It has been a busy week for the students with a range of assessments taking place. All KS3 students have been completing their Order assessments in Maths and Science. They also completed their annual NGRTs, which are an online reading test. It has all gone very smoothly as the students are already well practised at tackling these assessments. Next week it is the turn of our Year 10 students, who will be completing their end of Year exams.

I was delighted to welcome Gloucester MP, Alex McIntyre to Severn Vale on Thursday. Alex visited the school to take part in a G15 discussion. G15 is the group which represents all the Gloucester secondary schools and is a forum which is used to share ideas and to work together to improve education across the city. Alex’s visit was an opportunity for the schools represented to raise a variety of issues that are directly impacting their students. I know all the Heads were very grateful to Alex for giving his time so generously and hope that this becomes a regular fixture in the G15 calendar.

After an exacting assessment process, the student leaders for the class of 2026 have been selected. The quality of the applications and the interviews were the highest we have seen. Those selected did superbly and I know they will represent the student body brilliantly over the coming year.

Last Friday saw the Prom for the Class of 2025. The event switched to Bowden Hall and was blessed with stunning weather. It was a wonderfully glamorous and fun event. It was a pleasure to share it with the students who all had a fabulous time.

It has been a very busy week on the fixture front:

• Year 7 Rounders - the girls played away at Holmleigh Park in their first fixture for Severn Vale. It was a really close game with many excellent performances that ended in a narrow defeat. In particular, there were some fantastic fielding skills on display. Players of the match went to Immy J and Bish P.

• Year 8 Rounders – the Year 8 girls also played an away fixture at Holmleigh Park. Again, it was a really tight game that ended in a narrow defeat. There were some excellent performances which demonstrated a massive improvement in the team’s batting. Players of the match were Brooke F and Ruby S.

• Year 9 Cricket – the Year 9 boys played Holmleigh Park in their latest fixture. It was a great match, with some excellent batting and bowling on display. The score ended with SV winning 105-82, with Rylan and Rhys retiring on 29 and 28 runs respectively. Special mention to Arafat who took a nice wicket in his first match for the team.

• All Stars Cricket – our All Stars team finally managed to get their first fixture this week, as they also travelled to Holmleigh Park. Our bowling was calculated and on point restricting HP to 56 runs from their 12 overs. Rhys L and Olly W opened the batting and they didn't mess about, with both retiring on 25 runs, leaving Jack W and Dylan J to complete the victory.

• U14 cricket – the girls U14 cricket team played their latest fixture at home against Kings. Some superb fielding and batting led to the team winning 72-60. Fielder of the match went to Emmy L, batter of the match went to Issy C.

• U14 cricket – the U15 girls also played at home against Kings. The batting started strong with a number of 6s hit, but unfortunately the team were unable to post a big enough score to prevent Kings emerging victorious. Fielder of the match went to Charlotte R and batter of the match went to Katie M.

• Year 10 Athletics – on Thursday we hosted our GCSE athletics moderation with Holmleigh Park. Both schools had 30 GCSE students competing in 100/200/800 and 400m track events alongside the shot and javelin field events. These mock moderations are crucial to the accuracy of the overall practical grade for the students. The PE department confirmed it was a pleasure working with both sets of students.

As always, I include my weekly reminder about Free School Meals eligibility. If your financial circumstances have changed, your child may be eligible for Free School Meals. If you click on this link  you will find guidance on the eligibility criteria and the application process. It's a quick process and we are notified of all FSM entitlements by Gloucestershire County Council each Monday. I would urge you to take a look if you think you may benefit from financial assistance.   

I do hope you enjoy a great weekend.

Kind regards,  

Richard Johnson 
Headteacher