The summer term started this week, although there has been little sign of summer weather. In school, it has been a positive start to the new term. I have been impressed with the calm and productive atmosphere in our classrooms and the way the students have been engaging with their learning.  

Attendance is one of our school’s key improvement priorities. This first week of the new term continued the trend we have seen all year for much improved attendance. I am really pleased that our attendance continues to sit above the national average. This means our students are putting themselves in a strong position to realise their potential and to benefit from all the advantages linked to good attendance to school.  We do know that some of our students do struggle to maintain good attendance, and we have a range of support available to them. Please do contact the school if you think your child would benefit from this. Thank you for helping us to ensure our attendance continues to rise.  

On Thursday we held our Year 7 parents evening. It was a pleasure to see so many parents and students in school and to see the great conversations taking place. I have been incredibly impressed by our Year 7s and how well they have adapted to life at secondary school. I have been even more impressed by what a great group of young people they are.

This week a selected group of our GCSE PE students took part in their practical moderation this week with students from four other local schools: Barnwood Park, Holmleigh Park, 5 Acres and Kings. The day was an extremely successful one. Our students represented themselves and the school superbly, and I know the PE department were incredibly proud of the commitment, attitude and performance shown by everyone who took part.

It also saw the final day for our third cohort of Outdoor Ed students. The students were required to reflect on what they'd achieved over the 9 week intervention. This was done primarily through the medium of cooking over a fire which they had built, lit and maintained. The session saw some parents of the students attend, to see them in action in our outdoor space. The students performed amazingly well, and everyone was fed something that had been prepared carefully by either themselves or their peers.

Over the Easter holiday we were delighted to host a fantastic event for our young carers.  We are very proud of all our young carers, so in celebration of them, every young carer was able to bring a friend and enjoy some well-deserved respite. The students enjoyed an Easter egg hunt, pizza and finished the day with a film. If you think that your child could be a Young Carer, please contact their Head of Year to further discuss how we can support them.

On the sporting front, I was delighted to hear that 3 of our Year 10 students enjoyed a successful football tour to the Netherlands. Izzy, Lilly and Millie play for the Prestbury Phantoms, and they travelled with the team to take part in an international tournament.  There were 16 countries taking part with over 600 teams across all the age groups.  I was delighted to hear that their team won their age group and were crowned the champions of the tournament. Well done girls!

Next week sees some of our Year 11 students beginning their Art and Design GCSE exams. These are intensive two-day practical exams that the students have been preparing to complete for the last 10 weeks.  I know you will want to join me in wishing these students the best of luck ahead of these exams.

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 enjoy a great weekend.

Regards

Richard Johnson 
Headteacher