In September 2016 our Year 7 cohort joined us full time and, having spent two half terms at Deer Park, we are pleased to share that they have settled in well, and are fully engaged in school life with their learning in lessons and with the wider activities outside the class.
We were pleased to see so many of the year group involved in November's Talent Show - this bodes well for future events! Last week the whole year group participated in our cross curricular Cirencester field trip giving them the chance to examine more of our local history and their local community whilst developing their investigation skills. On Tuesday 13 December 60 Year 7s sang Happy Xmas (War is Over) at the school Carol Concert in the Parish Church.
Four pupils made it through to the county Table Tennis finals in an U13 competition which is a massive achievement considering they are only Year 7. Our Year 7 Rugby team were winners of the DP Tournament and the Year 7 Basketball team notably won the district tournament and will go through to the county competition next term.
Year 7 pupils at Deer Park follow theAccelerated Reader programme which helps us encourage, manage and monitor our children's independent reading. The AR Club in the PLC is particularly popular in the winter months as we provide hot chocolate and biscuits on Monday and Friday lunchtimes and Wednesdays after school - more details in the PLC. People who enjoy reading and spend more time reading for pleasure have better reading and writing skills, a wider vocabulary, an increased general knowledge and understanding of other cultures. Encourage your child to read for at least 20 minutes each day - and let them see you read; it does not matter whether it is a magazine, newspaper, novel, cookery book - anything!
In 2017 approximately half of our Year 7s will be travelling to Ypres, Belgium on the cross-curricular Private Peaceful trip in May – read Private Peaceful 2016. During Enrichment Week all Year 7s will be taking part in Aim for the Stars – read Enrichment Week 2016 – when they will develop team building and communication skills and be challenged as individuals and teams.
To help with the transition from primary to secondary school we hold two Induction Days in July where the Year 6 pupils follow their timetables and get to know the school and their tutor group. Pupils from smaller and out of area primary schools have an additional Primary Challenge Day in June, giving them the opportunity to make new friends before the Induction Days. In previous years we have had pupils start Year 7 from as many as 40 different primary schools!
Many local pupils join us in September having spent time at Deer Park for primary sporting events or our Year 5 maths-based Crystal Maze, or through various sports or arts clubs, such as Cotswold ym Club, Stagecoach, or Cotswold Leisure Sports Development Holiday Sports Club.
Primary Challenge Day (June)
Induction Day 2 (July)
Induction Day 1 (July)
Year 7 Learning Conference (September)
In June each year we hold a series of Year 5 Open Mornings for our local feeder primary schools and ‘out of area’ primary schools. Dates are published nearer the time together with details of how to book places for these bespoke events, which include a taster lesson. Prospective pupils (Year 5 and Year 6) and their parents have the opportunity to look around our school and meet with pupils and teachers at our Open Mornings and Open Evening in September. Find out more about joining us on our Admissions page.
