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 Frequently Asked Questions
» Dates, Times & Events
» Attendance & Absence
» Exams & Revision
» Uniform
» Other
Dates, Times & Events Q. What time does school start? A. The school day begins at 8.40am and ends at 3.20pm. Further details can be found on the  School Day page.
Q. When are the summer holidays? A. The summer holidays usually begin in the third week of July. View the School Calendar page for exact dates. Q. When is my son’s/daughter’s parents evening? A. The date of parents evening changes each year and the actual date may change as the year progresses. The School Calendar shows the current date of parents evening and further information will be made available closer to the date on our School Events page. Attendance & Absence Q. What do I do if I am absent? A. If you are absent from school you should get in touch with the school as soon as possible to let us know why you are absent. You can use the online absence form or get in touch using the details on the contact page. When you come back to school you should bring in a letter from your parents explaining why you were absent. Q. What do I do if I am late for school? A. If you are late you should report to the main office and sign a lateness sheet. Q. What will happen if I am late more than once in a week? A. If you are consistently late your Head of Year will be notified and they will take appropriate action, possibly contacting your parents or setting a detention. Q. What do I do if I have an appointment or need to leave school early? A. If you have an appointment or need to leave early you need a letter from your parents explaining why you need to leave school and a “pass out” form that you get from the main office. The “pass out” form needs to be signed by your Head of Year and by all the teachers of the lessons you will miss. Q. I am going on holiday during the school term, what do I need to do? A. You need to see your Head of Year to get a holiday form. The form should be filled in by your parents, returned to school and then signed by your Head of Year and the Head Teacher (Mr Whitfield). Q. What is an Education Welfare Officer, does the school have one and how can I get in touch with them? A. Attached to every school is an Education Welfare Officer (E.W.O.) who can help you sort out problems and offer independent advice on a range of issues including:
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Poor School Attendance
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Behavioural Problems
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Exclusion from School
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Special Educational Needs
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Transfer between and Admission to School
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Welfare Benefits
The school can put you in touch with the E.W.O. their professional help is confidential and free. Alternatively, you can get in touch directly by contacting: Education Welfare Service, Chuter Ede Education Centre, Galsworthy Road, South Shields, Tyne & Wear, NE34 9UG, Tel: (0191) 424 9935/6
Download or view a leaflet from South Tyneside council entitled 'Improving School Attendance' that gives further information on the Educational Welfare Service »  (PDF 1.09 MB)
Exams & Revision Q. When are the SATs and GCSEs? A. The SATs and GCSEs take place in May and June. Exact dates can be found on the School Calendar and further details will be made available closer to the time on the School Events page. Further information on SATs and GCSEs: Q. What are SATs and when do I take them? A. Standard Attainment Tests (SATs) are National Tests in English, Maths and Science taken by all children at the end of Key Stages 1, 2 and 3. SATS are usually taken in May. Exact dates can be found on the School Calendar and further details will appear on the School Events page closer to the time. Further details about SATs: Q. What are GCSEs and when do I take them? A. GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) exams are taken by most students when they are 16 years old, whatever decisions they make about their future career. GCSE results, and the range of subjects taken, can have an impact on future choices in education, and in some cases career. GCSEs are generally taken in May and June. Exact dates can be found on the School Calendar and further details will appear on the School Events page closer to the time. Further details about GCSE exams: Q. What are CATs? A. Taken in Year 7, the Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT) is an assessment of a range of reasoning skills. The tests looks at reasoning with three types of symbols: words, numbers and shapes or figures, i.e. verbal, quantitative and non-verbal reasoning. The verbal reasoning element assesses reasoning processes using the medium of words. Such processes include: identifying relationships between things (e.g. 'big' is the opposite of 'small'); creating correlates of such relationships (e.g. 'big' is to 'small' as 'thick' is to 'thin'); identifying classes ('hat', 'gloves,' ____?’: pyjamas, slippers, scarf), and reasoning deductively ('A' is taller than 'B' and 'B' is taller than 'C'; therefore 'A' is taller than 'C'). It is not therefore an assessment of reasoning with words, nor wider language skills such as speaking, listening or writing. The quantitative tests look at the same processes but use numbers as the symbols. For example determining rules by analogy and applying these to new cases (2->3, 9->10, 6->_? (7)), determining patterns and relationships in series (1, 4, 7, _? (10)), or combining elements to form number sentences (e.g., by combining the following elements you can make one of these answers (2 3 4 + -: 0 2 4 5 7). The non-verbal tests again look at reasoning processes but use shapes and figures. Because these questions require no knowledge of English language, or the number system, they are particularly useful when assessing children with poor English language skills, or disaffected students who may have failed to achieve in academic work for motivational reasons.
