Seesaw is an educational platform designed to enhance learning experiences for students, teachers, and families. It serves as a Learning Management System (LMS) that empowers students to create, reflect, collaborate, and share their work while keeping families informed about their child's learning progress.  Seesaw combines instructional tools, assessments, and communication features.

One teacher has said:

“Seesaw is a great tool for us to be able to record our pupils' interactions and growth across Personal Development and education both on-site and off-site. It is also good to see the pupils look at their own progress, discuss their activities on SeeSaw with their peers and staff and look at their achievements and successes.” 

Our students use the platform as a digital portfolio where they showcase their work and reflect on their learning experiences. It combines instructional tools, student portfolios, and communication features to enhance the learning process for students, teachers, and families.  It is a great way of capturing the personal development opportunities across the curriculum and 'in the moment' learning.

A student commented:

"I like looking on SeeSaw in my tutor group so we can see what we have done and talk together about it - OG"

On the week of 9th – 13th February we will be having a school wide Careers Week. Across the week there will be a series of activities, both on-site and off-site, aimed at every group in school.

As well as bespoke career activities, subject leaders will be teaching lessons that directly relate to the world of work.

Planned events across the week include:

• Year 7 – A bespoke tour of AB Ports, one of Southampton’s biggest employers.
• Year 8 – In School Apprentice Speed Network – The Careers and Enterprise Company will be coming to do a session about what an Apprenticeship is and meeting 5 Apprentices to understand what they do and how they earned their roles.
• Year 9 – Solent University Tour – The University are hosting a group of Year 9’s, and some older pupils to introduce them to life at University as well as a tour of their facilities.
• Year 10 – Our Year 10 pupils will be going out for the week on their work experience placements. We look forward to seeing what they learn and how they enjoy their experiences.

If you would like to know more about our fantastic careers programme, please click on the link - https://www.polygon.southampton.sch.uk/careers-2

Participation in after-school clubs supports pupils’ social, emotional, and academic development. It helps to foster a sense of belonging and it allows pupil to develop relationships with staff and other pupils alike. Pupils who engage in extracurricular activities often demonstrate improved motivation, confidence, and engagement in their learning during the school day.

After-school clubs also offer a safe, supervised environment during critical after-school hours, supporting families and promoting student well-being. 

Click on the link to see this term's timetable  - https://www.polygon.southampton.sch.uk/after-school-clubs-2

"Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from everybody at The Polygon School!"

The students were supported throughout the project by STEM Ambassador Aine, a Marine Architect from the Maritime & Coastguard Agency. Her expert guidance was invaluable, and we extend a huge thank-you for the time and enthusiasm she dedicated to our students.

Across 12 Design & Technology lessons, the team explored key principles of marine engineering, including hull design, line drawing, buoyancy, forces and propulsion. Each student developed their own concept model using modelling foam, before collaborating to select the final design they would take to competition.

On race day, the students represented the school brilliantly. After encountering a mechanical issue during the first race, they worked quickly to diagnose the problem, carry out repairs, and adapt their design based on the boat’s performance. Their problem-solving skills made a clear difference—the next three races were successfully completed, with noticeable improvements in speed and handling.

Throughout the event, judges visited the team’s display table. The students confidently explained their design process, material choices and the engineering decisions behind the modifications they made on the day.

Their efforts earned them 4 points, securing a place in the B Final. Ellis and Dominik shared the driving duties with great focus and control, while the whole team demonstrated impressive teamwork and determination. All three students said they valued the experience even more than the competition outcome.

At the closing awards ceremony, the team were thrilled to receive the Judges’ Favourite Award. This accolade recognised not only their thoughtful design work but also their ability to make effective engineering improvements in real time.

We are incredibly proud of their achievement and the maturity, creativity and resilience they showed throughout the project.

These Benchmark were recently updated to account for the changes in culture, provision and the changing world over the past 10 years. Supported by the Careers and Enterprise Company we conducted an assessment, using the updated framework, of our provision and are pleased to inform you that we achieved all 8 Benchmarks at 100%.

We are exceptionally proud of our result and look forward to continuing our strong work in supporting our pupils to access a diverse range of Employer Encounters, workplace opportunities, further education opportunities, career curriculum support and advice and guidance.

