Parent/Carer Notices for all Year Groups
19th December 2025
Principal's Message
Dear Parents/Carers
We have had a fantastic end of term, with so many highlights, including this year’s beautiful and extremely high quality Holy Cross Carol Service. It really was a special, magical evening. Well done to everyone involved. The official recording will be broadcast on Ashdown FM on Christmas morning at 7am, and it will also be available on our new Music Department YouTube channel after Christmas! College Voices also performed yesterday lunchtime in three separate ‘flashmobs’ around the College, as a thank you to the staff. They were incredible!
Thank you so much too for the overwhelmingly positive feedback on the recent survey. 98.5% of respondents said they would recommend the College, which is wonderful. Thank you for your support – it is greatly appreciated.Â
These last two terms have been long but immensely productive and I know that so very many of our students have worked hard, been a kind, positive member of our community, and participated in everything the College has offered them. I am sure that everyone is ready for a break! I encourage all our students to use the holiday to pause and reflect on everything they have already achieved personally and academically over the last 3 months – there will be successes for everyone. Â
I would also like to thank all our parents and carers who do so much to support and encourage our young people through their College journey.
I wish you all a peaceful Christmas and every happiness for the New Year ahead.
Best wishes
Sara Marshallsay
Principal
Emotional and Mental Health Support over the Holiday
The College is now closed for the Christmas holidays and we are unable to respond to emails or submit routine information to external services or organisations during this period.
If you are concerned about the safety of a young person please do the following:
In an emergency please call 999
Otherwise information from Children’s Services is available via this link:
https://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/children-families/report-a-concern-child
SPOA Single Point of Advice team 01323 464222
If a young person is looking for support this link offers a range of guidance:
http://www.uckfield.college/170/mental-health-and-emotional-well-being-for-students
If you are seeking support, guidance or advice for a range of situations, the East Sussex Family Hub is a good starting point to access information:
A Family Hub is a one-stop-shop for families in East Sussex to access advice, support and activities. They are friendly spaces where families can:
-get practical help before, during and after pregnancy (e.g., antenatal advice, midwifery and health visiting)
-receive support and information on parenting and family life
-join drop-in activities, playgroups and parenting courses
–access advice on housing, employment, debt and wellbeing
–find support for children, young people and young adults (up to age 19, or up to 25 with special educational needs/disability)
-link with youth services, domestic abuse support and other community services
https://familyhubs.eastsussex.gov.uk/
The College re-opens for staff and students on Wednesday 7th January 2026.
We are looking forward to welcoming students back in good time to start their first lesson at 9.00am.
Respect for All: Punctuality, Equipment, Uniform, Jewellery and Appearance
These are some reminders of our ‘Respect for All’ expectations. Please ensure you discuss these with your child to help them meet our high standards, and allow them to focus on learning. We will be checking students’ uniform and equipment in the New Year and want everyone to be clear on the expectations to avoid unnecessary problems or sanctions. Â
Punctuality – arrival at College by 8.50am
Period 1 learning starts at 9am, and students must be in class before this time. Late arrivals will be marked as late and receive a detention. Late arrivals disrupt others’ learning and require extra attention from staff to re-engage the student. Repeated lateness despite clear expectations is considered defiant. Time in lessons is crucial for student success, and we want to ensure all students make the most of it.
Uniform
Students in Years 7-11 must wear full Uckfield College uniform, including their tie at the appropriate length, and their blazers. Jeans, joggers or leggings are not allowed. Skirts should be worn correctly – ie not rolled. Shoes must be black, plain leather, and polishable. In cold weather, an appropriate coat is required; hoodies, tracksuits, denim jackets, or hats (except woolly ones) are not permitted. Non-compliant items will be confiscated, and failure to follow uniform rules may result in consequences or removal from lessons. Please do contact the Year Team if there are uniform issues – we are happy to support where we can.
Jewellery and Appearance
Students may wear one small stud in each ear and a (non-connectivity) wristwatch. Rings, bracelets (except medical), and additional piercings are not allowed. All piercings must be removed for PE. Fake tan, nail polish, acrylic nails, and false eyelashes are also not allowed; students should not wear these to College, and will face a consequence, should they do so.
The vast majority of our students wear their uniform smartly and we find that it makes a real difference to a positive learning environment. Many thanks for your ongoing support.
Change from Edulink/SIMS to Arbor - Martin Bradley
At Uckfield College, we currently use Edulink/SIMS to provide you with information about your child(ren) and for you to communicate with us.
