We have finished our term with a fabulous awards celebration to share all the amazing success we have had so far this year. It was particularly nice to have the whole school in the sports hall together for the assembly. It really makes us feel like a growing school.

As part of our celebrations we were really pleased to note the excellent contributions by all the school to the local foodbank and church. The amount we delivered was positive, but unfortunately, is only a small percentage of what is required every year. We will continue to work with the food bank and do what we can to help.

Our sporting success continues and we continue to perform exceptionally well in many sports across the city, most notably our netball and basketball teams. There have been some superb individual performances across all sports. We continue to perform well above our size, sitting at the top of many of the sports leagues.

The number of pupils taking part in extra-curricular activities is also increasing and the number of clubs on offer is growing all the time. Please refer to the extra-curricular schedule for all of the activities. The yoga sessions have gone down particularly well. Please be aware all clubs run until 4.30pm, pupils are unable to leave before this time if attending an afterschool club.

Recently, Year 7 and Year 8 pupils have attended The Open University Moon Night where they enjoyed lectures, workshops and handled real moon rocks and meteorites. We also completed the Bebras computational thinking competition with many pupils in Year 7 and Year 8 finishing in the top 5% in the country. Well done to them all.

Our Year 7 and 8 sports leaders continue to impress with their professionalism and hard work with the Year 3 and 4 sports festivals. They are a real credit to the school and everyone leaves impressed by them. The all-through nature of the school continues to strengthen each year and helps to develop a really distinct ethos and culture across the school. The Year 7 and Year 8 work superbly with the Year 3 and Year 4 on their regular visits to the Primary site and it is lovely to welcome them all up to the Secondary site.

As you are aware, we use the ClassCharts online behaviour system and have amassed nearly 100,000 positive behaviour points since September. This is superb and is testament to the hard work and community spirit of the pupils. We talk regularly about working hard, and being kind to each other – our pupils demonstrate this every day. The rehearsals for the first whole school musical are coming along really well. This year’s performance will be ‘Honk’ and by the sound of the rehearsals it should be brilliant. More details about dates will be shared in the new year.

We have had two very popular open evenings at the primary school since October as well. Firstly for the new Year 3 cohort, but also for the new Foundation class which will open to 30 pupils in September. The Nursery opens the following year. Our recruitment for new staff is well under way across both sites. There are details on the website and Facebook, but please share as widely as you can. All that remains is for me to wish you a safe and happy holiday and we look forward to welcoming everyone back in 2020 for another busy term.

James Pilgrim
Headteacher