Headlines By James Saunders 2nd July 2021
With only two full weeks left the end of term will soon be upon us. This week we welcomed a group of visitors from an organisation called Challenge Partners. They came to review our school and the progress we have made over the last year and a bit since our last review. It was a real opportunity to recognise the great work that everyone has done over the last year. Despite facing a pandemic we have not stood still. Our visitors really enjoyed their visit. From the moment they arrived they were speaking positively about our school. The aim of the visit was to review and celebrate the progress we have made over the last year and confirm that we are moving in the right direction going forward. To that end the visit was a success. We will spend some time collating the feedback which will help to shape the details of our development plan priorities next year. The good news is that we are focusing on the right things so it will all be about refinement and the pursuit of excellence. Some things that they particularly praised included the behaviour and conduct of our learners. They were quite blown away with how lovely they all are and how articulate they are when discussing their learning and progress. They concluded that our systems were highly effective in creating a culture where everyone can thrive in lessons. Another key aspect was the work we have been doing on curriculum - what we teach and why we teach it. After speaking with our excellent team of subject leaders they were able to triangulate what they were told by popping into lessons and seeing the learners and teachers in action - this backed up the planning and vision each of them had. As a result they concluded we were running an effective school.
Next week we will be again focusing on lessons and will be getting into as many as possible to review where we are now. Whereas the Challenge Partners review looked more closely at the strategy for developing the school, triangulated through activities such as learning explorations and discussions, next week will be more about where we are now regarding our teaching and learning and will focus on learning explorations and curriculum discussions - more about what we are doing and why. We have crammed a lot into the end of term and our staff and learners are really stepping up to the challenge that will take us to the end of term. No one could ever say that things have slacked off towards the end of the year. We will return in September with a comprehensive overview of where we are and where we are heading. I am sure that many of you have enjoyed the Euros - as we look ahead to tomorrow’s game there now seems to be a little hope. It kind of mirrors our emergence from the pandemic this year. I think it was back in January that I spoke of hope on the horizon regarding the vaccination programme. I hope that many of you now have been able to access this and are feeling a little safer. I have had both of my jobs now and feel much more confident heading into the summer. So switch off and enjoy your weekend. James Saunders Headteacher Thanks to: Lead Learners— Beth Chapman, Mia Fisher, Jake Ring and Rosie Waine who met with a member of the Challenge Partners team this week.
Week commencing 28th June 2021
English C7/8— Kai Harding C7/8— Connor O’Doherty C8/9— Jack Hammond
C8/9— Callum Young C9/10— Tori Treharne C9/10— Alex Hore C10/11— Reece Shrubb C10/11— Hollie McLaren
Maths C7/8—Pru Duffy C7/8—Ella Pinkham C8/9—Milley Peters C8/9— Holly Ardron C8/9— Hannah Doggart C8/9— Thomas Harvey C9/10—Max Cherry C9/10—Sid Critch C10/11— Dakota Martin C10/11— Harry Arkle C10/11—Layla Al-Riyami
Science C7/8— Kayleigh Brooks C7/8— Robert Ardern C8/9— Tamar Milliken C8/9— Jacob Prestney C9/10— Anish Mistry
French KS3— Evie Stayt KS4— Max Jones
German KS3— Aiden Smith KS4—Megan Walby
Spanish KS4— Aisling Pellowe
Music KS3— Emma Jullien KS4— Alan Twardowski
Drama KS3— Samantha Flowers-Amaral KS4— Lily Grace
Dance KS3— Ethan Kindred KS4— Eloise Mills
Media Studies Finn Kendle
IDEA (Innovation, Digital, Enterprise and Animation)
George Warwick
Geography KS3— Sam Colairo KS4— Nadia Twardosz
History KS3— William O’Connell KS4— Niamh Matthews Holly James
Philosophy & Religion KS3— Kayleigh Brooks Zehra Torbas KS4— Will Chandler
Art KS3—Imogen Haynes KS4— Kieran Emery
KS3 Technology Robert Ardern
KS4 Food Jaz Marangou
KS4 Resistant Materials Sarah Evans
KS4 Textiles Ruby Garnham
C9/10— Harriet Mead C10/11— Taylor Hughes
Health and Social Care
C10/11— Reece Shrubb
Connie Pratchett
KS4 Graphics Alice Bateman
Week commencing 28th 14th June 2021
Computer Science Daniel Taylor
Business Studies Alfie Bryan
All Learners nominated will be receiving certificates shortly. In addition, every learner nominated will receive 10 House Points!
PE KS3— Joe Marrow KS4— Jayden Bishop GCSE— Ryan Mullan
Well done to everyone who has been nominated this week!
House Competition update Two weeks to go! Who will win the House Cup….
Reminder for families, please ensure you have signed up to our SIMS parent app to view your child's timetable and update contact details. Please ensure we have at least two contact phone numbers on our system for emergencies. Thankyou
School finishes at 1:00pm on the 21st July for the end of the Summer term. Cohorts C8 to C11 return on Monday 6th September, normal time.
Dates for the diary
Each term, we have a scheduled programme of PSHE for LS5. This term our topics are centred around Choices and Influences: C7—Safety and First Aid C8—Importance of Physical Activity C9—First Aid C10—Sex and relationships
Thursday 15th July
C9 HPV second dose
Monday 19th July
Sports’ Day
Tuesday 20th July
C8 HPV (first dose) vaccination
Tuesday 20th July
C11 Prom @ Colne Valley Golf Club
Wednesday 21st July
Last day of term
Wednesday 1st September
Non Learner day
Thursday 2nd September
New C7 only in school
Friday 3rd September
New C7 only in school
Friday 10th September
Whole school individual photos
Friday 24th September
C7 to Danbury outdoors
Wednesday 27th September Whole School Sponsored Walk
Next week is a Week “A”
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