Aylsham High School Parent Portal - AHS weekly communication digest -22.05.26

${item_alt_tag}$

Letters and emails sent home this week

Reminder Year 11 Celebration Day – Friday 19 June 2025
Canada Tour 2026 – Required Next Steps
AstraZeneca Trip 24/06/2026
D of E Silver expedition July
GCSE Geography Coastal Fieldtrip
Italy Ski trip second payment reminder
Young Chamber Trip to the Royal Norfolk Show 24/6/26
Year 11 leavers’ letter and consent form
New ICE course information letter
Norfolk Schools Athletics Championships

* To view these letters please check your ParentMail or alternatively, please click here

General Reminders and information

Year 11 Attendance During Exams

We have been really pleased with how our students have approached their GCSE examinations so far this year. Year 11 have been exemplary in their conduct and in their focus on doing their very best. They have also shown immense consideration to their peers by being quiet around the school while examinations are in progress. Their teachers have prepared them well and this is reflected in their responses to the examinations they have completed so far. The key, as always, is hard work and focused revision.

Lessons and revision sessions are still going on and students are benefitting from really valuable last minute inputs from their teachers. Please may we remind you that there is no study leave in place. Our Year 11 students are expected to attend school all day, every day, and attend the timetabled lessons and revision sessions in place to support your child in preparing for their exams. The only exceptions to this are those students who have an agreed plan with the Senior Leadership Team or those with Medical Needs provision.

We will not be able to authorise late arrivals or early departures unless evidence is provided to support this or there are particular special circumstances that have been agreed with the school in advance. Please be mindful that any absences will impact on your child’s overall attendance, and evidence of their attendance may be requested by colleges or future employers.

We hope that you will support us with providing your child with the best possible chance for exam success through good attendance.

Kind regards, Duncan Spalding

If your child is ill during the school day

If your child is taken ill during the school day they should firstly report this to their teacher who will authorise them to go to the medical needs office where they will be assessed by a qualified first aider. Parents will be notified immediately if their child requires to go home or in the case of an emergency, an ambulance may be called and parents will be notified. It is important that students follow these procedures and do not phone home themselves.

If parents turn up without being contacted by med bay and take their child home the child's absence will be recorded as unauthorised.

Medicines

Please be aware that staff are unable to dispense any medication without parental written consent. There are 'Form for parental consent for administration of medicine' forms available at reception or you can click the link below for a digital copy:

https://www.aylshamhigh.com/attachments/download.asp?file=666&type=pdf

Although the school is able to supply students with paracetamol and Ibuprofen subject to requirement and consent, we would request that students who are on a medical advice treatment plan requiring regular administration of Paracetamol and/or Ibuprofen supply the Medical Needs Officer with the required amount to cover the period of treatment, with a completed ‘Form for parental consent for administration of medicine’ highlighting the required dose and timings for administration as advised by the healthcare professional.

If we feel that the student is taking paracetamol/Ibuprofen regularly/excessively over an unprescribed period it is our discretion to also refuse administration. In these instances we will inform you.

More information about medicines is available on our website under 'Parents & Carers' section, then the 'Medical Information' tab. Quick link available here: https://www.aylshamhigh.com/medicalinformation

Heat Packs

We have had a number of heat packs borrowed from our Medical needs office and not returned, please can you check your child's school bag, rooms etc, just incase any have made it home. Any that can be returned will be much appreciated.

Polite Reminder - Pastoral Concerns

For any pastoral concerns or questions regarding your child, their form tutor should always be your first point of contact. They are likely to see your child most days and can ensure prompt support. Furthermore, they can coordinate with the wider pastoral team where necessary to ensure any issues are addressed.

Safe use of Social Media Apps

Social media apps can be a wonderful way of staying connected and communicating with friends and communities. There are many positives to utilising these apps in a safe, secure and appropriate manner. However, with everything there is also the potential for social media apps to have harmful consequences of misuse as well as to open children up to inappropriate and harmful content.

It is important to remember that a number of social media apps have age restrictions in place to help safeguard young people from potential harm. These restrictions are put in place to protect young people from content and communication from inappropriate or harmful sources.

We are starting to see a worrying trend of younger students side stepping age restrictions and having access to apps when they are not yet old enough. This is having some damaging consequences and we are seeing a higher than normal number of cases of where students have become victim to inappropriate content, harmful messages and in some cases creating serious safeguarding concerns.

Please do make sure that you are checking your child(rens) phones and other devices for age-restricted apps and have parental locks in place to ensure they are not downloading and accessing apps that have age restrictions that they are not old enough to use yet. As a general rule, all social media apps (TiK Tok, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Discord, X and Snapchat to name a few) all require a minimum age of 13 years old to use their platform. Some apps such as Vimeo and Tumblr have an age restriction of 16.

More information about how to keep safe online can be found on www.internetmatters.org and the NSPCC Online Safety section of their website https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/

If you have any questions about online safety, please feel free to contact our online safety leads Mr Bradshaw (dbradshaw@aylshamhigh.norfolk.sch.uk ) or Mr Allen (tallen@aylshamhigh.norfolk.sch.uk )

If you have any safeguarding worries or wish to report a serious concern, please contact our safeguarding team on safeguardingteam@aylshamhigh.norfolk.sch.uk

Dropping off & collecting students

We kindly remind parents and carers when dropping off and collecting students to avoid parking on the roads around the school.

We are aware that the roads become very busy during these times but for the safety of pedestrians please make sure vehicles are not mounting the pavements.

