News from MCS

Dear all/Annwyl pawb

Well, the weather has turned distinctly autumnal. We seem to have avoided wet break today but I anticipate a few instances of this next week. We keep an eye on the weather forecast and then the sky, and make decisions as the day unfolds. We are fortunate that, in addition to the communal inside spaces, there is quite a bit of outside covered space just by the library and food hall. This, in combination with our split break system, means that we can all still have a pleasant break time, even if it is tipping it down outside. 

As we all dig out our winter coats and other layers, may I remind you that if students bring extra layers then they are required to be a plain coat and/or a school jumper (as set out in the uniform policy). Hoodies or non-uniform jumpers are not permitted; in the first instance, we would usually remind students and ask that such items are taken off and stored in a bag or locker. However, persistent infraction would lead to confiscation.

You will have received a separate communication via us from Welsh Water this week, where they set out the scope of major works taking place in the area in the coming weeks and months. We are liaising with Welsh Water to mitigate the impact of these works on daily school transport flow. There will be some teething issues, and we will be mindful of the potential impact on punctuality in the first few days as works commence. May I ask that you build in the possible extra journey time into your familial daily transport routines. Could I also remind parents and carers that the recommended safe drop off/collection point for students transported by car is the rear school car park. Access at the end of the school day is from 3.20pm onwards, after the 25 minibuses and 8 large buses have departed.

Finally: a vacancy for the role of Attendance Officer has arisen at MCS.  If you feel you could contribute to school life and support of students and families by applying for this post, we'd be delighted to hear from you.  The closing date for the post is Wednesday 25th October. Please click on this link to visit Eteach for further details.

I wish you all a restful (and hopefully gloriously autumnal) weekend.

Hugo Hutchison
Headteacher

The Scholastic Book Fair was, once again, a tremendous success this year.

The total value spent was £798.03 which has resulted in Rewards of £319.21 which can be spent on books for our school.

Thank you to everyone who supported the Book Fair - it does make a huge difference to the school.

This month, 23 Sixth Form students put their Maths skills to the test in the UK Mathematics Trust (UKMT) Senior Mathematical Challenge — a 90-minute, multiple-choice test, designed to promote mathematical reasoning, precision of thought and fluency in using mathematical techniques to solve interesting problems. We are delighted to have received a stunning set of results, with 70% of our participating students receiving a Bronze, Silver, or Gold award.

In Year 12, Callum Thomas, Angus Keown-Boyd, Harrison Williams, Charley Handley, Zachary Wescott, Lenny Wright, Tilly McCluskey, Evan Bastow-Hale and Daniel Millington performed brilliantly, achieving the Bronze award. Isaac Thomas and Archie Barrell achieved amazing results and each achieved the Silver award.

In Year 13, Gregory Johnston, Nairi Wilde, Oliver Bolster and Samuel North also performed brilliantly, achieving the Bronze award. Matthew Keenan achieved an outstanding score and achieved the Gold award, awarded to the top 10% of students in the UK who take part in this challenge. Matthew progresses onto the Senior Kangaroo, the next stage of the competition next month – we look forward to seeing these results later this term.

Congratulations to all the students who participated in this challenge.  

Brian, an ex-student of MCS, and currently a 4th year engineering student at Durham University, is about to compete in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in Australia with the Durham University Solar Car team. He has been a member of the team since the start of his first year.

The team have been in Australia since the end of September and the race takes place from 22nd-29th of this month. The competing  teams are all made up of university students from all over the world who design and build solar race cars. This race takes them 3000km from Darwin down to Adelaide and they camp in the outback along the route each night. 

Durham Solar car team are the only UK entry this year. 

It is an amazing opportunity and one the team have spent hundreds of hours, including many all-nighters in the Engineering Department, preparing for! 

Brian's family is incredibly proud of him.

Brian is fourth from the left in the photograph above.

As you will be aware, the astro turf facility is being substantially refurbished and relaid at MCS. We are delighted to receive this significant investment in our school, which comes after sustained work by colleagues here to lobby MCC and Welsh Government on this matter. Please click here to find out the latest update on this refurbishment.