Frequently Asked Questions

The award was set up in partnership with the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) to assist schools in promoting the emotional well-being and positive mental health of staff and pupils. It advocates a whole-school approach and seeks to support schools in embedding a culture of good emotional well-being and mental health across the whole school community. Embarking on the award process does not imply that College is failing in this area; we are doing it to be proactive in recognising that the needs and demands of our school are changing and we remain committed to meeting these.

The PTA sell good quality second hand uniform. If you wish to pass on any uniform, please wash and bag it FAO The Ladies' College PTA and hand it into Reception. It will be gratefully received.

Monday 6th December from 15.30

We understand that items can end up finding their way into the wrong bags, can be picked up by mistake, or that it can feel embarrassing to return something that may be overdue. For that reason we are holding an AMNESTY, with no questions asked for the return of things such as, Library or text books, a folder containing Art, uniform items or anything else that we can help to get back to the rightful owner or Department.

1. Items that are named are returned to the students.
2. Found items are put on display in the foyer approximately twice a term and students are encouraged to take away items which they know are theirs.
3. Un-named uniform items are washed and put into the PTA Uniform Chest, (only after a significant period of time has elapsed).
4. Items are recycled or sent to local charities or disposed of at the end of each term.

1. Check lost property bins outside the Gym changing rooms
2. Retrace their steps to see if the item can be found.
3. Ask their friends if they have seen it or picked it up by accident.
4. Make their Tutor aware.
5. Ask their teachers if they might have seen it.
6. Check that the item is not at home.
7. Ask at Reception, as items are often handed in here.

The exams fall either side of a weekend in order to help spread preparation and allow students a break. Their schedule includes some revision sessions and a PE slot to support healthy lifestyle choices. After the exams are finished and marked, teachers will give the students feedback aimed at developing confidence, regardless of the results.

There are several reasons:

- We want students to have a proper break over the Christmas holiday.
- Enough work has been completed for teachers to make meaningful assessments, yet the volume of material is not excessive for revision. Students can practise different revision techniques and consider which work best for different subjects.
- Students become accustomed to taking exams in the hall, so it’s not a new experience in later years.

Lower Four and Upper Four.

Governors meet at least once a term as a full Board, with sub-committees meeting throughout the course of the year as their business and statutory requirements require them to. Governors also make termly visits to all areas of the College, from our Pre-Preparatory Department through to Sixth Form. In fact, they have been visiting this week and we thank them for the time taken to meet with our colleagues, pupils and students.

At present, the Board has 5 active sub-committees, these being: Estates, Finance, Marketing & Business Development; Nominations and Strategic Relations. Each Committee has specific Terms of Reference and reports directly into the Board. The Board also meets annually with the College’s Senior Leadership Team to discuss the College’s strategic direction.

Detailed profiles of our serving Governors can be found here: /about-us/board-of-governors

The first port of call for any communication regarding your daughter is usually her Form Tutor. For further information on our referral pathways, please view our Referral flow chart (pdf) or read more about pastoral support in College here.

We encourage your daughter to talk to her form tutor, year coordinator, or any adult in College, and ask that you reinforce this message at home. There is also a 'whisper button' (shown below) which can be found on the College launchpad (RM Unify) which allows a student to report any concern, in confidence, and which will be followed-up sensitively.

Net Aware is a website that provides guidance to parents about social media applications and the age restrictions of these platforms. There are several software applications available to help parents manage what students can access and download onto their device. The College network automatically filters and monitors unsuitable content, including stopping social media notifications, which is why we recommend that your daughter connects to our College wifi rather than using 4G, during the working day here.

There are a number of reasons for this, including that the numbers need to be viable to make the new course run, whilst also avoiding a situation where the other subjects become unviable because there is so much choice.

We need to be confident that the demand will continue, especially as staffing needs to be assured for the subject and we want other GCSE course to be viable in terms of numbers too. A number of subjects do not need to be taught at GCSE in order to take them into the Sixth Form. These are often the courses which we do not offer at GCSE. We do not want the choices made at GCSE to close doors. If we add more and more choice, the probability of satisfying individual choices decreases and the need to study the reserve choice increases.

