Frequently Asked Questions
Dates, Times & Events Attendance & Absence Exams & Revision Uniform & equipment Homework Other
Dates, Times & Events
Q. What time does school start?
A. The school day begins at 8.40am and ends at 3.00pm. See the School day page for all other times.
Q. When are the summer holidays?
A. The summer holidays usually begin in the third week of July. View the School Calendar page for exact dates.
Q. When is my son’s/daughter’s Academic Review?
A. The date of parents evening changes each year and the actual date may change as the year progresses. The School Calendar shows the current date of Academic Reviews and further information will be made available closer to the date on our School Events page.
Q. What do I do if I am absent?
A. If you are absent from school you should get in touch with the school as soon as possible to let us know why you are absent. If we do not have an explanation of absence on the day our automated 'truancy call' system will automatically call the home.
When you come back to school you should bring in a letter from your parents explaining why you were absent or add a note in your log book and present it to your mentor. Contact details: attendance phone - 01323 514919 & attendance@etc-sch.com.
Q. What do I do if I am late for school?
A. If you are late you must report to the attendance office and sign in.
Q. What do I do if I have an appointment or need to leave school early?
A. If you have an appointment or need to leave early you need a letter from your parents explaining why you need to leave school and an authorized absence pass that you get from the attendance office.
Q. I am going on holiday during the school term, what do I need to do?
Q. I am going on holiday during the school term, what do I need to do?
A. Holidays in term time are only authorised in exceptional circumstances. You need to get a leave of absence/holiday form from the attendance office. The form should be filled in by your parents, returned to school to the attendance officer Ms. Fry.
Q. What is an Education Welfare Officer, does the school have one and how can I get in touch with them?
A. Attached to every school is an Education Welfare Officer (E.W.O.) who can help you sort out problems and offer independent advice on a range of issues.
Q. When are the SATs and GCSEs?
A. The SATs and GCSEs take place in May and June. Exact dates can be found on the School Calendar and further details will be made available closer to the time on the School calendar, the web site and in the newsletter.
Q. What are SATs and when do I take them?
A. Standard Attainment Tests (SATs) are National Tests in English, Maths and Science taken by all children at the end of Key Stages 1, 2 and 3 (year 9).
SATS are usually taken in May. Exact dates can be found on the School Calendar and further details will appear on the School Events page closer to the time.
Q. What are GCSEs and when do I take them?
A. GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) exams are taken by most students when they are 16 years old, whatever decisions they make about their future career.
GCSEs are generally taken in May and June.
Q. What are CATs?
A. Taken in Year 7, the Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT) is an assessment of a range of reasoning skills.
Q. As a parent where can I find further advice about what my child will learn?
A. The subject pages on our web site should contain information about what your child will learn.
Q. What is e-learn?
A. ‘e-learn’ is our Managed Learning Environment. You can access it from home or school and it contains extra tasks, homework, coursework information and learning links. You can find a link to it on the front of the our school web site.
Q. What is e-home?
A. ‘e-home’ enables you to log into your folders and files on the school network from outside of school.
Uniform & equipment
Q. Where can I buy the school uniform?
A. You can purchase the uniform from the main school office at the front of school. Office hours are 8am to 4pm.
Q. What is the school uniform?
A. Years 7 -9 White polo shirt with the school logo Black trousers (or skirt for girls) Black shoes or all black trainers (no white or coloured stripes) Light blue sweatshirt with the school logo One stud earring - no other piercings
Years 10-11 White polo shirt with the school logo Black trousers (or skirt for girls) Black shoes or all black trainers (no white or coloured stripes) Black sweatshirt (not a jumper) with the school logo One stud earring - no other piercings
Q. Are there things I can't wear for school?
A. You can only wear the school uniform. Especially, no caps or extra earrings and definitely no white trainers.
Homework Q. How much homework should my child be doing?
A. Key stage 3: 5 - 7 hours per week - the KS3 timetable Key stage 4: 8 - 12 hour per week - Year 10 ; Year 11
Q. What should I do if my child does not seem to have much homework?
A. Contact the school - this can be the mentor, subject teacher, head of faculty or deputy-head. You can ring the school on 01323 514900 or email the office on office@etc-sch.com and they will forward the mail.
Other
Q. I have a concern, what should I do?
A. If parents have a concern or complaint it should be taken up initially with the mentor, you can also contact the AHOC (assistant head of community).
Q. What happens if my child is sick at school?
A. On the enrolment of new pupils an admission questionnaire is completed which, amongst other things, asks parents how they can be contacted during the school day. Although the school has a medical room it is not staffed, so, in the event of sickness, arrangements have to be made for pupils to go home.
Please note students can only be sent home once contacts have been made with the parent/responsible adult and this is why it is essential we have accurate emergency contact details.
If a more serious accident occurs parents are immediately sent for, as the medical authorities usually require the presence of a parent.
Q. What buses can I get to and from school?
A. Awaiting update
Q. What is a BCG injection, why do I need it and when do I get it?
A. The BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guerin) immunisation protects you against a disease called TB (tuberculosis). The immunisation is given as an injection usually in Year 8.
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