Dear Parents and Carers,
I am writing to update you on the recent events at Littleover Community School; provide some key messages for this academic year, and to inform you about the important dates for this term.
On the 21st of September, our Modern Foreign Languages department celebrated Languages week at Littleover. As a leading school in one of only thirteen national language networks, Littleover is determined to champion high-quality language learning and as such, students had the opportunity to engage in a week of activities beyond their timetabled lessons. From ‘The Masked Linguist’, language taster sessions, flag quests to salsa dancing, a diverse range of activities allowed students to understand the value and fun in learning additional languages. Sixty-five of our Year 11 students were also lucky enough to participate in the Languages and STEM event with Business Language Champions and those students demonstrated ‘The LCS Way’ values throughout this experience. Such great opportunities would not be available to our students without the hard work of Ms D Piper and the Languages team, so a huge thank you to those staff members.
We have also been busy getting to know our Year 7 students who have taken an extensive survey to determine their attitudes to self and school, reading age tests and undergone cognitive ability testing to ensure that we have a full understanding of our new students, including their academic and personal strengths and, more importantly, the areas which may require support over their time at Littleover Community School. The information is helpful, and the student comments are often a joy to read; my personal favourite from this year is the following: “Littleover Community School is an amazing school! It has already made me very comfortable,and I feel like I am settling in very well. I am glad this school was one of my options.”
Last week, a total of 266 students took part in 268 placements with 203 different employers, giving students invaluable insight into the world of work and helping them develop important employability skills and we are really delighted to share the success of this year's Year 11 Work Experience Week.Our students experienced a wide range of industries and workplaces, with 24 students completing placements outside the local area, including opportunities in Nottingham, Birmingham, Leicester, Oxford and London.
For students who remained in school, a comprehensive programme was provided, including virtual work experience placements through Springpod. The most popular sectors explored were Real Estate, Engineering and Computing. Students also benefited from focused GCSE revision sessions, helping them prepare for their upcoming examinations.
We would like to thank our employers, parents, carers and staff for their support in making the week such a positive and rewarding experience. The excellent feedback received reflects the commitment and enthusiasm shown by our students, who represented the school superbly throughout the week. Again, this could not happen without the incredible efforts of Mrs J Oversby and our new Careers Officer, Mrs S Taylor- a huge thank you to both of you.
Bronze Duke of Edinburgh expeditions have resumed, and the first trip of the academic year went out last week; students did brilliantly and managed the demands of the challenge well. We wish the students, who have their first expedition coming up, our best wishes and hope they are all successful.
Finally, our Year 12 students have been taking trips out to Wild Park to complete some team building activities; this is so important in terms of strengthening the sense of belonging and it has been great to see those bonds developing because of this form of enrichment.
Key Information
Local residents may have received a letter from the Environment Agency and Jackson Civil Engineering, explaining that refurbishment works to the debris screen located on Hell Brook, Pastures Hill Culvert, Littleover, will be taking place from week commencing October 12th 2026 and expected to last for thirteen weeks. As a result, the footpath off Pastures Hill will be closed from its junction with Pastures Avenue to its junction at Fresco Drive, located at the rear gate of Littleover Community School. As some of our students use the footpath as part of their journey, they will need to use an alternative route to school and ensure that enough time is left to ensure that they are arriving at school for 8:35am. The letter sent to residents also asks that parents and carers do not drop off or collect pupils on Pastures Avenue in order to reduce congestion and ensure student safety. If parents or carers have any questions or concerns about the project, please contact
pennyharrison@jackson-civils.co.uk
It is important to stress that the works are not being undertaken on behalf of Littleover Community Schools and therefore any feedback should be directed via the email address provided.
We are excited to be hosting our 6th Form information Open Evening on Thursday 8th October, from 17:45pmuntil 19:30pm. This is such an important opportunity for students and parents to discover information about our ‘Outstanding’ Sixth form, listen to presentations about the 6th form, meet our A-Level subject teams, talk to current Sixth formers and find out about our exceptional enrichment and personal development programme.
Parents and Carers can now find the Autumn term’s extra-curricular opportunities on the school website. Under ‘Welcome’ then ‘Extra-Curricular’ and finally ‘All School Clubs’, parents and carers will find all before school, lunchtime and afterschool events. I know that Mr Chawner is keen to have Year 7 students join the whole school show of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ so please be encouraging your children to participate in the clubs on offer.
This week is the Year 7 Golden Ticket drop so students in Year 7 will be awarded their Golden Ticket when staff see that they are clearly showing the values of ‘The LCS Way’. Please support this initiative by encouraging your child through discussion about the Golden Tickets.
Throughout this week, the school will be raising awareness about World Mental Health Day through the Hello Yellow initiative. We want all our students to develop healthy levels of resilience and suitable coping mechanisms, and this week’s activities will shine a light on the importance of reaching out for support when needed and developing practical strategies to support one’s mental health. As ‘The LCS Way’ focus is Care for the next fortnight, there is no better time to raise awareness; as such, a series of assemblies and nonuniform/wear a yellow item days will be taking place this week. Please see below for the specific days and expectations.
Wednesday 7th October- Year 7-9
Thursday 8th October-Year 10-11
Friday 9th October-Sixth form and staff
Students must wear suitable clothing and should not wear the following: crop tops or any item of clothing which reveals a child’s under garments, or any item of clothing which displays offensive or discriminatory language. The rules around make up and jewellery remain the same as the whole school uniform policy.
This week is one of our identified reading weeks for Key Stage Three students; students will be reading a book from the library. Our Year 9 students will need to be organised and ensure that they have visited the library and have checked out a book for the dedicated reading time during Period 5 each day. This is a wonderful opportunity to remind students about the value of reading for pleasure and the link between reading and vocabulary acquisition. Wherever parents and carers can remind students about the importance of having a reading book, it would be greatly appreciated.
Finally, a huge thank you to our parents and carers for your continued support as we have focussed on getting our students to meet the standards outlined in the uniform policy. We have seen significant improvements in this area and know that this is only possible if the partnership between school and home is strong.
Key Dates
Thursday 8th Oct - 5:45pm-7:30pm - Post 16 Open Evening
Friday 23rd Oct - INSET
Thursday 5th Nov - 4:15pm-6:45pm - Year 11 Parents’ Evening on School Cloud
Thursday 19th Nov - 4:15pm - 6:45pm Year 7 Settling in Evening
Friday 27th Nov - Common Closure Day- INSET
Thursday 3rd December - 4:15pm-6:45pm - Year 13 Parents’ Evening on School Cloud
