcase their art on planters along the Castleton Road in Hope! Over the half term holiday, students in Years 7, 8 and 9 should produce a design for a picture of Hope through the seasons of Spring and Autumn. Please speak to Miss Nicklin for more information.

English round up:

• Next week, Year 10 will begin studying Macbeth. It can aid students' understanding of the play if they have a clear knowledge of the plot. Please encourage them to access the support materials on Teams, check online streaming platforms for film version or see listings in local cinemas for Macbeth. Congratulations to all of our Year 10 students for completing their online A Christmas Carol assessment. Results will be published next week.
• Year 7 students are studying Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo. To aid their understanding of the novel you can access materials on Teams or listen to an abridged version of the next chapter online.
• Year 9 students will being their next unit called Fight for Freedom. This is a collection of non-fiction texts. To aid their understanding.
• Year 11 have a weekly essay to complete. The An Inspector Calls week 3 essay on guilt will have a delayed submission until Monday 10^th due to the mock exams.

• Friday 14^th February will be a non-uniform day in school with a red or pink theme, raising money for our chosen charities. There is a £1 voluntary suggested donation, which can be paid via ParentPay, or cash can be given to tutors during tutor time.

Music round up:

• Y7 are busy practising their performance of 'Ode to Joy', by Beethoven on a range of musical instruments. Resources and assessment criteria can be found on teams.
• Y8 have just finished composing a piece of Baroque Music and we've been extremely impressed by their progress!
• Y9 have just finished their class performance of 'Livin' on a Prayer, by Bon Jovi. There have been some stand out performances, including some GCSE level 9 grades!!!
• Y10 have just started their first composition and are already showing the skills required to achieve excellent marks.
• Y11 are busy finishing their coursework and working towards their final listening exam. They will be asked to revise during February half term and will complete a past paper first week back after half term.

• Midpoint quizzes in World Views have been set for all Year 7 students this week on Teams. These are due in on the following dates next week:

• 7H - 13 February
• 7O - 12 February
• 7P - 10 February

Disney Choir - Parental Meeting

There will be a parental meeting on Tuesday 11 March in the hall from 4:30-5:30pm. You will be given all final details of the trip and have the opportunity to ask any questions.

HVAFF – Hope Valley Adventure Film Festival – Saturday 26 April

HVC PTFA is very excited to announce that Hope Valley Adventure Film Festival (HVAFF) is back on Saturday 26 April 2025. As part of the day, we are running an HVC student film competition, with prizes for the best short films with an outdoor or adventure theme - please encourage your young people to enter! Full details about the day, the competition and tickets at https://hvaff.co.uk/. Please also follow us on Facebook.

Dates for Your Diary

• Tuesday 11 February – Y10 Subject Evening
• Friday 14 February – Non uniform day – wear red or pink (suggested £1 voluntary donation in support of school charities). Break for half term
• Monday 24 February – INSET day – school closed to students
• Thursday 6 March – Y9 Options Evening
• Tuesday 11 March – Disney Choir Trip meeting for parents and carers (4.30pm)
• Wednesday 19 March – CRY screening for Y11 and Y10
• Monday 31 March – Thursday 3 April – Music Trip to Paris
• Friday 4 April – break for Easter

Thank you for reading our communication. Here are some helpful email addresses, should you need to contact us:

• attendance@hopevalley.chorustrust.org to report a child’s absence
• enquiries@hopevalley.chorustrust.org for general enquiries
• pastoral@hopevalley.chorustrust.org for any issue with a child’s wellbeing
• headteacher@hopevalley.chorustrust.org to contact the Headteacher
• safeguarding@hopevalley.chorustrust.org to report safeguarding concerns. If a child or any young person is in imminent danger, then please report this to the police.
• ptfahv@hopevalley.chorustrust.org to contact the PTFA

Kind regards

Debbie Petts
Headteacher, Hope Valley College
T: 01433 620555