December 2023 Newsletter

December 2023 Newsletter

Principal’s Message

Dear Parents,

As we approach the end of another successful term at Aylesbury UTC, I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude for your continued support and partnership.

Your children have worked incredibly hard this term, and I am proud of the progress they have made. They have embraced the challenges of their chosen subjects and have consistently demonstrated a willingness to learn and grow.

I am particularly pleased with the progress we have made in developing our students’ employability skills. Our students are increasingly more equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the workplace. They are more confident communicators, critical thinkers, and problem solvers. They are also able to work effectively in teams and to manage their own time effectively.

I am also proud of the strong sense of community that we have fostered at Aylesbury UTC. Our students are supportive of one another, and they are always willing to go the extra mile to help their peers. This sense of community is one of the things that makes Aylesbury UTC a special place to learn and grow.

Whilst students have been working incredibly hard, so too have Aylesbury UTC staff.  To summarise some of the work that has been done:

• We have welcomed a new year 10 and 12 cohort, taking numbers up to 155, the highest the UTC has had for many years.
• We have started to embed new strategy for teaching and learning based around Teaching Walkthrus by Tom Sherrington and Oliver Caviglioli.
• We have put in place new policies for curriculum, assessment, teaching and learning, literacy, numeracy, attendance, admissions and behaviour.  These updated policies can be found on our website https://aylesburyutc.co.uk/about/policies/
• Staff have fully mapped all areas of the curriculum, this can be found on our website https://aylesburyutc.co.uk/about/curriculum/
• Year 11 students have completed mock examinations
• We have had a full peer review from Mulberry UTC who were extremely positive about the direction the UTC has taken.
• We have a new renewed partnership agreement with the Bucks New University
• We have a consultation out to all stakeholders on taking year 9 for 2025. You can find more information about this here https://aylesburyutc.co.uk/news/consultation-of-changes-to-admissions-policy/

Click the heading below for link to enter your opinion.

Consultation of Changes to Admissions Policy – Aylesbury UTC

Aylesbury UTC is committed to providing high-quality technical education for students aged 14-19. We are proposing extending our age range to include up to 60 Year 9 students each year from September 2025. Find consultation document aylesburyutc.co.uk

• We have had a number of trips and visits, including to local NHS trusts, Morgan Sindall sites and Freemantle Trust.
• We have had two really successful open events for prospective parents.
• Lots of employer engagement events, such as the Reminiscence Café and other events.
• Year 12 students have been part of a residential programme at Caldecott.
• Selected year 10 students have been part of a 12 week programme with Action for Youth.

As we close out this term, I encourage you to take some time to reflect on the progress your child has made. I am confident that you will be proud of their achievements.

Thank you again for your continued support. I look forward to working with you again in the new year.  Have a very Merry Christmas and enjoy the time spent with family and friends.

Sincerely,

Joe Dunckley

Principal, Aylesbury UTC

Health and Social Care Update

Busy Term

Another term has flown past and there are lots to be proud of in the world of Health and Social Care. The year 10 group have been working on understanding the growth milestones that all people go through and more recently, the factors that can impact our health and wellbeing. They all have worked so hard and deserve the Christmas break, however, they cannot celebrate too much, as they will be getting information from friends and family to help with their assignment.

Engagements

Home Instead with the Reminiscence Café and activity in the Social care home environment, a visiting Paediatric nurse in our Health Suite, Occupational Therapist demonstrating the various obstacles that patients need to overcome. Visits to The Royal Bucks Hospital, Stoke Mandeville Hospital, The Fremantle Trust  and Short Breaks.

Year 11 HSC

The Year 11 group have been working hard on their public health campaigns and have made both them and me proud of the amazing different initiatives to help improve the health and wellbeing of a particular group. This has been an amazing term with all involved and will be looking forward to getting back into the practical space after Christmas in preparation for their exam.

