We are writing to all parents to notify them of a change to our mobile phone policy. As part of our ongoing work to improve learning, wellbeing and safety across the school, the Headteacher and Governing Body have agreed a significant change to our approach to mobile phones and personal digital devices. From our return to school after February Half Term, pupils will no longer be permitted to use mobile phones or personal digital devices at any point during the school day. This includes from the moment pupils arrive on site until they leave the site at the end of the day, and it applies to all supervised school activities. Pupils can bring phones to school, but they should not be seen, heard or used at any time during the school day.
As we approach the end of the autumn term and look forward to the festive season, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support throughout the year. Your encouragement and partnership play a vital role in helping us provide the best possible experiences for our students.
This term has been filled with hard work, achievements, and memorable moments. We are incredibly proud of how our pupils have embraced challenges and demonstrated resilience and enthusiasm in their learning. None of this would be possible without the strong home-school collaboration that we value so highly.
As we head into the Christmas break, we hope you enjoy a well-deserved rest and time with family and friends. On behalf of all the staff, I wish you a joyful Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year. We look forward to welcoming everyone back in January for another exciting term.
A Few Reminders
Monday 5th January 2026 is a staff INSET Day, therefore all pupils will return to school on Tuesday 6th January 2026
Uniform Please ensure that pupils return in full school uniform in January. Maintaining high standards of uniform helps promote a sense of pride and belonging within our school community.
Attendance Regular attendance is essential for every child’s progress and success. We kindly ask that all pupils attend school every day unless there is a genuine reason for absence, such as illness. If your child is unable to attend, please inform the school promptly. Good attendance ensures continuity in learning and helps pupils achieve their full potential.
Each year, depending on the weather we review the wearing of PE kit as a summer uniform. In response to weather reports we will be allowing all pupils to wear PE kit to school after the Easter Holiday.
I would like to be clear that pupils in have two options only. To wear normal school uniform or to wear normal PE kit. Inappropriate garments such as Crocs, hotpants and normal sportswear will not be permitted, and my team will be contacting home where pupils do not respect our policy. Our full uniform requirements are set out in full here: https://bit.ly/YBBUniform
If pupils do not have the correct PE kit, then they must wear their normal school uniform.
I would ask that Year 11 continue to wear uniform to their formal examinations which begin in May. The examination hall has air conditioning.
We hope this compromise to our uniform policy will support pupils to be more comfortable in class without compromising our expectations for high standards.
As you know from our previous letter in October 2024, the Year 11 End of Year Celebration Evening is on Tuesday the 24th of June 2025. Full details below:
The School Nursing Team will be visiting school soon to deliver the HPV Vaccination to all eligible year 8 pupils.
There will be pupils who have missed their vaccination in previous years. We may have consent forms for these pupils, in Years 9- 11, and these pupils will be called on the day of the session at school. At the same session, we will be offering the MMR Vaccination to all pupils who have missed a dose, from year 7-11.
Documents, consent and further information can be found in the documents below:
Mr A. D. Thomas the director of education has written to all parents to stress the importance of good attendance and the support on offer to help improve attendance.
Welcome to the final update of 2024!! I would like to thank all pupils, staff, parents and carers and governors for their continued support throughout 2024. I hope whatever you have planned over the next two weeks, you are able to relax and a have a fabulous time.
Just a few reminders:
Monday 6th January is a designated INSET Day for staff so all pupils will return to school on Tuesday 7th January 2025.
Please ensure that pupils attend school as much as possible and are punctual. There have been improvements in both these areas during 2024 which we very much appreciate but attendance remains below pre-COVID figures still. Welsh Government guidance means that any pupil with less than 90% attendance is classed as being a persistent absentee. The school and Education Attendance Service will continue to work closely with pupils and families in 2025. Pupils must also adhere to the school uniform policy which can be accessed via the school website.
I also need to bring to your attention an increase in the price of the set meal from the start of the Spring Term from £2.90 to £3.00. We always endeavour to keep prices as low as possible, however in light of continued increases in food costs, we have had to increase the set meal along with a small increase to menu choice options. These will be available to view via the school website.