Our results can be seen below and are posted on the Careers section of the website https://www.polygon.southampton.sch.uk/careers-2.

The climbing wall is also a great addition - students have the opportunity to practice their bouldering and problem solving skills to make their way around the course. The biggest challenge yet is to complete the red route- the highest difficulty! 

To further personalise our approach within the Engagement Pathway, we have introduced a new dynamic points-based incentive system aimed at inspiring and motivating our pupils. This also helps to replace the school site system which is not accessible to our students due to reduced timetables and off-site provisions.

This initiative is designed to; encourage active participation in lessons, promote positive behavioural choices, and support consistent attendance.  By earning points through their efforts and engagement, students are not only recognised for their progress but also empowered with a genuine sense of achievement and pride in their development.

Each week, students will have access to a visually engaging progress chart, where they can monitor their own performance and see how their peers are progressing. This transparent and interactive system fosters a sense of community, healthy competition, and shared success, helping pupils stay focused and driven throughout their learning journey.

The Polygon was involved in a collaboration between local schools, Hampshire charity Yellow Door, and a researcher from Southampton Solent University producing a powerful short film exploring the issue of sexual harassment.

In November 2024, The Polygon School and Yellow Door, a charity focused on preventing and responding to domestic and sexual abuse, attended an event together showcasing *Screening Sexual Violence.  This was a web resource developed as part of a British Academy-funded research project led by Dr Donna Peberdy, Associate Professor at Solent University. The project examines how film can be used as a tool for education, awareness, and social change.

Inspired by both the resource and a talk from Dr Peberdy, Chloe Foster (The Polygon School) and Wayne K (Yellow Door), who were working on a collaborative project together exploring violence against women and girls (VAWG), expressed a desire to create their own film with students at The Polygon School.  They wanted to show how they could be part of the solution, not just seen as the problem.

Working with boys aged 12–16 at The Polygon School, Dr Peberdy was joined by MA Film Production student Fergus Mclean and PhD Art in Education student Emma Morrissey. Together, the Solent team ran creative workshops to explore the students’ ideas and help them shape the narrative. The students developed the concept and story and were later invited, along with their teacher and a representative from Yellow Door to Solent University’s state-of-the-art studios for a script read-through.

Chloe Foster, teacher and Head of PSHE at The Polygon School, is incredibly proud of what the young people achieved through the project and recognises the power of schools collaborating with local organisations such as Yellow Door and Solent University. She says:

“This project began, quite humbly, in a coffee shop in Portswood back in July 2024 – a charity and a school coming together to explore creative ways to support young people in navigating complex conversations about VAWG, and how to approach these issues meaningfully in schools. I am extremely proud of the project we designed together, the journey our students have been on, and the incredible experiences they’ve had through this unique collaboration. I believe this film represents a valuable resource for schools to use within PSHE lessons, created by students to inspire and educate their peers. Donna and Solent University have been absolutely incredible. From empowering students, to shaping scripts, to handing over real tech and trusting our young people to use it – they didn’t just help us make a film. They helped young people find their voice.”

The resulting film,  Now Your Turn, was shot over the summer, with students from both The Polygon School and Crestwood Community School taking on acting and filmmaking roles.  Director Fergus says:

“There is a unique magic to a film set, amongst the logistical challenges, that brings a strong sense of unity to a group of people. Watching the boys develop - from averted eye contact and nervous laughter to genuine sincerity and important conversation through the journey of a shoot day - has been hugely gratifying.”

On Thursday 23 October, the University rolled out the red carpet for a special screening of the film to celebrate the students’ achievements.  Alongside families and teachers, organisations from across the region attended the packed event, with many requesting copies of the film and expressing interest in collaborating with the University on similar initiatives.

Congratulations to everybody involved in the project and the recognition it thoroughly deserves.

The Polygon has gained this award in recognition of it demonstrating a commitment to diversity and inclusion during the month.

Each class had their own class votes to elect their Class Councilors (photo coming soon) and the new members received the councilor badges in assembly from Mr Penfold.

As a wider vote everyone participated in the election for Head Boy. In assembly Mr Penfold announced Tyler would be our Head Boy for 2025/26 and Owen would be the Deputy Head Boy. 

Our congratulations to the new school council and the Head/Deputy Head Boys. I am sure you will all represent our school community    well across the coming year.