Dear Parent/Carer,
I am writing to update you on the recent events at Littleover Community School; provide some key messages regarding school life, and to inform you about the upcoming events for next half term.
Success
What an incredible few weeks it has been at Littleover Community School; I have had the privilege of observing so many of our students’ talents and abilities shine brightly.
To begin with, Littleover held its annual ‘Sports Day’ event and the competitors across both the field and track events did brilliantly. Firstly, for their courage in participation and secondly for their efforts and performances in their respective events. For the students who were spectating, it was wonderful to see how they cheered on and supported the representatives from their year group. It was the very definition of a community event!
We have also hosted and organised some milestone events for our Year 13 and Year 11 students to mark the end of the examination period. The Year 13 Ball at Shottle Hall was a great event for both students and staff and a beautiful way of finishing their time at Littleover. Our Year 11 Celebration was a glamorous and energetic affair, with recognition of subject performance; tutor goodbye videos; an ice-cream van and a rather interesting rendition of an Oasis classic, courtesy of Mr Wilson.
Turning to our 6th Form Induction days, where two hundred students attended over the two days, and received tasters of the pastoral care and academic expectations at Littleover Sixth Form in anticipation of September. Given the challenges of the heatwave, students did exceptionally well and we wish them every luck in the Summer, wit the hope that they will be joining us as our part of our new Year 12 intake.
Students across the lower years have also been working really hard in different pursuits; our Year 9 students had prepared their Dragons Den pitches for external visitors; the visitors judged the performances of our budding entrepreneurs. Students received some wonderful feedback about the quality of their ideas, their teamwork and their communication skills.
Over in Creative Arts, it has been incredibly busy with the Drama Festival on the 16th June, where approximately forty students performed scenes and sketches that were mostly self-written. There was a large audience to watch, and an enjoyable night was had by all. It was great to see so many of our students from KS4 and 5 working together, supporting each other, and showing the growing bravery and confidence, our Drama teachers strive to develop in their Drama lessons.
Our Music Festival also took place on Tuesday 30th June; this diverse showcase of talent entertained the audience and set an incredibly high standard. It was another successful event which revealed the incredible gifts of many of the students at Littleover.
It has been busy over in the Science department too with our Year 12 students, several of whom have achieved a superb set of results in this year’s Chemistry Cambridge Challenge:
Gold: Oliver T
Silver: Aly D and Mustafa H
Copper: Simran K, Lexine E, Sam E, Lauren S, Kelvin Ad, Faheem F, Dan K, Riya D, Annmaria J.
In addition, eighteen of our Year 12 Biology students took part in the UKBC Intermediate Biology Olympiad. This international competition involves students completing two online exam papers. Questions are set on topics that students are likely to have covered at GCSE and in their first year of A-level, with some additional ideas, requiring advanced problem-solving skills. One of our biologists achieved the Gold Award, placing her in the top 5% of participants; one achieved the Silver Award, placing them in the top 10% of participants and three achieved the Bronze Award, placing them in the top 15% of participants.
Over in PE, there was further excellence in the rounders results. With our Year 10 Girls winning the County Rounders tournament and our Year 8's also winning their City Rounders tournament. Absolutely brilliant results for both teams.
Away from the pitch and into the library, students have also experienced success, with the Carnegie Winners Award taking place, as well as the arrangements for the recent ‘Key Stage Three Reading Week’ where the focus has been on the topic of everyone counting at LCS. Our wonderful librarian has chosen authors that represent diversity and different lived experiences, hoping those themes shine through in the books selected.
Our Modern Foreign Languages department arranged for an amazing experience for all our Year 7 students; students got to enjoy some French theatre in the Main Hall. This was a great opportunity for students to be immersed in a cultural experience that they may never have encountered before, and staff remarked upon the brilliant way the students engaged and conducted themselves during the opportunity.
We have also had the Sixth Form debate competition. On Thursdays after school, twelve teams of two have been fighting it out in a tight British Parliamentary style contest, debating topics such as, "This House opposes media which glorifies being rich," and "This House would return all cultural treasures to their country of origin." The final will be held on Thursday 9th July, when the top four teams from the heats will battle it out in front of judges including Julia Saunders from Derby District Law Society. Best of luck to our competitors.
Our Duke of Edinburgh programmes are well attended and run throughout the year, however, a special mention for the thirty-five students (and two sixth form helpers) who battled the heat to work towards their ‘Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award’. During the trip, students developed their resilience, dealing with the difficult weather conditions, as well as carrying all their gear. They also worked on their navigation skills to get from point to point. Finally, they strengthened their campcraft skills as they had to pitch and strike camp twice during the expedition.
In other outdoor news, Mr Orchard and Mrs Flinders took a group of our Year 7 students to Spring Lakes for kayaking and stand-up paddling boarding; this was a fantastic opportunity for students to take risks in a safe environment and have plenty of fun along the way.
Finally, some achievements linked to Rolls-Royce, Courtney (Year 9) has been successful in securing a highly competitive apprenticeship with the company and this will be completed alongside her GCSE studies. Moreover, some of our Year 12s have been completing their work experience and received incredible feedback, noting that they had been ‘great ambassadors for the school…engaging, respectful, curious, and professional.’
I am sure you would agree that in three weeks, including one of the hottest weeks on record, the students at Littleover have done remarkably well, but it goes without saying that such opportunities only arise as a result of the hard work of the staff who are prepared to organise the trips, write the risk assessments and supervise the students, so a massive thank you to the wonderful staff at Littleover for such dedication in order to provide opportunities for our students to be successful.
Key Messages
A thank you to parents and carers for the ongoing support and understanding during last week’s heat wave. I will be in touch if we have any further spells of hot weather about adaptations to uniform, but until then, students should be back in their normal school uniform.
Please can I remind parents and carers to be courteous when parking near the school; unfortunately, we have had some recent incidents where staff members have needed to intervene in situations due to unsafe parking and driving near the school.
Upcoming Events
School will be open as normal on Monday morning.
Year 6 Induction Evening on Monday 6th July
Year 6 Induction Days on Tuesday 7th
-Thursday 9th July
Personal Development Gold Celebration event on Thursday 9th July.
Year 10 Careers Fair on Thursday 9th July.
Cultural Capital Experience on Friday 10th July.
Year 8 French Trip departs on Friday 10th July.
Final Day on Thursday 23rd July.
Kind Regards
Mrs L Johnson
