Medina College Parent Portal - Weekly Updates from Medina College- 12 September 2025

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12 September 2025

Weekly Updates from the Headteacher

We are at the end of our first complete week back in school this academic year. I would like to thank our students and parents/carers for making this week successful. It has been a joy to see the students really embracing the start of term, enjoying some routine and being positive around school. Our new inside break areas, which have created relaxed seated social spaces have proved really popular, as have our Medina College daily notebooks, which all students now carry. Please take a moment or two to ask your child about theirs.

As we move forward through the year, you will see our new vision and values coming through more. We spent valuable time last term talking through our new vision and we are proud to say that we have stepped forward to embracing and embodying a sense of inclusivity and togetherness. Better progress is made when we all work together. 'Together we inspire, Together we discover, Together we flourish'.

Thank you to all of our Year 11 parents/carers who attended meetings with the staff on Wednesday evening. The team were pleased that so many found this a really valuable chance to set the tone for the year ahead.

Next week we will have the school photographers in on Monday morning, so please ensure that your child is in full school uniform, as always.On Wednesday evening we look forward to welcoming our new Year 7 parents/carers into school to meet their child's tutor and talk about how they are settling in.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Kam Bains
Headteacher

CATs Tests Next Week

Cognitive Ability Tests (CATs) will take place for all Year 7 students, and a small number of students from other years, on Thursday 18 and Friday 19 September.

The tests assess ability and not attainment. Therefore, no pre-learning or preparation is required. Your child should not feel worried about taking these tests as prior knowledge is not required to complete them.

The purpose of these assessments is to assist teachers in understanding individual learning styles; the results will be used, together with our internal assessment practices, to inform teachers about the strengths and developmental needs of each student.

Further information will be sent via letter to the parents of children scheduled to undertake these tests.

School Meals

Our canteen menus can be found on the website here. Next week will be the week 1 menu.

Please check your child's dinner money account over the weekend and ensure it is topped up for the week ahead.

Medina Attendance Matters

Dear parents and carers,

It has been an exciting time for many students as they return back to school following the summer holidays, and we have seen success across every year group in lessons as reflected in the achievement points logged on Arbor. In order to build upon this strong start, attendance has to be a priority to enable success to take place and we are keen to work with you to help maximise your child’s learning potential.

It is important to recognise that 5 hours of learning takes place every day, and the opportunity to make progress is dependent on being with us as much as possible. At this early stage of the year, every day will have a significant impact on your child’s overall attendance and sets the tone for the year ahead. With this in mind, we are looking forward to working with you in boosting attendance to unlock more success and actively encourage you to communicate with us to help maintain high levels of attendance at Medina.

Did you know: A student who achieves 97.5% attendance by July would have missed 25 hours of learning?

Every lesson counts, and every student deserves every opportunity to thrive; this can only be possible if they are in school and you are supporting us in sending your child to school. Please take the time to talk to your child about their day and why it is important to attend school. If there is something that is affecting your child’s attendance and you require support, please speak to either their tutor, a member of the student hub or send an email to attendance@medina.iow.sch.uk.

In order to celebrate and recognise those who have made consistent effort in attending school and being a part of our Medina community, we will be introducing 'streaks' to reward those who show up and make that positive contribution to Medina life. Every 5 day streak goes towards being rewarded for your efforts, with bigger streak milestones unlocking greater rewards. Keep your eyes peeled for the official announcement in the coming weeks. You have to be in it to win it.

Punctuality Point – Arriving at school after 9:15am will also affect your child’s attendance.

A huge thank you for supporting our community and raising attendance. Every lesson counts.

Mr Murdoch
Associate Assistant Headteacher

#WeAreMedina

P.S don’t forget breakfast club from 8:15 every morning in the canteen to fuel your day the right way

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Dates for your diary

Individual Student Photographs (all years)

Useful Links

Term Dates and College Day

Attendance

Arbor (Communications and Payments)

Attendance

If your child is unwell and unable to attend school, we kindly ask you to call us on 01983 538055 as early as possible. This will help us save time and prevent the need to contact you. It also ensures we can keep accurate records and continue to safeguard all our students.

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