SWBGS Useful Information For New Year 7 Parents (Sept 2013)
School Day - the school day is split into 5 lessons of 1 hour each. The first lesson starts at 08:40
(there is no form time/assembly before school starts - it's straight into lessons). First break (or short
break) commences c11:10 for 25 minutes or so. Lunch/long break commences 13:40 for 45/50
minutes. Many clubs (see below) take place at long break and because of this and the late start of
'lunch' break, most kids eat some/all of their lunch at first break - Mimi's (the cafe) & Cook's (the
canteen) are open at both breaks - note that good stuff (I don't know how to define that!) sells out
quickly.
Class groups (also called forms - 7A-D) - all lessons in years 7 take place in class groups, children stay
in the same class throughout years 7 & 8. Streaming for maths occurs in year 8 when a second
language (either German or Spanish) is introduced (note, the school allocates the kids to their
language). Year 9 (KS4) sees the introduction of a further class and a complete mix up of the existing
classes based on subject selection - watch this space given the government's announcement of the
shake up to GCSEs)
Tutor Groups - a tutor group comprises approximately 3 people (from the same house) from each
year group including the 6th form. Tutor groups meet three times per week (just before first break the other two days get assemblies - one house, one key stage). The tutor groups offer all students
an opportunity to interact with other year groups and can therefore assist in understanding how the
school works, how others chose subjects etc etc. Kids stay in the same tutor group throughout their
school life at Borlase. The tutor will typically be the pastoral carer for your child and will assist is
goal setting.
Timetable
SWBGS operates with a 2-week timetable, with weeks allocated as ‘A’ or ‘B’.
Property - name everything that moves, and if it doesn't move, name it anyway. Valuable items
(phones/keys/etc) go to reception, other misplaced property is collected together and, on a weekly
(usually) basis, is sorted into named vs unnamed. The named items should find their way into the
tutor group pigeon hole. Unnamed items find themselves in a number of massive sweaty baskets
that you really don't want to sort through!
Phones - must be turned off or on silent during the whole of school day - otherwise they are
confiscated and returned to parents by collection. If kids need to make calls, they can go into
reception to ask if they can use their mobiles (otherwise reception charge 20p per call from their
phones).
Uniform:
Girl's skirts - Last year saw the first clamp down on short skirts. Any girls continuously wearing what
school deems very short - will be given the "loan" skirt - a wonderful Primark number which they will
be embarrassed to wear!
Ties – clip-ons are required for years 7 & 8. Matron carries spares and it is perhaps best to keep a
spare at home anyway as they are most misplaced items.
PE/Games. Most girls will not wear the shorts which were listed as part of the uniform list - with
skorts only used. Boys wear black shorts for PE/Games and all wear their house t-shirt. Boys who
play rugby wear black cotton shorts and their rugby shirt. Track pants can be worn in cold weather.
Blazers - must be worn at all times (including journey to school and lessons - unless permission has
been given). During summer term, school will specify when "summer uniform" can be worn effectively there is no need for a blazer - unless a jumper is worn, in which case you must also wear a
blazer (!). Given the current weather, it is possible that 'summer uniform' rules will continue for a
while. Blazers and ties can be machine washed at 30 to 40 degrees so no need to have them drycleaned.
Coats - few kids tend to take coats to school (even in the worst of weather)! There is nowhere to
store them (lockers are quite small) and the changing rooms are in general use - and carrying them
around is a pain. So umbrellas and pack-a-macs are about as far as you'll get.
Lockers - locker keys are handed out by school during the early days of a new school year. If you
have a child prone to losing things - get a copy of the key cut! The second school replacement is very
expensive. Lockers are not massive (they fit precisely the school sports bag - with a shelf above) but
are useful. Keys are collected at the end of the school year and lockers are reallocated every year.
Equipment - the dictionaries/thesaurus/atlas are useful at home but there are plenty at school and it
is not worth carrying them to/from school. The lab coat does not appear to be used other than for
biology club!
