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Dear parents, and all in the community of Mougins School

As the longest term of the year draws to an end I wanted to write a few words to you all. I will not dwell on the pandemic, which remains with us for the moment, but despite the challenges of the term, teaching and learning in the school has continued, onsite, throughout, and I am proud of the efforts of both students and their teachers to keep up momentum. I would particularly like to record my gratitude to all the staff, teaching and non-teaching, for their commitment and tireless work to support the students.

Academic matters

Universities

The University application season is now in full swing and following our two candidates who received interviews at Cambridge, I am delighted to announce that Alexander Pivovarov has won a place at the prestigious John Hopkins University, and that Margaux Dacremont-Kobouloff has been accepted at the University of Pennsylvania. John Hopkins is ranked #25 in the world in the globally accepted QS Global Top University Rankings., and UPenn #16. Many congratulations to both Alex and Margaux, and best of luck to all the remaining Upper Sixth applicants! A huge amount of work has gone into our Year 13 universities guidance programme this year, and I am grateful to Jane Ayerst and the new University mentor team for their efforts.

School reports

End-of-term reports for all students in the Secondary School are published on the portal at midday on Friday 18 December. To access the portal, hit the ‘Parent Portal’ link in the top right-hand corner of our main school website landing page.  If you have problems logging on, or finding the report once logged on, please contact Elizabeth (e.ward@mougins-school.com).

I have been asked by Nigel Wright, Head of ICT, to ask all parents to check the data we have on the portal, update it if necessary and  most important to update the medical section, under the “Child Details” when you log on, with any medical information you feel we should know about your child(ren). If you need help with this, do get in touch with Nigel at n.wright@mougins-school.com .

Examinations, mocks – and revision for them!

The holidays are a time for some rest and relaxation, and I hope students get plenty after a long term! It would be remiss of me, however, not to remind examination year groups (years 11, 12 and 13) that important mock and real  examinations take place during the Spring Term, and that results in these really do matter, particularly this year, where the situation over the holding of IGCSE and A-level examinations in the summer is still not completely certain. I hope that all students taking examinations in 2021 will devote a sensible amount of time and energy to preparing for these.

Year 11 IGCSE mocks run from 11 to 22 January; the timetables and covering letter with rules have been given to all form 11 by their tutors.

Year 13 A-level mocks run from 9 to 12 February.

Year 12 AS-mocks will be done in class time before Half Term.

There are also some AS and A-level actual examinations in January, and students concerned have their ‘statements of entry’ and timetable details.

Winter Concerts

Hot on the heels of the Autumn Concert, I am really pleased to announce that videos of our Secondary and Primary Winter Music Concerts are now on the frontpage of our website, at https://mougins-school.com/. Ms Gossedge and Ms Kellner have done a fantastic job curating and producing these wonderful shows, and despite having to wear masks and adhering to strict social distancing, our students showed determination and worked incredibly hard in order for these concerts to materialise. And they have real talent, as you can see.

House sport

Our inter-house sport programme was pretty much decimated by the Covid restrictions, but in breaking news Jérôme has confirmed that we managed yesterday to complete the Volleyball competition, finishing up with Year 10. It was very close overall (every house managed to win at least in one year group). Congratulations to Renoir for winning this round! The points table is below. We very much hope to be able to get the full programme going as soon as possible in the new year. Everything to play for!

Overall points:

1st – Renoir (Green Team) with 19 points

2nd – Matisse (Blue Team) with 18 points

3rd – Chagall (Yellow) and Picasso with 17 points

Classes involved: from Year 6 to Year 13. (Points system: 4 points for 1st place in a Year group, 3 points for 2nd, 2 points for 3rd, 1 point for 4th).

Corinne Hajek

At the end of this term we say goodbye to one of our longest-serving colleagues and friends, Corinne, the school accountant. Corinne arrived at the school on 1st July 1997, when there were just 120 students, all taught in what is now the Performing Arts Building. She remembers sharing a room with Sue and Elizabeth, with the children all zooming around her. They were, in her words, really ‘baignées dans l’école!’ Corinne is one of the pillars of Mougins School and we will miss her very much, and wish her and her husband a long and happy retirement.

From 1 January we welcome Séverine Lhussier to the role, whose email address remains the same: finance@mougins-school.com.

Finally, I hope that everyone in the community finds time to rest and enjoy time with at least some loved ones over the holidays, and I wish everyone a happy, prosperous and above all safe and healthy new year.

With very best wishes

Simon Hollands

Head Master