Ripon Grammar School

Sixth Form Upcoming Events

2012-02-20 09:58:55

Dear Parents,

We would like to let you know about the upcoming opportunities for you to find out more information about the choices available to students post-18. We have begun the process in school with the Lower Sixth, and after half-term we will continue to work with students to make informed decisions about this exciting time in their life.

Many students will choose to apply to university through the UCAS process, and we will work together with them to complete the online application form and write excellent ‘Personal Statements’, as well as completing references highlighting individual strengths.

For some students, they may wish to consider alternative routes into further education or employment, and we will of course support them in their choice. Guidance and support in applying for sponsored degrees, apprenticeships, summer schools and work experience placements is available from the Sixth Form team of tutors, Mrs Wilson and Mrs Howard (Careers Advisors) and, of course, from Mr Fell, Mrs Wise and Mrs Fell in the Sixth Form Office.

We would also like to take the opportunity to highlight the key importance of securing a valuable work experience placement for July. Our feedback from Admissions Tutors is clearly supporting the notion that work experience is a key tool used by universities when deciding whether or not to make offers. Mrs Wilson and Mrs Howard are available, as is Mrs Southwell, to offer advice and support in this area. The Careers Evening in March is also an excellent opportunity to make links with businesses, as over 100 will be represented.

Below are details of the opportunities available – we would strongly encourage students to attend as many as possible, in order to make an informed decision about their future.

22^nd February Oxbridge Information Evening St Aidan’s, Harrogate for students and parents – if transport is an issue, see SFO

8^th March 2012 Careers Evening – opportunity to find out about employment, sponsored degrees, apprenticeships, future careers, for students and parents (from 6.30pm for Sixth Form)

28^th March Oxbridge Conference St James’ Park, Newcastle for students

26^th April 2012 Higher Education Evening – presentations on university finance, reasons to go to university, choosing a course; students and parents

21^st June 2012 Personal Statements – presentation by Newcastle Graduate Ambassadors followed by workshop drafting your personal statement; for students

June General Studies lessons – focus on application process, CV writing, personal statement writing, UCAS online form completion

9^th July week Work experience – key opportunity to develop skills to support university/job/apprenticeship application

Summer Term, UCAS Convention – opportunity to visit stalls from all UK

Dates to be universities, collect prospectuses, ask questions; students

Confirmed

Newcastle/Northumbria Open Day – opportunity for all students to visit Newcastle and/or Northumbria for general information and specific subject presentations; students

Oxford/Cambridge Open Days – open to all students, opportunity to visit either Oxford or Cambridge

Please feel free to get in touch if you require any further information,

Sincerely,

Mr T Fell Mrs J Fell

Head of Sixth Form Deputy Head of Sixth Form

4th Year Work Experience (Monday 26 March - Friday 30 March 2012)

2012-02-10 13:32:19

9 February 2012

Dear Parents

4^th Year Work Experience (Monday 26 March – Friday 30 March 2012)

I am writing to update you on the progress the 4th years have made in organising work experience placements for March 2012.

It is pleasing to see that we have secured placements for all 4^th year students and as ever the placements are very varied and scattered around North Yorkshire and neighbouring counties.

In the next six weeks we must now press on to ensure that all of the relevant paperwork is completed and held on file for each placement. Without the completed WE4 contract, a risk assessment and an in date health and safety check we cannot secure insurance cover so the work experience placement will be unable to go ahead. Your support in completing and returning the completed WE4 is much appreciated.

With the half term holiday approaching now is a good time for your son / daughter to renew contact with their employer and organise a pre placement visit. This will give them the opportunity to go through the details in preparation for 26^th March such as start time, where and who to report to and what arrangements they intend to make for lunch and break times. They also need to consider any transport to and from work to ensure that things run smoothly in March.

If your son / daughter is staying away from home during work experience can you please give details of these arrangements to school to enable us to have the necessary contact details on file.

We are arranging insurance cover for the duration of the work experience placement for all 4^th Year students through NYCC. Details of the cover are available on request.

I am sure the students will gain a valuable insight into the world of work from their time spent out of school.

If you have queries about work experience do not hesitate to get in touch by telephoning school or emailing me on southwellb@ripongrammar.co.uk

Yours sincerely

B A Southwell

Work Experience Co-ordinator

OFSTED INSPECTION - 8/9 FEBRUARY 2012

2012-02-10 11:17:43

Dear Parents/Guardians

Re: OFSTED INSPECTION - 8/9 FEBRUARY 2012

As I write, Ofsted have formally departed. Ripon Grammar School was inspected under the new framework undergoing an integrated inspection (main school and boarding). I received the call on Monday, 6 February so there was some time to get organised in preparation.

I would like to thank parents who completed the questionnaire and the many wishes for good luck received. The staff worked very hard over the three day period in preparation and the students were superb in how they exemplified all that is good about the school. The school pulled together as a community and the inspectors were pleased with what they saw. They will write their report over the coming week and the final outcome will be published in three weeks time. I will ensure parents receive a copy of the report when it is published by email and on the website. The report will need to go through quality assurance before being finally published but I am sure it will reflect the many good aspects of Ripon Grammar School.

Thank you all for your support at this time and very best wishes for half term.

Yours sincerely

M L Pearman

Headmaster

Information for fifth form parents regarding GCSE examinations

2012-01-27 10:00:38

From the headmaster

27 January, 2012

Dear Parents

Information for fifth form parents regarding GCSE examinations

I thought it would be helpful to cover some issues close to the time reports are distributed at February half-term. The summer GCSE examination schedule is approaching very quickly and I would like to draw your attention to the following information. I thought it would be useful to issue this information in the form of bullet points.

· There are six weeks from half term to the end of term

· Science re-sit modules for P1a, P1b, C1a, C1b and B1a, B1b
are on 1 March.

· School is closed on Friday, 4 May and Monday, 7 May for the bank holiday weekend.

· Study leave begins on Tuesday, 15 May, five weeks after returning from the Easter break. This date has been chosen to maximise the time available to students with their teachers in school.

· There are examinations just before students go on study leave, and some immediately after, namely:

o Food and Nutrition on 14 May

o French listening on 14 May

o Religious Studies on 15 May

o French reading on 17 May

o Biology (B2, B3) on 21 May

o English literature on 22 and 24 May

o Chemistry (C3) on 24 May

· This is not an exhaustive list so an individual statement of examination entry and a detailed examination handbook will accompany your son/daughter’s report in February for your information.

· This does illustrate the point that in the year of the Queen’s Jubilee, when we have an extra bank holiday, many examinations are before the half-term break in the summer term. There should therefore be a real sense of urgency at this stage regarding revision and the need to prepare thoroughly for examinations which will take place soon.