On Tuesday 10th December pupils in year 10 who have completed all their sections for their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award were invited to the Princess Royal Theatre to be presented with their badges and certificates. Pupils have successfully completed 6 months of volunteering, physical activity and developing a skill. The group completed a practice expedition in Margam Park before their final expedition around the Gower in the summer term. Congratulations to everyone on your achievement!
CyberFirst Girls Competition
Four girls from 8JLE took part in the The CyberFirst Girls Competition which aims to inspire girls interested in technology to pursue a career in cyber security. Girls worked together as a team in school as well as at home for 5 days straight. Girls have done really well in the competition scoring over 4500 points! Even though they didn’t make it to the semi-finals, the girls have still learnt plenty of new skills. When the competition concluded, two of the pupils decided to apply for the Digital Leaders recognition within the school with success.
Top of the Bench Chemistry Competition Swansea University 2024
Two mixed teams of year 8 to year 11 pupils attended Swansea University on Thursday December the 12th to take part in the prestigious ‘Top of the Bench’ Chemistry Competition. The event involved competing in a Kahoot quiz against pupils in the same year group from other schools. This was followed by a team practical activity in the lab using indicators and titration method. Both teams did fantastically well in the Kahoot’s quizzes! We gained 4 podiums; Samuel Gibbon and Dylan Jarvis each taking 3rd place, Tanisha Hussain 2nd place, and Maisie-Kate Rowland gaining 1st place in year 10 out of 61 teams!
Both teams gained maximum points for safety in the lab, and displayed excellent teamwork and practical skills throughout the lab session!
Students Participate in the National GCHQ Christmas Challenge 2024
This holiday season, students from Year 7 to Year 11 took part in the national GCHQ Christmas Challenge 2024. The competition featured seven tricky puzzles designed to test the students’ problem-solving and teamwork skills. Both students (and some of our staff) enjoyed working together to solve each puzzle, aiming to uncover the final Christmas message. The challenge was a great way for everyone to engage and have fun during the festive period. One of our Year 11 teams stood out by completing all the codes and revealing the message in an impressive time of just 1 hour and 49 minutes! Their quick thinking and collaboration made them the fastest team, achieving something many thought would be near impossible. Congratulations to the Year 11 students for their outstanding performance! Well done to all the participants for their hard work and enthusiasm in making this year’s challenge a success.
Yr Ysgol Ganol/Middle School
Year 7&8 have been working hard in preparation for Christmas. There have been lots of fun activities such as Christmas Jumper day and a 2 km Christmas Fun Run for year 8 in order to raise funds for charity. 6 pupils each from Year 7&8 were invited for their half termly Hot Chocolate with the Headteacher in order to acknowledge the hard work and effort they consistently put in. Well done to those! Finally, as the last week of term approaches, there will be an awards assembly to celebrate a number of achievements across the year groups and many pupils will be invited to watch a Christmas film as a reward for their efforts this term.
Huge well done to year 8 for running their Christmas Charity Run in aid of the eye cancer charity CHECT today, great effort by all in raising money for this deserving cause.
Christmas Netball
A lot of fun was had in the Christmas Netball competition
THIS WEEK
As far as the last week of term is concerned, throughout the week there are activities planned for different year groups. When these activities are not going ahead there will be normal timetable with normal lessons as far as possible, but teachers will also be responding to the level of attendance in a class.
Art Department Non-Examination Assessments
This week our Year 11 pupils who are studying GCSE Art, Photography and or Textiles will be completing their final non examination assessments. This will provide them with the opportunity to complete all work to the highest possible standard before starting the examination Unit in January. The timetable for this is:
Monday Dec 16th
11A Art AJH EA7 8:55 – 14:55 11B Art DNO EA6 8:55 – 14:55
Please click on the link to access a letter regarding information about the Year 9 Option process at YBB. Letter Mr Williams has already spoken to pupils in their individual classes.
I will write again to parents and carers later in the week to provide some important information/reminders for the start of the Spring Term 2025. Remember that Monday 6th January is an INSET Day for staff and all pupils will return to school on Tuesday 7th January.
