On Monday 20^th June, 10 students and 2 staff set out for a week’s residential trip to Barcelona. We met the other pupils from the other schools in Matrix Academy Trust at the airport, just before checking in. For some of the pupils, it was their first-time experiencing flying, but all of the pupils fully committed themselves to the experience, a trait which was repeated throughout the week.

When we arrived at Barcelona airport, we met our bus and then went to our home for the week, the Urbany Hostel. After a quick meal at Glories, the local shopping centre, we went to bed to get an early night ready for the busy week ahead.

On the next day, we braved the Barcelona Metro for the first time, which was our main mode of transport for the week. We visited a few different sites around Montjuic, including the Olympic Museum and arena for the 1992 Olympics, and the cable car up to Castell de Montjuic for some impressive views over the city. After this, we got the Port Vell Cable car across to Barceloneta Harbour (Mr Larvan was not a fan of the ride!). We then enjoyed a lovely meal on the harbourside before heading back to recharge ourselves for another busy day.

Day 3 started with a trip to Camp Nou, home of Barcelona FC, where we had a tour around their trophy room, stadium and sidelines.  From there, we headed to La Rambla, where the pupils were able to soak up the culture of one of the most famous streets in Europe. That evening, we had a movie night, watching some of the latest film releases (although pupils were pleased to hear the films were in English with Spanish subtitles!). This allowed us to mix up the schools, giving the pupils chance to get to know each other more.

Day 4 was Gaudí Day, exploring two of the most famous works of one of Spain’s most famous architects. First was a tour of the impressive Sagrada Familia, which is still unfinished 140 years after construction started. We were able to see the inside and outside of the church, marvelling at the detailed sculptures on the outside and the sunlight shining through the stained-glass windows on the inside, spreading fantastic colours through the interior. We even took a bit of time to make our own artwork, inspired by the building. We left the Sagrada Familia and after a lot of escalators, steps and hills made it to Parc Guell, where pupils were given time to explore this large fantasy-inspired park, before meeting at El Drac, a larger-than-life mosaic sculpture of a lizard. As we headed home that evening, we started to see the fireworks and bonfires being set up for the evening’s festivities, which took place all over Barcelona, including right outside our hostel, until the early hours of the morning.

After a late night, Friday started with a well-earned lie-in, before a trip to see the Barcelona aquarium and an afternoon spent relaxing on the beach, followed by another delicious meal in the harbourside.

Feeling refreshed, Saturday saw us heading to see some of the wildlife in the Barcelona Zoo, including tigers, rhinos and elephants. After a wild day, we headed back towards La Rambla for a spot of retail therapy, before heading up to see the views of the city from the Palau Nacional.

Sunday was the day that some of us had been looking forward to the most, a trip to Portaventura Theme Park, which is home to over 50 exhilarating rides, including Dragon Khan and Shambhala. After a fantastic day, we returned to Barcelona before a final evening meal together and then a morning flight (and run through the airport!) to head back home.

Every single one of the pupils represented themselves, the school and the Trust extremely well and we were so impressed by their manners, fantastic attitude and willingness to embrace new experiences, whether that was trying new food, travelling abroad or going on cable cars. We hope that we have instilled an interest in travelling and have opened the pupils’ minds to see more of the world.

Comments from parents:

"My son, has just returned from the Turing Tour to Spain and I just wanted to thank the school for this great opportunity. He has come home full of information about the places he has visited, the friends he has made, and it is so evident just how much he has enjoyed it. I also feel it has given him a confidence he did not have before"

"I would like to say a huge thank you to all the staff at the Turing Scheme for giving my son an amazing experience and for looking after him so well - you are amazing"

The Turing Scheme is the UK government’s programme to provide funding for international opportunities in education and training across the world. It supports Global Britain by providing an opportunity for UK organisations from the higher education, further education, vocational education and training and schools sectors to offer their students, learners and pupils life-changing experiences to study or work abroad.

On Sunday 19^th June and Monday 20^th June,  a group of Year 8 and Year 9 pupils will be boarding planes to Spain and Germany as part of the Turing Scheme international exchanges.  

Across Matrix Academy Trust, 100 pupils will have the chance to take part in two projects: one to Fulda, Germany and one to Barcelona, Spain. This opportunity is fully funded by the Turing Scheme, the UK’s scheme to encourage young people to travel overseas as part of their education. 

The pupils are very excited about their travels – follow our school social channels to keep up-to-date with what they’re up to. 

The itineraries for both projects are below – as you can see, both trips will be an action-packed week with the chance for pupils to fully immerse themselves in everything Germany and Spain have to offer. 

When we return after half term, we will be checking all pupils’ equipment to make sure they are ready to learn.
As a minimum, all pupils need to bring a blue or black pen, a green pen, a pencil, a ruler and their planner.
Thank you for your support.

Everything you need to know about exams in Summer 2022

When are my exams?

Year 11 pupils and year 13 students have been issued with a personalised exam timetable. Should you need to look up when an exam is taking place, you can check it on the overall exam timetable here:

https://decschool.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Summer-2022-Dame-Elizabeth-Cadbury-LATEST.pdf

What happens after an exam in the afternoon?