· The Easter break of two weeks is essential time for revision, given the number of examinations in May.

· Some students are committed to paid employment and it is important to moderate this over the coming months. I would suggest no more than four hours per week in the run up to the summer.

· Students need to consider their weekend sporting commitments over the coming months – playing a lot of sport during the weekend before a heavy examination week is not advisable.

· Your son/daughter’s report will highlight appropriate guidance for them in the run-up to the summer. I trust that it will be helpful in giving advice on how to improve and make the most of the remainder of their time in the fifth form. Teachers will be available after study leave should students wish to make an appointment and departments are running lunchtime revision sessions for students to help with preparation in the run up to GCSE examinations. I would expect students to take advantage of this opportunity.

I trust this information is helpful. This year is unusual because of the large number of examinations in May and I thought it would be good to draw your attention to it at this stage.

Please feel free to contact myself or Mr Illingworth, head of upper school, should you need to.

I wish your son/daughter good luck for the summer examinations.

Yours sincerely

M L Pearman

Headmaster

NON-UNIFORM DAY THURSDAY, 23 FEBRUARY 2012

2012-01-24 15:07:48

20 January, 2012

Dear Parent/Guardian

We shall be holding a non-uniform day on Thursday, 23 February 2012 when all students may come to school wearing their own clothes, (no fancy dress please).

This will be in aid of Candlelighters, who help children with cancer, and is in memory of Megan Bell-Walker.

A suggested donation of Â£2 from students would be gratefully received.

Thank you for your support.

M L Pearman

Headmaster

L6th Higher Education and Career Planning 2012

2012-01-23 09:06:04

20 January 2012

To parents of lower sixth students

Dear Parents

Higher Education and Career Planning

Last term I visited all tutor groups to talk to students about career planning and the support that is available from the Careers Department. Now that students have had chance to settle in to the 6^th form they are strongly encouraged to spend time exploring their post 18 options and gaining relevant experience so they can make well informed choices later in the year.

Students who are considering applying for university entry in 2013 will be completing ucas applications during the first half of the autumn term and it is important that they spend time over the coming months thoroughly researching the range of courses which match their interests, abilities and career aspirations. Similarly applications for many of the most sought after apprenticeships and sponsored degree programmes open in September 2012 and it is vital that students use the next few months to research these opportunities and gain suitable work experience so that they are equipped to make well informed choices later this year.

Opportunities are planned throughout the year to support the students in their research and at this stage I would particularly like to draw your attention to the following:

· The RGS Careers Evening on Thursday 8 March 6.30-8.30. All lower 6^th students are strongly encouraged to attend this event. There will be businesses from across the employment sectors together with selected universities, which are particularly popular with our students such as Newcastle, Northumbria and Loughborough. This is not a recruitment fair but there will be representatives from companies that offer A level school leaver training schemes, apprenticeships and sponsored degrees such as NYCC, KPMG, Deloitte, HSBC, the NHS, BT and Unilever.

· Centigrade Analysis at a subsidised cost of Â£15.95. Many of our students have found this a useful aid to choosing the right university course and this year it has been extended to include courses taught in English at European Universities as well as the full range of UK university courses. If you wish your son/daughter to participate, please return the slip in the attached brochure to me together with a cheque made payable to Ripon Grammar School by 27 January.

Finally I would like to draw your attention to the Careers Education Section of the RGS website which outlines our careers programmes. It is also designed to assist students to explore their options and includes sections on higher education, studying abroad, job hunting, and gap years together with links to recommended websites for further information.

Yours sincerely

Mrs F Wilson

Careers Department

SPRING TERM NEWSLETTER 2012

2012-01-11 14:03:00

From the headmaster

13 January, 2012

Dear Parents/Guardians

A very warm welcome to a new academic term as well as to a new year.

My best wishes to you for 2012.

This term is a notoriously short one of eleven weeks and there is a significant amount of work that needs to be packed into a very short time. The majority of sixth form students have examinations in the next week or two which will determine to a large extent the outcome for these students at A-level. I wish them well over the coming weeks. The fifth form also have science modules in late January for which they need to be very well prepared. Reports are currently being prepared for the fifth form which will be available around half term and sixth form reports will be ready by the end of term. These will give guidance for those students as they prepare for their summer AS and A2 examinations.

I am very sad to inform you of the death of one of our first form students, Megan Bell-Walker, on Christmas day. She joined us from Holy Trinity Primary School. She had a terminal illness but nonetheless her death came as a shock over the holiday period. The school has had a number of assemblies for the students to make them aware and a number of staff and students attended her funeral at the beginning of January. Megan was an incredibly positive and happy student who always made the most of every opportunity that came her way. She will be sadly missed by everyone at school especially by her year group. The school is currently preparing a book of memories in which students can share their memories of Megan. We are discussing with Mr and Mrs Bell-Walker a fitting and lasting tribute, such as a tree or a bench, to be located in the school grounds or maybe something in the library since Megan loved reading.

News of Oxbridge successes arrived over the Christmas period with Dan York being offered a place to read chemistry at Wadham College, Oxford, Harry Pilling to read history at Lady Margaret’s Hall, Oxford and Kate Robinson to read French at St Catherine’s, Oxford. Annabel Ward has been offered a place at New Hall, Cambridge to read history and Fionnuala Morris is in the Cambridge pool for her application to read veterinary medicine.

I am very pleased that Parkinson’s, the appointed contractors for the music block, are now on site. The current mild weather conditions will hopefully enable rapid progress and the anticipated completion date is late August 2012. I will keep you informed of progress.

The refurbishment of boys’ boarding has continued over the Christmas holidays and all the senior section has now been completely refurbished.

The sixth form open evening for new students in September 2012 takes place on Monday, 23 January from 6.30pm. I would anticipate the evening to be a very busy one and I will expect all of our fifth form students to attend as there is likely to be a lot of interest from students in other schools. An article in the Sunday Times recently indicated that RGS is the 61^st best school in the country so interest will hopefully be strong!

I am delighted to inform you that Mr Ben Fearnley has been appointed as head of English from September 2012. He is currently head of English at Bishop Stortford College in Hertfordshire and is a former student of Heckmondwike Grammar School. There are a number of important appointments to be made this term and I will keep you informed of the outcome of these as soon as possible.

Mr Tait Langford, the new GAP student from Australia, arrived in school this week and I hope that he will settle in quickly and enjoy his time at RGS.

The process of appointing next year’s school officers will begin at half term. This process invites all members of the lower sixth form to apply for school officer and prefect positions. This will take the form of a written application followed by an interview. Consultation with the year group and with members of staff is also part of the overall selection process. I hope this will be concluded by the end of this term.