Year 12 HSC

Finally, our Year 12s have been learning about preventing infections and the spread of diseases this term. Where they learnt about the different materials used to keep an area clean and hygienic. This led to a brilliant practical lesson, where they all cleaned the Health Suite using the appropriate tools. They also visited the Stoke Mandeville Hospital, where they were shown around the Occupational Therapy unit, discovering all of the different tools and roles within the department, some even got to have a go on one of the electric mobility chairs (which was great fun). They then were shown around the respiratory ward and got to speak with Healthcare Assistants, student nurses and a lead practitioner. This was a fantastic visit, where we learnt just how realistic our on Health Suite is.

Overall a busy but brilliant term, and we look forward to the next one, with more employer encounters and project planned.

Take care

Tom Devey

Computing Update

Worked Very Hard

In the Computing Department, we have had a busy term as usual. Our students have been learning new topics such as Networking, Databases, Storage systems and Interface design. Looking back from September until now, students have had the opportunity to look in more detail what the Computing pathway courses have to offer. We have completed different assessments including a set of mocks for our Year 11 candidates, who have also completed their IT and Creative Media course work units.

Both students and staff have worked very hard and are looking forward to the Christmas break. When we come back in January, it is going to be a busy time for our Sixth form students who need to complete a series of external exams and we wish them the very best.

Christmas wishes to our Employers partners for their ongoing support and projects that are currently being worked on including a testing station to aid study of Boolean logic in a practical way.

As a department, we are proud of the students that have demonstrated our school values in a exceptional way and encourage them to keep doing so.

Daniel Lubinga

Building Studies Update

Practical work

Year 11 students have continued with developing Building Studies skills today in readiness for the practical assessments in January. Students developed skills in tiling, plastering and woodwork skills.

This term included Site visits to Morgan Sindall site as part of the Health and Safety curriculum.

Careers Lead Update

Next Steps

This term has been a priority to ensure that Year’s 13 and Year 11 are supported with their future plans for destinations. Year 13 have selected their choices of University and some will be looking for Apprenticeships to move on to . While, Year 11 are considering Sixth Form with AUTC, or other schools and exploring other further education courses.

University

All of Sixth Form heard from Coventry University about the application process with some one to one assistance on Personal statements.

Further Education

All Year 11 had an assembly where Bucks College Group explained the various courses on offer. Also, many students had individual Careers Adviser meetings. If any Year 11 still is unsure about their next steps please contact the Careers Lead, Jan Lloyd on  jlloyd@aylesburyutc.co.uk.

Apprenticeships

ASK Apprenticeships supported Sixth Form activity briefly, however next term there is National Apprenticeship Week and February will focus on what Apprenticeships are and how to apply for them.

Mock Interviews

One of the highlights has been the Sixth Form preparing for the real world of work. Some have fantastic work experience placements which we are very proud of.  Lynne the Sixth Form Tutor has been preparing Year 12 and 13 with writing their CV’s and encouraging them to create Linked In accounts and start networking with the professional in the areas of interest.

On the 6th December, AUTC were excited to host mock interviews for all Sixth Form, where by ASK Apprenticeships supported the activity to explain about Apprenticeships and the importance of practising interview techniques to set them up for life. Some generous professional gave up their time to interview at least 6 students each and provide feedback. The students feedback was it was definitely a valuable activity.

Inspiration and Awards Evenings

Next Term, will be Year 10 Next Steps meeting with the Careers Lead and all parents/ carers and students are expected to attend the Inspiration evenings by specialism. this is a compulsory activity to make sure that home and school are working together to get the best possible opportunities for the AUTC students.

Dates to put in your diaries:

Computing Inspiration and Awards evening – Thursday 22nd February 5:15 pm to 6:45 pm – All Year Groups

Health and Social Care Inspiration and Awards evening – Thursday 29th February 5:15 pm – 6:45 pm – All Year Groups

Can’t wait for 2024 

Jan Lloyd