• Monday 4th January 2021             Inset Day (School closed to students)
• Thursday 7th January 2021           Music Exam (Year 11)
• Monday 11th January 2021          Sports Studies Exam (Year 11)
• Monday 11th January 2021          Creative iMedia Exam (Year 11)
• Friday 15th January 2021              World Religion Day (Sunday 17th January)
• Monday 18th January 2021          Martin Luther King Day
• Thursday 21st January 2021         Year 10 Virtual Parents’ Evening
• Monday 25th January 2021          NEA Food Exam (Year 11)
• Tuesday 26th January 2021          NEA Food Exam (Year 11)
• Wednesday 27th January 2021    NEA Food Exam (Year 11)
• Wednesday 27th January 2021    DofE Parents’ Evening
• Wednesday 27th January 2021   Holocaust Memorial Day
• Thursday 28th January 2021        NEA Food Exam
• Saturday 30th January 2021         DofE Training Day
• Thursday 4th February 2021        Year 9 Virtual Parents’ Evening (2-7pm)
• Tuesday 9th February 2021          Safer Internet Day
• Friday 12th February 2021            End of Term 3 

You may recall at the end of the last newsletter I mentioned that we would be looking for new Parent Governors. Following that process I would like to welcome Emily Axford  to the Governing Body, she will join the Curriculum and Achievement (C&A) committee.

This term we have held all our meetings remotely, this has been successful and enabled us to continue supporting and monitoring the School. We do however look forward to being able to carry out learning walks again and see the School in action.

At the start of the academic year the Governors, in conjunction with the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), identified some key priorities to focus on during the year. Whilst not an exhaustive list some key priorities included:

• The impact of the additional support being put in place for Y11 students (C&A)
• The health and safety of staff and students (CFC and Resources)
• The lockdown contingency plan (C&A)

In brackets are the committees responsible for the monitoring of the priorities, they will report back to the Full Governors meeting at the end of this term. The dialog between the School and the Governors at these meetings is vital to continually reviewing the impact of interventions supporting the priorities and gives flexibility to review any changes the School has introduced. Sharing ideas is more important than ever in the current climate and is what you would expect a good school to be doing.

The first two priorities in the list above are self-explanatory however I thought it appropriate to very briefly explain what the lockdown contingency plan is. The Department for Education (DfE) required all schools to have in place work that students are expected to complete if they have been asked to work at home for example if they are having to self-isolate. Whilst we all want to avoid students having to work at home, if they do have to then it is vital that they continue with their learning, complete the work provided by the School and keep in regular contact with their teachers.

Finally I would just like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in the School for all their hard work this year which has enabled the School to welcome and support students and their families.

While Christmas will be different this year on behalf of the Governors I would like to wish you a happy one and let hope for a more positive 2021.

Anti-Bullying Week 2020: United Against Bullying

The theme for Anti-Bullying Week 2020 was United Against Bullying.

Bullying is not always about just a single bully versus single victim.

This year the aim of anti-bullying week was to encourage young people, schools and parents and carers to know that it takes a collective responsibility to stop bullying, through identifying the different roles that people play when bullying occurs and what each of us can do when we see bullying taking place.

The school marked the week by delivering this important message in Morning Line Up as well as delivering anti-bullying resources through Prep times over the course of the week.

In developing the theme of United against Bullying the Anti-Bullying alliance worked with a number of children and schools to create the message;

“This year, more than ever, we’ve witnessed the positive power that society can have when we come together to tackle a common challenge.

Anti-Bullying Week is no different. Bullying has a long lasting effect on those who experience and witness it. But by channelling our collective power, through shared efforts and shared ambitions, we can reduce bullying together. From parents and carers, to teachers and politicians, to children and young people, we all have a part to play in coming together to make a difference.

We’re all a piece in the puzzle, and together, we’re united against bullying.”

Students have continued to impress us in their English lessons and we are pleased with the learning that has been taking place in what has been a disrupted term in some cases. We would like to thank the students for their hard work and resilience and the parents for their support.

Key Stage 3

In Year 7, students have been reading their first novel of the year. It has been a pleasure to see them immersed in novels such as ‘Alone on a Wide Wide Sea’ by Michael Morpurgo and ‘Bone Talk’ by Candy Gourlay. Year 8 have completed the study of their novels and have moved on to a unit on Heroes and Villains where they are learning about literary villains and reading extracts from a range of texts from ‘Harry Potter’ to ‘Dracula’ and from ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ to ‘Frankenstein’. They will soon move onto exploring real life heroes through non-fiction texts of a variety of forms and medias. Finally, Year 9 have been reading their prose text and enjoying books such as ‘Unwind’ by Neal Shusterman, ‘Teacher’s Dead’ by Benjamin Zephaniah and ‘Martyn Pig’ by Kevin Brooks. This will help them prepare for the demands of studying GCSE Literature next year. It has been and continues to be a pleasure to share these texts with the students, to see their enjoyment of them, and to take part in the interesting discussions they generate.

Key Stage 4

Year 10 have been studying their first GCSE Literature text – the modern text. Classes have been studying texts from ‘Blood Brothers’ by Willy Russel, ‘An Inspector Calls’ by J. B. Priestley, ‘Pigeon English’ by Stephen Kelman and ‘Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding. We have been impressed with the way students have approached these books and are optimistic about the way they will engage with the exam questions.

Despite some interruptions to the term, Year 11 have continued to work hard to complete the course and prepare for their impending GCSE exams. We have finished the study of the poetry anthology and moved on to their final text: Shakespeare. Students are now studying either ‘Romeo and Juliet’ or ‘Macbeth’. We have also prepared for and sat the first mock exam, Language Paper 1, and look forward to marking these and seeing the progress students have made. It was also a pleasure to see parents at parents evening this term, albeit virtually. Year 11 students should now be revising their modern text and poetry independently. Period 6 lessons continue to be used for the study of English Language as we move on to Paper 2.