Funding for capital projects is currently very tight but bids have been submitted to the local authority for a new classroom block and dining facility as well as an extension to Johnson House, the girls’ boarding house. The outcome of this bid is expected in the spring.

May I wish you all a successful half term and please see below a list of forthcoming events for your information.

M L Pearman

Headmaster

FORTHCOMING EVENTS – SPRING TERM 2012

First form parents’ evening: Tuesday, 17 January

Burns’ Night: Saturday, 21 January

Tickets are selling well for Burns Night on 21st January. If you would like tickets (Â£18 each, includes 3 course haggis meal, piper and ceilidh) please send a cheque (payable to RGSPA) to Mrs Wakefield in the school office and include your name, childs name/form and state whose table (if any preference) you would like to sit on.

Sixth Form Open Evening: Monday, 23 January at 6.30pm

Astronomy Evenings: 26 January, 1 February, 9 February

RGSPA is hosting 3 astronomy nights in conjunction with Mr Barker (Physics dept), using the observatory. As places are limited, they will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. The dates are Thursday 26th January (6-7.30 pm), Wednesday 1st February (6.30-8 pm) and Thursday 9th February (7.30-9 pm). Please look out for an email with further details on how to apply for tickets very soon.

RGS String Orchestra: Tuesday, 31 January

You are invited to hear RGS String Orchestra in concert on Tuesday 31st January at 8 pm at RGS. They are sharing a concert with Ripon Community Orchestra and Skelldale Singers on this date, in the school hall. All are welcome and this is a free concert, donations welcomed. Refreshments will be available at the interval.

Second Form Parents’ Evening: Thursday, 2 February

Third Form Parents’ Information Evening re GCSE options: Tuesday, 7 February

‘On Broadway’ – Senior Production: Thursday and Friday, 9/10 February

School closes at 3.55pm on Friday, 10 February

School opens on Monday, 20 February

Privacy Notice - Data Protection Act 1998

2011-12-01 15:04:43

28 November, 2011

From the Headmaster

To parents of and students aged 16+ as at 1 December 2011

Privacy Notice - Data Protection Act 1998

We, Ripon Grammar School, are a data controller for the purposes of the Data Protection Act. We collect information from you and may receive information about you from your previous school and the Learning Records Service. We hold this personal data and use it to:

· Support your teaching and learning;

· Monitor and report on your progress;

· Provide appropriate pastoral care, and

· Assess how well your school / PRU is doing.

This information includes your contact details, national curriculum assessment results, attendance information [1] and personal characteristics such as your ethnic group, special educational needs and any relevant medical information.

We will not give information about you to anyone outside the school without your consent unless the law and our rules allow us to do so.

We are required by law to pass some of your information to the local authority, North Yorkshire County Council, and the Department for Education (DfE) and where appropriate we will send to relevant national health service personnel (e.g. school nurses) information on individual pupils changing school (or address) to ensure continuity of health care. If a child moves to another school we will ensure a handover of appropriate data we hold, and we will cooperate with other schools s/he has attended to endeavour to complete any outstanding issues.

If you want to see a copy of the information we hold and share about you then please contact Miss Lancaster, data manager.

If you require more information about how the Local Authority (LA) and/or DfE store and use your information, then please go to the following websites:

www.northyorks.gov.uk/schoolrecords and

http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/doc/w/what%20the%20department%20does%20with%20data%20on%20pupils%20and%20children.doc

http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/childrenandyoungpeople/a0064391/who-the-department-passes-pupil-data-to

If you are unable to access these websites, please contact the LA or DfE as follows:

· Data Management Officer

North Yorkshire County Council,

Financial Services,
County Hall,

NORTHALLERTON,

North Yorkshire,
DL7 8AL

website: www.northyorks.gov.uk

email: datamanagement.officer@northyorks.gov.uk

Telephone: 01609 533219

· Public Communications Unit
Department for Education
Sanctuary Buildings
Great Smith Street
London
SW1P 3BT

Website: www.education.gov.uk

email: http://www.education.gov.uk/help/contactus
Telephone: 0370 000 2288

In addition for Secondary Schools

Post 14 Qualifications: If you are enrolling for post 14 qualifications we will be provided with your unique learner number by the Learning Records Service and may also obtain from them details of any learning or qualifications you have undertaken. Further information regarding the Learning Records Service can be found on the Internet at www.learningrecordsservice.org.uk .

Youth Support Services

Once you are aged 13 or over, we are required by law to pass on certain information to the provider of youth support services for young people aged 13 to 19 in this area, North Yorkshire County Council. We must provide the address of you and your parents (and your date of birth) and any further information relevant to the support services role.

However, until you are aged 16 or older, your parent(s) can ask that no information beyond your name, address and date of birth (and their name and address) be passed on to the youth support services provider. This right transfers to you on your 16th birthday. Please inform Ripon Grammar School if this is what you or your parents wish.

For more information about young peoples’ services, please go to the Directgov Young People page at www.direct.gov.uk/en/YoungPeople/index.htm or the LA website shown above.

Yours sincerely

M L Pearman
Headmaster

[1] Attendance is not collected for pupils under 5 at Early Years Settings or Maintained Schools as part of Censuses for the Department for Education.

End of Autumn Newsletter

2011-11-11 09:26:35

11 November, 2011

From the headmaster

Dear Parents

I hope you had an enjoyable half term and I thought I would take this opportunity to update you with one or two things which are going on at school.

Charity Week went very well and raised over Â£9,000 for the charity CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young). The school officers did an excellent job organising events and we enjoyed a highly successful auction of promises as well as a balloon race at the end of the week as a finale. Students across the whole school contributed extremely well and there were many great initiatives, such as quizzes, guess the weight of the cake, car washing, etc which contributed to the overall sum raised.

Professor Brean Hammond was our guest speaker at speech day last Friday and we enjoyed listening to what he had to say. He is well known for unearthing Shakespeare’s lost play “Double Falsehood” which involved over twenty years of pain-staking research. It was excellent to see so many parents and recent leavers returning for the afternoon. I am delighted they have settled well into their university courses.

The first alumni dinner was held at the House of Commons just before half term with nearly forty Old Riponians attending. The event was a great success and it is our intention to host other dinners around the country to keep in touch with Old Riponians. I am very grateful to Mr Julian Smith, MP for hosting the dinner.

Two of our members of staff have recently married and our congratulations go to them. You may care to make a note of their new surnames which are as follows: Miss Wildman, acting head of English, is now Mrs Sharman, and Miss Cooksley, English teacher, is now Mrs Garner.

Mr Avery and Mr Craddock have been elected as parent governors for a 4 year term of office. There will be much hard work ahead for them and I am very grateful to them for giving their time to help the school.

