Each morning you will meet in your tutor groups with your Form Tutor for registration. You need to be in school by 8:35am. You will have an assembly twice a week. One of these will be with all of Key Stage 3 together and the other one led by Miss Hazell ( your Director of Year 7). On the other days, you will say a morning prayer followed by an activity such as a news discussion, colouring, relaxation or a quiz in your tutor group.

The timings of the school day are as follows:
8:35 – Morning registration
9:00 – Lesson
10:00 – Lesson 2
11:00 – Break
11:25 – Lesson 3
12:25 – Lesson 4
13:25 – Lunch
14:15 – Lesson 5
15:17 – First bell – End of the day for Key Stage 3 (on Fridays Key Stage 3 finish on the second bell)
15:22 – Second bell – End of the day for Key Stage 4

We have a House system for tutor groups and different teaching groups for lessons. Your House will be your tutor group and you will spend time each morning in your tutor groups for morning registration, prayers and a different activity. Then you will have your lessons in your teaching groups throughout the day.
The School Houses are: Charity (Purple), Faith (Blue), Hope (Yellow), Mercy (Red) and Peace (Green).
The teaching groups are: A, B, J, M and T – they are each an initial of a different female Saint: A = Anne; B = Bernadette; J = Joan; M = Margaret; T = Teresa.

Each year we get lots of girls who come to Holy Cross without knowing anyone or only a few people. We understand this can be worrying for some of you but you will be in new groups with lots of students in the same situation as you. There is lots of time to make friends and settle in with different activities and games we can play when you start together. It is also a great time for a fresh start and to be mature in how you introduce yourself and find common interests and hobbies with other students. You will make lots of new friends before you know it!

We have a fantastic reward system at Holy Cross and lots of praise and House points are given for many reasons, including our ‘8 to be great’. These are 8 points we deem to show a wonderful attitude to learning at school. They are:
1. Enthusiastic
2. Never giving up
3. Showing initiative
4. Taking risks and welcoming new challenges
5. Acting on teacher or peer feedback
6. Independent thinker
7. Ambitious
8. Prepared to learn
Rewards and House Points are entered onto a system called Schoolpod and your parents/carers will receive a breakdown of the rewards you have received on your report at the end of each half term.

Detentions and sanctions can be given for various reasons such as disruptive behaviour, incomplete homework, missing equipment and inappropriate language. However, they are used to encourage you to learn from your mistakes and move on. Like the rewards, detentions and sanctions are also recorded on Schoolpod and your parents will be notified of these in your end of half term reports.

You will be given a homework planner on your first day and this will have lots of important information inside, including our code of conduct and uniform policy. In addition, there is a great selection of prayers and some pages that may help with your studies such as a world map and periodic table. Your homework planners should be used to record all of your homework and it is really important you write the information in correctly to ensure you know what you need to do when you get home. Your planners should be checked and signed at the end of the week by your parents/carers and they can write messages in them if they need to communicate with any of your teachers.

The canteen is open before school for breakfast and also at break and lunch time. It has a wide range of different food available, including freshly prepared hot meals, sandwiches, salads, jacket potatoes, soup and more! If you would prefer to bring a packed lunch then that is fine too. You can buy food in the canteen and eat it there, or you can take it out to one of our lovely outside spaces such as the Peace Garden, on the field or the courts to sit and chat with friends.

You will be issued with a locker that is for your coat, bags and books. You should always carry your bag with you and the majority of the books you need for that day but it is sometimes useful to put your PE or Dance kit away for when you don’t need it. You should only visit your locker before school, during break time, lunchtime and after school.

We have a wide range of clubs available for you to join and most of them are free to attend. There are a large number of different sports clubs including Football, Netball, Trampolining, Athletics and Badminton. We also have Dance, Drama, Chess, Choir, Orchestra, Chaplaincy, Science and Mindfulness clubs. These run either at lunch time or after school. You will receive more information about the clubs we offer when you start.

Although The Holy Cross School is a small school compared to other secondary schools, it will feel a bit bigger than most primary schools. We are a very friendly community and all our staff and students are very happy to help new students find their way around. Always ask another student or a member of staff to help you find where you need to go.

All new students will receive a school map when they start in September to help them find their way round the site. Here is a link to a digital copy of the school map to help you: