WLD Update for Parents & Carers - Friday 28 April 2023

I would like to start by thanking all the students for responding so positively to the uniform amendments. We have seen a huge improvement in the standards of attire, and I would like to thank parents for your support with this.  

I was fortunate enough to attend the display produced by the Amnesty club today and the children shared their knowledge and inspiration for the work they had produced. They were incredibly passionate about human rights and the global changes they would like to see imposed. It was incredibly touching. Perhaps we have some potential political leaders in our midst! 

I am pleased to say the the issues we encountered last week with anti-social behaviour outside school have stopped and we have even received communication from members of the public praising the behaviour and conduct of our students on the buses. I walked to Bamber Bridge and back earlier in the week to check on conduct and was really pleased to witness our students walking calmly and sensibly to their transport links. They were a real credit to our school. 

We understand that there have been some issues with students arriving on time who catch the 125 bus or catch a train. We are going to establish who these children are in order to make concessions for them in order that they are not receiving late marks and detentions consistently, so for the next 2 weeks we will have a 9am cut off for these students only, which we will review at the end of this period to evaluate its effectiveness. It has been suggested that we change the school day, hover there is a formal consultation process which is required to do so, and this is not something we could implement immediately. 

Some parents have encountered difficulty dropping their students outside school and at peak times the volume of traffic has made it difficult for students to see when crossing the road. As we still have two buses running, we cannot advise parents to wait in the turning circle at the rear of school but would advise that you perhaps find a place a little further from the school to meet your child. Please do not attempt to enter the school car park.  

 

MAT Update Letter: link can be found here: MAT update letter 

 
Coronation lunch - Friday 5th May - please see email / text sent out earlier in the week with a form to fill in if your child wants a buffet lunch next Friday.  Closing date is 3pm on Monday 1st May. 

 

Headteacher Meetings:  We are having difficulty with the Eventbrite system at the moment, and we have received a number of requests for an evening presentation, so we will look at the following week in an evening and information will be sent out next week. 

 

King's Coronation Holiday - Monday 8th May: Just a reminder that school is closed on Monday 8th May as a Bank Holiday for the King's Coronation.  School will reopen as usual on Tuesday 9th May due to industrial action. 

 

 

Banned items: Please be advised that students have been shown a series of images of banned items. These include scissors, pencil sharpeners and compasses. On the basis of what I have been dealing with this week, it is imperative that these are not brought into school as they may be adapted to be used as a weapon or for self-harm. Please do not be alarmed by this, but I have to ensure the safety of my school community. Equipment will be available when required in lessons. 

 

Year 10 

Exams - Please see emails sent out this week regarding an update to the Year 10 Exams. 

 

Year 11 

We have taken the decision to close school to all year groups, including year 11 during the next day of industrial action, Tuesday 2nd May. I have been made aware by the NEU that there is likely to be more staff on strike on Tuesday and I cannot ask staff of their intentions. For this reason, I cannot guarantee that I would have staff available to teach classes or supervise self-study.  Work will be available on Teams for students to work from home.  

 

Exams: We have a number of GCSE exams taking place this week: French Higher students conducting their speaking exam on Wednesday 3rd May; Art students will be sitting their exam Thursday 4th and Friday 5th May and the PE Moderation day will be on Friday 5th May.