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Headteacher's Blog 15-7-22

Another super busy week saw our first in-person summer concert since  2019 and a trip to Minehead for our GCSE Geographers 

It has been another busy week with lots of activities taking place. Our GCSE Geographers have been undertaking their fieldwork this week. Based around Minehead, the students are carrying out data collection to see the impacts that coastal management have on beach morphology and sediment characteristics. This knowledge will support them in the fieldwork section of their exam. They’ve certainly had the weather for a day on the beach!!

Our Year 9 and 10 Triple Scientists visited the Big Bang at School event at Cirencester College. This provided an inspiring STEM day filled with amazing science and engineering activities, workshops and project work for the students to participate in. Amongst the many activities, the students had the opportunity to extract DNA from a strawberry, learn about the workings of the brain and understand more about the possibilities of a virtual world. Mr Cameron (much to our student's delight) even got the opportunity to hit a breeze block on top of the presenter with a sledgehammer! The students had a great time and were a credit to the school throughout the day.

For the first time in 3 years we were able to stage an in-person summer concert this week. With a theme of “Back to the 90s” it was a real pleasure to have live music and a crowd in the main hall. The quality of the performances was superb and included students performing pieces from a range of genres and from all of our year groups. A huge thank you to the Music department for their work in staging the event, to those that attended for supporting and most importantly to the students for their great performances.

We were also able to stage our Year 7 – 10 Awards Evening the first time since 2019 this week. This was a wonderful celebration of the fabulous achievements of our students across the curriculum. Celebrating both the students who have performed at the top of their year group and those students who have made the most progress in each subject, it was a pleasure to see so many parents able to share in this celebration with their children.

In very exciting news we have also seen work begin on the replacement of our AstroTurf. Originally laid in 1997 with an expected lifespan of ten years, careful maintenance has seen it last 25 years!! In recent years it has been very much past its best and so was in desperate need of replacement. As well as a new surface, we are also replacing the fencing and the lighting. Together, it will create an excellent facility for the school and the community. It will be ready for use by the beginning of the new academic year.

This week we have been speaking to students in line-up regarding uniform. We have identified a number of students whose current uniform will not be acceptable in September. We have contacted parents in these cases to let them know the key issues. We have also sent home full details of our uniform expectations. If you do have any queries regarding this please do contact the school. Thank you in advance for your support.

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 have written separately about the implications of the extreme weather we are expecting next Monday and Tuesday and changes to uniform for these two days. I also want to draw parents’ attention to the risks of unsupervised open water swimming in this weather. Just this week a 16-year-old died whilst swimming in a canal in Yorkshire. Even in the current hot weather, open water can be very cold. Anyone entering cold water suddenly is susceptible to hyperventilation, which can result in the body going into seizure. There can also be hidden currents and unseen dangers such as mud banks or items under the water which a swimmer can become caught on. Thank you in advance for speaking to your children about these risks.

It is certainly going to be a hot one this weekend. I hope you manage to stay comfortable and to enjoy the beautiful weather.

Kind regards

Richard Johnson
Headteacher