Dr Jane Robinson has taken over as chair of the Parents’ Association from

Mr Jonathan Tearle. She is overseeing a number of events over the coming months, including a Murder Mystery evening on Saturday, 26 November.

If you would like tickets could you please contact Mrs Wakefield at school.

Burns’ Night will take place on 21 January and, again, if you would like to reserve some tickets please contact Mrs Wakefield.

The Parents’ Association have decided to ask SCOPE to sell any second hand uniform in their shop in Ripon. If you have any second hand uniform that you wish to donate, or if you wish to purchase items, SCOPE will have a selection which may be of interest to you. Any profits raised from the sale of our second hand uniform will go to SCOPE. The school have tried to provide a second hand uniform service but having items on sale in SCOPE increases the opportunity to purchase items at your convenience.

There is good news regarding the music block project. Tenders were due back on 4 November and various amendments to planning have almost been finalised. The anticipated start date is late December/early January with an expected completion in the summer. The building of the new music block will enable the TCU (temporary classroom unit) in front of the sports hall to be removed.

The students going on the World Challenge have organised a fundraising event tomorrow, Saturday 12 November, between 11am and 3pm in the school hall.

The event will be a Christmas fair and there will be around 30 stalls from local businesses. It will be an excellent opportunity to go along and do some early Christmas shopping as well as supporting the students in the fundraising endeavours. I hope many of you will be able to make it.

With the dark mornings and evenings approaching may I please remind parents not to use the school car park to drop off or collect students. The school is very busy with students coming and going and clearly their safety is paramount. Please park along Clotherholme Road and wait for them to come to you.

If bad weather is forecast and we need to contact you regarding possible closure of the school we will aim to text your mobile telephone by 7.30am. It is therefore very important that we have up-to-date contact details for you. If your mobile telephone number changes, or we don’t have a number for you, please contact Miss Lancaster, our data manager, by email datamanager@ripongrammar.co.uk or by telephoning the school.

The next edition of the RGS News will be issued at the end of term which will help to keep you up to date with new staff and students’ achievements etc. Please also check our school website as we keep this up to date with news and forthcoming events. The school calendar is also available there for you to check dates for the coming academic year 2012-2013.

Our annual carol concert, held at Ripon Cathedral, will be held on Thursday,

15 December at 7.30pm. All parents are cordially invited to attend and I hope to

see you at this special occasion.

With best wishes

M L Pearman

Headmaster

WE4 contract sixth form work experience July 2012

2011-10-31 15:15:07

Please click below to view the document.

Sixth Form Work Experience

2011-10-05 09:36:51

September 2011

Dear Parents

WORK EXPERIENCE 2012

I would like to give you some information regarding our Work Experience programme for lower sixth students next year. Once again we will be offering students the opportunity to spend one week at a work placement. This year Work Experience will commence on Monday 9 July 2012 – the last full week before the end of term.

The aims and objectives of Work Experience have been explained to all of lower sixth students, the value of which is enhanced when students take as much responsibility as possible for planning and finding their own placements. It is vital that students start organising their placements immediately as explained below.

Competition for work placements has become quite fierce, as many employers are reducing their commitment and offering fewer placements, it is therefore vitally important that the search for a work placement begins in earnest this half term. Larger employers, such as Rolls Royce and Harrogate Hospital, organise all of their placements this term. Many employers are only taking one student a year and places are soon snapped up. In addition many local schools are also sending their students out in July.

Placements and Employers

Most employers have taken pupils from a number of schools for many years, and have well established practices. All participating employers have to sign a form (WE4) agreeing to strict NYCC regulations which include items on insurance cover, risk assessment and Health and Safety. Because of these regulations it is important that placements are within the North Yorkshire area – or in a local authority that borders the county such as Leeds. Any placement outside the area will necessitate a special Health and Safety inspection on behalf of NYBEP (North Yorkshire Business and Education Partnership) and this may incur a cost. Where a fee is being levied you will be contacted and the health and safety check will only be carried out if you agree to pay the additional cost. In 2011 the average additional cost was Â£50 per out of county inspection. If you have any queries on this matter, please feel free to contact me at school. Employers should make no payment for the work performed during a placement.

Student Preparation

RGS works in partnership with NYBEP who complete the health and safety checks on our behalf. They also provide access to an electronic database which shows all employers in North Yorkshire who have taken students on work experience in recent years. Details on accessing the database are detailed below.

Insurance

Pupils are treated as employees under the Employers Liability policy and the employers must put details of their policy on the WE4 form. Personal Accident Insurance is arranged through NYCC.

Getting Started

In 2012 due to a 100% increase in the cost of NYBEP processing a student’s work experience placement documents we are asking lower sixth students to contribute to the cost of this. Please complete the attached form and return as soon as possible. The payment of Â£15 can be made through your Parent Pay account (if you do not have access to this account then a cheque will be accepted). Once we have received the payment we will log your son / daughter’s details with NYBEP and provide login details for their employer’s database

There is inevitably some competition for places within North Yorkshire. We would therefore ask that parents and students talk about possible placements and the sort of experience the student hopes to have. Where parents and students may have their own contacts for such placements, it would be helpful for students and parents to make an initial contact and enquiry, and to keep us informed of any progress made.

Once a placement has been secured:

1) students should pass the details to Mrs Morris in the Sixth Form Learning Centre. The placement will then be logged with NYBEP and a health and safety check will be booked with the employer.

2) students must complete section 1 of the WE4 form (available from the school website) and the other sections need to be completed by yourselves and the employer. Once completed the WE4 needs to be returned to Mrs Morris. A copy of the completed WE4 is available from school in July.

To enable us to meet the rigorous external checks we do need to have all placements booked on to the NYBEP database by 4pm on Monday 10 April 2012. This deadline is fixed by NYBEP and we have to meet it if a student is to go out on work experience. Under no circumstances will the school sanction any work experience placement that has not been agreed with NYBEP as this invalidates the insurance cover held by the school.

We hope that you will agree that students can gain enormous benefits from Work Experience and our experience is that it is a hugely important part of their sixth form experience.

If you have any questions regarding any aspect of Work Experience please do not hesitate to contact me via email (southwellb@ripongrammar.co.uk) or by telephone 01765 602647.

Yours sincerely

B A Southwell (Mrs)

Work Experience Co-ordinator

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION RE WORK EXPERIENCE PLACEMENTS

Information for students seeking work experience placements in local government

Harrogate Borough Council

Leisure Services - If your son / daughter is seeking a work placement in a leisure centre run by Harrogate Borough Council all applications have to be sent to, Department of Community Services FAO Angie Clark. Applications are usually allocated on a first come first served basis.

