We are pleased to write to you again to share information about the next stage in your child’s Year 9 journey. At the end of this academic year we will be holding our annual graduation ceremony for Year 9. The graduation ceremony will celebrate the hard work of students in this cohort and is a stepping stone to starting GCSEs. We want all students to have the opportunity to graduate.
Students will be awarded a graduation level based on the effort grade they have been awarded in their penultimate Praising Stars report (May half term) and great attendance. Last half term, we shared the criteria for a successful graduation in an assembly with students:
Platinum- An E1 student and great attendance
Gold- E1’s and some E2’s and great attendance
Silver- E1’s, E2’s, some E3’s and great attendance
Bronze- Mostly E3’s and great attendance
(We have included a review of the Praising Stars effort grades at the bottom of this letter)
We have discussed with the whole year group how much we want each and every student to be successful and graduate. The Praising Stars they received at Easter gave an indication as to what graduation level your child could be awarded and a focus to achieve their very best at the next one. It will also allow us to work together to ensure students achieve this graduation level. Graduation monitoring cards will be available to students for effort and attendance to support them during this exciting time.
If your child receives E4s or E5s then they will be monitored for a period of time prior to the final Praising Stars in order to support them towards graduation. However if they do not ultimately meet the criteria they will not graduate with their peers. Graduation is a privilege not a right.
I am sure you will agree that graduating is a very special occasion for our students and we look forward to inviting you to the graduation ceremony in July. We would like to take this opportunity to ‘Save the Date’ for the week commencing 6 July 2026. Students will graduate with their form group on one of the days during this week and we will be able to share further details with you over the coming weeks.
We are very proud to be responsible for Y9 and excited for the journey the students have ahead this year. We thank you in advance for supporting your child in striving to achieve their very best graduation level and look forward to sharing in their celebration at the end of the summer term. If you have any questions or would like further information please contact Mrs Mann at s.mann@shafton.outwood.com or Mr Jeffries at p.jeffries@shafton.outwood.com
