- February 11, 2025
Dear Parents and Carers of Year 10 students,
We are delighted to share that Year 10 students have made a promising start to their GCSE courses, building on the strong foundations of KS3. The vast majority are working hard and showing a positive attitude towards their learning in the classroom. With just under 10 school weeks remaining until our current Year 11’s final GCSE examinations, we are keen to communicate our priorities for Year 10 with you to best help your child succeed.
Priority 1: Attendance
Unfortunately, Year 10 students currently have the lowest attendance in school at 90.7%. As much as this figure sounds high, a student with 90% attendance has missed 114 hours of learning. This is a very significant number given how every lesson covers key GCSE content and contributes towards the final examinations at the end of Year 11.
We have been engaging the students in regular conversations about the importance of attendance, and we have been thrilled to see a recent improvement with the year group placing third with their attendance last week.
However, we want to keep improving this key area and would like to reach out to any parents or carers who would be willing to support us. We are looking to run a coffee morning for parents of Year 10 students to share the challenge of attendance, our strategies to support, and to ask for any input, ideas, or assistance that could help us encourage students to attend school regularly and maintain a positive attitude toward their education. If you would like to be involved, please email wardl@flhs.wigan.sch.uk. We’d be thrilled to hear from you.
Priority 2: Independence and Ownership
We are also working closely with the year group to develop their resilience and independence, insisting that they be responsible for their progress and own their learning. At times, some students present as rather passive in lessons, not participating nor giving their maximum effort. This puts them at risk of underachieving into Year 11, perhaps securing a grade 4 pass when it could easily have been a grade 6. We want every child to reach their potential and, as alluded to at the GCSE Launch night, it’s the hard work in Year 10 that secures the foundations of successful outcomes in Year 11.
To this end, we ask that students complete self-directed study, targeting areas of their learning that they need to review, practice, improve upon. We ask that parents/carers encourage this each evening – short bursts of revisits at home. Your child should be able to tell you what they’re aiming to have achieved/learnt in the time and this will support their learning being in their long-term memory. Teachers offer guidance on how this time can be utilised, and we teach students to use the OSCAR model. See here for more information on these strategies.
Furthermore, we ask that you encourage your child to be present in lessons – sitting up, listening to the experts, and completing tasks to the very best of their ability. The year group are so capable, and we’re excited to see what they can achieve.
Thank you for your continued support and commitment to your child’s education. We look forward to working together to ensure that every student in Year 10 has the best chance for success.
Yours Sincerely,
Mrs L Ward
(Assistant Headteacher)
Mrs A Hyslop
(Head of Year 10)