4 November 2022
Good afternoon,
It has been a busy, but very positive, week.
I know that you will think that we go on about attendance a lot! We are, of course, extremely sympathetic to the small number of students who suffer from serious illnesses. Everything that we know, though, says that as a student's attendance reduces they become increasingly unlikely to get the results of which they are capable. We know that education is about far more than GCSE grades, of course, but the grades matter to each student in terms of their life chances and opportunities. That is why we focus on attendance at school. As I said to Year 11 this morning: last year's Year 11s achieved their potential as long as they were in school at least 90% of the time - once it fell below that their average grade dipped sharply.....
The other thing I just wanted to mention this week is that we have seen an uptick in incidents of parents and carers being really challenging and sometimes aggressive about matters of school rules and discipline. We just operate the rules of the school as fairly as we can, and we are calm and polite about it. We have a complaints procedure on the website if someone thinks that we have not followed our own policies correctly and all the relevant policies are on the website. There isn't any point in shouting at us - that doesn't make us change our mind! Our staff don't come to work to be shouted at and will put the phone down as necessary. It it a very small minority - we have excellent relationships with almost all our families - but it is just worth mentioning....
All years
- Protective PE equipment: Please see the letter on the website (scroll down to find "Letter about protective equipment for PE lessons") for more information on the requirement of Protective Equipment during PE lessons - this was originally uploaded in March 2022 but all schools throughout the country have to adhere to these guidelines.
- School Transport - Polite Reminder: All students using the school bus (including minibus) must have a valid bus pass with them each day, students will be unable to travel without a valid pass. If passes have been lost or left at home, replacement passes will need to be purchased for £1.00 via ParentPay to enable students to travel home on the bus.
- Scholastic Book Club: Please see email sent out on Tuesday regarding the Teen Book Club.
- Jingle Bell Jog: Please see email sent out on Wednesday for the Jingle Bell Jog which will take place on Sunday, 11th December.
Years 10 & 11
- College Open Days & Post-16 Pathways: Please see email sent out earlier in the week from our Careers Co-ordinator. Miss Minton.
Have a good weekend and a safe Bonfire night!
Best wishes
James Harris
Headteacher
Posted by James Harris
Category: WLD Updates
