Weekly Update – 6 September 2024
Welcome back to school for the Autumn term and new school year!
We are delighted to have welcomed back all our students this week and are proud to see them looking so smart in their uniform. To remind parents, carers and students of our uniform expectations, a copy of the letter sent out in July is attached here for your reference and convenience. While the weather yesterday and today has been quite exceptional, rain coats (not hoodies) should be worn when rain is forecast.
We have an early closure on Thursday 19 September at 2.10pm. The bus will only collect at 3pm though, so either those children should make alternative arrangements, or can wait in school until the bus arrives. On Friday 20 September, school will start at 9am and students should go straight to their first lesson where they will be registered. See our Term Dates page for key dates, INSET days and parent consultations throughout the year.
Year 9 students have begun their new GCSE subjects and initial feedback from teachers is very positive. New working routines and strategies will soon become established over the next few weeks and they will become more settled with their GCSE and vocational courses. Students will have carefully selected their option subjects and we hope that these are still their preferred choices. However, we appreciate that there will be a few students questioning their choices and perhaps considering whether other courses may be more suitable for them. This is a natural part of the settling-in process. Between now and the half term break in October, if it seems that an option change is needed there is a routine to follow. This routine includes some checks and reviews so that we can make sure that the request for change is suitable and practically possible. It is worth remembering that, as was explained carefully during the initial options process, there are some requirements and limits with course choices and these will need to be followed during the ‘Option Change Request’ process. If your child (with your approval) is considering making a request to change an option subject they should see Mrs Hale in the Registry Office (opposite the New Hall entrance in the Gallery) and ask for an Option Change Request form. The various stages of this process are described on the form, and either Mrs Hale or Mr Borkowski can offer further advice and guidance.
A number of trips were opened for application on Tuesday. Parents of the students eligible to apply for a place on these trips have been notified via email. Please remember to complete the application form on Scopay and make the payment by the deadline – 9pm on Monday 9 September.
We were delighted that many students wished to borrow books over the summer, but it is now time to return them. Additionally, we have a significant number of books that are overdue from loans last year so it’s time to have a bit of a blitz at home and find those books to return! Check under beds and in cupboards. Search in bags and drawers. As much as we really want to lend as many books as possible, students with overdue books will be unable to borrow titles until overdue books are returned. Thank you for your support.
Our latest clubs list for activities taking place at lunchtime and after school can be seen here. Please check the page regularly on the website under Students/Clubs.
As you may be aware there have been some changes to School Attendance, please see the links below for further information and guidance for parents:
Prioritising school attendance
As a reminder, you can monitor your child’s attendance on the Edulink app.
Click the links below for our recent News:
