Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
The last week of the Autumn Term is always memorable; we have had two Christmas Dinners and Discos, Christmas lunches, Christmas Jumper Day, a visit from Father Christmas no less and a Santa Run for Prep just to name a few of the events that have taken place. Indeed on Friday of last week, the PTA Christmas Cracker kick-started the festive season with an incredible array of stalls, some beautiful singing from the Prep Department Choir and our very own Year 8 entrepreneurs who had created, made and sold their own products generating a profit of £104 which will help fund school initiatives via the PTA; they have shown great resourcefulness and a sense of what can be as part of their Saint Felix Diploma programme. In fact, Saint Felix is developing young entrepreneurs everywhere with our Year 6 students working hard on their make £5 grow project; the skills that they will begin to learn and develop will be essential as they go up through the school and start to look beyond. This week has also seen important academic work being undertaken across the school finishing key topic areas and preparing the students for the challenges ahead. All of our students have been incredibly busy but wonderfully cheerful entering into the spirit of festivities whilst also recognising that there is much still to be done. Our final assembly today has rewarded their academic progress and achievement, their outstanding contributions to school life, and their embodiment of the learner profile across the course of this term. They have as a body, made this a fantastic term for all.
Whilst the holiday season provides a much-needed opportunity for rest and relaxation for all, for our Year 11 and Year 13 students, public examinations are beginning to loom large. This break provides them with an ideal opportunity to cement their subject knowledge expertise and understanding whilst also continuing to develop the skills that will be required to master the style of questions that will arise. It is time to ensure that they have a strong base on which to build over the next six months by revisiting the work from Year 10 and Year 12 to ensure that the foundations are firmly in place and any areas that might be lacking are addressed. For each and every one of them, they will want to start the new year in a stronger position; this will happen if they take the time to carefully and studiously work through the areas that they will know are their priorities. We wish them all the very best in their continued preparation.
For our Year 13 students, this is an exciting time of the year as they begin to look forward to life beyond Saint Felix and what the future will bring. Those that have applied through UCAS for university places have had an unbelievable 90% offer rate thus far which is just outstanding and reflects the care and effort that they have put into their applications as well as the superb guidance and advice that they have had. It is also heartening to see the breadth of courses that they are applying for; Physics and Philosophy, Psychology, Classics, Economics, Business, Management, Accounting, Physiotherapy and Maritime Business just to name a few. With students also applying to the USA and other international destinations, it is equally impressive to see the range of universities from which they have received offers; Bristol, Leeds, KCL, Newcastle, Southampton, York, Durham, UCL, Nottingham, Lancaster and UEA are just some of the prestigious institutions where this fantastic group of students might end up studying. Well done to them!
I am thrilled that we are playing such a leading role in the East Suffolk Youth Council, a wonderful new initiative to ensure that the ideals of democracy begin to develop in the younger fraternity whilst connecting them with the issues facing local communities. Harley C and Charles S attended their second session this week and Charles has been voted in as the Chair! What a fantastic honour for him and the school. Apparently, he has taken on the role with ease and they have already passed the first Youth Council motion in the country intended to ensure the council provides greater awareness to schools and the community about youth mental health support and safety. We are all looking forward to hearing more about how this motion develops.
There has been a broad range of learning opportunities this term that have excited and encouraged passion and curiosity; our Year 7 students have spent the half term learning about writing to persuade and inform. To help inspire this, they were tasked with writing a persuasive speech on a book of their choice, alongside making a box to represent this “The Box Factor” They all learnt a huge amount from seeing each other’s boxes and listening to their speeches.
Earlier this week our Year 8 students took part in the Faraday Challenge, an annual STEM based day of activities where they investigate research and development in the area of electric vehicle batteries, with potential applications in renewable power. After competing against other schools that were invitied to Saint Felix for the day, I am thrilled to announce that our students won the challenge and have been given a place at the National Competition. Their final design and presentation will be put forward to the IET panel and if successful, will be invited to the IET office in London to discuss their design idea further. It is these kind of activities which stretch and challenge the students whilst also inspiring potential future passions. Next term, there are a wide variety of such events taking place, such as National Pi Day, National Puzzle Day, Engineering Week, World Book Day, and the UK Maths Challenge.
In other news, the Saint Felix Under 18 Netball team won a closely fought match against Sir John Leman 19-16! The first two quarters were incredibly tight but as the game progressed, Saint Felix found their rhythm and with great teamwork and resilience, they gradually stole a march on the opposition. Freya J was chosen as player of the match by the opposition for her supreme skill and composure under pressure. Well done to the whole team for an excellent performance that bodes well for next term. Our Golfers have continued to learn the game as part of their expanded co-curricular programme and will have the opportunity to fully enjoy the benefits of the course as the better weather looms in the new year; and as part of our ongoing partnership with Southwold Golf Club, our new sign has now been placed by their clubhouse.
And so, the term came to a close with two beautiful carol services in the magnificent St Edmund’s Church in Southwold, one for Prep and the other for Senior. I cannot think of a more stunning place to gather together as a community to usher in the holiday season. It only remains for me to wish you all the very best for Christmas and a joyful New Year. I hope that you will all enjoy the Saint Felix Annual Christmas Card.
Yours sincerely,
Matthew Oakman
Head
