As Christmas fades into the distance and the days begin to get a bit lighter, we have completed another busy and rewarding half-term at Kents Hill Park School.
Firstly, and most recently, we would like to thank parents for the overwhelming support and understanding that was shown to the school when news broke of Kents Hill Park Conference Centre being used as an isolation centre. As you can imagine, it was a highly unusual situation that we found ourselves in as a school, and entirely not of our making, but it was really pleasing how well we pulled together as a community. It was business as usual for us, and after Monday morning, the pupils haven’t been fazed at all.
As always, the pupils have been a credit to the school in all that they have done. They always throw themselves into everything wholeheartedly. Nowhere is this clearer than on the sports field where we continue to compete strongly across the city and beyond. Our Year 8 boys basketball team are a force to be reckoned with, as is the football team; and the girls go from strength to strength.
Our Year 7 and 8 dodgeball team were crowned MK Champions despite playing against Year 9 teams. Professional rugby and cricket coaches have all made a significant impact on the skills and abilities of the many pupils that regularly turn up to clubs and fixtures. We think that attending an extra-curricular club, be it sporting or otherwise, really makes a difference to pupils’ confidence and we see this regularly in the classroom as well as beyond it. It is also really important to strike the right balance between working hard in the classroom and enjoying the opportunities outside of it.
Both Year 7 and Year 8 pupils have been fortunate to hear an assembly from Alistair Patrick Heselton, a former professional footballer and Paralympian. He told the pupils his amazing story, but also inspired them to never give up, no matter what set backs they face.
Our book club, led by Miss Randell, has also proved popular, with pupils enjoying their first novel, ‘Starseeker’. They quickly continued to their second read, Malorie Blackman’s ‘Noughts and Crosses’.
Year 7 pupils have also taken part in our first Worktree careers carousel. Around 20 businesses gave up an hour of their time to allow pupils to ask them questions about their work and how they got there. If this is something that you could offer as a business, I am sure that Worktree would love to hear from you. Our proudest moment came when all the businesses declared that we were the politest school they had ever worked with!
We continue to build the distinctive all-through nature of our school with regular visits in both directions. Years 3 and 4 recently spent the day at the secondary site enjoying Geography, Science, and Technology lessons and facilities. They had a great time, and can almost see over the balcony!
Similarly, our links with the Open University continue to add valuable input into the curriculum, particularly in Science. Regular lectures and workshops from physics PhD students really help our pupils engage with the University and enjoy additional input on energy and space.
As always, there is so much more going on than we can fit in a Newsletter. However, I would like to thank all the parents that completed the annual survey. We had 160 responses and we have included the results below. What is really pleasing is that on every question, 90% and more of parents agree with the statement; and whilst we acknowledge that there are clearly areas that we can improve on, it is great that 96% of parents feel their child is happy at school, 98% feel they are safe, and 96% would recommend the school to other parents.
Don’t forget that if there is specific feedback that you would like to share with the school on how we can get better at what we do, please use the feedback@kentshillpark.school email address.
Finally, we would like to wish you a very pleasant and restful half-term, and look forward to welcoming everyone back on Monday 24th February.
Mr James Pilgrim
Headteacher