From Monday January 5th, we will switch from Edulink/SIMS to a new system called Arbor. This new system will bring many advantages to the college as Arbor is modern, intuitive, coherent, coordinated, centralised, cloud based and works on all devices.
IMPORTANT! Achievement and Behaviour Points
Arbor does not automatically transfer points from Edulink, so in January the totals will show as zero points. We will, however, keep a record of each child’s achievement and behaviour points totals. We will manually transfer the achievement points totals to Arbor over the coming week but we will not add behaviour points meaning each child will have zero behaviour points in Arbor in January.
We will continue to manage your child’s chromebook and we will still use Google Classrooms (for homework and assignments), SchoolCloud (for parents evenings), Parent Pay (for payments), SPARX, Century, Educake, Seneca and some other educational software packages.
We need to manage a phased change over to Arbor, so staff and students will switch to Arbor on Monday 5th January but we will keep Edulink available for parents until Monday January 19th. On this date you will please need to join the Arbor Parent Portal or the Arbor Parent App to access information about your child and report absence reasons.
Schedule for switch from Edulink/SIMS to Arbor – for Parents and Students
This document shows the schedule for the changeover.
Accessing Parent Portal
You can access Arbor via the Parent Portal Page on a computer (log in details will be provided to you in January) or via the Parent App for smartphones and tablets.
This article provides an introduction to the Arbor Parent Portal for guardians and parents, detailing how to log in, navigate the homepage dashboard, and access various features such as attendance statistics, and communication tools. It also explains how to switch between multiple children’s profiles and view detailed information about each child’s academic progress and school activities.
This additional article provides more in depth information about the Arbor Parent Portal and the Parent App including where to download the app.
The information available on Arbor will increase as the year progresses.
We will share more information with you in January including how you can access support to get started with Arbor
Super Curricular Re-Freshers Fair
Last week, we held our first Super Curricular Celebration event for Years 7-9. It provided a wonderful opportunity to showcase and promote the wide range of clubs and activities on offer to students. Getting involved in clubs and activities is a fantastic way for students to explore new interests and discover hidden talents outside the classroom. These opportunities also help in building confidence, developing social and teamwork skills and creating lasting friendships, all of which contribute significantly to a well-rounded and successful school experience.
Well done and thank you to all of our student super-curricular hosts!
Students Shine in PHD research work on Belonging
We are delighted to celebrate the success of the recent Belonging Project Research Workshops, a collaboration between the College and the University of Sussex aimed at enhancing all students’ sense of belonging. Evie Haywood, the University researcher, noted that the participating students were absolutely amazing, consistently demonstrating maturity, responsiveness, thoughtful consideration, and intelligence in their contributions.
We are extremely proud of how the students involved represented the College during this important research.
Class of the Term Nominations
Thank you so much to staff who nominated a class for the ‘Golden Class of the Term’ competition. The quality of the work submitted as part of the nominations process was exceptionally high.
Well done, Mrs Lake, for winning with your Year 11 class!
A Huge Thank You to Our PTA!
A massive thank you goes out to our incredible PTA for organising the truly fantastic Christmas Hamper Raffle this year! The effort put into curating the prizes and building the hampers was outstanding.
We would also like to extend our sincere gratitude to every one who supported the raffle by buying tickets. Your generosity directly benefits the College community.
Congratulations to the 12 very lucky winners of the Festive Food Hampers, Festive Food Bags, and Pamper Hampers! All winners have now been contacted and have arranged to collect their wonderful festive prizes.
Government launches National Conversation on SEND
The government is acting on a commitment to make sure parents play a central role in helping shape the future SEND system. It has set an ambition to deliver the biggest national conversation on SEND in a generation.
The government is now launching a public engagement campaign. This is spanning every region of the country, putting families at the heart of its plans to create a reformed SEND system that will stand the test of time. There are several ways to get involved:Â
Further information can be found here full press release.
