Y7 Meet the Tutor - 11 September 2025
The latest Y7 newsletter reflects on last night's 'Meet the Tutor' event and how our new Year 7 pupils have had a great first full week.
Dear parents/carers,
We all made it to Friday! It was fantastic to meet many of you at the “Meet The Tutor” event last night. I was so happy to share in person how fantastic your children have been this week. For those who were unable to attend, I have attached the PowerPoint from yesterday evening. We have had to remind Year 7 of a few things in assembly this morning which include, not having chewing gum. Gum is a banned item and should not be in school. I have had several reports from teachers that lots of Year 7 have been chewing gum! Please remind your child this is not permitted.
On a positive note Year 7 achieved a monumental 11, 487 ICC points in the past week. When I told them in assembly, I don’t think they could believe it. I also told them all the things that have made me proud to be their Head of Year. One of these points was asking for help. It is so important that we empower our pupils to have the confidence to ask for help and really embed what a difficult skill it is to ask, especially when we’re struggling. Our tutor group challenge this week was won by 7R3! They were expert decoders and decoded the message very quickly.
Our year group motto is “Together we grow” which reflects the journey we are starting as a new year group. Year 7 is about more than just learning in the classroom – it’s about growing as people. When we work together, support each other, and face challenges as a team, we all make progress. The motto reminds us that growth isn’t something we do alone: it happens when we share kindness, show respect, and encourage one another. By standing side by side, we can achieve more than we ever could individually.
I hope you all have a fantastic weekend, get lots of rest (I am sure it is needed) and I look forward to seeing Year 7 all refreshed and ready for learning on Monday.
Kind regards,
Miss Quinn
Head of Year 7
Webpage version of the presentation
Swanmore College
Welcome to the
Year 7 Information Evening
Year 7 Information Evening
- Introduction from Miss Quinn (HOY)
- Mr Jonathan (Headteacher)
- What your child can expect in core subjects in Year 7
- English – Ms Egerton
- Maths – Mr Smyth
- Science – Mrs Curd
- Testing pupils and reports – Dr Sleat
Swanmore Pupils…
… work hard to be their best.
… present themselves as proud Swanmore pupils.
… are polite, respectful and kind.
… use Swanmore College to further themselves.
Expectations
Early break and lunch for the next two weeks.
No homework for the next two weeks.
Modelling the learning hub for the next two weeks.
Uniform: https://www.swanmore-school.co.uk/information/uniform
Attendance - 96%
Image shows a column chart with the title: Key Stage 4 Assessment: Average Working At Grade (WAG) versus Attendance Group
- Attendance=above 97%; WAG=6.0
- Attendance=between 95% and 97%; WAG=5.1
- Attendance=between 92% and 95%; WAG=5.0
- Attendance=between 90% and 92%; WAG=4.9
- Attendance=less than 90%; WAG=3.9
ClassCharts
- Parent app
- Student app
- Absence
- Attendance
- Behaviour
- Homework
Thank you for choosing us
Empathy
3 important aspects:
- Excellent behaviour & ethos
- Excellent exam results
- Excellent facilities/ curriculum
2025 GCSE Results
Image shows a bar chart. Title reads Average GCSE Grades 2025, Source: FFT Aspire 2025 Results
Across each Attainment 8 measure, including Attainment 8 Open, Ebacc, Maths, English, and Overall, Swanmore College's results are higher than the national average.
Support your child
- Desforges
- Parent, school relationship
- Talk
- Year 7 and 8 Parental Influence
- Clubs
Start now
Work with them - use ClassCharts
Help them revise (Sparx Maths & Science, Educake, Seneca, BBC Bitesize plus other online materials)
Test them, check homework
No social media/ Limit Playstation
English
- Pupils are taught in mixed ability groups.
- Reading: all pupils are expected to arrive to every lesson with a reading book.
- Our schemes of learning incorporate: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening.
- Pupils complete an English Enrichment Lesson once a week which encourages reading and writing for pleasure.
- I/L set weekly on Educake – tasks should take up to 30 mins.
- Website overview (KS3).
Maths
- Ethos
- Pupils are taught in ability groups
- Maths Passport and GL
- I/L set weekly – tasks of up to 60mins
- Sparx email
- Extra Maths – Target homework on Sparx/TTRS/Maths Challenge/Nrich
- Calculator – Casio Classwiz
Science
- Taught and grouped in mixed ability in Year 7
- 2x teachers per class
- Taught in topics - Road Maps
- Revision - Meeting Mats
- I/L set weekly - tasks of around 30 minutes
- Online platform - Sparx Science. Hand in day varies by class. 100%. Sparx adjusts difficulty and scaffolding based on pupils’ needs. Ask teacher for help before deadline, if required.
- GCSE pathways - Separate Science (3x GCSEs) & Combined Science (2x GCSEs).
Assessing levels and targets
- We assess our pupils against our own Swanmore Mastery Scale at Key Stage 3.
- Assessments take place through each term leading to a final view of the levels of the pupil at the end of the term.
- Pupils are tested on the work they have learned each term plus a re-test of some of the learning from previous terms.
KS3 Mastery
| Mastery Levels | Explanation | Likely GCSE outcomes if this level is reached each term through KS3 |
|---|---|---|
| Mastered | The pupil has mastered all skill taught this term. | Grade 8-9 |
| Confident | The pupil is able to meet the requirements of the curriculum with a measure of confidence that leads to a secure achievement in the subject. | Grade 5-8 |
| Meeting | The pupils is able, with some support, to meet most of the requirements of the curriculum (this is the minimum expected achievement to be reached by all students by the end of each KS3 term). | Grade 4-6 |
| Developing | The pupil finds some aspects of the subject challenging while in other aspects they may be secure with support. | Grade 3-5 |
| Emerging | The pupil is just starting to demonstrate the skills required of this subject. | Grade 3-5 |
Additional Testing for Year 7
- Year 7 pupils will also sit externally validated tests
- Cognitive Ability Tests (CAT)
- Reasoning skills in verbal, quantitative, non-verbal problems
- English, Maths and Science GL testing
- Assessment of where the pupils are against national standards
| Date of test | Name of test |
|---|---|
| 15 September 2025 | CAT testing |
| 22 September 2025 | English GL |
| 29 September 2025 | Science GL |
| 06 October 2025 | Maths GL |
Reports
Reports are sent to parents via the SIMs Parent App at the end of each term.
The report will show:
- Attendance
- Effort and engagement in lessons for each subject
- Progress against target for each subject
Parents’ Evenings
- Parents’ evenings are held twice for each year group
- We use video appointments rather than face to face
- For Year 7 and Year 8 the two parents evenings are over consecutive weeks
Dates of parents' evenings:
- Thursday, 13 April 2026
- Monday, 20 April 2026
Thank You
- First point of contact is your child’s tutor.
- All tutor meetings are in A-block with your child’s tutor.
- Any specific questions please come to S01, such as ClassCharts parent app, Pupil Premium and uniform.
- SEND staff in S02.