Dear Parents and Carers
It’s been an eventful half term as always and I want to start my end of of term communication with you by thanking you for your ongoing support for our schools.
I’m particularly delighted to note several trips and events have taken place this half term and to know that more are in the pipeline. ‘Sister Act’ was a joy to see using the beautiful St Mary’s church as a perfect setting to celebrate the talents of our performers, our Year 8 and 9 Mock Trial pupils won their Cumbrian round in Carlisle and are all set for the Northern heats now, our Sixth Form Young Enterprise Team won ‘Company of the Day’ at the North West Dragon’s Den event and last week some Year 10 mathematicians took part in the Maths Feast Competition run by the Advanced Maths Support Programme and were joint winners overall.
There have been imaginative and energising events in school too; from our Pop-up Fashion Show to a joyful World Book Day. I’m looking forward to taking a peek at the Jekyll and Hyde theatre performance in school on Friday as they perform for our GCSE classes as well as absorbing the joy of the Easter Concert this evening (following our two Music for Youth trips to Birmingham and Huddersfield), which I’m sure will bring with it the lightness of Spring we dreamt of in the winter months.
Some sporting achievements worth mentioning (though not exhaustive!):
- Year 10 boys’ football team made the county cup final (April 20th) and won the South Lakes Competition, as well as making the last 64 in the country in the National Cup.
- 6th form boys’ football team enjoyed their annual trip on the Midlands Football Tour, beating Blessed Robert Sutton School 7-1.
- We have had 7 pupils qualify for the Cross-Country National Finals.
- U13 Girls’ football team are still in the county cup and are in the Quarter Finals.
- Year 7 boys’ football team go from strength to strength
- 6th form boys’ football team as well as the Year 8 boys’ football team made the semi-finals of the county cup.
- We enjoyed the visit of St Hilda’s College from Buenos Aries when we hosted them for a day of sport
- Our netball teams are flourishing and have enjoyed a fantastic series of friendly fixtures versus our local schools
- Years 10 and 11 girls’ rugby scored their first ever win on home soil.
- Year 10 boys’ rugby team came runners up in the county final. A fantastic effort in freezing conditions…
- Under 13 girls’ football team are into the county final
- U15 netball team have remained unbeaten this season.
This is, of course, only a snapshot – there are countless individual stories of pupils outside and inside school working hard and doing their best and it is great to hear – apologies for what will no doubt be glaring omissions!
We have had to review Health and Safety and staffing provision in PE for our fixtures, practices, tournaments and after school events and we continue to be committed to this important aspect of our provision. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for your generosity in responding to my email about the cost of these fixtures and our efforts to replenish the much needed School Fund. Equally the School Council’s Raffle ably led by Nick Verney has already raised some funds thanks to generous donations.
We know we want to develop these areas further as well as rebuild our PTA and if you are interested in either (or both?!) of these developments do let us know by emailing a.bulman@qes.org.uk to express an interest in the first instance.
Years 11 and 13 approached their mock exams with suitable seriousness, as did Year 10, applications from Year 11 for places in our Sixth Form in September are a joy to read and Year 13 are beginning to see the fruits of their labours as they look on their offers and get glimpses of life beyond the school gates. Our Year 7 Nurture group planted fruit trees and along with our Countryside Skills students they continue to make the area near the LSC a special place celebrating our environment. Along that theme our site has had some positive improvements including the solar panels we had fitted on QEStudio roof during February half term. We are planning the next stage of solar panelling on QES roofs over the summer months.
We are anticipating some colleagues leaving us after long standing service to our schools and I will update you as we move throughout next term regarding appointments and changes. However, for now it’s important I let you know that our Head of maths, Jill Sherry, retires this summer after (a whopping!) 36 years of continued service, with a significant time leading a large department as Head of Maths. Those of you who know Jill, (may even have been taught by her?), will know that she is an expert mathematician with an incredible work ethic and a devoted dedication to doing her best for the children we serve. I can’t think of another member of staff who so fully represents our School Values as Jill and they will be hard shoes to fill.
Another irreplaceable colleague to mention is Assistant Headteacher, Phil Houghton. Phil has been a pillar of our school for as long as I can remember and there will be many ways we will miss him. Always cheerful whether starting off exams or loading buses, always warm and kind hearted whether supporting a child as they grapple with their algebra or working through the nuances of a complex timetable, his skills are many and they are worn with old fashioned decency and good humour – we will miss him greatly.
Thankfully though, they both leave us in the summer so we can follow their sage counsel for some time to come!
This Easter we also wish Liz Robinson in the history department all the best as she leaves us for a position at Lancaster university – a post where her skills as an astute historian and educationalist will be put to good use with a different age range. We welcome Steven Kellett to our IT support department and John Gill to our catering and cleaning team and two teaching colleagues have joined us covering maternity leave, Scott Myers (Maths) and Emily Jackson (Science). We also greeted Trainee Teachers at the beginning of their journey in the profession and it has been lovely to see them settle and gain support and encouragement from our more seasoned colleagues.
Offers have now gone to Year 6 parents and we will be full in September and in fact oversubscribed; I know that so much of that popularity is down to your support over the years. It matters hugely and I’m both personally and professionally immensely grateful for your consistent support of your child’s school. We absolutely know we aren’t perfect or at all complacent as an institution – there is much we continue to work on to improve and develop as we hold on to our ambition to be two of the best schools we can be, but we are a relentlessly busy, vibrant, reflective and caring community with our shared values and at times of flux, uncertainty and challenge we very much cherish our partnership with our parents and carers as we contribute positively to the lives of the children we serve.
Wishing you a lovely Easter break when it arrives.
Cathy O’Neill
Executive Headteacher
