Dear Parent or Carer
Welcome to our Easter newsletter. I hope you find the short articles of interest. It is a real sign that enrichment activities are opening up for students, which have been sorely missed and recognised as a really valuable part of any school experience.
We wish our Year 11 and 13 students all the best with their revision between now and the end of the exam period. They will be utilising all their time over the Easter break and over the next half-term to prepare for the first full, national exam series sat in an exam hall since June 2019.
It is great to have seen face-to-face assemblies back up and running and visitors coming in to deliver careers talks to various year groups to broaden experiences and make our students aware of the vast and diverse career ranges available to them. It is also great to have seen really energy going into our Duke of Edinburgh programme, with half of a year group doing the Bronze award and a large uptake of Silver and Gold. It is great to see the buzz around the Science club and joining forces with local schools to run PCR experiments in A Level Biology.
Students who love their sports are really enjoying competing again physically in various fixtures, particularly, netball, football and athletics.
Lastly, the Bugsy Malone production is in full rehearsal and a huge thank you must go to the staff involved in supporting the students, but particularly Mr Creffield. If you have not bought tickets yet, please do so via the School Gateway.
We now have a very small minority of parents (less than 10%) that drive down Parish Piece, or whom drop off very close to the school. We are working with the Parish Council, Holmer Green First and Junior Schools, to try and get more of these cars off the road for safety, health and environmental reasons. With the lighter evenings, please encourage your child to walk, cycle or catch the bus to school, it is also a great way of them developing independence.
You will no doubt be aware of the latest announcements, as of 1 April, around Covid testing rules. They are a significant change from what we have been used to and they will take some time to get used to. They are:
- It is no longer suggested that staff and students should carry out lateral flow tests, unless advised to do so by a health professional
- Schools should no longer distribute any remaining testing kits to staff or students
- If an adult tests positive (but they should not be testing unless advised by a health professional) then try to isolate for 5 days
- If an 18 year old and under, in education tests positive (but they should not be testing unless advised by a health professional) try to isolate for 3 days
- Schools must now code student Covid absence as standard illness
- Ultimately if a person has a high temperature they should remain at home until it has come down, otherwise students and staff should be in, unless too unwell to attend
Finally, can I thank all parents, carers and students for their huge support over a very difficult half-term with staff absences resulting in remote learning days. Remote learning days are not something we want to use and we very much hope we have seen the last of them.
For those of you with children sitting their GCSEs or A Levels this summer, please encourage them to use their time over Easter and beyond smartly, but also to support them in taking well-earned breaks. The elation of opening exam results in August is really worthwhile.
As we enter a new term, we would like to reinforce our uniform expectations. Students are permitted to wear one stud in each ear, this should be a simple stud and not a large stone. Students are not permitted to wear false eyelashes to school and will be asked to remove these if they are worn. Students also cannot wear sunglasses on school site.
In order for lessons to be most effective and to start promptly, students need to be fully equipped, please consult the equipment list on the website and ensure they have all equipment needed on their return after Easter.
Kind regards
Mr E Hillyard, Headteacher