NHS Pharmacy First Service at Kamsons Pharmacy – Easy Access to Health Advice and Treatment
We all share the same priority when it comes to keeping our children happy, healthy, and in school, which is why we want to inform you about a service available at Kamsons Pharmacy, which is conveniently located near our College. The NHS Pharmacy First service at Kamsons Pharmacy means that you can pop in, no appointment needed and receive expert advice and treatment for a variety of common health issues affecting your child or even yourself. The service covers the following conditions:
- Earache (1-17 years)
- Sore throat (5 years and over)
- Sinusitis (12 years and over)
- Impetigo (1 year and over)
- Infected insect bites (1 year and over)
This service is free and does not require a GP referral for any treatments. However, please note that there may be a charge for certain medications. Kamsons Pharmacy can also assist with shingles for those over 18 and urinary tract infections (UTIs) for women aged 16-64, ensuring that all members of your family are well cared for.
We hope this service can help you and your family access the care you need quickly and conveniently.
NHS Guidance for Parents
NHS Guidance for Parents: Is my child too ill for school? – a useful resource to help parents
 decide when children should stay at home.
Art of the Week
We are so impressed by the focus and dedication students show in every lesson. Take a look at this exceptional landscape piece created by Eloise in year 8.
Notice how she has used a range of values and how they have captured incredible texture to effectively create atmospheric perspective and show distance.
“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” — Edgar Degas
Photo of the Week
This week’s winner is Flo (Year 11) for this bold, experimental image!
By pushing the boundaries of her initial photographs through digital experimentation, she has created a piece with powerful graphic elements and a thought-provoking message.
Did You Know?
Year 7 Notices
Key Dates
Monday 5th and Tuesday 6th January –Â INSET days. College closed to all students
Wednesday 7th January –Â Start of term for all students
Wednesday 14th January – Deep Learning Day 2
Wednesday 28th January – Rock the Weald Winter Concert 6pm – 7.30pm
Friday 13th February – Last day of term for students
Year 7 Life Learning Lessons in Term 3 - Will Roney - reminder
In fulfilling the statutory requirements in teaching Relationships and Sex Education, next half term students in Y7 will be learning about Puberty. Students will learn about the reproductive systems and the physical, emotional and mental changes that can occur during puberty. Students will also be taught about bodily autonomy and being respectful.
This is a long established and successful scheme of learning, to which students have historically have responded very positively. You are welcome to contact me directly to discuss this scheme of work further.
Year 8 Notices
Key Dates
Monday 5th and Tuesday 6th January – INSET days. College closed to all students
Wednesday 7th January –Â Start of term for all students
Wednesday 14th January – Deep Learning Day 2
Thursday 22nd January – Year 8 Parents’ Evening – Remote (Tuesday 20th & Wednesday 21st January – Remote Appointments available with some teachers)
Wednesday 28th January – Rock the Weald Winter Concert 6pm – 7.30pm
Thursday 5th February – Year 8 Habits of Champions Evening/Options Evening – attendance necessary for all Year 8 students and parents/carers 4.30pm – 7pm
Friday 13th February – Last day of term for students
Parents' Evening Booking System - Martin Bradley
The Year 8 Parents’ Evening is on Thursday 22nd January starting at 4.30pm and finishing at 7.30pm. This will be held as online, remote meetings using the School Cloud system.
Some staff will do their parents’ evening on Tuesday 20th or Wednesday 21st instead of Thursday 22nd January.  Parents will be able to book appointments from Monday 5th December 7.30am to Tuesday 20th January at 10pm This information sheet gives details of how to book an appointment. This video shows how to join the online meeting
Year 8 Life Learning Lessons in Term 3 - Will Roney - reminder
In fulfilling the statutory requirements in teaching Relationships and Sex Education, next half term students in Y8 will be learning about safe relationships in relation to looking out for warning signs regarding grooming and sexual exploitation as well as identifying traits of healthy and unhealthy relationships. Students will be following a programme named Real Love Rocks developed by Barnado’s, the children’s charity. Students will also learn the harmful effects of FGM (Female Genital Mutilation), the reasons why it happens and the legal status of the practice in the UK.Â
This is a long established and successful scheme of learning which students have historically have responded very positively to. You are welcome to contact me directly to discuss this scheme of work further.
