11 September 2025

Swan-Bites is our weekly college bulletin for parents/carers – it is sent every Thursday.

You can find this and past copies of Swan-Bites on our website here: Swanmore School - Swan Bites

We welcome any feedback or comments via: enquiries@swanmore-sec.hants.sch.uk

College Notices

Introducing our new Head of Science - Mrs Curd.

I am delighted to be joining Swanmore College as the new Head of Science. Having worked in several local secondary schools as Second in Department, Deputy Professional Mentor and Lead Practitioner, I bring a strong background in curriculum development and supporting high-quality teaching.

Our department’s vision to inspire curiosity and nurture a lifelong passion for learning is central to my approach. I am committed to ensuring every pupil feels confident, engaged, and able to succeed in Science. Working with our dedicated team of teachers and technicians, I aim to provide engaging lessons and practical experiences that help students develop both deep knowledge and valuable skills they can carry into the future.

Outside of school, I enjoy crafting (I'm excited to be joining the Knitting Club during Wednesday afternoon Enrichment), live music, and walking; hobbies that give me fresh inspiration and balance alongside my teaching.

I look forward to working with you to support our pupils to achieve and succeed.

C Curd (Mrs)

Young Carers Meet Up – Date Change

We would like to remind all pupils that attend young carers that we will now be meeting during connect on Wednesday in the pupil centre.

For any new pupils – if you believe you are a young carer, please speak to your Tutor or Deputy Head of Year.

Pedestrian Improvement Works - Bishops Waltham

Hampshire County Council will be undertaking pedestrian improvement works on Houchin Street and Bank Street in Bishops Waltham. Works will start on Monday, 15 September 2025 for approximately seven weeks, with permitted working hours between 7:30 am and 4.00 pm. Works will start on Bank Street before moving onto Houchin Street. Improvement works will include:

footway improvements and widening on Houchin Street and Bank Street
construction of uncontrolled crossing points on High Street, Bank Street and Houchin Street

For the safety of the public and workers, works will be carried out under a road closure on Houchin Street and three-way temporary traffic lights on Bank Street. A diversion route will be in place to direct traffic around the Houchin Street Closure. Access to the Lower Basingwell Street car park and local business will be maintained throughout works.

PE Communication regarding fixtures

The PE Department will communicate with parents/carers regarding fixtures via Classcharts. This will require parents/carers to provide a response to enable a child to participate in a fixture. If parents/carers require an alternative format of communication (e.g. a telephone call), then please do let the College know.

PE Extracurricular Timetable – Autumn Term 2025

Please follow this link for the PE Extracurricular Timetable for Autumn 2025.

Extracurricular Timetable

Please note that the PE Department will also produce a weekly bulletin to inform pupils which clubs are taking place each week, due to infrequent changes to accommodate other fixtures.

Swanmore SEND Updates

SEND Support has now moved to O block. Break and Lunch time support, that was previously in the Pupil Centre, is now in O block in the right-hand room. The Quiet Room has now moved to the back room in O block and is no longer in NO4. Homework Club for SEND pupils is available in O block with the use of Chromebooks.

Chromebooks will be issued from Tuesday, 09 September 2025. Pupils will come to O block to sign out their Chromebook. This will be done in the same order as previously and tutors will let pupils know when to go and collect them. At the end of the day, they will be returned to O block. Pupils will then wait in O block until the bell rings for the end of day. (Unless pupils have a 2 minute early exit card.)

New support passes will be issued for this year 2025-2026. Pupils are to continue using their previous passes until told otherwise. Thank you.

Aspiring to Higher Education

Here at Swanmore we strive to encourage and inspire our pupils to continue to Further and Higher education. We have included this presentation from The University of Oxford, St. Hilda’s College to explain more about Higher Education in general and specifically The University of Oxford.

The main theme it aims to encourage is for pupils to start thinking about their future at an early stage and to actively undertake activities that will benefit them at a later stage. They should be thinking about the ‘extra-curricular activities’ they participate in and also undertake ‘super-curricular’ activities. Super-curricular activities are defined as activities that widen your knowledge and experience of a subject. For example, regularly reading magazine and periodicals, attending events, work experience and many, many more. Slide 22 has examples of the types of magazines and periodicals that may be of interest to our pupils.

