18 December 2025
Swan Bites is our weekly college bulletin for parents/carers – it is published every Thursday.
We welcome any feedback or comments via: enquiries@swanmore-sec.hants.sch.uk
College Notices
Christmas Jumpers or Christmassy Accessories - Friday, 19 December 2025
To celebrate the last day of term, we are inviting all staff and pupils to get into the festive spirit on Friday, 19 December. Everyone is welcome to wear a Christmas Jumper (instead of their school jumper) or a festive accessory.
Please note: Apart from the festive item, standard school uniform rules apply.
Early Finish - Friday, 19 December 2025
The College will close early on Friday, 19 December 2025, with pupils leaving site at 12:40 pm. Our transport operators have been informed and will be on site to collect pupils at this time. Please note that any pupils who travel on the 649 Stagecoach public bus service will need to make alternative arrangements for getting home early, as Stagecoach are unable to amend the collection time from 3.00 pm to 12.40 pm.
We look forward to seeing everyone back in school, after a restful and happy Christmas break, on Monday, 05 January 2026.
KS4 Fitness Suite After School Club
For Year 10s and Year 11s only, this after-school club gives pupils the opportunity to use the fantastic facilities in the Fitness Suite on Tuesdays.
If your child would like to attend, please ask them to sign up each week at Pupil Reception.
They will need to wear their usual PE kit.
A similar club is run for pupils in Years 7, 8 and 9 after school on Thursdays. They can sign up each week at Pupil Reception.
We look forward to your child joining us in the New Year!
Year 7
There are no specific items for Year 7 only.
Year 8
There are no specific items for Year 8 only.
Year 9
Bebras Award Winners
We are delighted to congratulate our Year 9 pupils on their fantastic results in this year’s UK Bebras Challenge!
Year 9 pupils took part in this national competition during their IT lessons, testing their computational thinking and logic against over 565,000 participants across the country. The results highlighted the incredible problem-solving abilities within the year group.
A massive well done to Devon P, who was awarded the top score in the College!
We are also thrilled to announce that an incredible 15 pupils scored in the top 10% of competitors nationally, earning them a prestigious Gold Award. The College and the IT Department are extremely proud of our talented Computer Scientists.
Certificates will be distributed during upcoming IT lessons. Keep up the excellent work!
Year 10
Unifrog - Important Information for Y10 Parents
There is a more secure way for you to gain access to your own dedicated Unifrog Parent and Carer Account. This valuable resource is designed to help you support your child as they explore their future pathways, careers, and higher education options. By linking your account directly to your child's profile, you can easily view key information such as their next suggested tasks, work experience, and teacher notes, plus access dedicated parent resources.
To get started, we first need your permission to add your email address to your child's profile on Unifrog. Please complete this short Google Form to provide your consent: https://forms.gle/AQZPq4cCNL66FvzU9. Once added, you will receive instructions to set up your account on the Parent Log In page: Parent - Unifrog. We highly encourage you to take advantage of this fantastic tool!
Year 11
Leaving Early on Wednesday Afternoons - January Mock Exams
As we approach the Year 11 January Mock Exams at (frightening!) speed, we are increasingly aware of the pressures and strains that will be placed on pupils during the exam period. The whole year group has been working extremely hard in preparation for the upcoming exams, with the knowledge that after these it is the final run-in to the GCSEs proper, and we feel it is important to look for ways that we can balance the demands of schooling alongside our responsibilities helping to manage pupils' wellbeing.
With this in mind, during the Year 11 January Mock Exam period, we will be trailing Year 11 pupils having the option to sign out of school on a Wednesday afternoon, when they would usually have Enrichment activities, as a way of offering a 'mental break' designed to alleviate some of the pressure pupils may be experiencing. Following a review of this trial, there will be a decision made regarding a similar arrangement for the summer exams.
No exams are scheduled to take place during this time on a Wednesday, and pupils will also have the option of staying on-site and attending Enrichment as normal if they wish. It is important to emphasise that pupils must leave the site after P4, or stay as normal, as pupils wandering the site will not be tolerated. Also, if consent is not granted by a parent/carer, then pupils must stay on the school site.
No school buses (other than public buses) will be available if leaving after P4. Arrangements must be made to collect pupils as they cannot return to site to get the school bus home later. If a pupil wishes to attend an after-school revision on this day, then they will need to stay in school as normal.
We know from our Pupil Voice surveys that wellbeing is an important topic for our year group and for pupils to feel supported and given strategies to help them manage their mental health. By offering this early finish as an option, we hope to help alleviate some of the anxieties around exam season.
Further instructions will be shared with the pupils, including how the logistics will work regarding signing out of school, before the Christmas holidays.
This message has been shared on ClassCharts, with a box to tick if you consent/do not consent to your child to leave site at this time. If you do not have access to ClassCharts, please email your consent/do not consent to the Year 11 help email address: Y11-help@swanmore-sec.hants.sch.uk
If you have any questions, please also contact the Year 11 team via our help email address.
Kind regards
John Heaton
Head of Year11 & Teacher of English
School Holidays
🎄 Monday, 22 December 2025 - Friday, 02 January 2026 🎄
First Week of the Spring Term Events
Monday, 05 January 2026
- Year 11 Mock Speaking Exams
- No fixtures or events
Tuesday, 06 January 2026
- Year 11 Mock Speaking Exams
- No fixtures or events
Wednesday, 07 January 2026
- Year 11 Mock Speaking Exams
- Year 10 Swanmore Primary Science Show
- Year 10 and 11 Girls' Football vs. Westgate (H)
- Year 11 Cambridge National Badminton vs. St Marks (H)
Thursday, 08 January 2026
- Year 11 Mock Speaking Exams
- Under 16 Boys' Volleyball vs. Portchester (A)
Friday, 09 January 2026
- Year 11 Mock Speaking Exams
- No fixtures or events
Community Notices
We haven't received any Community Notices for you this week.
Please note that any external clubs / events that are advertised here are not endorsed by or directly affiliated with Swanmore College in any way.