Mock Results Day

Tuesday 10 January 2012

The Mock Results Day for our Year 11s on Friday 6 January marked the very beginning of the very end of their time at Cirencester Deer Park School. The day provided our pupils with the latest marker of how they are progressing towards their GCSE outcomes and it obviously had a big impact on all of our Year 11 pupils.

In the presentations before the results were released, Chiquita Henson, Head Teacher, and James Johnson, Head of Key Stage 4, were able to reflect on the pupils' collective achievements and celebrate the progress that the year group had made to this key point in their journey through Key Stage 4. Ms Henson also shared some key pieces of advice and details of up-coming events in an assembly designed to simulate the experience that pupils will have in August when they collect their final GCSE results.

Chiquita Henson said “It is clear that we have a high calibre year group, who are working hard and have the potential to succeed as individuals and as a cohort. However, for a few, today has been bit of a wake-up call. Fortunately for them, their teachers, the Key Stage 4 Pastoral team, staff from Cirencester College and the Careers Service were on hand to advise them on how to improve.”

It is clear that the mock exams are important. They provide our pupils with the opportunity to rehearse their revision strategies and examination techniques, and the outcomes they achieve reflect the progress they have made towards meeting their targets, and highlight the areas they need to focus on for improvement. They also help to inform teachers’ planning and forecast grades. These will be shared with pupils and their parents in their Interim Reviews which will be published later this month before our Year 11 Parents’ Evening on Thursday 2 February.

Mr Johnson has analysed the results and is working with teachers and pupils to ensure that every individual achieves their best. He commented “We have been impressed by the attitude and accomplishment of many of our pupils in Year 11. It has been a very successful day with many pupils gaining confidence that they are on their way to well deserved success in the summer. For those who have had a bit of a wake-up call, it is important for them to realise that it is not so important what the results were today but how they respond in the coming months.”

The Mock Results Day marked the starting point for the final approaches to our summer exams. The good results so far have given the pupils and the school much cause for optimism and many pupils are confident they have the right approach. One Year 11 pupil commented “The Mock Results Day was a bit daunting, but was a great way of giving us an idea of how we will feel for the real thing. It has helped motivate me to think about what I want out of school when I leave."