If the exam finishes after 2:40pm, pupils will be dismissed straight from the exam and will be allowed to make their way home immediately after the exam. Pupils can remain on site, if transport is not due to collect them until 3pm.

What are the rules? Can I wear a watch?

The rules of examinations are the same for all schools. You can read them in full here:

https://decschool.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Exams/IFC-Written_Examinations_2021_v5.pdf

Watches are not allowed. Mobile phones are not allowed, even if turned off. Pupils need to put anything which is not allowed in their bag or hand it in to the exam invigilator.

This poster is in every exam venue to remind pupils: https://decschool.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Exams/Warning-to-Candidates-20122.pdf

We must inform the exam boards of any rule breaking. This includes people turning around in their seats, which counts as an attempt to communicate to others. Anyone who breaks an exam rule may be disqualified from that qualification and it may jeopardise their other qualifications.

What if I’m ill, injured or something bad happens which I couldn’t do anything about?

Special Consideration is given to a candidate who has temporarily experienced illness, injury or some other event outside of their control at the time of the assessment. It is the responsibility of pupils and parents/carers to inform the school of what has happened, either right before or immediately after the exam. Even in extreme circumstances (such as the death of an immediate family member), the maximum allowance given by the exams authority is 5% additional marks.

You can read the full details here:

https://www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Guide_to_spec_con_process_2122.pdf

What if I test positive for Covid or have a high temperature on the day of one of my exams?

Follow public health advice and do not attend school.

The exams for each subject have been spaced a minimum of 10 days apart so if a pupil misses one exam for a subject they will be able to do the others. Their marks from the exams they do complete will be used to inform their final overall grade. If they miss all of the exams for a subject, they will not gain that qualification.

If anyone does have to miss an exam due to Covid, they will follow the same Special Consideration process described above. The only difference is that they and their parent/carer will need to complete the relevant sections of a special form (called Form 14) and we can verify the contents.

There is more detailed information here: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2022/04/12/everything-you-need-to-know-about-covid-measures-during-exams-this-summer/

What if I miss an exam because I forget about it, or any other reason that wouldn’t fall under Special Consideration?

You will be charged the full amount for that exam entry.

What can parents do to support their children?

We have produced this guide:

https://decschool.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Matrix-Exams-Help.pdf

Year 9 have been learning about John Williams's musical leitmotifs in Star Wars for #MayThe4th, starting with Anakin's/Vader's motifs. #StarWars

Our RE specialist Ms Jones has been very impressed with the homework her Year 7 classes have completed. Their task was to write a report considering different view points about the disappearance of Jesus' body over the Easter break.

We have already made some noticeable improvements we are sure your children have told you about, and we will keep you fully informed of any changes going forward.

One change you may have already noticed is our streamlining of communications. We want our teachers to put all of their energies into teaching, so only those staff who work in the House system (Heads of House, Assistant Heads of House, House PAs) will now be contacting home. If you need to give or receive information specific to your child, you need to contact your child’s House Office and they will be able to provide this. Having a single point of contact means you get the most reliable information about your child at all times.

We always welcome feedback and, if you want to get in touch or you have general queries, please email enquiry@decschool.co.uk. During the week, we will aim to get back to you within 24 hours.

Thank you for your continued support,

Mr Lowbridge-Ellis and Mr Prime

We are very excited to lead Dame Elizabeth Cadbury School at this stage of its development.

We want the best for every child, regardless of who they are. That is what drives us. Our golden rule is: if it would not be good enough for our own relatives, it is not good enough for Dame Elizabeth pupils.

We have gone back to basics with our approach to behaviour. We expect pupils to have manners and show respect to each other and their teachers. Anyone who does not show manners and respect is sanctioned and reflects on their behaviour so they make better choices in future. We know parents and carers chose Dame Elizabeth because they wanted a superb learning experience for their children. To that end, we will not allow anyone to steal the learning of others.

Both of us have extensive experience of improving schools in a range of different contexts and we are really enjoying making Dame Elizabeth even better. 

We always welcome feedback and, if you want to get in touch or you have general queries, please email enquiry@decschool.co.uk. During the week, we will aim to get back to you within 24 hours.

We are also going to be more active on twitter, so please follow us at @FollowDECTC

Thank you for your continued support,

Mr Lowbridge-Ellis (right in photo) and Mr Prime (left in photo) 

On Monday 7th February, the exam boards released their Advance Information, which is intended to help you prioritise your revision. The pupil guide written by the JCQ, who speak on behalf of all of the exam boards, is available here and we recommend everybody reads it carefully:

https://www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/JCQ_Advance-Information-Student-Guide.pdf

A key point in the guide is this: “Your revision plans should take account of everything you have been taught.” 

Why should you need to “take account of everything” even if everything is not listed in the Advance Information?

When we learn new things, we build on top of things we have learned previously. Even if we are not asked exam questions about those things we learned first, we might still need that knowledge to understand what we learned later.

For instance, if the Advance Information specifies that there will be questions on Units 2 and 3 but not Unit 1, you might still need to have a good understanding of the material from Unit 1 to be able to answer questions on Units 2 and 3.

Your teachers will explain to you how this works in each of your subjects.

Here is the Advance Information for all of the subjects we teach.

GCSEs - Click HERE

A Levels - Click HERE