Our pupils can discuss their aspirations and future pathways with our careers advisor.

Year 7

Year 7 CAT Tests

To assess our pupils to see what their needs are and how we can best help them to learn and achieve, we will be running Cognitive Abilities Tests (CAT4) for all Year 7 pupils. These tests will take place on Tuesday, 16 September 2025 during the first couple of lessons in the day. No preparation from the pupils is necessary; it is important that your child does not become anxious as no pre-learning or knowledge is needed to complete the tests. Please remind your child to bring their headphones to school on this date – these should have a 3.5mm jack connection.

Year 8

There are no specific items for Year 8 only.

Year 9

Year 9 – Ski Trip 2027

This month, we will be introducing the Ski Trip to Year 9 pupils, who will be Year 10 in February 2027. Following their assembly, we will send home details of the trip. Watch this space.

Year 10

There are no specific items for Year 10 only.

Year 11

Parents evening for Year 11 will take place on Thursday, 18 September 2025. Bookings can be made via the school website via the link below:

Swanmore School – Parents’ Evenings

Next Week’s Events

Monday, 15 September 2025

Year 7 CAT testing - Please remind your child to bring their headphones to school on this date – these should have a 3.5mm jack connection.

Thursday, 18 September 2025

Year 11 – Parents evening

Community Notices

Buster Hill Challenge Running Festival – Sunday, 14 September 2025

Churcher’s College is delighted to invite you to the ‘Butser Hill Challenge’, a unique running festival taking place in the Queen Elizabeth Country Park on Sunday, 14 September 2025

Attached is a letter outlining details of the event. Entry to the event can be made via the following link: https://churcherscollege.eventrac.co.uk/e/butser-hill-challenge-9924

Full race details can also be found on the event website: www.butser.org

If you have any questions, please contact us at butser@churcherscollege.com

Winchester Youth Counselling

Winchester Youth Counselling offer free support groups for both parents/carers and for young people aged 11-25 years. No booking required and no referrals needed. They offer a supportive space for young people to chill out or chat and offer a variety of activities.

Please see the attached links for further information:

WYC parent support info (info about our Winchester parent/carer group and parent/carer information sessions - next one on 'loss & bereavement - including divorce/separation' on Thursday 25 September 2025 at 6pm in Winchester.)

WYC Wellbeing Walk-In for 11-25yr olds

South Hampshire College Group Open Events

Please find below the dates for the South Hants College Group:

Eastleigh College

22 October 2025 - 17:00 - 19:00

25 November 2025 - 17:00 - 19:00

25 March 2026 - 17:00 - 19:00

13 June 2026 - 11:00 - 14:00

Fareham College

14 October 2025 - 17:00-19:00

13 November 2025 - 17:00 - 19:00

18 March 2026 - 17:00 - 19:00

20 June 2026 - 11:00 - 14:00

Southampton College

21 October 2025 - 17:00 - 19:00

20 November 2025 - 17:00 - 19:00

19 March 2026 - 17:00 - 19:00

27 June 2026 - 11:00 - 14:00

Open Event at Barton Peveril Sixth Form College

Join us on Wednesday 24 or Thursday 25 September, 16:30 - 20:30 at Barton Peveril Sixth Form College for an exciting opportunity to:

Explore our facilities
Research all courses on offer and QXTRAs!
Speak to our current students and teachers
Enjoy the College's vibrant and energetic atmosphere

To Secure Your Ticket: www.ticketsource.co.uk/barton-peveril-college-events

This is a fantastic opportunity for you and your student to explore an outstanding sixth form college.

We encourage you to arrive at the start time on your ticket. Your time slot is limited to 45 minutes.
Parking will be provided on the field. Please be wary of the type and size of vehicle you bring. Accessible vehicles must display their blue badge at all times. Please email marketing@barton.ac.uk if you need support with accessible parking.

Sparsholt Campus Open Events

Open Events are being held at Sparsholt Campus on the following dates:

Saturday 04 October 2025

Saturday 08 November 2025

Saturday 07 February 2026

Saturday 07 March 2026

Wednesday 29 April 2026

Thursday 11 June 2026

Please note that any external clubs / events that are advertised here are not endorsed by or directly affiliated with Swanmore College in any way.