Angie Clark, Harrogate Borough Council, Department of Community Services, Scottsdale House, Springfield Avenue, Harrogate HG1 2HR (01423 556738)

Harrogate Borough Council

Work experience placements are available in various departments. Students need to apply via the HR department.

North Yorkshire County Council

NYCC offer a wide range of work experience placements in various locations. Examples are shown below:

- Facilities Management (finance)

- Harrogate & Ripon Libraries

- Technical Services (highways)

- Clerical Assistant (various posts)

- Legal Services

- Human Resources

- ICT (various)

- Countryside Ranger

Mrs Southwell has details of the location of the different placements. All applications should be made through Jessica Higgins (Young Persons Development Adviser) on 01609 533499 or email jessica.higgins@northyorks.gov.uk.

Information for students seeking work experience placements in medicine

There are very limited places available as the majority of hospitals, doctor’s surgeries and clinics in this area are swamped with applications for work experience placements. Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust and South Tees Hospitals both offer a programme to prepare students for a career in medicine.

Harrogate Hospital offers work placements in a range of departments, many in clinical areas. All applications have to be submitted on the official Harrogate Hospital application form (available from Mrs Southwell) and RGS will send the applications direct to the Student Co-ordinator at the hospital. The deadline for applications is December 2011. Placements are allocated on a first come first served basis.

Information for students seeking work experience placements in the legal profession

There were very few successful applications to local firms of solicitors last year. It is increasingly difficult for law firms to be able to offer a suitable programme for students below the age of eighteen. If your son / daughter is keen to undertake a work experience placement in a law firm an early approach is essential and having a personal contact is desirable. The law courts in Harrogate, Leeds and York offer work placements. There is considerable competition for these places.

Information for students seeking work experience placements linked to veterinary science – There are a number of placements available with local vets. There is considerable competition for these places.

The Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Thirsk, offer placements to RGS students but all applications have to be sent via school. Placements are allocated on a first come first served basis. Anyone interested in making an application must see Mrs Southwell

Information for students seeking work experience placements with North Yorkshire Police – We have had no success in securing placements with NYP in recent years. Their website says that applications have to be sent via school and HR can be very slow at processing applications. They took no work experience students in the 2010/11 financial year. This maybe subject to review and RGS are happy to contact them if anyone wants to apply this year.

Information for students seeking work experience placements with North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue – No placements are available in Ripon this year because of cuts to staffing.

Information for students seeking work experience placements with the armed forces

RAF Linton on Ouse – Very limited placements available 2011/12 and the dates may not coincide with the RGS work experience slot.

RAF Leeming – placements fill very quickly. Direct approach to be made to RAF Leeming

Army – placements available in Ripon, Catterick and York. Details from Mrs Southwell

Information for students seeking work experience placements with Wolseley plc – Wolseley offer a range of work placements at their HQ, Boroughbridge Road, Ripon such as IT, sales and catering. ALL applications have to be processed through school. Application forms are available from Mrs Southwell

For the Year 12 Reply Slip please click on the link below.

Careers Education Programme

2011-09-14 09:04:08

9 September 2011

Dear Parents

Careers Education Programme

At Ripon Grammar School we recognise that an effective careers programme can help prepare young people for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences that lie ahead. In addition to the careers education and guidance delivered by staff, we run careers events throughout the year that involve representatives from businesses and other organisations coming in to school to work with our students.

We are constantly looking for opportunities to develop further links with employers and would like to hear from parents who could contribute to our programme. Contact with employers is of huge benefit to our students as they prepare for their future, and is often welcomed by organisations wishing to build links with young people in the community.

One event currently being planned is a large scale careers evening to be held on Thursday 8 March. We hosted the first evening of this type in 2008 and it has now become a biennial event. It is not intended as a recruitment fair and the purpose of the evening is to raise our students’ awareness of the wide range of career and educational opportunities that lie ahead of them.

The evening is open to all students at the school and parents are also welcome to attend. During the evening students have the chance to speak directly to people who have offered to share their first-hand knowledge and experience. In particular it is an opportunity for students to ask advice on how to prepare for a career within a particular employment sector and to get ideas about things that they can do now to help them to stand out from the crowd in future university or employment applications.

In addition to this whole school event there are a number of opportunities for business representatives to work with specific year groups. This term we are aiming to give all our upper sixth students the chance of a practice interview to increase their confidence in an interview with an adult they have not previously met. This is planned for Thursday 3 November from 1.30pm-4pm. We are looking for a team of interviewers from outside school and would very much welcome help from parents with interviewing experience. Guidance notes will be provided and there will be a briefing at the start of the afternoon.

If you feel that you, or your organisation, are able to contribute to either of these events, or to other areas of our careers programme, please complete the attached pro-forma or e-mail wilsonf@ripongrammar.co.uk. Further information about our careers programme and links to useful careers and higher education related websites can be found on the careers education pages of the school website.

Yours sincerely

Mrs Frances Wilson

Careers Department

Please tick as appropriate and return to Mrs F Wilson in the Careers Library

	My organisation may wish to participate in the careers evening on Thursday 8 March 2012.

	I, or a colleague, would be able to help with practice interviews on the afternoon of Thursday 3 November 2011

	I would be willing to give a presentation / run a workshop relating to my field of employment

	I would be willing for a group of pupils and appropriate staff to visit my workplace

	My organisation may be able to offer a work experience placement to a suitable student

	Other (please give details)

Name…………………………………………………………………………

Parent of………………………………………………………………………

Organisation……………………………………………………………………

Contact Details (please include email and / or telephone number)

……………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………….…………………

…………………………………………………………………………………

5th Form Careers Information, Advice and Guidance

2011-09-14 09:02:18

9 September 2011

Dear Parents

5th Form Careers Information, Advice and Guidance

During the course of the year all 5th form students will be making important decisions about their future, and the Careers Department is able to offer them support in a number of ways.

During the autumn term students will be following a careers education programme to help them explore their interests and abilities and make informed and realistic decisions about their post 16 options and beyond. I shall also be visiting form groups to encourage students to come along to lunchtime drop-in sessions in the careers library and to use our excellent online resources.

In addition all students will have an individual careers guidance interview with Mrs Linda Howard, from IGEN, our local careers service. The interviews normally last 40 minutes and provide the opportunity for students to discuss career ideas as well as to talk through their options for next year. Parents are welcome to attend the interview if the student feels this would be helpful and follow up interviews will be arranged if appropriate. All students will receive a career action plan, which will outline the key points discussed, and any action that needs to be taken.

