This week seems to have absolutely flown by. Despite the pretty dreadful weather, our students have been working hard and visiting classrooms this week has been a real pleasure.

We have seen a marked improvement in attendance which hopefully means the worst of the winter bugs are behind us. There is still some way to go in terms of attendance getting back to the levels seen pre-pandemic but we are moving in the right direction. Every day really does count so thank you for your support in ensuring your son / daughter is in school every day.  

Next Thursday (19 January) sees the first parents evening of the year for our Year 11s. I have been pleased with the attitude Year 11 have demonstrated in their lessons since they returned after Christmas. Their first set of formal assessments have been fed back to them and they now have an even better idea of what they know and what they need to do next to ensure they realise their undoubted potential.

The timing of the parents evening will be extremely useful as it allows parents to hear that information and to know how they can support their child through what is an incredibly important 4 months leading up to the GCSE exam season. The next set of assessments for Year 11 begin on 30 January. I know they will be busily preparing for these. 

As part of their ongoing Careers programme, our Year 11 students had an assembly this week about Apprenticeships. We had an Apprenticeship Ambassador visit the school to deliver the assembly which covered a wide range of information including explaining what apprenticeship are, how to find an apprenticeship and the different qualifications available through apprenticeships. If you want to see some of the information that was shared, you can access it by going to the following link: Amazing Apprenticeships

I want to share an opportunity for our students that may be of interest. The NSPCC have something called their 'Young People's Board for Change'.  The group is made up of 15 young people from around the UK who get to steer, advise and influence the NSPCC on issues that affect children and young people in the UK.  Right now, they are looking to recruit the next batch of young people to serve on this board from March 2023 - March 2025.  If you think your son / daughter would be interested in applying for the role, they can access more information by going to the NSPCC website via the following link: www.nspcc.org.uk/boardforchange 

A heads up that the first dose of the HPV vaccinations for Year 8 (and any Year 9 students who did not receive their first dose last year) will be taking place on Wednesday 1 February.  Your son / daughter should have brought a consent form that needs to be returned by Friday 20^th January. If you haven’t seen one, please contact the school so a replacement can be sent home.

The bulk of the fixtures are taking place later this term. However, the Year 7 netballers did have their first games this week. Despite the poor conditions with lots of wind and rain, the standard of play was high. The Year 7 A team beat Newent 13 – 3 with Bea awarded player of the match. The B team went down 5 – 1 with player of the match being awarded jointly to Aaliyah and Teanna.

Finally, a reminder that a recent analysis showed that approximately 10% of those who are entitled to Free School Meals are not currently taking advantage of this scheme. If you think your child may be eligible for Free School Meals you can click on this link to find guidance on the eligibility criteria and the application process. It's a quick process and we are notified of all FSM entitlements by Gloucestershire County Council each Monday. I would urge you to take a look if you think you may benefit from financial assistance. 

Have a great weekend. 

Kind regards 

Richard Johnson 
Headteacher