Letter From The Headmaster
As we approach the end of term, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your families a very happy Christmas and New Year.
It has been great to see our co-curricular programme getting back to full strength this term, with the recent production of Holes and the House Talent Show together with a full and very successful set of sports fixtures (not least the girls’ first XI Hockey Team who have now made it to the semi-finals of the National Cup) providing a testament to the dedication, resilience and perseverance of both pupils and staff.
Clearly the government’s recent announcement regarding “Plan B” and the presence of the Omicron variant are of concern and I am sure we are all hopeful that the situation will not worsen over the holidays.
Looking ahead to the arrangements for the start of the Lent Term we want to do our utmost to ensure a good, safe start for both pupils and staff, and in particular for those in Year 11 and Upper Sixth who have mock exams at the very start of term. We also need to factor in the Department for Education’s required pre-return lateral flow testing for all pupils.
In order to do this, we have decided that we will need to have a slightly staggered return to school for some Year Groups and want to alert you to this as soon as possible. We believe that this gives us the best possible chance of minimising positive cases in school and the ensuing disruption.
Arrangements for the start of term will therefore be as follows:
Saturday 1 January
· We ask that all Year 10, Year 11 and Upper Sixth students undertake a lateral flow test at home.
Sunday 2 January
· We ask that all pupils in Years 7 to 9 and Lower Sixth students undertake a lateral flow test at home.
Tuesday 4 January
· Staff INSET
· Lateral flow testing for Year 10, Year 11 and Upper Sixth in the Sports Hall. You will be emailed next week with specific Year Group appointment times.
Wednesday 5 January
· Lateral flow testing for Years 7, 8, 9 and Lower Sixth. You will be emailed with next week with specific Year Group appointment times.
· To accommodate the testing there will be no in school lessons or home learning on this day for the above years.
· Year 11 mocks start in the Sixth Form Centre
· Upper Sixth mocks start in classrooms
· Please note the buses will run for Year 11 and Upper Sixth pupils only as normal.
Thursday 6 January
· Year 11 mocks continue in the Sports Hall
· Upper Sixth mocks continue in Sixth Form Centre
· First day back for all other years, normal lessons
As previously, we need to stress the importance of the continued twice-weekly lateral flow testing over the holidays please, the need for good hand and respiratory hygiene and the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach. We would ask specifically that all pupils lateral flow test the day before they come into school for their lateral flow test to minimise the risk of COVID infection.
In January face masks will continue to be required to be worn by all staff and pupils (unless exempt and agreed with school*) when moving around the premises, outside of classrooms, such as in corridors and indoor communal areas. Pupils must also wear a face covering when using the school bus services to and from school.
*To see the circumstances where people are not able to wear face coverings for exceptions to this please click here, see page 8.
We hope these measures will enable us to keep all members of the school community safe as we begin the Lent Term. We will of course keep the situation under close review and update you as appropriate. Thank you for your ongoing support and co-operation.
As always, there will be a few tweaks to the timetable for next term which will effect some pupils so we advise them all to check their timetables carefully on MySchool Portal before the start of term.
If you have any queries on any of the above, please do get in touch with us via post@princethorpe.co.uk.
Best wishes once again for a very happy Christmas and New Year and, in the words of Tiny Tim, “God bless us every one!”.
E D Hester
Headmaster
