Weekly Message 263 – 2 May 2025
2nd May 2025
It’s been another busy and productive week at Cams Hill.
Firstly, a huge well done to our Year 11 pupils who have been undertaking their Art, Graphics, and Photography exams. Their commitment and preparation have been commendable, and we are confident that their hard work will be reflected in strong outcomes.
We would also like to thank the parents and carers of our Class of 2030 for attending the Year 6 into Year 7 Transition Parents’ Evening on Monday. It was a pleasure to meet so many of you, and we look forward to welcoming your children to the school site for their transition days later this term.
In response to the recent warm weather, pupils were invited to leave their blazers at home this week. Please note that all pupils are expected to return in full uniform, including blazers, on Tuesday 6 May 2025. We will continue to monitor temperatures and will make further adjustments to the uniform policy as appropriate. We also ask parents to ensure their child is wearing the correct PE kit when it is their PE day – black shorts are not permitted.
Finally, a reminder that school will be closed on Monday 5 May 2025 for the Bank Holiday.
Sustrans Visit
This week, Cams Hill School has continued to work with John Clode from the Sustrans bike charity to equip our pupils with the skills needed to keep their bikes safe and well maintained. We are incredibly proud to work alongside the charity and help our pupils make more healthy decisions.
We are in the process of arranging further sessions for the Summer Term and will let parents/carers know in due course of the dates confirmed.
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Silver Practice Weekend
Last weekend saw the first of two silver Duke of Edinburgh expeditions for the pupils, a practice of the real thing, which took place in the New Forest near Brockenhurst. The focus was on improving pupils’ navigation skills and camp craft skills as well as getting used to carrying a heavy bag for a few days.
On the first day they walked with staff in small groups, practising map reading and compass skills, navigating their group between various checkpoints until they reached the campsite. In the evening, they set up camp and cooked their own dinner.
They were on their own on the second day, putting all the skills they had worked on the day before into practice. The day was mostly successful, but a couple of the groups did get a bit lost at one point – a good learning experience for those involved!
The third morning saw pupils up quickly and packing away the tents for a short walk to the end point. A successful (and exhausting for some) learning experience was had by all and all pupils returned safely to school on Sunday, ready for the main event in June in Purbeck. Our thanks go to all involved to make this happen.
Uniformed Services – Royal Navy Careers/Sports Day
This week pupils from the uniformed services visited HMS Temeraire, for a Royal Navy Sports and Careers Day.
This allowed pupils to have a taste of what it is like to serve in the Royal Navy. Pupils had the opportunity to hear about career options and how their life may look while serving.
Throughout the day pupils met serving members of the Royal Marines and the Navy and undertook sports such as football, Esports, and fencing.
The day finished with a display from the Royal Marines band. The pupils all enjoyed themselves and came away inspired.
Maths Challenge
The annual UKMT Maths Challenge took place on Thursday for pupils in Years 7 and 8. The challenge comprised 25 multiple choice mathematical problems for pupils to complete on their own in one hour.
In total we had 119 pupils complete the challenge and we hope to be able to report the results in a few weeks’ time.
Two examples of the type of problem are below – why don’t you have a go! Answers next week!
- What is the difference between the smallest four digit multiple of three and the largest three digit multiple of 4?
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- What is the sum of 20% of 40% of 60 and 40% of 60% of 80?
- 20
- 4
- 24
- 4
- 28
Maths Countdown
Road Safety Flyer
Below is a link to a road safety flyer from National Online Safety.
Online Safety for Parents/Carers
Thames Valley Cyber Protect team are inviting Parents and carers to join engaging and informative Cyber Security training presentations.
These sessions will share easy-to-implement tips for parents/carers regarding their own and their family’s online behaviours and internet-enabled device usage.This session covers key topics, including:
- Emails and mobile phones: The art of spotting a scam – lots of hints and tips to share with your children around phishing and other scams.
- Social media safety: The risks around social engineering, disinformation, AI, privacy and hacked accounts.
- Gaming: Understand what the risks are to young people when gaming, particularly online, and discover ways to monitor and restrict usage.
- Password mastery and Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Helping you and your family to secure your accounts following best practice.
Link to booking onto the sessions – Online Safety for Parents by Police – South East Cyber Crime Unit | Eventbrite
Sports Results
Year 7/8 girls’ football won against Crofton 3-1
Year 8 boys’ football lost to Brookfield 1-4
Year 7 netball lost to Brookfield 10-11
Menu w/c 6 May 2025
NEW menu Week 3 Bank holiday Monday
We will be providing a special VE day celebration lunch on Thursday so check out the menu to see what’s on…. We will be offering a BBQ or afternoon tea. (tickets for the BBQ will be available on the till).
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.
PE uniform – sent 2/5/25 1127
Catering price increase – sent 4/4/25 1803
Statistics
Positive Behaviour Points Averages per Pupil for This Week
Year 7 7.37 points
Year 8 6.24 points
Year 9 5.67 points
Year 10 3.12 points
Year 11 1.45 points
Attendance
This week – 94%
Same week last year – 93%
MathsWatch and Educake
These are two 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.
If there are issues with access, please bring this to the school’s attention as soon as possible so that we can help.
MathsWatch
Average number of questions answered per pupil this week
Year 7 5.7 questions
Year 8 8.5 questions
Year 9 16.3 questions
Year 10 6.2 questions
Year 11 7.8 questions
Highest Number of questions answered by one pupil this week
Year 7 135 questions
Year 8 71 questions
Year 9 64 questions
Year 10 38 questions
Year 11 79 questions
Over 50% in Maths Homework
Year 7 38%
Year 8 35%
Year 9 44%
Year 10 41%
Year 11 14%
Over 75% in Maths Homework
Year 7 31%
Year 8 28%
Year 9 31%
Year 10 31%
Year 11 4%
100% in Maths Homework
Year 7 18% *
Year 8 13%
Year 9 10%
Year 10 10%
Year 11 1%
*For example, this figure means 18% of Year 7 got 100% in their homework tasks.
Figures in green indicate maintaining or an increase from last week.
Not all Maths homework is set on MathsWatch, which is likely to affect the averages.
Maths Homework Club is open to all Years on Wednesdays in ICT2 until 4pm.
Year 11 Maths Revision on Mondays – see schedule in Maths classrooms for details.
Year 11 Exam Question Practice on Tuesdays and Wednesdays – for selected pupils only.
GCSE Exam dates for the diary
Year 11:
Thursday 15 May – GCSE Maths Paper 1 (non-calculator)
Wednesday 4 June – GCSE Maths Paper 2 (calculator)
Wednesday 11 June – GCSE Maths Paper 3 (calculator)
Year 10 (10X1, 10Y1 and 10Z1 only):
Monday 2 June – GCSE Statistics Paper 1 (calculator)
Friday 13 June – GCSE Statistics Paper 2 (calculator)
Calculators and other equipment for sale
Casio fx-83GT scientific calculators can be bought via Scopay 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 Scopay for details
Educake – Science
Average number of questions answered per pupil this week
Year 7 22 questions
Year 8 22 questions
Year 9 29 questions
Year 10 54 questions
Year 11 44 questions
Highest number of questions answered by one pupil this week
Year 7 300 questions
Year 8 179 questions
Year 9 147 questions
Year 10 440 questions
Year 11 536 questions