It has been another busy week at school. The students continue to demonstrate a positive attitude. Walking around the school as I do each and every day, it is a delight to see the way they are engaging with their learning.

An area that is causing me concern is poor punctuality to school in the morning. School starts at 8.45am with year group line-ups beginning at 8.50am. Whilst circumstances can conspire to cause the odd late arrival, for too many students lateness is far too common. Lateness is not tolerated in the workplace and you would not expect us to tolerate it in school. We are lucky that the vast majority of our students live very locally so getting to school on time should be straightforward. Persistent lateness is one of the biggest factors in students being added to our trips no-go list. It’s an easy thing to fix. Thank you for your support in ensuring your child arrives to school punctually.  

A real highlight this week was the visit by the team from the Great-Western Air Ambulance charity. They visit the school every year to deliver a workshop to our Year 10 Health and Social Care students.  This covers vital emergency response skills using the DRABC method and the opportunity to practice CPR and use a defibrillator. We are incredibly grateful to the volunteers, including a nurse and a paediatric doctor, who give their valuable time to teach our students these important life-saving skills. Thank you for inspiring our students and providing them with such a meaningful learning experience. Of course, we hope that the students will never have to use these skills but knowing they have them means they will have the ability to intervene and potentially save a life.

We were also fortunate to be visited by a mid-wife from GRH, Nikki Dobson. She was in school to work with and talk to our Key Stage 4 Child Development students. Her session covered essential topics including pregnancy, labour, and post-birth care. This hands-on learning experience not only supported their exam unit but also highlighted the vital role of midwifery in the healthcare system and will hopefully have inspired some to consider midwifery as a potential career.

On Thursday we held our Year 11 parent evening. The event was very well attended and I know that many positive conversations took place that will help the students as they prepare for their summer exams. The Year 9 parent evening is rapidly approaching (13 February) with details being sent to parents early next week.

Every Friday, students in KS3 complete a news quiz using The Day website in their Prep time. This quiz is completed by schools across the country. At the end of last term, the quiz took the form of a “Mega-quiz”. I was delighted to hear that this quiz was won by 9T against all the other schools across the country who use the site.  A fantastic achievement.

On the sporting front, I was delighted to hear about ex-Severn Vale student, Fin Williamson. He is now the England U18s Bowls Captain and represented England at the recent International Series in Scotland. He won a Gold medal in the pairs and a Bronze medal in singles. Very well done Fin!!

A date for your diary: we are holding the next meeting of our Friends of Severn Vale group on Tuesday 21 January between 7.00 – 8.00pm. All parents and carers are invited to join us at this important meeting to discuss fundraising for the forthcoming year.

As always, I end with my weekly reminder about Free School Meals eligibility. If your financial circumstances have changed, your child may be eligible for Free School Meals. If you click on this link you will 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.   

I do hope you have a great weekend.  

Kind regards,  

Richard Johnson 
Headteacher