In the year to date, we have seen some significant improvements in our whole-school attendance. This means that our students’ attendance is running above the national average. This is very positive news. It was therefore a little disappointing to see our first challenging week of school attendance across most year groups. I know at this time of year there are many bugs doing the rounds, which means students are absent due to illness. Wherever possible, please do ensure that any absence due to illness is as short as possible. Every day of school absence does mean missed lessons which are difficult to catch up on. Please also remember that as the term continues, so do our lessons. Just because it is approaching the Christmas break, doesn’t mean learning stops. Thank you for helping us to improve our students’ attendance and for continuing to do that for the rest of the term and the rest of the academic year.

Today saw our Annual Gift Drive in support of the Salvation Army appeal. It was a truly heart-warming sight to see so many gifts so generously donated by our students’ families. To see our school community come together to help others was the perfect example of compassion, one of our school values. I know these gifts will have a huge impact on those receiving them. Thank you for helping to make this event such a success. 

This week saw a group of our Year 9 & 10 Food students taking part in a walking food tour around Spitalfields Market and Brick Lane during a trip to London. The group’s tour started with them sampling some Sri Lankan Kothu Roti, a mix of chopped roti, vegetables, eggs and spices. They then moved on to Brick Lane's Bangladeshi community, to try Bengali snacks.  A quick stop tasting Ghanaian chocolates was followed by a visit to the Jewish Quarter, where the students enjoyed salt beef bagels and sour doughnuts. The trip was a fun and delicious way for the students to experience the incredible mix of cultures and to see their influence on cuisine in the UK.

It is only two weeks until the culmination of this year’s Big Sing. The students have been busy practising their songs ahead of the year group performance which takes place on 19 December. The Big Sing is a lot of fun and the final performances are a real treat. At the moment it is too difficult to pick a clear favourite. These last two weeks of practice could make all the difference.

Our Outdoor Ed group continued their programme with a day of rock climbing at Symonds Yat. The weather was as good as could be hoped for in December, with clear blue skies and dry conditions. Everyone pushed themselves to their own limits of 'daring do' during the climbing phase of the day. Two students really stood out as determined to conquer every challenge that was presented to them, and then to shift their efforts into a more supporting, mentoring and assisting role for those that found this physical challenge particularly testing. Ashden and Lewin’s tenacity, resilience, trust and enthusiasm shone through, and even Matt, our instructor commented on how impressed he was by their efforts. Overall, it was a really great day in the outdoors.

Sporting fixtures this week included:

• Year 7 Football - Our year 7s played their second District Cup game against Churchdown and drew 0-0, which means they are still top of the group. Player of the match went to Isla and Darcie.
  
  Our Year 7s also took part in the District Tournament, hosted at Severn Vale. There were teams from schools across the city taking part in what proved to be an excellent event. The Severn Vale “Blue” team made it to the final, narrowly losing out to Churchdown, 1-0. Both finalists will now progress to the County Cup later in the year.

• Year 9 Rugby – on Thursday afternoon our Year 9s travelled over to The Crypt for their latest game. As expected, Crypt started strongly, and once again it took our boys ten minutes to get into the game. Some really tough defence and carrying from Koby and Lewin kept us in the game, but gaps started to appear out wide with some of our lads playing out of positions due to injuries. The final score was 38-14.

• U16 Football – our U16s played away to Crypt in the cup this week. Unfortunately, they came away with a 4-0 defeat after a rocky start to the game. The girls really tightened things up in the second half, but they were unable to convert any of their chances.  Players of the match went to Lily and Abby.

• KS4 Basketball – our KS4 team hosted Newent in what was an eagerly anticipated grudge match based on scores in previous years of meeting. The game started off strongly in our favour, but Newent slowly grew into the game and went into half-time with a strong lead. We fought back in the second half with some excellent shooting and defending. Unfortunately, Newent came away with a 59-48 victory, but the boys can hold their heads high after such a strong performance that tested their resolve. Player of the match went to Kon for his ball handling in the point guard role and excellent drives to the basket.

Our GCSE PE students have been completing a series of mock moderations this week. These mock moderations give the students a great opportunity to demonstrate their skills in competitive drills and games alongside students from other local schools. This included basketball with Newent and table tennis with Dene Magna; badminton with Holmleigh Park will take place next week. The commitment from the students has been fantastic. They are doing everything they can to ensure they deliver on their massive potential as they approach the home straight!

A reminder that on next Friday, 12 December, we will be holding our second annual Santa Fun Run. This proved to be a lot of fun last year with a great level of participation from the students and staff. There is a £2 entry (cash on the day) which will include a Santa hat to wear for the run. All the proceeds will go to the Friends of Severn Vale, who will use it to fund projects for the benefit of students in school. It will be great to see as many students and staff there as possible. Please do encourage your child to take part; it should be a lot of fun! 

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 have a look if you think you may benefit from financial assistance.  

I do hope you have a great weekend.

Regards 

Richard Johnson  
Headteacher