Westminster City School
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Easter is rapidly approaching and I am sure everyone is looking forward to the holiday and also making time to reflect on the spiritual importance of the Easter story.

Enrichment activities and other news
The school has been very busy during the Lent Term with a wide range of activities and events taking place both in and outside school. Enclosed with this letter is a copy of Unity, the school’s newsletter. This is the fifth edition of Unity and it contains a wealth of information and commentary about the life of the school. I do urge you to read the newsletter in order to appreciate the rich and diverse activities that your son has the opportunity to participate in, and to celebrate the success the school is enjoying.

Science Week was a great success and we were delighted to welcome St Peter’s Eaton Square, St Matthew’s, and St Barnabas’ primary schools to spend some time in our laboratories exploring the world of science.

We held a number of charity fund-raising events culminating in Comic Relief on Friday 18 March with members of staff either dying their hair for the day or wearing red wigs. We passed our target of £1,000 and it is appropriate that we are generous with our giving at this time of the year.
As you are aware we have links with schools in Japan. Last October we hosted students from Japan on our Chiyoda Exchange Programme and twelve of our students spent their autumn half term visiting Osaka courtesy of the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation. We have, of course, all been shocked by the devastation caused by the recent earthquake in Japan and the tsunami that followed it and so after Easter we will be looking to organise some activities to raise money that we can then donate to the relief effort in Japan. I would ask for your support in this and that you encourage your son to give generously.

Year 11
There has been a big push with Year 11 this term to ensure that every pupil has the opportunity to achieve his best in his GCSE examinations. Teachers have been holding extra sessions, coursework clubs and revision classes before and after school to support their pupils. The school has been open every Saturday since Christmas with a variety of classes running during the morning and sometimes the afternoons too. My thanks to Mr Wilson who has supervised the vast majority of these sessions.

Exams will be with us very quickly. The first major examination is English on the 16 May. All pupils should be using their time wisely to revise and prepare properly for these tests. Their performance in these exams will have a major bearing on their choices post-16 and for the courses they wish to follow. The Easter revision timetable is on the website detailing the classes running next week.

Can I remind you that your son is required to wear full school uniform when he attends his examinations. If he is not properly dressed he runs the risk of being sent home to change. Please ensure your son is in full uniform when he attends the exams.

Mr Thompson is currently interviewing Year 11 applicants for our sixth form in September. This is an ideal opportunity to discuss option choices and what the school has to offer students. I look forward to welcoming many of them back to the school in September.

One final reminder about mobile phones. If your son brings a mobile phone to school he must turn it off and hand it to an invigilator before the exam begins. If he is caught with a mobile phone in the exam hall he will lose all marks for that module / exam. My advice would be to leave all mobile phones and other devices at home.

Term dates for this academic year
We return to school after the Easter holiday on Tuesday 26 April at the normal time and all pupils should be in attendance. The Royal Wedding takes place on Friday 29 April and the school will of course be closed as this is a public holiday. Monday 2 May is also a public holiday and school will open after this long weekend on Tuesday 3 May.
The inset day scheduled for Monday 6 June is cancelled. Therefore this will be a normal school day for all pupils. As a result of this the end of the Trinity Term will be a day earlier, finishing on Thursday 21 July.

Academic Year 2011 – 2012
The new school year begins on Tuesday 6 September for Year 7 and sixth form students. All other years return on Wednesday 7 September.
The dates for the entire academic year 2011 - 2012 will be sent out with each pupil after the Easter holiday and they will also be posted on our website.
Wishing all of you a happy Easter.

Yours sincerely,
David Maloney
Headteacher