Keep up to date with all the latest news stories and messages shared here! The three most recent Latest News articles also appear on the Home Page of the website. The full bank of Latest News feed articles can be viewed below:

• GCSE results 24th Agust

  Wed 23 Aug 2023

  We will be welcoming our students to collect their results tomorrow (Thursday 24th August) from 9am till 11am.  Good luck everybody!

   

  YoungMinds - https://www.facebook.com/youngmindsuk

  If your child is getting their GCSE results tomorrow, here is our advice on managing a disappointing outcome.

  1/ If your child is happy to show you their results statement, you might find it helpful to have a look, just in case they have misread or misunderstood, or overlooked something.

  2/ Accept their feelings, whatever they are – disappointment, anger, embarrassment, bravado. Their feelings are neither right nor wrong, they just are. Don’t offer immediate judgement, or solutions, or even reassurance – there will be plenty of time for conversations later.

  3/ Reflect back how they are feeling to show you have understood, for example, “I can see you’re disappointed with the Maths result.”

  4/ Let them know you love them through highs and lows. Big hugs are good (although may be embarrassing in public).

  5/ Show you’re on their side - it could be something small like getting their favourite snack.

  6/ Give yourself some breathing space and time to reflect.

  7/ Ask the school to help your child explore any possible next steps, such as re-takes, re-marking or alternative courses.

  8/ If your child is disappointed with their results, they might also be embarrassed. Agree with them how they want their results discussed with family and friends, if at all.

  

• Whole School Award re-accredited with a distinction!

  Tue 11 Jul 2023

  Pupils at The Polygon have once again been awarded a coveted Eco-Schools Green Flag with Distinction.

   

  The Eco-Schools Green Flag is an international accreditation that recognises efforts to raise environmental awareness amongst young people, whilst taking action to make their school more sustainable. The Polygon has now retained its status as an accredited Eco-School, following their achievement last year.  

   

  The Eco-Schools programme was established in 1994 and is now delivered in more than 70 countries across the globe. Our partner school in Iceland, Húsaskóli, also has the award and over the years we have shared ideas on this programme.  The programme prompts young people to explore a variety of environmental issues, including climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. Pupils are then empowered to plan and deliver environmental actions in their school, local community, and beyond.

   

  Since The Polygon began working towards an Eco-Schools Green Flag during 2017, achievements have included working on the allotment, reducing the school’s electricity consumption and encouraging wildlife into the school grounds. 

   

  During this academic year, pupils at The Polygon have built on these strong foundations, collaborating with Mrs Newman to work on three Eco-Schools topics: Biodiversity, waste, and water.  Pupils planned a variety of projects including; climate change investigations, fossil fuels research, litter picking and recycling mobile phones through the Green phone enterprise project.

   

  Staff member Mrs Newman said:

  “All the students have been very enthusiastic about the projects we have worked on this year, the students enjoyed litter picking and visiting Southampton’s only Geo thermal plant, a group have also worked with an outside agency to learn about waste produced from making model phones.”

   

  A pupil said:

  ”I have enjoyed being involved in all the project this year and have learned a lot.”

  Eco-Schools England Manager, Adam Flint, said: “The Eco-Schools Green Flag award is an internationally recognised symbol of high environmental standards. The pupils and school staff that earn the award deserve immense credit for their hard work, determination, and creativity. Their passion for protecting our planet is an inspiration to us all ”.

   

  To learn more about Eco-Schools head to www.eco-schools.org.uk 

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• Developing Independence with the Saints Foundation

  Mon 10 Jul 2023

  We are very lucky to be working with the Saints Foundation and last Friday the 9th of July some of our pupils, as part of the Inspires partner school programme, navigated their way around London – vital confidence building for their future.

   

  What is the Saints Foundation? 

  Our Purpose

  Saints Foundation is the charity of Southampton Football Club.

  We support people in need throughout Southampton, providing life-changing opportunities to help our city and its communities thrive.

  Our Mission

  We support Southampton by delivering projects that respond to the ever-evolving needs of the people of our city.

  Connecting with our communities using the power of the Saints badge, we help those who feel the impact of inequalities the most.

  Our Vision

  A city where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

   

  Why do they work with our school?

  SUPPORTING SOUTHAMPTON'S EDUCATION

  We work within local schools to improve attitudes towards education, raising aspirations of young people and supporting their engagement in school life.  Click on the link to find out more information:

   

  https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/saints-foundation-home

  

• Exam and qualifications records broken at The Polygon!

  Thu 15 Jun 2023

  Exams breeding success

   

  This summer we had a record 21 pupils entered into Mathematics, more than any other subject in Polygon history.  This included two year 9's, nine year 10's and ten year 11's.

  We also have two pupils sitting the higher paper.  This paper has questions starting at a grade 3 and goes up to grade 9!

   

  CONGRATULATIONS to Lucas Jewkes for becoming the first pupil in the school to achieve a bronze award from iDEA.  iDEA is an international award winning programme that helps you develop digital, enterprise and employability skills.