I would also like to draw your attention to the Careers Education section of the RGS website which contains a summary of our careers programme as well as information and links to useful websites to assist with research into a wide range of career related issues. We aim to give parents the best possible support when they discuss subject options and career ideas with their son or daughter and we hope that you will find this to be a useful resource.

Careers staff will be available at the forthcoming parents evening on Tuesday 1 November and also at the 6th form information evening on Monday 23 January. If you would like to discuss your son or daughter’s career ideas please do come and see us on those evenings. Alternatively do not hesitate to telephone me at school on extn 229 or email: wilsonf@ripongrammar.co.uk.

Yours sincerely

Frances Wilson

Careers Department

Work Experience

2011-07-26 10:40:36

July 2011

Dear Parents

FOURTH YEAR WORK EXPERIENCE 2012

I would like to give you some information regarding our Work Experience programme for the current third form students next year.

This year we will be offering students the opportunity to undertake a one week placement commencing on Monday 26 March (the week before the Easter break) PLEASE NOTE the change of dates. This is to keep work experience week away from modular examinations in the fourth form which take place in May.

I will be discussing the aims and objectives of Work Experience with all third year classes and encourage students to take as much responsibility as they can for planning and finding their own placements.

Placements and Employers

Most employers have taken students from a number of schools for many years, and have well established practices. All participating employers have to sign a formal contract WE4 document (copy available from the school website) agreeing to strict national and NYCC regulations which include items on insurance cover and Health and Safety. Because of these regulations it is important that placements are within North Yorkshire – or in a neighbouring authority. Any placement outside the area will necessitate a special Health and Safety inspection by NYBEP (North Yorkshire Business and Education Partnership) which will incur costs, as well as creating difficulties in terms of arranging the school visit carried out during the duration of the placement. For this reason out of area placements are appropriate only in exceptional circumstances. If you have any queries on this matter, please feel free to contact me at school. Employers should make no payment for the work performed during a placement.

Student Preparation

The students will be fully briefed on how to make the most of the experience as well as about administrative arrangements and Health and Safety issues. There will be a number of assemblies and briefing sessions leading up to the start of work experience in March 2012.

Supervision

One person is nominated by the employer to be responsible for the student. During the placement every pupil will be contacted by someone from the school to ensure that all is going well. Parents will also have out of hours contact numbers for school should they need them. In the unlikely event of a serious problem the school should be contacted immediately. Employers will have emergency contact details for the student for the duration of the placement.

Employers are asked to write a comment on each student at the end of the placement and this is recorded in the student’s journal.

Insurance

Students are treated as employees under their Employer’s Liability policy (the employers sign a form to confirm this cover is in place). RGS arranges personal accident insurance through NYCC for all students.

Keeping Parents Informed

There will be a Work Experience Information Evening for parents and this will be held in the Spring Term 2012. Details will be circulated nearer the time. We do also ask parents to make their own comments in the student’s Work Experience journal; as such comments are valuable in reflecting on the student’s development through their placement.

First Steps

Clearly most schools conduct a similar work experience programme with other students going on placement at some point in the year. There is inevitably therefore some competition for places within the Harrogate District. Students are therefore encouraged to start the process of finding a placement as early as possible. We would ask that parents and students talk about possible placements and the sort of experience the student hopes to have. Where parents and students may have their own contacts for such placements, it would be helpful for students and parents to make an initial contact and enquiry, and to keep us informed of any progress made.

Once a placement has been confirmed in writing please send the details into school. We will then contact the employer and NYBEP to ensure that the relevant paperwork, such as the WE4 form, and checks are completed.

NYBEP have developed their database of employers and further ideas and guidance on work experience is available on their website. All fourth years will be given their individual login for this site in September. In addition please find attached some guidance on securing a placement in medicine, local government with either Harrogate Council or NYCC and in the legal profession.

In the unlikely event that a student is unable to find a placement in time we are able to make arrangements to engage in aspects of work experience in school – working in various departments such as the library. We would hope to place everyone with a suitable employer.

Final Deadline - To enable NYBEP to meet the rigorous external checks and for us to have completed all the administration linked to the WE4 agreement form a final deadline will be set. This is likely to be in early January and the exact date will be confirmed next term.

We hope that you will agree that students can gain enormous benefits from undertaking Work Experience at this time and it is our view is that it is an invaluable experience.

Please complete the school reply slip and return it to school no later than Monday 18 July 2011.

If you have any questions regarding any aspect of Work Experience please do not hesitate to contact me in school by telephone or email southwellb@ripongrammar.co.uk

Yours sincerely

B A Southwell (Mrs)

Work Experience Co-ordinator

Higher Education and Alternative Post 18 Options

2011-07-11 16:21:11

Higher Education and Alternative Post 18 Options

To Parents of L6th students

8^th July 2011

Dear Parents

We have spoken with sixth form students today about the alternative routes that students may wish to investigate alongside the usual UCAS route that the vast majority of our students take.

Given the changing situation in relation to the costs of higher education in the UK, we feel that it is important to ensure that students are as fully informed as possible about the full range of opportunities open to them. Information has been provided to the students about the opportunities to study degrees taught in English in Europe and in the USA. Additionally attention has been drawn to the existence of some sponsorship schemes for higher education offered within the UK. There is also information on various websites about some alternatives to degree education.

We have stressed to students that we anticipate that the vast majority of students will continue to apply to British universities through the UCAS process.

Mrs Wilson, our personal development co-ordinator, has provided additional information on the careers section of the school website related to higher education in the UK and abroad. Students and parents are encouraged to contact Mrs Wilson, or any other member of staff, should additional information or discussion be required about this matter.

Yours sincerely

Mrs C Wise

Head of Sixth Form

Alternatives to UCAS route: Additional Useful Information Update July 2011

Useful websites related to studying abroad

Netherlands: www.nuffic.nl

Denmark: http://studyindenmark.dk

Finland: www.studyinfinland.fi

Norway: www.studyinnorway.no

Sweden: www.studyinsweden.se

Germany: www.study-in.de/en

France: www.campusfrance.org/en

Ireland: www.educationireland.ie

Maastricht University websites

Visit the website at: www.maastrichtuniversity.nl

or read the blog by first-year student from Worcestershire (Theresa Bullock) at:

http://maastricht-students.com/author/theresa

Universities in Ireland: websites

It is possible to search online for all HE provision in Ireland via the Qualifax database at:

www.qualifax.ie

and to apply through the Central Applications Office at:

www.cao.ie

Studying in the USA

The best site for studying in the USA is that of the Fulbright Commission.

www.fulbright.co.uk

Representatives of the Fulbright Commission stress that America is not a cheap option – with fees at around $19,500 a year in state universities and $25,000 in private institutions – but may not be significantly different from UK costs after 2012, assuming that candidates seek and obtain some form of scholarship.

