The Flagpole

As we move into the extended Bank Holiday weekend for the Queen’s funeral, our thoughts and prayers will be with all members of the Royal Family. As a school we have been able to pay our respects for the wonderful contribution that the Queen has made, not least in our whole school assembly last week and our House Eucharist service this week – both really moving and respectful occasions at the very start of the school year. Whilst the death of the Queen has been met with huge sadness, it is right that we also celebrate her amazing life of service.  

Pupil - School Charter

After much consultation, we launched a new Pupil – School Charter on the first day of term: stemming from our ethos and the values which underpin the school, it translates these into a clear set of aims and expectations. It has been discussed in detail within tutor groups and pupils have all signed up to this charter which can be found here. I would be very grateful for your support in both reading this and talking through it with your children as to what it means for them and indeed your family. If you have any feedback on the Charter please do send it through via this link.

The School Year Ahead

With a new prime minister and a new monarch there will undoubtably be many changes ahead for the country and so too for all our pupils: they all have their own journeys whichever year they are in. Each year group has an assembly to look at the key events and challenges ahead; a combination of academic, co-curricular, social and personal development and we will share the key details of these with you directly.

Parental Involvement and Support

As you know, parents’ involvement and support are fundamental to all pupil development and I will be writing to you to highlight the key events for your own children. For all year groups there are a minimum of two key touch points:

Parents’ Evenings – please note that we have renamed these Subject Review Evenings

Following our survey of parents at the end of last academic year, it was apparent that the vast majority (72%) of families much preferred the online format of subject parents' evenings and for this reason we have decided to continue to hold these events online for the coming academic year. (The exception to this is in the Upper Sixth who will have two Subject Review Evenings – the first of these, following the January mocks, will be in school.)

It was also clear that the most popular appointment times were those earlier in the evening, and so we have decided to trial offering a wider time window for appointments on a single evening.

360 Review Meetings

By contrast, the survey revealed that the in-person format of 360 Review Meetings was preferred by most (61%) respondents and so we will continue to offer meetings with tutors in this way. This year these evenings will also be coupled with presentations from senior staff on key issues pertinent to each year group, including Sixth Form.

We will continue to ask for your feedback as we review these arrangements throughout the year.

Many parents commented that over the COVID period, they have missed the social elements of school. We ended last term with a lovely BBQ for the Lower Sixth and their parents and we have added a number of new events this year – starting with the Curry and Quiz Night for new parents this week. There is of course also a full programme of sports fixtures, concerts, plays and other activities where we clearly want as many parents as possible to be able to attend. Please do check the calendar for full details of these.

On the subject of COVID, we all know that it hasn’t disappeared; already we have had four confirmed cases amongst staff. Whilst there is no expectation for anyone to test at this time, please do not send your child to school if they are unwell – a high temperature, sore throat or cough are still good indicators for this.

As always, I thank you for your support and send all best wishes for the year ahead.

Ed Hester
Headmaster