On Tuesday we welcomed a former student who has trained to be a vet, who spoke to Year 10 about the importance of hard work and focus in their education, as well as the need to never settle but to always look to work to the best of their ability. We also hosted a representative from Buxton Opera House who shared an amazing work experience opportunity for Year 10s and talked with them about careers in the theatre and entertainment industry.

Our Year 8 Girls represented us in a football match against Sheffield High School, and while the result may not be the one they wanted what they demonstrated was grit, determination and teamwork - all attributes we are working hard on in school to teach our young people.

We have continued to prepare our Year 11s for their GCSE with advice and support around preparation for the mock exams which will start in a week's time.

What’s going on in school:

• HVC is playing a lead role in choosing a catering contractor to work with our Trust schools from Easter 2025. On Tuesday afternoon we hosted a taste testing session and our student council plus representatives from our staff and Hope Valley Pathways were able to sample lots of delicious new foods. They all gave lots of positive feedback. We will update parents/carers once a service provider has been chosen, and we thank you for your continued support of our catering team.

• On Thursday, 120 primary students from across the Hope Valley visited HVC to take part in a Primary Schools Sports Hall Athletics event. With a morning and afternoon session, our Sports Leaders were kept busy. They did a fantastic job, running the events, timing the racing and collating the results. Well done everyone!

• We had a lovely group of students at our 6-pack Club this week. This is a social and friendship club run by our Pastoral team on a Tuesday lunchtime at the park at Hope Sports Field. All students are welcome to sign up and attend.

• Our Outdoor Activities is a continuing success. The students are showing real talent in orienteering sessions at Longshaw and have exceeded expectations with their times on the course, map reading skills, and resilience to tough weather conditions! Last week we had our fastest ever time completed on the course by Y9 students George and Josh with a time of 41 minutes. We have had to postpone three sessions due to poor weather conditions. Please be reassured that these sessions will be rearranged on a Friday morning and students will not miss out. Please encourage students to check student notices, the Outdoor Activities noticeboard outside of PE. Thank you for your continued support.

• On Thursday afternoon, Under 13 girls played in the second round of the ESFA Football tournament against Sheffield Girls School. With an early goal from Liv Y7, we then, unfortunately, conceded more goals. We lost the game overall, however our students never gave up, kept smiling, and showed a huge amount of resilience in the wind and rain. The players were role models, thanking the other team, shaking hands with their teachers and giving a huge cheer at the end of the game, despite the loss. Well done to Ada Y7 who was voted player of the match! Bring on the next game!

• Chess Club has now moved to Thursday Week A, rather than Week B. This will start from next week and the club will run from 3.30 – 4.45pm in the Library.

Y11 Mock Exams

Mock exams for Y11 students will run from Monday 3 February to Friday 7 February. Please see the link to the timetable below. Students will be handed their statement of entry next week. Exam pencil cases can be purchased from Parentpay and collected from Reception. Exams - Hope Valley College (chorustrust.org)

Year 10 English Literature

All students in Y10 will sit an online assessment during their English lesson as follows:

• Tuesday 28 January - P2 - ICT2 10 Shelley (Mrs Foster)
• Friday 31 January - P2 - ICT1 10 Woolf (Miss Norman)
• Friday 31 January - P5 - ICT1 Bronte (Mrs Hale) and ICT2 Wordsworth (Ms Worrall)

They will have a maximum of 50 minutes to complete 50 multiple choice questions on A Christmas Carol which cover narrative, methods, context and key terminology. They will need to revise and are advised to use their knowledge organiser, exercise book and materials on Teams (English Lit - General - Class Materials - A Christmas Carol).

Y9 Subject Evening – Thursday 30 January

The Y9 Subject Evening will take place on Thursday 30 January. This is an opportunity for parents and carers to discuss their young person’s progress with subject teachers. B

Job Vacancy

We are currently recruiting for Exam Invigilators to join our team. For more information, please see our website: Vacancies - Hope Valley College

Nut Allergies

A reminder that nuts should not be brought into school. Please refrain from including items that may contain nuts in packed lunches or snacks. Could we also ask you to be vigilant with cosmetic products that may also contain nuts. We have a number of students in school who suffer from nut allergies. Thank you in advance.

Dates for Your Diary

• Thursday 30 January – Y9 Subject Evening
• 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
• 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

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