This year we have added GCSE PE as a choice for the current Lower Five and we continue to keep the options under review.

There are a number of reasons for this:

- It responds to requests, although we cannot always do this. (See the question below).
- It helps to provide more breadth and the opportunity to develop skills which may not be met elsewhere.
- It may help the choices in the pathway after GCSEs.

There are a number of pathways that can result in students taking anything from 7 to 11 GCSEs, to ensure that we can cater for each individual and help them to optimise their grades. All students take:

- Maths (1 GCSE and Statistics is taken by most of Set 1 which adds another GCSE)
- English (Literature and Language 2 GCSEs)
- Science (either separate Biology, Chemistry and Physics 3 GCSEs OR the Double Science 2 GCSEs OR Single Science 1 GCSE)

4 option subjects are available, as an open choice, which we then try to meet. There is also a Study Skills opportunity, which is usually taken instead of choosing a language, which helps to make the number of GCSEs more manageable for some students.

The Sixth Form Partnership between the Colleges remains unchanged and we continue to have a strong commitment to working collaboratively for the benefit of our students.

We are currently completing a Curriculum Review and will update students and parents in due course.

Subject experts and the pastoral team always have this in mind. We regularly review the curriculum and seek to engage the parents and students in the Senior School and Sixth Form, to help inform major changes. For example, this year we have introduced GCSE PE. Food Technology at Key Stage 3 will start soon. The Food Technology building is almost complete. The staffing and curriculum is in place to support this.

Our unique environment offers Guernsey girls support to develop 21st Century skills, to achieve their academic aspirations, to have fun, and to become strong and independent young adults. We are an inclusive community which works to:

Encourage each girl to grow in confidence, develop her talents to the full and value the qualities of others.
Create an environment where each girl can be happy, love learning and make lifelong friends.
Inspire each girl to be the best she can be.

We also strive to live out our motto: “Fais ce que dois advienne que pourra” (Do what is right, come what may). The result is that we meet the needs of each child on their educational journey.

Yes. Our aim is to support each young person as an individual and to accept them for who they are. We are committed to celebrating diversity and to ensuring that our curriculum delivers the broadest and most balanced provision possible, ensuring there is no prejudice, discrimination or inequality. Pupils and students are part of our evolving College and help to develop good practice. We have well-being at the core of our work here to support the growth of young people into rounded, grounded young adults who take responsibility for themselves and towards others.

Yes. The 150th anniversary has given the College its first opportunity to offer a bursary scheme.

As part of its plans to celebrate 150 years since opening its doors, The Ladies’ College is delighted to announce it is establishing a bursary scheme, which will be open to students applying to join the Senior School either in Remove (Year 7) or the Sixth Form (Year 12) from September 2023.

For more information please see: /admissions/bursaries

Updated Michaelmas Term 2022

Governors have a commitment to keep fees and charges at a level that ensures the College continues to represent value for money against the highest standard of educational provision. Fees and standard charges for extras can be found on our website at /admissions/fees. Fees are reviewed annually and communicated to parents before the end of the Lent term, for the following September.

We will endeavour to get this to you as quickly as we can and within 24 hours. Please be aware that the teachers are teaching throughout the day and may or may not have a window of time to process the request for you child immediately. (If your child is unwell, there is no expectation that they should be doing work!)

Please phone Reception to leave a message or to speak to Mrs de Jersey-Moore, our receptionist, to let us know that they will not attend.

A newsletter is sent weekly via email and on the Parent Hub app, which includes dates from the calendar for the following two weeks, to help your planning.

- Letters which have been sent out during that week are also listed and these can be found in your Parent Hub app and on the website: /information/letters-home
- The College website (www.ladiescollege.com) and social media (Facebook  and Twitter ) are also good sources of information.
- If you cannot find the answer to your question, please ask... we will then add it to the FAQs for other parents, if relevant to them too.

Thank you!