Year 8 Update - Summer 1
Year 8 have once again had a busy and productive half term and it is a pleasure to be able to share all of that with you.
Tutor Time Curriculum
In Tutor Time, this half term began with the students having the opportunity to reflect on their Data 2 reports and set themselves sensible, attainable goals for the remainder of the year. We have then gone on to conclude this half term reflecting on the fact that exam season has opened for the older year groups – this has been a great chance to think about how far year 8 have come already at North Leamington School, and what the rest of the journey has in store. Elsewhere in Tutor Time, the team of form tutors has been delivering PSHE content on Crime and Gang Culture. These sessions have focused on knife crime, grooming and substance misuse, and form a vital part of educating the students about the wider world. Additionally, students have heard the feedback from student voice, following on from the Student Cabinet meeting of last term.
In the next half term, form tutors will continue to deliver PSHE, focusing on Mental and Physical Wellbeing. There will also be sessions on Pride Month and Digital Literacy.
NLS College Cup
We are excited to announce that this half term has seen the launch of our brand-new inaugural College Cup competition
All of Year and 8 and the rest of school have had the NLS College Cup introduced to them through through tutor time and assemblies. The College Cup is simply the most prestigious College competition in school because it encompasses all of the College events and scoring systems that we run in school. The College Cup is designed to celebrate and reward positive contribution, teamwork, and our CORE values across a wide range of areas including rewards, attendance, punctuality, charity events, competitions, Sports Day, Maths Bees, and much more.
Students have fed back to us that they want to feel more involved in their Colleges, and now the College Cup gives them the perfect opportunity to do so. With so many ways to contribute, every student can play a part — the big question is: which College win the very first College Cup?
NLS Attendance World Cup 2026
Next half term, we are launching the NLS Attendance World Cup — an exciting new attendance competition inspired by this summer’s international football tournament. Building on the fantastic success of our recent Winning Streak initiative, we want to keep the momentum going and continue celebrating excellent attendance across the school.
Every tutor group will compete as part of the tournament, with tutor groups split into two groups within each year group. Weekly attendance scores will determine league positions during the opening “group stage”, with the top four tutor groups from each group progressing to the knockout quarter-finals. From there, it’s all to play for as tutor groups battle through the semi-finals and into the grand final to be crowned NLS Attendance World Cup 2026 Champions!
The challenge is designed to encourage strong routines and consistent attendance throughout the term, whilst adding a fun and competitive element linked to the excitement of the World Cup. Every week matters, and every day in school could make the difference between progressing or being knocked out of the competition. As an added incentive, the winning tutor groups will receive a Pizza Party during tutor time to celebrate their achievement.
We are looking forward to seeing which tutor groups rise to the challenge and whether your child’s tutor can go all the way to lift the trophy!
Student Leadership
We are delighted to share some exciting developments regarding student leadership opportunities for next half term. Congratulations to Claudia and David, who have been appointed as our new Senior Student Leaders; you can read more about them and their role further down in this bulletin in the Student Leadership section.
In early June, leadership opportunities will open to students across the rest of the school, and Year 8 students will have the opportunity to apply for roles as Marketing and International Leaders.
There are plenty of fledgling leaders in the year group and I know that lots of students will want to take on these exciting roles.
Rewards and Celebration
We recognise the hard work students put in across the school each day. They consistently demonstrate our CORE values of Commitment, Opportunity, Respect and Excellence in all that they do. Staff are always eager to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of our students, and I am delighted to share the students who have earned the highest number of reward points this half term.
| Student | Reward Points |
|---|---|
| Annie M | 145 |
| Anvii B | 144 |
| Molly T | 141 |
| Samarth M | 139 |
| Molly P | 129 |
| Phoebe N | 123 |
| Molly F | 120 |
| Laurie H | 119 |
| Kristina K | 117 |
| Jayden L | 117 |
Online Safety Newsletters
A reminder our website contains a variety of online safety information within the Safeguarding tab. We have added the May Online Safety Newsletter which contains information on gaming and group chats - it is linked here also May Online Safety Newsletter. The June Online Safety Newsletter covers information on scams, digital footprints, privacy settings and app safety.
Calendar
There are plenty of whole school events coming up during next half term that will be extremely exciting for Year 8. As well as the hotly anticipated Year 8 trip to Drayton Manor on 12 June, there will be the VIBE drama club’s annual summer production of The Girl Who Loved Books, inspired by the famous story Matilda by Roald Dahl. This performance is scheduled for 1 July. As well as this we will have fabulous music in our summer concert on Tuesday 7 July, the Year 8 Maths Bee and, of course, the Colleges will compete in Sports Day on July 14. I am very excited to see just how many year 8 students throw their creative and sporting energies into these fantastic events.ow just how action packed the next half term will be and I am really looking forward to it.
Yours sincerely,
Joseph Piper
Assistant Headteacher – Year 8 Lead