Parking is available both in the front and back car parks:

Front car park – For those who need to collect their child promptly at the bell, please use the front car park as a “drive-through” system. Park to the left-hand side and, once your child arrives, pull out to allow other cars to move forward. This can also be used to drop off of that beginning of the school day too.
Back car park – For those who are able to wait a little longer until the buses have departed, we ask that you use the back car park. This is the safest option and there is always ample parking available.

Thank you for your cooperation in helping us to keep the school site safe and accessible for everyone.

Year 11 Moped/Motorbike Users

If you intend to travel to and from the school premises on your moped or motorbike we ask that you please provide proof of your valid documents including –

MOT (if applicable)

Insurance

Bike licence

Please take these documents to the safeguarding office where copies will be taken.

Please remember –

Motorbikes and mopeds must be ridden safely and responsibly.

Please park in the specific motorbike and moped parking bay at the front of the school, take care during the busy drop off and pick up times.

Thank you and stay safe!

${item_alt_tag}$

Uniform Reminder

As we are approaching warmer weather and students like to where shorts, we would like to remind families of our uniform standards regarding student shorts.

Students are permitted to wear:

School-tailored shorts black or grey
Cargo shorts black or grey

Please note that sport shorts, football shorts and jogger-style shorts are not part of the approved uniform and should not be worn to school.

We appreciate your support in helping maintain our school's dress standards.

${item_alt_tag}$

Check out our Instagram page

Aylsham High School Instagram page

Options information for 2026-27

Current years 8 and 9 students have received emails, to their alf.education account, this week confirming their options for next year. Emails have also been sent to parents/carers and the email is an individual message from Ms Stonestreet; it will not come from parent mail.

School Reports

The following reports have been shared via SIMS Parent and SIMS Student. Please ensure that you read your child’s report on SIMS Parent and then complete the parent/carer feedback form which can be found in the report letter.

If you have any issues with accessing SIMS Parent or your child’s report, please email our SIMS Parent team simsparent@aylshamhigh.norfolk.sch.uk.

Year group	Reports shared
Year 7	Year 7 spring report
Year 8	Next report will be the year 8 summer reports.
Year 9	Year 9 spring report Year 9 spring subject information report Year 9 summer report – option subject Year 9 summer subject information report – option subject
Year 10	Year 10 spring report Year 10 spring subject information report Year 10 summer report – option subject Year 10 summer subject information report – option subject
Year 11	Year 11 spring report Year 11 spring subject information report Year 11 summer report Year 11 summer subject information report

SIMS Student

Students have access to SIMS Student using their school alf.education email address.

To get support with SIMS Student, students can see their computing teacher or Mrs Cooke in the STAR office at break or lunch time. They are also able to visit room 34 at break or lunch.

For more information about SIMS Student, please see the SIMS Student page on the school website under the students tab.

https://www.aylshamhigh.com/ahssimsstudent

SIMS Parent

All parents/carers with parental responsibility are able to access SIMS Parent once registered.

To get support with SIMS Parent, parents/carers can email simsparent@aylshamhigh.norfolk.sch.uk.

For more information about SIMS Parent including guidance on how to register, access SIMS Parent and about the information being shared with you, please see the SIMS Parent page on the school website under the parents & carers tab.

https://www.aylshamhigh.com/ahssimsparent

External exam information

The exams started on Friday 8th May and end on Monday 15th June. Students have been given a copy of their individual exam timetable. If required, a further copy of your child’s individual exam timetable can be obtained from Mrs Gilbert, who is the school’s exams manager, by emailing sgilbert@aylshamhigh.norfolk.sch.uk.

Exam information is also shared on the school’s Instagram page: @aylsham_high_official

This includes updates for each exam and which equipment is needed.

Revision sessions at lunch, after school, Easter break, May half term can be found here: 2026 revision sessions timetable.

We have also shared the summer exam and revision timetable this week for years 9/10 and 11. This has been emailed to parents/carers via ParentMail and a copy can be found on the exams page of the school website. Students have been issued with a paper copy. Spare copies are available in the STAR office.

Please find direct links to the timetables here:

Summer exam and revision timetable - Year 11

Summer exam and revision timetable - Years 9 and 10

Departments will provide each student with additional details, times and locations of these sessions, nearer the time. Please contact the head of department if you have any queries; email addresses for staff can be found here:

www.aylshamhigh.com/usefulcontactsandemailaddresses

Clubs for students

To view all clubs please click here

Work Experience and Careers Update

Year 10
All work experience placements have now been successfully completed on Unifrog, and health and safety checks have been carried out.

There will be a Year 10 assembly on Thursday 2 July during tutor time. It is important that all students taking part in the July work experience programme attend. During this session, students placed in educational settings will also receive a safeguarding briefing.

Students are reminded to contact their employers before the placement week begins. They will also need to collect a folder containing important information about their placement.

Year 9
A work experience launch assembly for current Year 9 students will take place on Wednesday 8 July during tutor time. This will introduce their work experience week, scheduled for Monday 12 July to Friday 16 July 2027.

It is never too early to begin considering and securing a placement. Work experience is a key part of our curriculum and will be compulsory for all students in Year 10, who are expected to complete the full five days.

Further information can be found via Unifrog (Aylsham High School).

Year 11 – Next Steps
If your child is feeling unsure or would like additional support with their next steps, please encourage them to speak to us. Parents can also contact Miss Wiseman, who will be happy to arrange a check-in.

Careers Support – Room 38
Room 38 is open at lunchtimes on Tuesdays and Thursdays for any students seeking guidance on work experience placements, post-16 options, or further education pathways.

Support is available from Mrs Wiseman and Miss Wiseman.