We said a fond farewell to our Year 11s this week as they finished their final exams. We look forward to sharing their results in the summer holidays and we hope that they all enjoy their break. We also wish our Year 10s well as they start two weeks of mock exams.

Over the coming week we anticipate that the weather will improve, and we ask that you support us by ensuring your young people have a water bottle with them, that they will be encouraged to fill up during the 20 minute break and 50 minute lunch break. We also ask that you ensure that uniform meets our expectations, which can be found in the student planners and on our website, as this will reduce the need for staff to challenge this in school.

Today we welcomed John Whitby, MP for Derbyshire Dales into school. As many of our young people are from his constituency, we wanted them to have the opportunity to undertake a Q&A with him. Students wrote letters to John to raise important issues affecting young people in their community. The Q&A session allowed them to put into practice the oracy strategies we have been learning in school. The young people were a credit to the school.

What’s going on in school?

• We welcomed over 80 Year 5 students from our local primary schools to HVC this week to take part in STEM days. They took part in technology activities in the morning, baking bread and honing their computer skills and learning coding. In the afternoon, they headed to our science department to have a go at some exciting experiments. Our Design Mentors and Sports Leaders were on hand throughout to look after the younger children and ensure they had a good day.

 

• There will be a non-uniform day on Friday 26 June to celebrate Diversity and Inclusion at HVC. Voluntary donations can be made using Parent Pay or cash can be handed to tutors during tutor time. Clothing should be appropriate for the school environment and pyjamas should not be worn.

The Diversity Group will be hosting a party event at lunchtime in the Library with music, a bake sale and handmade jewellery sale. All students are welcome to attend; please bring a small amount of cash if you would like to buy cake and/or jewellery. All proceeds will be donated to diversity charities.

• The English faculty is incredibly proud of our Year 10 students following the completion of their Spoken Language Presentations. Over the past few weeks, we have had the privilege of listening to an impressive and diverse range of presentations. Students explored a wide variety of fascinating topics including poisonous plants, the media’s influence on young people, harmful uses of artificial intelligence, and many more! We understand that for some students this has been a daunting experience. Speaking in front of others requires courage, and we are incredibly proud of the hard work, resilience and perseverance our students have shown. Their willingness to challenge themselves and step outside of their comfort zones is something that should be celebrated. Students will receive their results shortly. Please note that all results are subject to moderation. Official documentation will be shared in May 2027.

• Well done to Johnny in Y9 who was selected from a number of Royal Marine Cadets to represent his Unit at RAF Leeming. On the day, he was taught emergency drills including how to deploy his parachute. A Royal Navy Flying instructor worked with him and he then took to the skies in a Grob Tutor T1 light aircraft. This had dual controls enabling Johnny to learn a range of flight manoeuvres including barrel roll, loop the loop, stall turns etc. It was an absolutely brilliant experience for him. Johnny also attended a District promotions weekend course where he was continuously assessed for 2 days. Not only did he pass, but he was awarded the trophy for coming top of the Board!

Y9 Maths Assessment

On Wednesday 24 June we are welcoming an external speaker into school to talk to our Y9 students. The maths assessment for Year 9 will therefore now take place on Thursday 25 June, rather than Wednesday.

Class changes

We are starting the process of reviewing teaching classes in Years 7 and 8. This is something that we do every year to ensure that groups are balanced and structured to ensure that all students can access learning effectively. This does not affect tutor groups. Changes will be reflected in student timetables for the next academic year.

Exit passes

We are carrying out a systematic review of exit passes to ensure that the provision we have in place is proportionate and effective. We will be contacting parents of students with specific requirements to make sure that our information is up to date and that provisions are appropriate.

Year 10 Mock Exams

The Y10 mock exams start next Monday 22 June and will run until Wednesday 1 July. Please see the link to the timetable below. Students have been handed their personal statement of entry this week. Exam pencil cases can be purchased through Parentpay and collected from Reception. Exams at Hope Valley College

Photography

A professional photographer will be in school on Tuesday 23 June, taking photos in lessons and throughout the school day. Pictures will be used to update our marketing materials and our website, and may also be used in a number of locations including: the Hope Valley College and Chorus Education Trust websites (including the South Yorkshire Teaching Hub, National Modern Languages SCITT and Sheffield Teacher Training Alliance websites); on our social media and other online channels; in the media (for example local newspapers); and in displays around the school and Chorus Trust. We will only use images of young people for whom we have received image consent.

Please can we ask you to ensure that your young person is in correct, smart and clean school uniform on this day. If they have a sweatshirt, rather than a hoody, then they should wear this. If they have a PE lesson on this day, please ensure that they bring the correct PE kit with them. Ideally all students should have polo shirts and jumpers with the up-to-date logo on them, but we appreciate that some items with the old logo are still in circulation. Thank you in advance for your support in helping us refresh our photography.

Year 8 Biology Fieldwork

During the week beginning 22 June our Year 8 students will be carrying out some biology fieldwork in the river next to the school field. Students will need to bring a waterproof jacket, warm clothes, hat, sun cream and wellington boots. If your young person does not have wellington boots, an old pair of trainers would be sufficient to be able to cross the stream, but they would not then be able to carry out sampling in the water. They would also need normal shoes and a change of socks. If the weather on the day is too bad, or the river is too high, the fieldwork will be postponed. The dates for each class are shown in the table below.

Class	Date and Lesson
8H	Tues 23/6 lesson 4-5
8O	Weds 24/6 lesson 1-2
8P	Weds 24/6 lesson 4-5

Y8 PGL Trip

There will be a final meeting for all Y8 students attending this trip on Wednesday 8 July during tutor. Students should register first, then go to ICT 1.

Music & Mayhem – Saturday 27 June 10am – 2pm

The final PTFA event of the year MUSIC and MAYHEM is happening on Saturday 27 June from 10am until 2pm.

We are planning to run wheelbarrow races on the field and there will be a truck pull competition on the bus lane at the front of school, as well as musical performance by students. We will be selling cakes and refreshments and there will be a BBQ lunch. You can sign up for races using the QR code below.

We need some help: Volunteers for marshalling sports events, 2 volunteers to marshal around site, 1 volunteer to help with cake / ice cream stall. We also need to borrow a couple of wheelbarrows if anyone can help.

And we always need donations of bakes and sweet treats (a PTFA event would be nothing without your fabulous cakes to sell on the day!) Please contact us on the email address below if you will be able to help with this event - pftahv@hopevalley.chorustrust.org

 

Dates for Your Diary

Friday 26 June – Non uniform day

Saturday 27 June – Music and Mayhem PTFA event

w/c 13 July – Y10 work experience week / Y8 PGL trip / Y9 DofE practice expedition / Y7 Castleton Fieldwork trip

Monday 20 July – Sponsored walk

Tuesday 21 July – Sports Day

Wednesday 22 July – Break for summer

 

Thank you for reading our communication. Here are some helpful email addresses, should you need to contact us:

• attendance@hopevalley.chorustrust.org to report a child’s absence
• enquiries@hopevalley.chorustrust.org for general enquiries
• pastoral@hopevalley.chorustrust.org for any issue with a child’s wellbeing
• headteacher@hopevalley.chorustrust.org to contact the Headteacher
• safeguarding@hopevalley.chorustrust.org to report safeguarding concerns. If a child or any young person is in imminent danger, then please report this to the police.
• ptfahv@hopevalley.chorustrust.org to contact the PTFA

Kind regards

Debbie Petts

Headteacher