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

Parent Forum on Rewards

Just before the Easter holidays we held a Parent Forum on Rewards. This was a forum which parents/carers were invited to join, as they had indicated an interest in this area when completing the Parent Survey back in November, and we greatly appreciate your engagement and contribution.

The forum was a very positive and constructive session, and we truly valued the opportunity to hear your thoughts and experiences. In particular, there was strong feedback in support of the introduction of ClassCharts, with many parents commenting on how user-friendly the platform is. It was encouraging to hear how the system has helped you stay informed and involved in your child’s day-to-day progress and achievements.

It was also clear that ClassCharts has had a motivating effect on pupils, with several of you sharing how your children are responding positively to being recognised and rewarded for their efforts in school. This kind of feedback is invaluable as we continue to refine our approach and ensure our rewards system supports both pupils and families.

We will be spending this term working on the suggestions that were made during this event and look forward to communicating the changes and improvements to our rewards system before the new academic year.

Once again, thank you for your time and thoughtful input. We look forward to working together to continue building a positive and rewarding school experience for all our pupils.

Meet the Employer Event – Tuesday 03 June 2025

Following the success of last November's "Meet the Employer" event with Year 9, we are holding a similar event for Year 8 on Tuesday 03 June 2025, from 08:25 - 09:35.

We are seeking adult volunteers (parents, relatives, and coworkers) to share their career journeys with Year 8 pupils. Volunteers will be assigned to a tutor group, and the tutor will supervise the session. As in previous years, guests will need to give a short talk about their career path and current or most recent role, and answer questions from the pupils. If you would like to volunteer to take part in this event, please contact us at careers-help@swanmore-sec.hants.sch.uk.

Pupil Rewards Fair – Thursday 26 June 2025

As a reward for all their hard work throughout the year, pupils will be invited to spend a period on the funfair in college on Thursday 26 June. Pupils will be invited to attend the rewards fair if they achieve 150 achievement / ICC points (net) between the dates of 23 April - 20 June 2025. Points totals can be monitored on ClassCharts by both pupils and parents/carers, and students will receive regular reminders during tutor time as well. We are confident that this is a fair target that will both incentivise and reward our hardworking pupils at Swanmore College.

Year 7

Language Workshops – Summer Assessment

The final Language workshop for Year 7 parents/carers will take place on Thursday, 22 May 2025 at 6pm in room S02. If you would like to attend this session, please just come along, there is no need to book. Please bring your child’s previous assessments (Autumn and Spring) as well as their knowledge organiser and their current lesson booklet. We will go through the assessments and how your child can prepare for them. Any questions, please contact the MFL department via: mfl-help@swanmore-sec.hants.sch.uk

Year 8

Science GL tests will be taking place for all Year 8 pupils during their timetabled science lessons (P3, 4 and 5) on Thursday, 22 May 2025. Pupils are not expected to revise for these assessments; they are used to help measure and track progress. We do ask that pupils please bring their own headphones into school on this date, as they will be needed for the tests.

Year 9

Year 9 pupils are invited to apply for the Sports Leaders course next year. Taster sessions will be taking place in their PE lessons next week to give them an idea of what to expect. Sports Leaders sessions will take place in their Year 10 core PE lessons. This is NOT related to any enrichment course and won’t impact any GCSE/Cambridge National PE. Please watch the promo video on our website for further details: https://www.swanmore-school.co.uk/news-and-events/latest-news/sports-leaders-information-for-year-9 Pupils can register their interest via this Google Form:Registering interest form which has been posted on their PE Google Classroom.

Year 10

There are no specific items for Year 10 only.

Year 11

We will have an ice-cream van on site for the Year 11 Leavers' Day on Friday, 23 May 2025. Pupils will need to bring cash or card with them if they would like to make any purchases from the ice cream van.

We would also like to say ‘Good Luck’ to all Year 11s in their GCSE exams. We are so proud of the whole year group and wish them all the best. Miss Quinn and Miss Bale

Next Week’s Events

19 May: GCSE Chemistry Paper 1

19 May: GSCE PE Paper 1-The Human Body

19 May: Y7 Cricket v John Hanson (A)

 

20 May: GCSE English Literature Paper 2

20 May: GCSE Computer Science Paper 2

20 May: GCSE Sociology Paper 2

 

21 May: GCSE French Paper 1-Listening / Paper 3-Reading

21 May: GCSE Religious Studies Paper 2

21 May: U15 Boys Cricket v The Island Free School (H)

 

22 May: GCSE Physics Paper 1

22 May: GCSE Media Studies Paper 2

22 May: Y8 GL Assessments (Science)

22 May: Y9 & 10 Girls Tennis v King Edwards (A)

22 May: U13 Girls Cricket v Wildern (H)

 

23 May: GCSE English Language Paper 1

Community Notices

Bishop's Waltham Photographic Society Junior Competition

Bishop's Waltham Photographic Society are running their junior photo competition again this year. There are 2 age categories: 11 years and under and 12-16 Years. Photographs should be submitted to competition@bishopswalthamphotosociety.co.uk by 14 September 2025. Please see attached flyer for further information.

Chat Health Text Service

With exam season upon us, we wanted to remind pupils about the Chat Health Text service.  This free texting service is run by School Nurses and is available to all young people from 11-19 years. They have shared a podcast on exam stress for any pupils who would like some additional support during their assessments: School Nurse Podcast Episode 1 - Exam Stress

Junior Chef Programme

We would like to share an exciting opportunity for budding young chefs. The junior chef programme is

starting on Tuesday 09 September and runs for 6-weeks, until 14 Oct 2025. The programme will help develop confidence, communication and cookery skills, as well as encouraging pupils to use their creative flair. It is led by college lecturers at Eastleigh College, in a professional catering kitchen and includes high level skills and a graduation dinner.

If your child is interested in booking a space on this course, please follow this link and complete the online application form: https://shcg.ac.uk/courses/junior-chefs-programme-for-year-9-to-11-students/

For any further information, please contact Sue Lyons – sue.lyons@shcg.ac.uk or the college Admissions team – Emma.Wareham@shcg.ac.uk

 

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