This week we were reminded of the importance of road safety following an accident involving one of our Year 7 students. Thankfully, the student in question wasn’t too seriously injured. We have reminded the students about the need to always demonstrate good road safety.  Please do take the opportunity to reinforce this key message at home.

It was a delight this week to welcome acclaimed author Jamila Gavin MBE to Severn Vale to talk about her life as a writer. Jamila has written many books for children, including Coram Boy, which is read in Year 8 as part of our Guided Reading programme, and My Soul a Shining Tree, which won the Nero Book award for children's fiction in 2025. The morning began with a talk in the hall for Year 7 during which Jamila spoke about how she began her career by handwriting stories in a notebook which she showed to the students, encouraging them to write for pleasure. She also read an extract from Coram Boy, highlighting that the storyline is set around Gloucestershire and the Cathedral. The students were impeccably behaved throughout. Jamila then delivered a writing workshop to a Year 10 class. This was a fabulous opportunity and led to some high-quality work by the students. A huge thank you to Jamila for giving her time so generously.  

On Wednesday, the music department took a group of 34 KS3 students to The Music Works to complete a recording of ‘On Top of the World’ by Imagine Dragons. The day started off with a group of Year 9 instrumentalists laying down the band tracks. The second session saw a vocal group of 30 singers from Years 7 & 8 take to the stage. Maintaining a concentrated focus and performing under pressure posed no issues for the group as Miss Newport led them through the basic structural recording, layering harmony layers, a complex split vocal bridge, and then individual solos. Again, the excellent preparation from the rehearsals clearly paid off. The opportunity for our musicians to work in such a wonderful professional setting is an immensely valuable experience and the students certainly rose for the occasion. A huge thanks to The Music Works for welcoming us into their studios, to all students who were involved in the project, to Miss Newport for preparing the singers and Mr Martin for preparing the instrumentalists.

Wednesday also saw the Gloucestershire final of The FameLab Academy at the Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury.  Maisie Devlin represented Severn Vale superbly, demonstrating charisma, clarity, and great content with her talk on "Why do penguins waddle?" The judges commented that it was the highest standard the final has been with a huge range of topics. Well done to Maisie for contributing to what was a great event.  

A reminder that the Government are keen to hear views on whether the UK should follow Australia’s lead in implementing a social media ban on the under 16s. As part of this work, they are completing a consultation and a wider “national conversation”. If you wish to participate, you can complete the parent survey by clicking here. 

A date for your diary. The Friends of Severn Vale will be hosting a quiz night next Friday 20 March starting at 7.30pm. There is an entry fee of £5.00pp with teams of up to 8 welcome. All funds raised will go directly back to support the school. If you would like more information, please contact Tracey Cooper at school or via tcooper@severnvaleschool.com

Fixtures this week have included:

• Year 7 Football - the Year 7 girls played The Crypt in their latest fixture. They played some great football and were strong defensively in a dominant 3-0 win. The goals came from Teighan and Promise (2). Players of the match went to Promise for her excellent attacking skills and Freya for her saves in goal.

• Year 7 Football - the Year 7 boys travelled to Holmleigh Park on Thursday night for their last league fixture of the year. The game was played in wild conditions with the wind and the rain lashing down. This was always going to be a close game and so it proved to be. The game was tied 2-2 with seconds to go but unfortunately, we lost 3-2 with the last kick of the game. Man of the Match was Reggie G who pulled off some fantastic saves. 

• Year 7 Netball – our Year 7s travelled over to Holmleigh Park for their latest fixture. The girls played really well, with Ella and Lilly shooting with almost perfect accuracy, earning a 19-4 victory! Players of the match went to Promise and Fleur.

• Year 8 Netball – our Year 8s had a great time at the District Netball Tournament. They played some excellent netball and made it tough for the stronger teams. They played 6 games, winning 3 (Henley Bank, Ribston B, Gloucester Academy) and losing 3 (St Peters, High School, Crypt). Our player of the tournament, as chosen by her team, was Bish P. 

• Year 9 Netball – our Year 9 netballers played GA in their latest fixture this week.  In what was a really competitive game with some great netball played, the girls were edged out 11-9. Players of the match went to Ellie W and Caity C.

• Year 10 Football – it was a busy week of football for our Y10s, hosting Archway on Monday evening and facing St Peter’s in the group phase of our league on Tuesday. The game against Archway was a close one, with us going into half time with a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, Archway came out stronger in the second half and scored a series of late goals to win 3-1. Player of the match went to Charlie J for his great control and passing in midfield. A heavily rotated team faced a strong St Peter’s side the following day. St Peter’s dominated the first half and went into the second with a strong lead. We showed great resilience in the second half and played much better football to make it a more even encounter. Players of the day went to Alvin and Fin.

• Year 9 student Maddison Troke proudly represented Severn Vale at the British Schools Judo Championships in Sheffield, held at the English Institute of Sport last weekend. She competed in the Year 8 & 9 under‑59kg category, facing a strong group of 12 competitors. I was absolutely delighted to hear that Maddison went on to win the entire competition — an outstanding achievement.

As always, I end with 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 hope you have a great weekend.

Regards

Richard Johnson 
Headteacher