Year 9 Notices
Key Dates
 Monday 5th and Tuesday 6th January – INSET days. College closed to all students
Wednesday 7th January –Â Start of term for all students
Wednesday 14th January – Deep Learning Day 2
Wednesday 28th January – Rock the Weald Winter Concert 6pm – 7.30pm
Friday 13th February – Last day of term for students
Year 9, 10 and 11 ‘A Christmas Carol’ Theatre Performance and Workshop - Monday 12th January 2026
We are excited to announce that Box Clever Theatre Company will be visiting the College on Monday 12th January to give an exciting live theatre performance of the Dickens classic ‘A Christmas Carol’, followed by a fun interactive workshop.Â
This is a great opportunity for your child to enjoy a live theatre performance by an acclaimed professional company, and to prolong the festivities of Christmas! It is also a brilliant introduction to this set GCSE English Literature text. Please see attached letter
Year 9 Life Learning Lessons in Term 3 - Will Roney - reminder
In fulfilling the statutory requirements in teaching Relationships, Sex Education, next half term students in Y9 will be learning about the traits of healthy and unhealthy relationships as well as different types of sexuality. Students will also learn the law on sharing explicit sexual images and sexual harassment.
This is a long established and successful scheme of learning which students have historically have responded very positively to. You are welcome to contact me directly to discuss this scheme of work further.
Year 10 Notices
Key Dates
Monday 5th and Tuesday 6th January –Â INSET days. College closed to all students
Wednesday 7th January –Â Start of term for all students
Monday 12th January – Box Clever Production of ‘A Christmas Carol’ and Workshop – Year 10 P1 and P2
Wednesday 14th January – Deep Learning Day 2
Wednesday 28th January – Rock the Weald Winter Concert 6pm – 7.30pm
Friday 13th February – Last day of term for students
Year 10 Life Learning Lessons in Term 3 - Will Roney - reminder
In fulfilling the statutory requirements in teaching Relationships and Sex Education, next half term students in Y10 will be learning about the law in regards to consent in a variety of contexts such as sharing sexually explicit images, safe relationships, harassment and keeping safe.
This is a long established and successful scheme of work which students have historically have responded very positively to. You are welcome to contact me directly to discuss this scheme of learning further.
'A Christmas Carol' GCSE workshop - reminder
‘Really fun to watch and helped me memorise the quotes faster. So worth it!’
‘An excellent reminder of the plot before our exam! It was a fun and interactive event with our year which was a core memory to look back upon finishing our last year!’
‘It was really fun and interactive and helped me remember certain specific details as we had acted them out.’
Year 11 Notices
Key Dates
Monday 5th and Tuesday 6th January –Â INSET days. College closed to all students
Wednesday 7th January –Â Start of term for all students
Monday 12th January – Box Clever Production of ‘A Christmas Carol’ and Workshop – Year 11 P3 & P4
Monday 12th and Tuesday 13th January – MFL Trial Speaking Exams
Wednesday 14th January – Deep Learning Day 2
Thursday 15th and Friday 16th January – MFL Trial Speaking Exams
Thursday 15th January – Year 11 Parents’ Evening (in person) 4.30 – 7.30pm
Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st January – MFL Trial Speaking Exams
Wednesday 28th January – Rock the Weald Winter Concert 6pm – 7.30pm
Friday 13th February – Last day of term for students
Parents' Evening Booking System - Martin Bradley
The Year 11 Parents’ Evening is on Thursday 15th January starting at 4.30pm and finishing at 7.30pm. This will be held in person at the College for face to face meetings.
Some staff will do their parents’ evening on Tuesday 13th or Wednesday 14th instead of Thursday 15th January.  Parents will be able to book appointments from Monday 5th December 7.30am to Tuesday 13th January at 10pm  . This information sheet gives details of how to book an appointment. This video shows how to join the online meeting
Yr 11 GCSE PE Exams
Please note that Yr 11 GCSE PE Students have their Practical Exams after Christmas, starting Thursday 8th January.
Exams will then take place over the following two weeks.
Students will be given the timings and expectations of exams explained to them in the last week of term. If they were absent or have any further questions please ask them to contact Miss Hanham.
Many thanks in advance for your support.
All off site evidence should now be completed and uploaded to Google Drive for assessment prior to in-College exams starting.
A Christmas Carol workshop reminder - valuable GCSE preparation for all Year 11 students!
‘Really fun to watch and helped me memorise the quotes faster. So worth it!’
‘An excellent reminder of the plot before our exam! It was a fun and interactive event with our year which was a core memory to look back upon finishing our last year!’
‘It was really fun and interactive and helped me remember certain specific details as we had acted them out.’
Sixth Form Notices
Key Dates
Monday 5th and Tuesday 6th January – INSET days. College closed to all students
Wednesday 7th January – Start of term for all students
Wednesday 28th January – Rock the Weald Winter Concert 6pm – 7.30pm
Friday 13th February – Last day of term for students