Weekly Message 279 – 17 October 2025
17th October 2025
It has been another productive and enjoyable week in school, made even more special by welcoming back last year’s Year 11 pupils for our Art and Photography exhibition. The event was a wonderful celebration of their hard work and creativity, and we were so pleased to see them again.
On Tuesday 24 October 2025, the Year 7 Power to Progress Evening is taking place from 1605 to 1900 with bookings closing on Monday 20 October – for further details please see letter sent to parents and carers on 9 October 2025. For all events, please visit our website where you will find the school calendar.
We remind parents and carers that the school closes to pupils for the half term break next Friday 24 October and reopens on Monday 3 November 2025.
Contacting the school
We have noticed this week that some parents and carers have been using the communications function in Arbor to contact the school. Please note that the school is not currently using this feature. We kindly ask that parents and carers do not use Arbor for communication but instead contact us via office@camshill.com.
For full details on how to contact the school, please visit our website and click on ‘Contact Us’.
Art Exhibition
On Tuesday 14 October 2025, we hosted our annual Arts Exhibition to celebrate the amazing art, photography, and graphics work from the Class of 2025. Past pupils, their families and friends were treated to a real feast for the eyes.
We were incredibly busy, and it was lovely to hear the pupils talking through their own work with their families. We were also delighted to be joined by some of our Year 10 Hospitality and Catering pupils who, along with the rest of their class, prepared and provided an array of delicious canapés for the event which were a triumph.
The quality and quantity of work on display was testament to the hard work and dedication of these pupils, many of whom have continued their creative journey in further education. Pupils across the school have also had the opportunity to visit the exhibition during their Art lessons or during break times, engaging in conversations with their Art teachers with an insight into the breadth of the experiences on offer to our pupils.
Work will be available for collection by Class of 2025 on Thursday 27 November 2025. More details to follow.
Educake Competition
This spooky season, Educake is helping to take the fear out of the Autumn Exams with a competition to boost engagement and motivate pupils to revise using Educake!
During each week between 13 October and 9 November, every pupil who answers at least 10 questions they set themselves will receive an entry into Educake’s prize draw. If they do this every week, they’ll get 4 entries, maximising their chance of winning one of three exciting prize packs! They don’t need to do anything else to be in with a chance.
Educake will be giving away 3 prize packs to the lucky winners:
Gold Award 🥇
- A Lenovo Chromebook
- A subject-specific pack of goodies for the winning department worth £100
- Freddos for the pupil’s class
Silver Award 🥈
- An Amazon Fire HD tablet
- A subject-specific pack of goodies for the winning department worth £75
- Freddos for the pupil’s class
Bronze Award 🥉
- A £50 One4all gift card for the student
- A subject-specific pack of goodies for the winning department worth £50
- Freddos for the pupil’s class
Here is a Powerpoint telling pupils about the competition and a video that explains how they can use Educake to set their own questions. Remember, teacher assigned questions do not count for this competition!
Barton Peveril Lunchtime Drop-In
Barton Peveril will be in the library on Tuesday 21 October for our lunchtime drop in for Year 10 and 11 pupils. They will be able to support Year 11 pupils with their applications/personal statements. Please encourage your young person to attend if they wish to apply.
Sports Results
Fantastic news from Girls’ Football at Cams Hill!
Our Year 8/9 team secured an incredible 6–0 victory, showcasing an exceptionally strong and commanding team performance. Well done all.
Menu w/c 20 October 2025
Whole School Letters Published This Half Term
Below is a list of letters emailed to all parents/carers this half term together with the date and time they were sent. If you are unable to find any of the communications, please email office@camshill.com and we can send you a further copy.
Homework Submission on Arbor – 10/10/25 1434
School Transport Assistance – 30/9/25 – 1500
Reporting absences on Arbor – 29/9/25 1043
Late start for all pupils – Wednesday 1 October 2024 – 22/9/25 – 1037
End of Week 2 – 19/9/2025 – 1646
Attendance and Punctuality – 12/9/25 – 1001
Attendance Percentages – 11/9/25 1135
Sponsorship Opportunity – Cams Hill School Rugby Kit – 11/9/25 – 1050
First Aid Incident and Medication Administration Notifications – 11/9/25 1029
PE Sports Clubs and Fixtures – 11/9/25 – 0955
Beginning of Term – 10/9/25 – 1803
Annual Nasal Flu Vaccine – 10/9/25 – 1206 (reminder sent 6/10/25)
Coats – 10/9/25 – 0731
Absence reporting – 4/9/25 – 1215
BBC Bitesize Guide to AI
The BBC Bitesize Guide to AI is here.
Across the seven episodes, each follows a clear and consistent structure. Every story starts with a relatable question, explores the concept through engaging examples, and finishes with practical, ethical advice learners can act on.
Here’s the full series:
- How to use AI tools to create art
- How do I trust my social feed?
- How to use AI for revision
- Is AI bad for the environment?
- How could AI support my wellbeing?
- How to use AI to generate pictures
- How to use AI to style an outfit
Everything is free and the link is HERE.
Statistics
Positive Behaviour Points Averages per Pupil for This Week
Year 7 – 4.55 points
Year 8 – 3.75 points
Year 9 – 3.12 points
Year 10 – 3.47 points
Year 11 – 3.87 points
Attendance
This week – 83.5%
Same week last year – 93.7%
MathsWatch, Sparx and Educake
These are online resources that we expect pupils to be accessing routinely with homework set by teachers and independently to support their progress in Maths, Science, and other subjects. We ask parents/carers to check in with their child to see whether they are accessing these resources routinely and to encourage the best use of them.
Sparx Maths – Year 7 weekly figures
Over 50% in Maths homework 72%
Over 75% in Maths homework 69%
100% in Maths homework 65%
MathsWatch
Average number of questions answered per pupil this week
Year 8 17.4 questions
Year 9 18.7 questions
Year 10 1.4 questions
Year 11 16.6 questions
Highest Number of questions answered by one pupil this week
Year 8 51 questions
Year 9 49 questions
Year 10 28 questions
Year 11 47 questions
Over 50% in Maths Homework
Year 8 49%
Year 9 64%
Year 10 54%
Year 11 45%
Over 75% in Maths Homework
Year 8 39%
Year 9 49%
Year 10 36%
Year 11 25%
100% in Maths Homework
Year 8 9%*
Year 9 19%
Year 10 7%
Year 11 5%
Year 11 Autumn Exams:
Wednesday 12 November – GCSE Maths Paper 1
Monday 17 November – GCSE Maths Paper 2
Wednesday 19 November – GCSE Maths Paper 3
Next In-Class Maths Assessments
Year 7 – w/c 20 October – non-calculator
Calculators and other equipment for sale
Casio fx-83GT scientific calculators can be bought via Arbor and collected from the Finance Office. Prices of these and other items for sale are shown below:
Casio fx-83GT scientific calculator- £9.00
Pre-packed pencil case – £2.50
Pair of compasses – 29p
Protractor – 9p
100 blank flashcards – £1.00
A range of GCSE Maths revision materials for KS4 use – See Arbor for details
Educake – Science
Average number of questions answered per pupil this week
Year 7 33 questions
Year 8 38 questions
Year 9 49 questions
Year 10 164 questions
Year 11 83 questions
Highest number of questions answered by one pupil this week
Year 7 140 questions
Year 8 489 questions
Year 9 284 questions
Year 10 726 questions
Year 11 268 questions