Clubs - during the first two weeks there is a club 'fair' where kids can sign up to the various
Performing Arts clubs offered at school. Sports Club timetables are posted on First Class and are
advised during induction/PE lessons. Ask the Class Rep for a timetable if you don’t have access to
First Class (this year’s timetable is below). In addition to these classes, there are additional classes
that are run by 6th formers as part of their Leadership obligation. The senior students propose a club
to the school early in the year, and once approved these Clubs are announced. A full list of all clubs
is collated after these are finalised. In general it is expected that the children will find out about the
clubs themselves.
Some clubs take place before the school day (e.g. cheerleading), some after school (e.g.
hockey/netball) and others during the long break (e.g. dance/drama). Note, if your child has to
catch a school bus, you will have to make your own arrangements for collection following after
school clubs. Matches (e.g. hockey/netball/rugby) can take place on any day although are usually on
the club day - in the first term (and sometimes beyond) teachers expect a parent to collect children
(particularly in the dark) after matches - a note can circumnavigate this!
Sports Clubs (2013)
Boy’s rugby club is delivered through Thursday afternoon games lesson 5 in first half term. Most
fixtures are after school on Thursdays. There will be a rugby trial/training session after school early
in the school year.
Boy’s football is spring term.
Boy’s hockey is after school on Wednesday. 4pm till 5:30pm at Marlow sports club.
Girls netball is on Monday after school on the school netball courts with Mrs
O'Hara, 4pm till 5:30pm. Girls hockey is on Wednesday after school. 4pm till 5:30pm at Marlow
sports club.
First Hockey session: all year 7s will be told to meet PE staff in the PE block and they will be escorted
down to Marlow sports club to familiarise themselves with the walk down. After that pupils will be
expected to make their own way down to the sports club at 3:30pm. At the end of training at the
sports club pupils can either be picked up by parents or can walk home.
There is a hockey club registration evening in the school theatre 7-8pm early in the term. All parents
and pupils are welcome. All sports fixtures are visible on student area/sports fixtures
Homework Club - club is free and open every night until 5pm. They won’t necessarily get help with
their homework but they will be able to do it. It is useful to know if you have other children to pick
up, take to clubs etc.
Orders - in old language 'school reports' (fyi orders are called orders because in the old(en) times
children were ranked into order of their ability) - at the end of each half term, children are scored in
most subjects and a report ('orders') delivered by email to parents showing the score vs the child's
target (together with an effort grade). Targets are set in the early weeks of the school year largely
by the frequent tests (starting this week). You will get a chance to see the targets and the scores are
explained in the orders. Children are not scored against each other - only against their targets. Your
child will also set personal targets in conjunction with their tutor. You will see these when you meet
the child’s tutor a few weeks into term.
PE/Games
Children do both PE and Games. PE tends to be various and change regularly and are indoors or
outdoors. Games tend to be regular, outdoor events that change after each term or half term.
During the first half of the Autumn term of 2013, boys have rugby in lessons at school. They must
have gum shields for this activity. All girls are on hockey. They must have gum shields and shin
guards. Most of the girl’s hockey lessons will take place at Marlow sports club. Pupils are escorted
down at 2pm. Pupils are returned to school by 3:30pm. Pupils who wish to leave for home from the
sports club at 3:30pm can do so but must provide written consent for the PE teacher in charge of the
lesson.
First Class - this is the on-line notification website/app used by school to communicate with children
(and parents). Children are given their First Class log-ins very early in term. Children are 'expected'
to read First Class every morning before school as it might notify room changes or other important
matters. There is a First Class tutorial for parents in the first term and you will receive log-in details
and instructions via email. It is best if you download First Class to your computer rather than
running from the internet as it works better.
Cafes/Squid cards
There are two cafes on site – Mimi’s and the canteen. They operate on a cashless ‘fingerprint scan’
system called ‘sQuid’. You will receive an email about registering for this service early in the term.
You can put money on the squid account via direct debit if you like. There is the ability to put
financial and other restrictions on the card and all of your child’s purchases are recorded for you to
see. They do allow cash payments, so in the first few days of term, your child can pay cash.
Early in the term, the queues can be quite long, and the popular food can sell out quickly. So it is
advisable to provide some food from home in case they don’t get a decent lunch!