The Island VI Form Parent Portal - Weekly Updates from The Island VI Form

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9 May 2025

Weekly Updates from The Island VI Form

It is hard to believe we now only have two weeks left of this half term!

Year 13 is now underway with their final exams and this is both an exciting and stressful time. Please remember, Student Services and Mentors are available to talk through any stresses that you may have. Year 13 must confirm University choices by the beginning of June, so if you have not yet done this please do. If you are unsure how to do this please come into Student Services.

This week we had the Isle of Wight Ability Dogs charity in to give a talk to some of our Year 12 about volunteering which was lovely to see and on Monday we have Chichester University coming in to talk about how to apply for University.

On Tuesday 13 May, there will be an assembly for all Year 12 in the dining hall at 12.20 pm. During this time I will be discussing some changes that will be occurring in the VI Form and also discussing the UCAS process and support we will be putting in place.

Next week is Year 13's last week of College. On Friday lunchtime (16 May) we will have an informal get together/drop in, in the canteen at lunchtime, where Year 13 can pick up their Year group photo, chat to teachers and and enjoy a drink and some cake.

I hope you all have a lovely and safe weekend and we will see you on Monday.

Mr Pearce-Jones
Head of School

Baroness Natalie Bennett (former Leader of the Green Party) visited students last week to give an insight into the work of the House of Lords, as part of the popular 'Learn with the Lords' programme.

Baroness Bennett spoke to students on a range of topics including her journey into politics and the role the House of Lords has in the passing of laws, holding the government to account and making recommendations to the government on a range of topics through its committee work. She then answered questions from students on a range of current topics.

We are very grateful to Baroness Bennett for giving up her time to visit us, supporting our enrichment programme for students, and sharing her very interesting journey.

Ability Dogs 4 Young People IOW led an enrichment session at The Island VI Form this week for students. They explained all about the work the charity does and how young people can get involved in supporting them as a volunteer.

To top it off, they brought along one of their assistance dogs which the students loved interacting with! It was a great session which really highlighted the importance of charities, volunteering and working together to support each other.

As a community, we observed a two-minute silence at midday yesterday to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day.

VE Day 80 is a celebration of 80 years of peace since the end of World War Two in Europe. It is not only a tribute to those who fought for the freedom we all enjoy today, but also a powerful reminder of the resilience and unity that have defined our country ever since.

We would like to share a link to The British Army's Twitch channel where they have provided a 40 minute VE Day 80 history lesson: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2453342996?tt_content=vod&tt_medium=mobile_web_share This link will be live for 1 week and may be of interest to both parents and students.

Walk the Wight - Sunday 11 May

Good luck to all students taking part in Walk the Wight this Sunday!

We would like to include a montage of photos of our community taking part in this event in our weekly news updates and on our social media channels.

If you are taking part (over any of the distance options) and are happy to be included, please send a photo of yourself somewhere along the route to gemma.long@iow.hispmat.org by the end of Monday 12 May.