Dear Parents & Carers

Thanks to all students, parents and staff for such a smooth start to the year. It is always a pleasure to see our students again after the six-week holiday and this year they are particularly enthusiastic to get started. The key is to keep up the enthusiasm and the attendance. We will write to all parents about attendance in due course, but the statistic I always turn to is the one that explains why 90% attendance is not good enough – we work towards all students being here well over 95% of the time. If a child maintains 90% attendance over their 5 years of secondary education, they will miss 6 months of learning. Without a doubt, that will affect grades and futures.

We have completed a lot of work around the site over the summer in preparation for the new school year. Most of our windows have now been replaced, with the remainder being done over half term. We had planned to erect a second set of railings by the canteen to allow us to have two queues: one for Years 7&8 and the other for Years 9-11, making queuing easier and fairer for all. Unfortunately, the slight overrun on the windows in that area prevented us putting up the second railings over the summer, therefore that work will now also be done over half term.

We are delighted with the new LINC (Learning, Intervention & Nurture Centre). This brand new building has replaced the Development Centre. Whilst the footprint of the building is only 10%-15% bigger, the vastly improved design makes the building far more useful and user friendly. My thanks to all staff who have worked over the summer to get us this far. We look forward to showing our new building off at our Open Evening and School Tours over the next month or so.

With best wishes

Andy Perry – Head Teacher

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