Q. As a parent where can I find further advice about what my child will learn? A. The subject pages on our website contain information about what your child will learn. For example, selecting History from the Subjects menu and then selecting "What I Will Learn" from the left hand menu will show you details of the History curriculum. The following websites also provide good resources for parents about secondary school education: Q. Where can I find revision material online? A. Some of the best revision sites are  BBC Revision, Sam Learning and Skoool.co.uk. For specific topics see each subject’s revision page (e.g. from the History page click revision from the left hand menu) or use a search engine such as Google. Q. What is YELLIS? A. YELLIS* (YEar 11 Information System) is a value-added monitoring system that provides a wide range of performance indicators for students aged 14-16. The value-added approach allows you to make a fair comparison of the progress made by students with that made by all other students participating in the Yellis project. To make these comparisons each student needs to be measured against a common baseline at the beginning of the YELLIS cycle - with GCSE (or Standard Grade) examinations providing an "end measure". *Yellis is also known as YELSIS- YEars of Late Secondary Information System. Uniform Q. Where can I buy the school uniform? A. Our uniform may be purchased at any outfitters, but school badges and ties can only be bought from Boldon School or the following stockists:
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John Lewis: Eldon Square, Newcastle Tel. 232 5000
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Uniform: 38 Stockton Road, Sunderland Tel. 510 9333
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Joplings: John Street, Sunderland Tel. 510 2105
Trutex also supply our uniform and parents are able to purchase items through the school using a Trutex order form and catalogue or from the Trutex Direct website. Further details can be found on our School Uniform page. Q. What school uniform do I need? A. Every student must wear the school uniform.
Boys
Black Blazer
Badge *
Tie *
White Shirt
Black Dress Trousers
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Girls
Black Blazer
Badge *
Tie *
White Shirt
Black Dress Trousers or Black Skirt
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* Can be obtained from the school office. If your child wishes to wear a sweater it must be a black V-necked sweater. Q. Are there things I can't wear for school? A. The following uniform rules apply:
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Trainers or leisure shoes, jeans, ski pants, culottes and tracksuit bottoms are not acceptable.
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Outdoor coats must be dark in colour – no tracksuit tops.
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The wearing of denim or leather over jackets is strictly forbidden.
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Hair should be of an acceptable length; any form of cult hairstyle or shaven head is not acceptable.
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Walkmans, mobile phones, pagers and electronic games must be switched off and kept out of sight in classrooms and corridors.
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Baseball caps or woollen hats are not to be worn in school.
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Mini skirts are not acceptable.
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The only jewellery allowed is 1 pair of ear studs, 1 watch and 1 signet ring. The wearing of either chin/nose/lip/tongue rings or studs is strictly prohibited.
Other Q. What is the school’s policy on bullying? A. The school bullying policy can be downloaded from the Schools Policies page.
Q. I would like to make a complaint, what should I do?
A. If parents have a complaint about the school it should be taken up initially with the Head Teacher. If the parents are not satisfied that the complaint has been dealt with adequately, the matter can then be referred to the Chairman of Governors. There is a formal complaints procedure dealing with various aspects of a school (see Appendix III in 'Education in South Tyneside, 2002/2003').
In the matter of exclusions by the Head Teacher, an appeal may be made to the Governors through the Chairman of Governors, as indicated in the exclusion letter from the Head Teacher.
Q. What happens if my child is sick at school?
A.
On the enrolment of new students an admission questionnaire is completed which, amongst other things, asks parents how they can be contacted during the school day. Although the school has a medical room it is not staffed, so, in the event of sickness, arrangements have to be made for students to go home. If a more serious accident occurs parents are immediately sent for, as the medical authorities usually require the presence of a parent.
Q. Do you ask parental consent before using photographs of students? A. Before using any photograph of any students we will send letters of consent to all relevant parents. Q. What buses can I get to and from school? A.
Bus services that arrive and depart from Boldon School are 530, 533, 538, 551, 557, 558, 812, X34, and X50. Further information and timetables can be found on the Tyne & Wear Timetables website. Q. What is a BCG injection, why do I need it and when do I get it?
A. The BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guerin) immunisation protects you against a disease called TB (tuberculosis). The immunisation is given as an injection usually in Year 7. For more information visit www.immunisation.nhs.uk, call NHS Direct on 0845 46 47, speak to the school nurse or your own doctor or nurse.
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