   

  Through a series of online challenges, you can win career-enhancing badges, unlock new opportunities and, ultimately, gain an industry-recognised award that help you stand out from the crowd.  For this, Lucas had to complete badges in the following categories: Worker, Citizen, Maker and Entrepreneur.

   

  Lastly, the EDEXCEL Functional Skills in ICT course is finishing next year so we made a big effort from pupils and staff to make the most of this opportunity and grab some more qualifications in ICT.  This was an opportunity for KS4 to bank a grade before sitting the Level 2 exam in June and a fantastic opportunity for KS3 to show off what they have learned this year.  This is a Level 1 exam that is equivalent to a grade 2 at GCSE!

   

  We are pleased to say that we had LOTS of passes!

   

  

• We are seeking x3 Learning Support Assistants to join our fantastic team

  Tue 23 May 2023

  Learning Support Assistant Vacancies

   

  We are seeking three people to join our school team.  Please go to our Vacancies page for full details of the posts.  

• Students complete training and a phone ready to sell!

  Sat 20 May 2023

  Green Influencer Scheme update

   

  Since October when we first told you about the Green Influencer Scheme our pupils have; attended workshops with The Earnest Cook trust, given a presentation explaining our project and now all seven pupils involved in the scheme have passed their Level 1 mobile phone training course (plus two staff)! This is brilliant news.

  In addition, the pupils have also fault found and repaired their first mobile phone which is now ready to sell.

   

  Click on the link to read a LinkedIn blog from the company that delivered the mobile phone training.

  

• Recent successful trips abroad

  Sun 14 May 2023

  Skiing trip to Italy and a British Council School Exchange visit to Iceland 

   

  This year pupils and staff from The Polygon School travelled to the Artesina in Italy to participate in the skiing residential. The Polygon School has offered pupils the opportunity to attend similar ski trips over the years but this was the first one to take place since the ill-fated ski trip of 2020, which was unfortunately cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

   

  First flying into Turin, pupils then took the 2-hour coach journey into the Cuneo Mountains where they stayed in the beautiful surroundings of the Artesina Ski Resort. All of the 7 pupils were first time skiers before the trip but all showed fantastic resilience, persistence and a willing to learn, which aided them to develop their skills tremendously over the week.

   

  By the end of the week the pupils were able to tackle some of the most advanced slopes on the mountain with ease and all earned their certificates and medals to the delight of their instructors and teachers.

   

  Pupils were also given the opportunity to try new foods and meet and interact with people from different cultural backgrounds. One year 11 pupil said:

  “It was really fun visiting a new place and enjoying some new and unique experiences”.

   

  As part of the International Schools Award, that we have been building in to the fabric of our school for the past twelve years, we took ten pupils for our third British Council School Exchange visit to Iceland.  We visited our partner school, Husaskoli, Mr Patchell’s school in Reykjavik. Our pupils gave a presentation to the pupils in Year 7 about our city and its geothermal power.  Mr Patchell then gave us a presentation about Reykjavik, before we tasted some of the delights of Iceland. We exchanged cultural ideas by joining in and learning some games in sports lessons that are used to teach the Icelandic national sport of handball.

   

  We had an amazing time visiting; the Blue Lagoon, Flyover Iceland, standing between two tectonic plates, exploring all the south coast has to offer and were lucky enough to see many Humpback Whales jumping very close to our vessel when whale watching.

   

  We managed to use our pre-visit learning of Icelandic words and phrases when we visited the local shop for pupils to compare foods and prices to those at home in Southampton. They took part in a 1000 Krona challenge to buy a drink and healthy snacks. All the pupils paid themselves and it was nice to see them help each other with their prices and Maths skills.  One pupil before heading home said:

  "It is great here, do we have to go back?!"

   

  The trip was able to achieve this life experience by gaining a grant through the Turin Scheme.

   

  Click on the link to view our blog posts about the two trips - School Blog

  

• THE ONLY city wide transition event of the year

  Wed 03 May 2023

  “Helping KS4 students plan for their future.”

   

   

  Dear parents...THE ONLY city wide transition event of the year.  All colleges will be there plus an area for SEND pupils, careers advice, apprenticeships and potential employers. There is a slot put aside for SEN pupils between 1-3pm and then just open tickets for families and pupils accross the city.

   

  *Tickets can be booked by clicking on this link - eventbrite and then by pressing the 'book now' tab on the poster. 

  

• More success with nature!

  Thu 27 Apr 2023

  Congratulations!

   

  Miss Newman, building on from the Green Phone project, has won The Nature Prize from Let´s Go Zero!  The school is buying materials to build; badger huts, hedgehog hotels and birdhouses.  These projects, with Let´s go Zero by 2020, will continue on the long history of working outside with nature at our school.

   

  Click here to view an interview with Miss Newman.

   

  

• Come join our team!

  Wed 19 Apr 2023

  We are seeking a Receptionist & Administration Assistant & a Learning Support Assistant to join our fantastic staff team and school.  Please go to the Vacancies page for full details of these posts.