Learning

Learning in Years 7 to 11

In secondary school, we encourage boys to take greater responsibility for their own education. However, we appreciate that each boy will reach this level of responsibility at different times according to their maturity and motivation.

Maintaining good academic progress is important, and every student is closely monitored by his Form Tutor as well as the Academic Head of Year.

The Academic Head of Year (listed below) works with the five Form Tutors in each Year. Their role is to:

Raise expectations and instil confidence in students
Improve individual performance
Keep students and parents informed about progress and anticipated grades
Identify and underperformance and provide support

The Form Tutor looks after a specific class and is their specific point of contact every day. The Form Tutor is usually the teacher best placed to monitor personal or academic issues.

Key Stage 3

In Years 7, 8 and 9 students follow the Jersey Curriculum with the addition of Food Technology and two hours a week of sport. A comprehensive programme of Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) is also part of the curriculum and covers a range of wellbeing areas such as relationships, self-esteem and personal safety alongside citizenship and study of Jersey’s unique political system and local government.

Year	Academic Head of Year	Email
7	Mrs Lucy Ogg	l.ogg@vcj.sch.je
8	Miss Jacqueline Bryan	j.bryan@vcj.sch.je
9	Mrs Orla Priestley	o.priestley@vcj.sch.je

Key Stage 4

In Years 10 and 11 students study mandatory core subjects: English, mathematics, religious education, a modern foreign language. All students also have lessons in PE, careers and PSHE. Alongside these subjects, students can choose to study six Options of their choice. Many subjects offer extra-curricular activities that provide support and extension work to students who show particular interest in the area.

Year	Academic Head of Year	Email
10	Mr Brendan Carolan	b.carolan@vcj.sch.je
11	Mr Brendan Carolan	b.carolan@vcj.sch.je

The vast majority of our Year 11 students stay on with us through to Years 12 and 13, the Sixth Form, to study A levels and prepare for university or work. Find out more about our Sixth Form here, or contact our Head of Sixth Form, Alan Falle: a.falle@vcj.sch.je.

Curriculum and Subjects

Our curriculum is a rich and stimulating mixture of subjects, designed to meet the diverse needs of our students and challenge them to reach their full potential. For subject information, read the GCSE Options Guide 2018. For a curriculum overview please click on the subject titles below.

	Head of Department
Art	Mr Jefferson Randles	j.randles@vcj.sch.je
Computer science	Mr Ozzy Parkes	o.parkes@vcj.sch.je
Design and Technology	Mrs Gabrielle Armstrong	g.armstrong@vcj.sch.je
Drama	Mrs Lucy Ogg	l.ogg@vcj.sch.je
English	Miss Marianne Adams	m.adams@vcj.sch.je
Geography	Mr Aaron O’Hare	a.ohare@vcj.sch.je
History	Mrs Parmjeet Plummer	p.plummer@vcj.sch.je
Languages	Miss Monica Perestrelo	m.perestrelo@vcj.sch.je
Mathematics	Ms May Brennand	m.brennand@vcj.sch.je
Music	Mr Francis Murton	f.murton@vcj.sch.je
Religious Studies	Mr Gareth Bloor	g.bloor@vcj.sch.je
Personal, Social and Health Education	Mr Lee Batchford	l.batchford@vcj.sch.je
Physical Education	Mr Matthew Smith	m.smith@vcj.sch.je
Biology	Dr Jane Richardson	j.richardson@vcj.sch.je
Chemistry	Mr Matt Widdop	m.widdop@vcj.sch.je
Physics	Dr Steven Cooke	s.cooke@vcj.sch.je
Careers	Mrs Suzanne Job	s.job@vcj.sch.je

Academic reporting

Your son’s teachers will set him targets and monitor his progress to ensure that he is on track. We will keep you informed of your son’s progress in several ways throughout the Academic Year 2019/20:

Two parent evenings
Progress Reviews which provide a summary of a student’s effort, achievement and any areas of concern
A comprehensive report with grades and comments from each of your son’s teachers

If at any time, you are concerned or have a question regarding your son’s academic progress, contact us straight away so that we can support him as needed. Your first port of call is his Form Tutor.

Exams

Victoria College is an academically strong and successful school. Exams are an integral and routine part of the teaching and learning process, and we provide our boys with the knowledge, support and practice opportunities so that they may approach each exam calmly and with confidence. It is important to be well prepared for exams and this is a team as well as an individual effort, with student, teachers and parents each having a vital role to play.

Two types of exam are held at Victoria College:

Internal: entrance exams, mock exams and summer exams at the end of the academic year.
External: GCSEs in Year 11 and A levels in Year 13, plus other exams that are assessed by external boards.

For more information about exams in Years 12 and 13, see our Sixth Form Learning page.

If you have any questions regarding your son’s exam performance, contact his Academic Head of Year, as listed above. For general exam queries contact Examinations Officer, Liz Smith: l.smith@vcj.sch.je

The following documents and links will help you and your son better understand the exams in Years 7 to 11:

Special Educational Needs

Should your son face challenges, our learning support team are here to help identify the issues and put support in place. They are found in our Study Centre, a central base for our learning and wellbeing support that is accessible to boys throughout the school day.

The team includes a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) and an Inclusion Coordinator, who aim to:

anticipate and meet the needs of pupils who have special educational needs or disabilities
ensure all students experience a fully inclusive education
help students learn the social, emotional and behavioural skills needed in order to sustain positive relationships with others
ensure that all teachers are aware of each pupil’s needs – it is the shared responsibility

The role of the SENCO is to identify and coordinate the special provisions needed by those boys who:

Have specific learning difficulties or complex visual or physical needs
Are High Potential Learners

For SEN queries, contact our SENCO, Orla Priestley: o.priestley@vcj.sch.je

The role of the Inclusion Coordinator is to:

coordinate the special provisions needed by boys who have specific mental health, social, emotional, wellbeing and behavioural needs
work with staff, parents and outside agencies, if needed, to ensure that every boy has, as much as possible, equal opportunity to attend school punctually and consistently, to learn and perform well in both their lessons and exams

For Inclusion or accessibility queries, contact Inclusion Coordinator, Sue Watkins: s.watkins@vcj.sch.je

The Library

The De Quetteville Library is a welcoming and thriving learning space that combines technology to facilitate modern education and the charm and atmosphere of a traditional library. The oldest section was an integral part of the original school teaching room when it was established in 1852. It was then refurbished in 1905, with carved oak shelving donated by the De Quetteville family.

The Library plays a central role in supporting teaching and learning across the curriculum, and aims to develop in the boys’ lifelong enjoyment of reading. It provides:

Library induction sessions for new students
12,000 fiction and non-fiction books
30 PCs and 23 iPads
Password access to online subscription resources and databases
Daily newspapers and a large variety of magazines and journals, both print and online.
Printing, photocopying and scanning facilities
Audio books and course-complimentary DVDs
Graphic novels and associated media
A careers section and university prospectuses
Changing displays promoting literary schemes, competitions, school information, archive materials, local history, quizzes, visual artists, poetry, general knowledge and an object of the week

During break and lunch time, all students are welcome in the Library to study, research or simply read or listen to audio books.

For Library queries, contact Librarian, James Wooldridge j.wooldridge@vcj.sch.je