23 September 2018
In any community or family there are times to be happy, times to celebrate, times to be sad and times to grieve. This week the school has been shocked and saddened by the sudden death of Tim Hindle (Year 9 in Red section) from a brain tumour. Our thoughts and prayers are with Tim's family and friends at this very sad time. As a school community we have been coming together to support the students and staff who knew Tim well and I have been very grateful for the way in which everyone has been kind to and respectful of each other. Events like this put things into perspective.
Our Open Evening on Monday was very busy once again, with hundreds of people here. The positive comments that we received about our students were wonderful (I have posted some of them on Twitter @WLDHighSchool). My diary has now also become very busy with appointments to show people around the school over the coming weeks. This is one of my favourite parts of my job and it is very important, I think, for people to see the school under "normal" conditions if they have any questions at all about whether to give us the privilege of educating their son or daughter.
This week sees a number of events taking place. Our Awards evening on Wednesday is rescheduled from July, when it clashed with a certain World Cup football match! This means that it celebrates the achievements of students who were in school last year - please don't feel left out Year 7 - your turn will come later in the year. Likewise Year 7 may feel a bit left out on Friday when we run the rescheduled Sports Day - again their turn will come later in the year. It is European Languages Day on Wednesday so, as always, there will be activities running throughout the week - thanks to all the staff who are organising them. Macmillan Coffee morning is on Friday, along with Sports Day, and, in the light of the sad news about Tim Hindle we hope to raise a lot of money for an excellent cause so please, if you can, send your son or daughter in with a small amount of cash to spend on the cakes and other items that will be available.
A school like ours which always seeks to improve (see https://www.waltonledale.lancs.sch.uk/blog/2018-09-09-13-57-45-school-improvement-planning) always looks to others for help, support and good ideas. With that in mind Chris Morris, Headteacher from Broughton High School and lead of the Preston Teaching School Alliance, will be in our school on Thursday reviewing our provision for our most disadvantaged students. We are looking forward to his recommendations.
Finally, I would like to congratulate Year 7 for their excellent attitude to the online tests that they have been undergoing. They are worthwhile because they give their teachers further information about their strengths and areas for development - we do not test just for the sake of testing - we make very good use of the information!
As always, should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Have a good week.
James Harris
Headteacher
Posted by James Harris
Category: WLD Updates
