- 9/2/12 Open Surgery 3.30-5.30 6th Form Study Hall.
- 13/2/12 Half Term starts.
- 17/2/12 Half Term ends.
- 20/2/12 First day back for students.
Recent English Trips
Last week 100 pupils from Year 11 attended an evening performance of JB Priestley’s play ‘An Inspector Calls’ with the English department. Year 11 have been studying the play this term and so the opportunity to see it in performance was an exciting prospect for many.
Directed by Stephen Daldry, the Oscar nominated Director, the production at the Theatre Royal was quite a spectacle. The dark noir-style set made quite an impression on the students. One student commented: 'It was different to how I had pictured it when we read it in class but it was great; I hadn't thought about how dark and brooding the play is.' The evening was a real success and provided a great insight into the play.
Furthermore, the following Wednesday saw 25 pupils from Year 10 -13 enjoying a visit to the Playhouse theatre to watch a production of Shakespeare's comedy 'Twelfth Night' directed by Rory Attwood. This is not a set text for study at the moment but we couldn't miss the opportunity to see the play in performance for ourselves. The students thoroughly enjoyed the performance and we're looking out for further opportunities to see a range of drama texts on stage soon.
Message from Mr Nixon
I am sure you will have noticed that GCSE exams have been in the news recently, especially the issue of “equivalencies”. Over the years the number of equivalent exams (to GCSE) has grown considerably and the Government has decided to follow the Wolf review and recalibrate their value. At CNS we believe that students should follow the curriculum that is right for them and as an institution we believe in the rigour and value of GCSE exams as a large number of our students go on to do ‘A’ levels then onto university. An important aspect of any exam is the pathway it provides and it is our role to ensure the pathway that is the best for the student. This is why all our year 9 students are given detailed Advice and Guidance before their option choices and all our year 11 students have a one to one interview with their house leader.
