As we conclude the first half term, I would like to thank parents/carers for their support so far this academic year. We have particularly focused on uniform expectations and students are looking exceptionally smart. This pride in their uniform and sense of belonging has had a positive impact on all areas of the school. We will continue to monitor and address any uniform issues moving forwards.

Literacy and having a love of reading is an important foundation for learning and we are keen to develop our students' literacy at Medina.  We are continuing to work with Bedrock Learning this year to support us to enhance literacy across the school and improve outcomes for learners.

We’re delighted to invite you to a Parents’ Evening Bedrock are running for parents of Medina College. Taking place on Tuesday 12 November at 7.00 pm, it is a virtual event that you can join from anywhere. You can find the link and signup here. Letters with Year 7 parent logins to Bedrock will be sent after the half term break - students can already log in - but, in the meantime, please do continue to support our students in gaining their 20 Bedrock points each week and encouraging their reading.

It has been a pleasure to host 10 students from Thailand this week. This is a link that has been developed via The Isle of Wight College over the last few years and the experience is always enjoyable for everyone involved. The Year 10 buddies have enjoyed sharing elements of our British culture with them and learning all about Thai culture.

Also this week, we have seen the inter-tutor cross country competitions for students in Years 7-9. In fairly wet conditions, we have been impressed with some outstanding performances. Not only does this give all students the chance to experience a competitive event, it is a great opportunity to improve resilience and build self-confidence. Well done to everyone involved; the results have been shared on our Facebook page today.

Many of our staff have offered to run revision sessions for Year 11 during the half term break and I am very grateful for them giving up their time to do this. Please encourage your child to make the most of these opportunities and attend as many as possible. You can find the details on our website.

Finally, after a very busy half term where much progress has been made, I would like to wish all staff, students and parents a relaxing and safe two week break. I look forward to seeing students return on Monday 4 November, in full uniform, ready to continue learning and becoming the best possible versions of themselves.

Mr Pearce-Jones
Head of School - Medina College