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News from MCS

21 06 24

Annwyl pawb

The examination season is now over – a huge thank you to the exam team for their monumental efforts, to all staff who have worked so hard and, of course, to the examination students themselves, who have really applied themselves so well. We wish everyone the very best for the summer results.

School life, of course, continues apace – we welcome Year 6 students for their transition days to school at the start of July. We have plenty of exciting events in the last four weeks of term, including our Awards Evening, Sports Awards evening and lower school production. And, of course, next Tuesday, we have our Summer Showcase, which includes a veritable smorgasbord of creative talent from amongst our students. There are a limited number of tickets left for anyone who has not yet booked their place (see below to book), so do please come along if you can.

Our wonderful outgoing Head Student team presented to the Governing Body last night, reflecting on their time in office. I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to all four of them – Edie Geddes-Bell, Sam North, Phoebe Hodgson and Matthew Keenan. A vintage year! The baton passes on to our new team, who will introduce themselves to you via this newsletter in due course.

And finally, a reminder: we have an INSET training day next Friday, 28^th June, and so school is closed to all students on that day.

All the best for the weekend ahead.

Cofion cynnes,

Hugo Hutchison
Prifathro/Headteacher

Student Success

Hal Duffield, 8SE, has been hosting and producing a series of radio shows over the last year, with his brother, Will.

Along with his co-presenters, he's now an award-winning broadcaster as the station, Radio Platfform, won a prestigious national award - Best Community Radio Station section of the Radio Academy Industry Awards for 2024.

The ARIAS are the BAFTAs of the audio and radio industry so it's a superb achievement for them all. Hal is the youngest presenter.

Well done, Hal, your hard work is paying off.

Year 9 student Frankie Windebank took part in last weekend's Welsh Championship for Downhill Mountain Biking, in Llangollen, North Wales.

We are happy to report Frankie won and has been crowned the Welsh Downhill Champion for 2024.

She was awarded a Welsh jersey which she can wear at races across the UK.

Frankie is taking part in the National DH series, which is the highest level Downhill racing the UK offers, before moving onto the European series and then World series.

Frankie is currently placed 3rd overall with three races to go, including one in Scotland during her summer holidays.

Congratulations Frankie, what a brilliant achievement - good luck in your future races.

Another successful weekend of tennis for Max Swayne in a Mens Grade 4 tournament in Llanelli.

Max came runner-up, losing in the final to a player seven years older than himself!

Well done Max.

Summer Learning 2024

During the last week of term (Monday 15^th to Thursday 18^th July) we are planning a range of exciting experiences across the school as part of our Summer Learning week. These activities are designed to offer students different learning experiences to those available within their usual timetable. The Monmouth Comprehensive School Friends Association is kindly supporting some of the costs of these events.

Year 7 will be visiting the oldest and newest castles in Monmouthshire, becoming expert archers and orienteers and celebrating Welsh culture in their own Eisteddfod.

Year 8 will be able to test their metal with outward bound activities, including caving, canoeing and climbing and discover the wonders of the beautiful Wye Valley.

Year 9 will be walking along the Wye to the Biblins, crossing the river before lunch and showing off their talents in their own Eisteddfod.

Year 10 will look forward to their future education and career pathways, visit Swansea university and enjoy a Monmouthshire countryside walk.

Year 12 will be exploring future pathways and looking forward to applying for university, college or apprenticeships.

All students in Years 7 to 10 will also test their athletic skills and compete for their Form in our annual Sports Days.

For the most part, students are expected to wear their PE kit for these three days and ensure that they have suitable footwear and outer garments for the activity and weather on the day.

Information letters may be found on our Letters page by clicking HERE.

However, you will receive an email directing you to logon to Parentpay to give your consent for the activities.

Magic Little Grant for MCS SRB

In 2023, the MCS Friends Association were successful in their application for a £500 grant from Magic Little Grants (managed by LOcalGiving and funded by The Postcode Lottery) on behalf of the SRB Department in School. The grant was for the purchase of some special switches to allow students to independently operate some of the electrical equipment used in school, such as food mixers.

Natalie, pictured here using the equipment, said “I have found that the power assisted button has been a great help to me in cookery lessons. It helped me to control the handheld mixer when mixing cake batter and helps with other elements of cooking.

It’s been very useful to have and use in cooking as it gives me more independence to help with the making of the recipes. It has helped me in the classroom as it is an amazing piece of technology. It’s brilliant that there are so many wonderful pieces of equipment that help people with disabilities and additional needs participate in everyday activities”

The staff and students of the SRB and the MCS Friends Association are extremely grateful to Magic Little Grants for the funding that has made independently accessing the curriculum much easier for students with particular physical needs.

MCSFA Summer Raffle

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MCSBC Row to Paris Fundraiser Challenge:
Tues 2/Weds 3 July

Every year the club holds an annual fundraiser to help with the running costs of the rowing club and to help provide an opportunity for our students to row. Our challenge this year is to row this distance from Monmouth Rowing club to Nautical Stadium Olympic D'île-De-France, the venue for rowing at this summer’s Olympic Games. The distance is 501 miles (807km) which we hope to achieve inside 36 hours as a club. Our target on day one of the challenge is to row the distance from Monmouth to the Channel Tunnel which is 230 miles (379km) and on day two we hope to finish the remaining 271 miles (428km).

We have a Just Giving page (link below) should you want to sponsor or make a donation to the rowing club. If you want to sponsor someone directly, all of those taking part have a sponsor form.

Link to just giving page - https://www.justgiving.com/monmouthboatclub/

Thank you.
MCS Boat Club

Work Experience in Germany

Finley Speller in Year 10 had an amazing opportunity, though family connections, to complete work experience at The International School of Düsseldorf in June. Fin currently studies German at GCSE and this experience would have helped with his use of language and also cultural awareness.

Here is Fin's reflection.

‘ I had a fantastic time visiting and gaining work experience at Düsseldorf International School. It was fascinating to see how different German school life was compared to life at Monmouth Comprehensive. I had the opportunity to sit in on classes and support the teaching assistants for younger students. One major difference was the school day starting at 8am! Additionally, outdoor learning was compulsory for everyone. Both the students and staff were incredibly friendly, making the week an unforgettable experience.’

We are so proud of Fin`s involvement in this opportunity.

MCS Summer Showcase

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Don't miss the opportunity to spend an evening with our amazing students.

Tickets are available by clicking HERE.

Guys and Dolls

Tickets are selling well for our Lower School Production of Guys and Dolls Jr. (purchase on link below)

www.ticketsource.co.uk/monmouth-comprehensive-school

The show runs on 8/9/10/11 July with a 6.30pm start.

Our last show was completely sold out (with a five performance run instead of four performances) so we would suggest you buy your tickets as soon as you can, to avoid disappointment. Tickets are selling very quickly for the final performance on 11 July.