Sponsorship for degrees in the UK

It is worth investigating whether there may be sponsorship from industry to support higher education routes.

The Financial Skills Partnership (FSP) has information about some

programmes which combine a salary and a debt-free degree route. The website is:

jenny.barber@financialskillspartnership.org.uk

Examples of companies which provide this route include Barclays and KPMG:

www.barclaysdegree.com

www.kpmgcareers.co.uk

Alternatives to the degree route include:

The five-year BDO school leaver training programme leads initially to the Certificate in

Finance, Accounting and Business (CFAB) and on to full ACA professional qualifications.

The company says they are keen to recruit talented, ambitious A level (or equivalent) students who are unsure whether a typical university education is the right path for them.

Find out more at: www.bdo.co.uk/schools

Other useful websites are:

www.notgoingtouni.co.uk

You might also try the Apprenticeships website

at: www.apprenticeships.org.uk

Studying in the UK

The website www.bestcourse4me.com presents this information using data from the Labour Force Survey and the Higher Education Statistics agency. This unique not-for-profit website allows teachers, parents and students to find out important information on employment and earnings outcomes from various courses and universities, enabling informed choices to be made about which university or course will have a better career outcome

Bewerley Park Outdoor Education Centre (26-30 March 2012)

2011-07-11 15:14:18

Please click the link below to view the Bewerly Park Notes to Parents and Students.

Work Experience Placements Extra Information

2011-07-08 15:26:29

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION RE WORK EXPERIENCE PLACEMENTS

Information for students seeking work experience placements in local government

Harrogate Borough Council

Angie Clark, Harrogate Borough Council, Department of Community Services, Scottsdale House, Springfield Avenue, Harrogate HG1 2HR (01423 556738)

Harrogate Borough Council

Work experience placements are available in various departments. Students need to apply via the HR department.

North Yorkshire County Council

NYCC offer a wide range of work experience placements in various locations. Examples are shown below:

- Facilities Management (finance)

- Harrogate & Ripon Libraries

- Technical Services (highways)

- Clerical Assistant (various posts)

- Legal Services

- Human Resources

- ICT (various)

- Countryside Ranger

Information for students seeking work experience placements in medicine

Harrogate Hospital

There are very limited places available as the majority of hospitals, doctor’s surgeries and clinics in this area do not allow students under the age of 16 to undertake work experience placements. The exception to this is the Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust which offers a programme to prepare students for a career in medicine.

Harrogate Hospital offers work placements in the planning department, on the switchboard, as general administration assistants, in supplies, in hotel services (catering) and in portering,

All applications have to be submitted on the official Harrogate Hospital application form (available from Mrs Southwell) and RGS will send the applications direct to the Student Co-ordinator at the hospital. The deadline for applications is December 2011. Placements are allocated on a first come first served basis.

Information for students seeking work experience placements in the legal profession

There were very few successful applications to local firms of solicitors last year. It is increasingly difficult for law firms to be able to offer a suitable programme for students below the age of sixteen. If your son / daughter is keen to undertake a work experience placement in a law firm an early approach is essential and having a personal contact is desirable. The law courts in Harrogate, Leeds and York offer work placements. There is considerable competition for these places.

The Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Thirsk offer placements to RGS students but all applications have to be sent via school. Placements are allocated on a first come first served basis. Anyone interested in making an application must see Mrs Southwell

Information for students seeking work experience placements with North Yorkshire Police – We have had no success in securing placements with NYP in recent years. Their website says that applications have to be sent via school and HR can be very slow at processing applications. They took no work experience students in the 2010/11 financial year. This maybe subject to review and RGS are happy to contact them if anyone wants to apply this year.

Information for students seeking work experience placements with North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue – No placements are available in Ripon this year because of cuts to staffing.

Information for students seeking work experience placements with the armed forces

RAF Linton on Ouse – Very limited placements available 2011/12 and the dates may not coincide with the RGS work experience slot.

RAF Leeming – placements fill very quickly. Direct approach to be made to RAF Leeming

Army – placements available in Ripon, Catterick and York. Details from Mrs Southwell

Information correct 5 July 2011

Work Experience 2012 Consent Form

2011-07-08 15:20:35

Please click on the link below to view the Year 9 Work Experience Comsent Form

WE4 Master Form

2011-07-08 15:18:44

Please click on the link below to view the WE4 Form

Extra Curricular School Sport

2011-06-14 11:06:59

13 June 2011

Dear Parent/Guardian

Extra Curricular School Sport

The PE and Games department at RGS is very keen to provide your son/daughter with as many sporting opportunities as possible. The opening of the astro turf and the completion of the climbing wall have allowed us to introduce many exciting and new challenges for our students.

The ethos of the department is to encourage and maximise participation in extra curricular school sport. If you feel that you are able to support us in our attempts to provide a ‘Sport for All’ ethos at RGS, have the appropriate qualifications and are able to commit the time to running a school club such as netball, hockey or cross country can I please encourage you to contact us. You can contact me at school either by telephone: 01765 602647 or email: gilfillans@ripongrammar.co.uk

We are aware of the hectic nature of modern day life but we are keen to involve the community of Ripon and the surrounding area in order to assist us in providing a vibrant and active school community.

Thank you for your continued support and good will.

Yours sincerely

Mr Pearman Ms Gilfillan

Headmaster Head of PE & Games

NOTIFICATION OF ABSENCE FROM SCHOOL

2011-05-19 16:26:04

July 2011

Dear Parents

NOTIFICATION OF ABSENCE FROM SCHOOL

Keeping your son or daughter safe is one of the prime objectives of Ripon Grammar School and of the ‘every child matters’ agenda, and it is essential that if your son or daughter is not in school we need to contact you as quickly as possible.

Currently, after three days a member of the school’s administration team will telephone you to ascertain the reason for absence from school of your son or daughter. The vast majority of absences are known about either on the day or in advance, and currently the procedure of parents telephoning Mrs Wakefield, our school receptionist, at school if your son or daughter is ill works well. This procedure will continue. However, if the absence is unexplained a member of the school’s administration team will send a text message to the main contact’s mobile telephone on the first day of absence if a telephone message or email has not been received. I hope that you support this approach.

In summary:

1. If your son or daughter is ill, please contact Mrs Wakefield to let us know before 9am on the first day of absence (either by telephone or email absence@ripongrammar.co.uk). If the school does not receive a telephone call or email by this time and the absence is unexplained, a member of the school’s administration team will either send a text message to the main contact’s mobile telephone, or telephone you during the morning, either at home, work or to a mobile telephone number.

