Weekly Message 320 – 13 November 2026
13th November 2026
This week has been an opportunity for us to pause and reflect on Remembrance, taking time to remember those who have served and sacrificed so much. Our Year 11 pupils have been receiving their marks and feedback from the Autumn Exams – an important stage in their preparation for the summer examinations, giving them the opportunity to reflect on their performance, recognise what they have done well and identify where they need to focus their efforts next. We encourage them to make good use of the feedback provided by their teachers.
We would also like to take this opportunity to reinforce the importance of completing homework. Homework is not simply another task to tick off; it is an important part of learning, giving pupils the chance to practise, revisit and apply what they have been taught in lessons. The real value comes from pupils engaging with the work themselves, thinking things through, tackling challenges and recognising what they can achieve independently. Taking shortcuts may produce a completed piece of work, but it does not necessarily build understanding or develop the skills pupils need. We want pupils to take responsibility for their learning and recognise that the effort they put into their work, both in and out of the classroom, makes a real difference. Thank you to parents and carers for continuing to encourage and support good homework habits at home.
A quick thank you to parents and carers for your support in helping to ensure that the end-of-day departure from school is as safe and orderly as possible. We appreciate those who are driving and parking sensibly and being mindful of the large number of pupils leaving the site. A further reminder, however, that parents and carers collecting pupils must use the designated visitors’ car park and pick-up point only. The staff car park must not be used for parent collection. We also ask that cars are not driven out of the ‘in gate’ to avoid the queue to leave the school site with pupils crossing this junction expecting cars to be moving one way. Thank you for helping us to maintain a safe environment for everyone.
Finally, we have launched Mission Christmas with pupils this week! There will be more information to share about this in a future message, but it is already an exciting opportunity for our school community to come together and make a positive difference to others. More to follow!
Remembrance Day
On Wednesday, we recognised all those who have served and continue to serve as part of our Remembrance commemorations. Several staff shared stories of their military service, or that of their family members, and staff and pupils observed the 2-minute silence, along with the traditional reading of For the Fallen, the Kohima epitaph and the last post.
Thank you to Mrs Jones, Mrs Salt, Mrs Radestock, Miss Hill, Mrs Cother, Mr Pugh and Mrs Brooker for sharing their personal service story with our pupils.
Year 7 Trip to University of Portsmouth
On Tuesday a group of Year 7 pupils spent the day at the University of Portsmouth. The event was designed to help pupils understand the various transition stages they will go through in education, including their recent move from junior school. They undertook team building exercises based on resilience and learning development, along with a Q and A with university students and a tour.
Maths Challenge
Poppy Appeal: can you work out the target?
Year 9 have raised £84 for the Poppy Appeal, but that is only part of the way there. Can you work backwards to find the school’s target, and how much is still needed after Year 10 chip in? Give it a go at home, then talk about it in school to gain achievement points. Answers next week!
Skill: percentages, working backwards, percentage of an amount
Year 9 raised £84 for the Poppy Appeal in Remembrance week. This is 35% of the school’s target.
(a) What is the school’s target?
(b) Year 10 then raise 40% of the amount that is still needed. How much do they raise?
(c) After Year 10’s donation, what percentage of the original target is still needed?
Talk about it at home: If 35% is £84, what is 1%? How could you use that to find 100%?
Challenge: Year 11 raise enough to take the final total to 8% above the target. What is the final total, and how much did Year 11 raise?
Talk about it in school: Share your answer with your maths teacher to gain achievement points.
Last week’s solution:
(a) £30. One family ticket (£15) + 1 adult (£6) + 3 children (£9) = £30.
Buying all separately costs 3 × £6 + 5 × £3 = £33.
(b) 90% of £30 = £27.00.
Challenge: Adult 240 × £6 = £1,440. Child 310 × £3 = £930. Family 85 × £15 = £1,275. Total = £3,645. £1,275 ÷ £3,645 × 100 = 34.98%, so about 35%.
Facilities for Hire
Donations for Outdoor Wellbeing Project
Please note that we do not currently need any more plastic pots – thank you to everyone who has already donated these.
Sports Results
Sports results will be published next week.
Menu w/c 16 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.
King’s Theatre Portsmouth 261208 CPN – sent 12/11/26 at 1033
PE footwear for the 3G Pitch – sent 6/11/26 at 1701
Remembrance Day – sent 6/11/26 at 1500
Whole school photo – sent 4/11/26 at 1037
Helping Children Stay Safe While Gaming
Online gaming is an important part of many children’s lives. It offers opportunities for fun, creativity and friendships, but many games also allow children to communicate and play with people they do not know offline.
Ofcom has produced practical advice for parents through its Parents Power Up campaign.
The guidance uses three simple steps:
- Check – Review your child’s account details, age settings and who they can communicate with.
- Chat – Talk regularly about the games they enjoy, who they play with and anything that makes them uncomfortable.
- Change – Review parental controls, privacy settings and communication options as your child grows.
This is a particularly useful resource for families approaching half-term, when children may have more time to spend gaming.
Growing up Gaming research summary
Statistics
Positive Behaviour Points Averages per Pupil for this Week (4 days)
Year 7 9.8 points
Year 8 8.6 points
Year 9 6.5 points
Year 10 5.9 points
Year 11 3.9 points
Attendance
This week – 92.7%
Same week last year – 94.2%
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 92%
Year 8 87%
Year 9 62%
Year 10 Revision for test
Over 75% in Maths Homework
Year 7 89%
Year 8 86%
Year 9 55%
Year 10 Revision for test%
100% in Maths Homework
Year 7 80%
Year 8 73%
Year 9 35%
Year 10 Revision for test
*For example, this figure means 80% 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 7 – tbc – non-calculator
Year 8 – 9 December 2026 – calculator
Year 9 – 4 December 2026 – calculator
Year 10 – week of 16 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
Educake – Science
Highest number of questions by one pupil
Year 11 – 410
Year 10 – 311
Year 9 – 536
Year 8 – 198
Year 7 – 387
% Questions answered correctly this week
Year 11 – 77%
Year 10 79%
Year 9 – 72%
Year 8 – 75%
Year 7 – 76%
