Message from Headteacher
Dear Parents and Carers
Welcome to our latest newsletter. Last half-term saw the start of a busy academic year, welcoming our new cohort of Year 7 students who have settled in very well and early preparations of Year 11 and 13 for their summer exams in 2022. With a very disrupted last year, it is clear that the main intention is to have externally assessed exams this coming summer. We are therefore supporting students with their preparation by hosting a series of mock examinations late November, early December. We are mindful though that Plan B from the DfE is currently, Teacher Assessed Grades, (like summer 2021), so we have also been supporting students in Year 11 and 13 with early help on revision techniques and exam preparation for an important set of mocks.
I hope the half term holiday went well for you and you were able to get some quality family time together. We have now completed the trial period for the two week October half-term and will be going out shortly to consultation with parents, students, staff and governors about whether this is something we choose now to do permanently or not. The main reasons for doing it (pre-Covid) were: breaking up a very long autumn term, giving Year 11/13 students time to rest and revise for their mock period, supporting staff welfare and helping with staff retention. In return all school days are now full days (no half days at the end of term/for Open evening, etc.); normal working school days in the run up to Christmas and Easter.
We have been busy with the expansion plan and include a number of photos for you to see some of the facilities we now have on offer for your children. These facilities are allowing us to broaden curriculum areas, such as PE and Science, as well as introduce new subjects, like Sociology. The temporary marquee and field kitchen have gone and students will be able to use the new Dining Hall from the start of this term. Nutrition is also hugely important and this new facility will allow us to deliver a greater range of quality food as part of a seated dining experience. We have also taken on two new Science labs as well. By the end of December 2021 we should have delivered the remaining areas including: Music Rooms, Recording Studio, Music Practice Rooms, Science Lab, Foreign Languages Room.
We are keen to restart our overseas trips again, as we recognise students get a lot out of these experiences, however we are waiting for a national decision on this by the DfE before Christmas.
Recently we lost our appeal for the Air Dome, which we felt was a fabulous facility for our students and without which we would not have been able to do PE during the Expansion process. It was great to see girls in particular enjoying sport without worrying about who was watching/what they looked like as it was a private space and also that all could continue to develop a healthy lifestyle no matter what the weather. We are obviously complying with the enforcement notice and will be taking the Air Dome down when it is safe to do so. We will continue to explore the various avenues open to us.
I would like to thank all parents, carers and students who have been relentless in keeping up with lateral flow tests and self-isolating/having PCR tests when appropriate. We recognise this is hugely inconvenient and worrying, but along with a strong uptake of vaccinations has meant we have limited numbers of students testing positive for COVID in comparison to secondary schools nationally. We are continually reflecting on our Risk Assessment and have not rejected the use of face masks. Not many people like wearing face masks, but they seem a relatively small inconvenience if they reduce lost days. The fewer days students miss as a result of COVID and the smoother their run in to mock exams the better. We will continue to keep the situation under review.
Have a great term
Ed Hillyard, Headteacher
