Dear Parents and Carers
Following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II we observed two minutes’ silence on Friday morning as our community reflected on her service and dedication throughout her long life. On Saturday the Department for Education informed us that Monday 19th September will be a Bank Holiday so I can confirm that our schools will be closed.
Awards Evening
On Thursday evening we had our annual Awards Evening at St Mary’s Church and it was a wonderful occasion celebrating the achievements of last year’s Year 13 and 11, achievements gained in quite extraordinary circumstances. It was lovely to see them and their parents and carers in such a special place and we wish them all the very best for the next chapter of their lives. Of course all our Year 13 and 11 gained their results in the summer and we are proud of them all – they worked very hard and contributed to our school community in so many ways.
Start of term
260 Year 7 pupils joined us last week and they have already made a very positive impression! Equally, as we welcomed everyone back to the new year it has been a very positive start to the year. Thank you so much for supporting us with uniform standards and continuing to use the language of our Values at home – it continues to help enormously when our young people hear a consistent message and understand the type of community we have here.
Our Year 6 Open evenings are on this Thursday 15th and next Wednesday 21st September. Details are on our website. There is a presentation in the Main Theatre at 6.00pm, repeated at 7.00pm, and opportunities for tours of our site starting at 5.30pm.
LLT Development Priorities
Like all schools we have a significant Development Plan. Whilst I’m incredibly proud of our two schools and the fantastic colleagues and pupils we are lucky enough to have here, we are never complacent – there are plenty of areas we are keen to develop. This year’s priorities include:
· embedding our new Behaviour for Learning policy to include giving parents and carers real time information
· focussing on consistency of teaching and learning across the school and helping young people with learner literacy:
· reviewing our assessment calendar and interventions with pupils
· building upon last year’s return to our large number of extra-curricular opportunities with a keen focus on Personal Development (PD) and all the ways we can support it in our young people, including the PD curriculum and the ways in which we can create a celebratory and inclusive culture across our schools.
There are many more areas we are working on and of course, sadly, we are ever mindful of the Cost of Living and how financial restraints could impact on our children, families, colleagues and our schools.
We hope to see more of you at events over the course of this year now that Covid restrictions are less burdensome for us, and I’d like to thank you, as always, for continuing to support your child’s school; it is such an important partnership for us, and most importantly, for the wellbeing and success of our children.
With best wishes
Cathy O’Neill
Executive Headteacher