2. If your son or daughter is still off school after three days, a member of the school’s administration team will contact you again to enquire about your son/daughter’s health and potential date of return. The absence can then be authorised on the school’s management information system.

3. You must write a note to confirm your son or daughter’s absence when he or she returns to school so that an accurate record of attendance can be maintained.

4. A potential long term absence (eg. an operation) should be discussed with your son or daughter’s head of school. The school will aim to provide your son or daughter with appropriate work during their absence and make arrangements for their return to school.

5. Students who are late arriving and students who miss either morning or afternoon registration must sign the late book in reception. This will ensure that we have an accurate record of who is present in school and will reduce the need to contact parents with regard to unexplained absences.

6. Routine medical and dental appointments should be made outside school hours.
If this is unavoidable then please write to your son or daughter’s form tutor in advance. Students should sign out at reception when leaving for appointments and sign back in when they return.

Please note also that the procedures for punctuality, attendance and illness are described in your son or daughter’s school planner. These include procedures for late arrival into school, and procedures to follow should you wish to request for your son or daughter to be absent from school during term time. Parents are asked not to arrange family holidays during term time but if this is unavoidable a Holiday Request Form should be requested from Mrs Wakefield, our school receptionist, well in advance of the proposed holiday dates. These should then be returned to the form teacher. Parents of sixth form students should write to the head of sixth form outlining their request. Absence for family matters, etc should be made in writing to your son or daughter’s form tutor.

Thank you for your cooperation. I realise this procedure will require you to keep the school informed when your son or daughter is absent. However, I am sure you will appreciate that this is in the best interest of all students, and it will also help the school to manage its record of student attendance better.

Ripon Grammar School enjoys exceptionally high attendance rates, which reflect the students’ enjoyment of coming to school.

Please feel free to contact me at school should you need to, and thank you in advance for your support in this matter.

Yours sincerely

M L Pearman
Headmaster

Communication with parents

2011-05-05 12:10:19

May, 2011

Dear Parents,

Communication with parents

Communicating with parents is essential to keep you updated regarding school events as well as the progress of you son/daughter. The traditional method of sending out letters will be replaced, where appropriate, by email. Letters will be sent out by e-mail at the end of the week as well as a paper copy via your son/daughter in the first instance. If this works well, then the paper copy may not be necessary eventually. I appreciate some parents may not have an

e-mail address; I will ensure a copy of any letters are posted to you if e-mail becomes the only method of communication for letters. All letters to parents are issued on our school website also. For this to work as effectively as possible, you will be asked for an up-to-date e-mail address each year. Please also advise us if your e-mail address changes at any time throughout the school year.

The school’s management information system (SERCO); which holds all our students’ personal, assessment and attendance data will be accessible from home via a programme called e-portal. You will be able to access the information the school holds on your child; reports could be received via e-portal too and I would expect that this will become the preferred method of relaying school reports to you in the future. A username and password will be issued to you to use this facility.

Text Messaging Service

The school has purchased a software module which enables the school’s management information system (SERCO) to send a text message to your mobile ‘phone in an emergency. This would be particularly useful to inform you of a school closure, but also would have applications throughout an academic year when an important meeting, such as a parents’ evening, needs to be rescheduled at late notice. It can also be used to remind parents about events which are happening as well as conveying a change in the start time for a school event and it will be used to notify parents when your child is absent from school if a reason has not been given for a particular absence. There is a cost to sending these texts so the system will only be used if the expense is justified. However there will be many occasions when this form of communication will be the most appropriate.

It is vital that the school has your up-to-date mobile telephone number, and if you change it please inform the school as soon as possible. Due to expense the school will only send one text message per family and this will be sent to the first contact provided by you. Please state your preference for which mobile should be the main contact. For parents without a mobile, a message can be sent to the voice mail of a BT, NTL or TELEWEST landline. I hope this will further improve essential communication between the school and parents.

If you have any questions please do contact me at school.

Yours sincerely

M L Pearman

Headmaster

Summer Uniform for Girls

2011-03-23 09:19:19

24^th March 2011

Dear Parent/Guardian,

Girls’ Uniform 2011

As you are aware the girls at Ripon Grammar School are able to opt to wear a school dress in the summer months (Easter onwards). The dress is available from local uniform suppliers ‘Broadbank and Empson’ and ‘Smart Start’. We have received many favourable comments from the local community regarding how smart our girls look when wearing their dresses and blazers. I would like to remind you that the blazer is a compulsory item of summer uniform and if girls elect to wear the school dress, it should be worn with a blazer. The school dress should be worn at knee length and without a belt. Girls may opt to wear a school jumper in addition to their blazer in inclement weather.

Winter Uniform 2011

I appreciate that school uniform is an expensive item and we aim to ensure that parents are getting the best value for their money. I would like to remind you that blazers are a compulsory item of winter uniform for all girls who joined Ripon Grammar School from September 2008 onwards. If you recall the decision was taken in response to comments from parents, students and our belief that the girls look very smart when wearing their blazers. I am also aware that because we insist that girls wear their blazers at formal occasions such as prize-giving and commemoration, all the girls do indeed own a blazer.

Due to the phased introduction, the wearing of a blazer remains an option for the fifth form girls but compulsory for first, second, third and fourth form girls from September 2011, though we would encourage all girls to seriously consider wearing their blazer to school. The navy blue sweater currently worn by the girls is an optional item of uniform, when a blazer is worn.

I have also received a number of queries from parents regarding the style and length of the school skirt. The navy blue skirt should be an A line style skirt and when purchased, should be knee length or just below the knee. We would encourage you to support our named uniform suppliers and make your purchases locally. Ripon Grammar School Parents’ Association also have items of second hand uniform available for purchase and contact details are available on the school website.

In anticipation of your support, thank you and please contact me at school should you have any queries regarding uniform.

Yours sincerely

Miss M J Murray

Deputy Headteacher

Holiday/Term dates 2011-2012

2011-01-13 09:58:30

HOLIDAYS/TERM DATES 2011/2012

School Closes School Opens

Autumn Term Friday, 2 September 2011

Autumn half-term Friday, 21 October 2011 Monday, 31 October 2011

Christmas Tuesday, 20 December 2011 Monday, 9 January 2012

Spring half-term Friday, 10 February 2012 Monday, 20 February 2012

Easter Friday, 30 March 2012 Monday, 16 April 2012

May Day Bank Hol Thursday, 3 May 2012 Tuesday, 8 May 2012

Summer half-term Friday, 1 June 2012 Monday, 11 June 2012

Summer Thursday, 19 July 2012

Please note that the school will be closed for Staff Training on:

Thursday, 1 September 2011, Friday, 6 January 2012, and Thursday, 12 July 2012

(Yorkshire Show)