Commendations
Commendations are the whole school awards system which follows pupils through their time at St Thomas More Catholic High School. Commendations are issued each term and are cumulative across all terms and years.
The commendation system links to the certification process, school rewards trips, the house cup, and the awards evening.
We have made a change to the way we award commendations to reflect what we have learnt from the process in the last two years.
We will now focus on four pillars of school life:
- Attendance: being in school and experiencing the educational opportunities
- Academic Progress: looking at where an individual is against their starting point with us
- Growing the Gift: how the unique gift is being cultivated and shown each day
- Attitude to Learning: how ready to learn and engaged pupils are every lesson
| Category/ Commendations | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Attendance | >99% for the year to date | 96-99% for the year to date | 94-96% for the year to date | 92-94% for the year to date | 90-92% for the year to date |
| Academic Progress | On or above track for the vast majority of their subjects | On or above track for the majority of their subjects | On or above track for half of their subjects | On or above track for some of their subjects | On or above track for a few of their subjects |
| Growing the Gift | Active participant in BtK* time, showcasing CST** values in all activities | Active participant in BtK time, showcasing CST values the majority of times | Participates in BtK time well, showcasing CST values the majority of times | Participates in BtK time, showcasing some CST values within school | Needs reminding of CST and how to show this in BtK time |
| Attitude to Learning |
Ratio of 5:1 (5 Lesson Monitor 1 grades to every 3, 4,5 grade issued) |
Ratio 4:1 | Ratio 3:1 | Ratio 2:1 | All pupils with more Lesson Monitor 1s than negative marks |
| * BtK - Building the Kingdom ** CST - Catholic Social Teachings | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Using the system above there are 20 commendations available each term for each pupil. Over the long-term pupils work towards gathering their yearly certificates and then half/junior colours and then their full/senior colours.
| Bronze | Silver | Gold | Platinum | |
| Yearly Awards | 30 | 40 | 50 | 55 |
| Half Colours Y7 & 8 | 110 Commendations by the end of Year 8 | |||
| Full Colours Y7-10 | 220 Commendations by the end of Year 10 | |||
If you have any queries or would like to support the school with the awards programme please contact Mr McKeown by clicking here.