We are delighted to welcome three new permanent members of staff to start the year and wish them well in settling into life at Victoria College.  Please click here to read their staff bios. 

Please find linked here a letter about the Victoria College Co-curricular and Citizenship Awards 2024, kindly sponsored by our Foundation Partner, Quilter Cheviot. 

The Co-Curricular Award was set up so that we can celebrate our students’ outstanding efforts in a wide range of areas, both in school and outside of school, under four headings: sport, physical, arts and academic. To compete for the Citizenship Award, students can also score points in three additional categories: Leadership and service, social responsibility and charity work, and a personal challenge. 

Students are invited to fill in an application form accessible via the link above.

Forms should be returned by email to Head of Clubs and Activities, Mr Akers (k.akers@vcj.sch.je) by Friday 9 February.

In the meantime, please follow this link here to hear more about the awards.

As part of our Strategic Plan, we are committed to looking at the role that technology plays in learning, what that looks like at Victoria College and the impact on our students. With that in mind, this term sees the start of our turning our attention to this matter long term, and a starting point is to hear some parental views. This will help us plan our next steps, both in the short and long term, as well as help guide our training and strategic decisions moving forward.

Please help us by completing this short survey. If you have more than one son, please complete a separate survey for each.

The Joint Charter of Respect was created in 2021 following work between senior students at JCG and Victoria College. This group, which continues to run today, and is known as the Joint Student Working Party, comprises Sixth Form representatives from both schools. The group’s remit is to help support positive relationships and engagement between boys and girls in the schools, and to create a climate of mutual respect.

The Joint Charter is an entirely student-created document, which outlines the standards of behaviour that both student bodies feel everyone should uphold. It aligns with the values of both schools, and in particular with Victoria College’s emphasis on kindness and respect.

The Charter has recently been reviewed, and our students will be discussing and signing it during tutor time over the next couple of weeks. The latest version can be found here.

The VCPA cordially invites you to their 'Bingo Night with a Twist' on Thursday 29 February 2024!  The ticket price includes bingo cards, cheese and wine on your table and a compère extraordinaire - Dr Hughes!

To sign up, please click here.. 

In line with our mission to provide a dynamic, transformative curriculum in and out of the classroom that inspires excellence, curiosity and independent thinking, Victoria College has been working with Voice 21, a charity dedicated to transforming the learning and subsequent life chances of young people through oracy.

Read more here about the positive impact that this is having on developing the physical, cognitive, linguistic and social and emotional skills that students need to engage in successful discussions.  

To enable parents to have a better idea of what our KS3 students are studying in their PSHE lessons and to spread these conversations out of the classroom and into the home, we would be delighted if you could adopt our dinner table discussions into your weekly schedule.

Each week there will be questions that you can ask your child, that will link into their learning from PSHE that week and hopefully prompt interesting conversations. 

This week's questions:

Y7: What are the differences between genuine and toxic friendships? 

Y8: Which relationship red flags can you remember?  

Y9: What kind of emotions might you experience if a romantic relationship breaks up? What strategies could you use to manage these feelings? 

Please find below the link to a House charity meal being held on 31 January 2024.

Dunlop House Charity Meal

We will once again be taking part in the Grace Crocker Family Support Foundation's February Challenge, which will see students and staff walk, jog and run the equivalent distance from Jersey to Southampton Hospital, to raise funds and awareness for the Foundation. Staff and student teams will be entered and each student in Years 7-11 will be taking part via their PE and games lessons, meaning that every student in those Year groups will contribute to this challenge in some way.

We will update everybody on our progress in the newsletter and via our social media pages throughout February. It would be great to see our wider community taking part in this in some way. You can enter as an individual or as a team using this Race Nation sign up page. Alternatively, you can support our fundraising efforts using this link. To find out more about the work that the Foundation takes on, visit their website.

As part of their Multilingual Young People Project, the Jersey Youth Service is inviting all multilingual learners to join in a fun evening of ice-skating on Thursday 1 February. For more information and to sign up, please click on the links below:

Ice Skating Poster

Consent Form

Letter to Parents

The Languages Eisteddfod competition is back! If your son is interested in taking part, please refer to the information attached and register him online using the links. The closing date for entries is Friday 19 January 2024.

French - 28 & 29 February 2024 

Spanish - 1 March 2024 

Once registered online, please inform Head of Modern Foreign Languages, Ms Perestrelo (m.perestrelo@vcj.sch.je) of your son's name and selected class.

1. NEW! Please find attached a flyer for the new National Autistic Society Teen Life training which will be available in the Summer and Autumn Terms.

This is suitable for families with children who have a diagnosis of autism in year 6 upwards.

Children and Famlies Leaflet - Teen Life

2. NEW! Anxiety and stress top the list for presenting issues on Kooth in 2023. If you're interested in learning strategies to share with students that can help them manage feelings of anxiety, please do register for one of their upcoming KoothTalks training sessions here..

Please join the Zoom call using this link.
Meeting ID: 674 610 6323

3. To better access their Neurodevelopmental Service, CAMHS have introduced this CAMHS Support Pack containing information about neurodiversity, links to resources, sessions and local support services (this is a live document that will be updated as the Service offer develops). Key events to note are:

• Introduction to the Neurodiversity Service sessions – these will take place every first Tuesday of the month for parents/carers that believe their child may be neurodiverse and would like to find out further information or are on the waiting list for an assessment.  This session takes place at St James School, Jersey Youth Service  from 12:00 – 13:00. The session focuses on: an introduction to CAMHS, neurodiversity, the assessment process and support available.

• Weekly drop-in support session for Parents/Carers of neurodiverse children - Mondays 11:30 – 13:30 at the Yes Project.  

• Sibling Support – siblings of ND children can now access a 4-week course to help them better understand neurodiversity, identify and understand their sibling's needs and how to best support them, recognise the importance of self-care as well as have the opportunity to connect with others who share similar experiences.  This course is for young people age 9 – 14 years.  The next course is running in February 2024 and ongoing support is available via the Jersey Youth Service ‘My Time Project’.

• ADHD Awareness and Support Group for Parents/carers - medication talk - NEW! - The next parent/carer support session will be taking place on Monday 29 January 2023, 6:30pm – 8:30pm at Samarès School with a focus on ADHD medication.  A 45 minute presentation will be delivered by Dr Catherine Keep and Specialist Nurse Prescriber Alison Pell, from CAMHS.  CAMHS administrators will also be available to answer any questions you may have about upcoming appointments. Attendees will be able to access peer support afterwards. To book a free ticket please click here. 

If you are interested in invigilating examinations during this busy period of mocks and moving into the summer when students will be sitting GCSE and A Level examinations, please contact Assistant Head - Staffing, Parm Plummer (p.plummer@vcj.sch.je).  

We are delighted to welcome back Kieran Akers who has returned from his sabbatical and will lead the Activity Week plans from here onwards. All off-island choices were made prior to the Christmas holidays and are now closed.

On-Island activities are to be selected by Friday 19 January please:

1. Valley Adventure - outdoor high ropes activity package
2. Learn to Golf – for beginners and intermediates
3. Wild Adventures – outdoor and coastal activity package
4. Surfing at Splash Surf Centre
5. Le Mourier – water activity package
6. Absolute Adventure – water sports activity package
7. Junior Lifesaver Programme with the Jersey Surf School

On-Island school-based activities

8. STEM ‘make it’ Remote Control Car activity workshop
9. Supervised self-study in the library
10. College activities - in-school and local visit fun days
11. Sports Week – a whole week of Sport at the College with 1 day of water sports off campus.

Please follow this link to make your choices. 

For students who receive a bursary or are registered as Jersey Premium there is the opportunity to apply for funding support. Please complete the form above with your son’s preference and email any request to the College Bursar Carolyn Ferguson. (C.Ferguson@vcj.sch.je)

Parents of Y9 CCF Recruits are warmly invited to attend our Pass Out Parade at 4pm on Friday 19 January. We will begin with presentations and awards in the Howard Davis Theatre, followed by a Parade in the Quad and refreshments in De Quetteville Library.

Please do not arrive on site before 3.45pm to allow time for the site to clear after school. Presentations will begin shortly afterwards in the Howard Davis Theatre.

All Y11 students will undertake a guidance interview with Mrs Job (Head of Careers), Ms Murphy (Deputy Head of Sixth Form and Head of UCAS), Mrs Palfreyman (Assistant Head Academic), Mr Crossley (Deputy Headteacher) or Mr Falle (Head of Sixth Form) from Monday 22 January to Wednesday 7 February to discuss their A Level options and to assist them in making informed choices. They will be informed of these meetings via their tutor. 

Please find below the Y11 mock timetable alongside the exam paper guidance and a letter from the Head of Y11 (Mr Hodder).

Mock Examination Timetable

Mock Examination Paper Guidance

Mock Examination Timetable Letter

Please find attached a letter from Mr Falle following the Sixth Form Open Evening, held on 14th November, including information regarding the application process for a Sixth Form place. You will also find attached a copy of the presentation, and a draft application form, which is referenced in the letter. Deadline for applications is Friday 9 February.

Sixth Form Open Evening Follow Up

Sixth Form Open Evening Presentation

Victoria College Sixth Form Application Form

Please find below the links to the Y13 Mock Examination timetable and a parent letter providing further information. 

Y13 Mock Examination Timetable

Y13 Mock Examination Parent Letter