Welcome back! I hope that everyone had an enjoyable half term break. Unbelievably, we have just seven weeks remaining of this academic year.

It was an emotional day yesterday as we said farewell to Year 11 in their final assembly. Thank you to Mrs Mills and Miss Johnson for the hard work they put into preparing a fantastic send off for them. Students were taken on a trip down memory lane with a video montage of special moments from across their five years with us. This was followed by the presentation of various awards and some very entertaining staff video messages. 

Year 11 exams continue for the next couple of weeks and we look forward to celebrating their hard work with them on the results day, Thursday 22 August.

Yesterday was also the National Final of the Young Enterprise Company of the Year competition. Our joint Medina and Carisbrooke team, Wild Wax Melts, gave a fantastic presentation to the judges. Unfortunately, they did not win, but to have been one of the top 13 teams out of 945 across the country is just amazing. We are so proud of them! They finish the programme with three ‘Best Company’ awards, separate awards for Digital, Marketing and Finance, and an active running business with new events and ventures planned in the months ahead.

Mr Rock has delivered assemblies to all year groups this week on his recent ‘Round the Island’ 73 mile trek for the Huntington’s Disease Association. He shared his personal experience of approaching difficult situations with positivity and gave practical advice for building resilience. Thank you, Mr Rock, for inspiring our young people.

Please can I remind you that teaching will be delivered remotely on Friday 21 June due to the Isle of Wight Festival. Details of the arrangements can be found in this letter that was sent to parents last half term. 

I would like to give a special mention to Louie in Year 10 who gave a reading on Cowes Parade yesterday as part of the lighting of the beacon service for the D-Day 80th anniversary commemorations. It was a beautiful reading delivered with confidence. Well done, Louie. 

Finally, I would like to congratulate this week’s Hot Chocolate Friday winners who secured their golden ticket for either having 100% attendance in the previous week or were top achievement points winners in their year group. Well done to: Lily-Louise, Oliwia, Eoin, Oscar, Evade, Alysha, Gareth and Abbie. 

Mr Pearce-Jones

Head of School – Medina College