Last night we had a very well attended Year 9 Options Evening. Our curriculum, and therefore our options, have changed this year. This is in response to recent government changes. Students who are currently in Year 9 will be the first year group to have their English and Maths GCSE’s graded on the new 1-9 grade scale (9 being the highest grade). Students in Year 9 will also face much more challenging GCSE’s with more content and less coursework. Parental feedback about the options process has been hugely positive. Roding Valley students have once again shown themselves to be mature, polite and well informed when making their choices. One thing that the Government hasn’t changed is the importance of literacy. The new GCSE’s all focus heavily on the students’ literacy skills. We have done huge amounts of work to improve the quality and regularity of homework in order to improve student’s literacy and ultimately their progress. Parents can also contribute to student progress by ensuring that they are reading regularly. I would recommend that students read for at least thirty minutes every night as this is the best way to improve literacy skills. Students at Roding Valley are continuing to make fantastic progress. Last year the Government removed the option for schools to enter students for exams repeatedly in order to improve their results. This has had a negative impact on GCSE results nationally. We are, however, delighted that recent reports in the local press have identified that Roding Valley is bucking this trend. We were in fact the only comprehensive school in West Essex to show an improvement in GCSE results in 2014. This is testament to the hard work of our students, their parents and Roding Valley staff and we are confident that results will improve again this summer. May I remind students in Year 10 that Work Experience Own Placement Forms are due in by Friday 27th February. It is important that these forms are received by Mr Murray fully completed in order for students to embark on their work experience later in the year. Huge congratulations must go to Patsy Stow 7V for winning the RIBI Young Chef District Final after cooking up a menu to make anyone’s mouth water (Chicken Jalfrezi followed by Tiramisu). We all wish her luck as she heads to the Regional Final in March. And congratulations go to Matthew Tinker for being elected to the UK Youth Parliament after taking his seat on the Young Essex Assembly. I wish you all a very enjoyable half term break. Mr A Dixon Deputy Headteacher
You can follow us at www.rodingvalley.net , on Facebook at the ‘Roding Valley High School Official’ page or on Twitter (@RodingValleyHS). You can also sign up to our free electronic media release service at rodingvalleymedia@gmail.com