Weekly Message 319 – 6 November 2026
6th November 2026
Welcome back! We hope everyone enjoyed a restful half-term break. It has been lovely to have pupils back in school this week, and they have made a positive start to the new half term.
The significant majority have returned ready to learn, looking smart in their uniform and fully equipped for their lessons. We are continuing to pay particular attention to uniform standards, especially shirts being worn properly and tucked in throughout the school day – if we have a uniform, we should wear it well! Taking pride in our appearance is part of the high standards we set for ourselves, and we appreciate parents and carers reinforcing this at home.
There is a really productive atmosphere around school, with pupils and staff getting back into the rhythm of the school day and looking ahead to the weeks to come. Teachers are looking forward to a productive half term, with plenty of learning, opportunities and activities for pupils to get involved in. Year 11 pupils will be waiting eagerly for their Autumn Exam results, which will provide useful feedback on their progress and help them identify their priorities as they continue their preparation for the summer examinations.
Looking ahead, we have a number of important dates for your diary. Our Year 8 Power to Progress Evening takes place on Tuesday 17 November, followed by an INSET Day on Monday 23 November, when school will be closed to pupils. On Tuesday 24 November, we will welcome back members of the Class of 2026 to collect their examination certificates and Art/DT work. Our Year 9 Subject Progress Evening will then take place on Tuesday 1 December.
As always, parents and carers can find details of all forthcoming events, activities and important dates on our school calendar, which is available through the school website. Please do take a look so that you can keep up to date with what is happening across Cams Hill. Thank you, as always, for your continued support.
Peter Ashley Activity Centre
This week a group of Year 7, 8 and 9 pupils visited Peter Ashley Activity Centre for a day of activities designed to encourage teamwork, build confidence and develop new skills.
Throughout the visit, pupils participated in a range of activities, including laser tag, an obstacle course, archery and rifle shooting.
Our pupils were exceptional throughout the day, demonstrating enthusiasm and a willingness to embrace new experiences. It was particularly rewarding to see pupils grow in confidence, overcome challenges and achieve things they may not have initially believed possible.
Art Club Remembrance Poppies
This week Art Club has been preparing a small display of poppies for the upcoming remembrance.
They spent this week working with lots (…over 1000…) of red pipe cleaners to create some beautiful flowers which will be enjoyed by visitors to Reception.
They worked at speed to get as many of them as possible completed in the one-hour session. There were a few challenges, and they even got to use the glue guns for the first time this year.
Next week brings the start of our Christmas crafting, with them creating the annual Christmas Lunch table decorations.
College Applications
Many pupils have begun applying for college. Some require you to provide your predicted grades. As your latest Autumn Exam results have not yet been released, it is acceptable to use either your Year 10 exams or your predicted grades. If you would like help and support in making applications, please pop and see Miss Vadis on reception and she will be able to help. If you are interested in Peter Symonds, they close for applications on the 7 December 2026 so there is not long left to apply.
Maths Challenge
Fireworks and Festival Lights
Bonfire Night and Diwali: what is the cheapest way in? A big group are heading to a lights and fireworks display around the time of Bonfire Night and Diwali, but the ticket prices have a few tricks up their sleeves. Can you find the cheapest way for them to get in, and what an online discount does to the total?
The local lights and fireworks display, held around Bonfire Night and Diwali, sells these tickets:
Adult ticket – £6
Child ticket (under 16) – £3
Family ticket (exactly two adults and two children) – £15
A group of 3 adults and 5 children want to go.
(a) What is the cheapest way for them to buy tickets?
(b) Booking online gives a further 10% off the total. How much would the group pay online?
Talk about it at home: Where else do you see family or group deals? Do they always save you money?
Challenge: The organisers sold 240 adult tickets, 310 child tickets and 85 family tickets. Work out the total income. What percentage of the income came from family tickets? Give your answer to the nearest whole number.
Talk about it in school: Share your answer with your maths teacher or drop your working into Ma4 to gain achievement points.
Last Week’s Solution
Pumpkin Power
(a) Pumpkin B.
A: £4.50 ÷ 3 = £1.50 per kg.
B: £7.20 ÷ 6 = £1.20 per kg.
C: £11.52 ÷ 9 = £1.28 per kg.
(b) £14.40.
Two of Pumpkin B give exactly 12 kg for 2 × £7.20 = £14.40.
Other ways cost more, e.g. A + C = £16.02 or 4 × A = £18.
Challenge: £11.52 × 0.85 = £9.792, and £9.792 ÷ 9 = £1.088 per kg. Yes, it is now the best value.
A huge congratulations and thank you to L Wood and A Nurmohamed for their outstanding effort and the thought and detail they put into their answers!
Sports Results
Year 7 rugby played a triangular against Portchester and Fareham Academy. We won against Fareham Academy and drew with Portchester, resulting in us coming top.
Year 9 rugby drew with Courtmoor 19-19 in the Hampshire Cup
Year 11 rugby lost 26-36 against Perins, an excellent match played by all boys.
Year 9 boys’ football drew 0-0 with Portchester.
Menu w/c 9 November 2026
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.
Remembrance Day – sent 6/11/26 at 1500
Whole school photo – sent 4/11/26 at 1037
Statistics
Positive Behaviour Points Averages per Pupil for this Week (4 days)
Year 7 8.06 points
Year 8 5.66 points
Year 9 7.24 points
Year 10 3.57 points
Year 11 1.95 points
Attendance
This week – 93.7%
Same week last year – 93.9%
Sparx 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.
Sparx
Over 50% in Maths Homework
Year 7 84%
Year 8 85%
Year 9 66%
Year 10 79%
Over 75% in Maths Homework
Year 7 81%
Year 8 83%
Year 9 58%
Year 10 70%
100% in Maths Homework
Year 7 73%
Year 8 72%
Year 9 40%
Year 10 42%
*For example, this figure means 73% of Year 7 got 100% in their homework tasks.
Scores in green show an increase or the same as last week’s figures.
Year 11 are doing weekly maths exam practice tests with feedback lesson on a Friday
Maths Homework Support is open to all Years on Wednesdays in ICT3 and Ma10 until 4pm.
Next In-Class Maths Assessments
Year 10 – week of 9 November 2026 – calculator and non-calculator
Calculators and other equipment for sale
Casio fx-85GT CW+ 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-85GT CW+ scientific calculator- £10.00
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 Key Stage 4 use – See Arbor for details
