It has been a busy week with students in Year 11 taking their first core mock exams and all KS3 students taking their order A assessments. It has been pleasing to see the students giving these assessments the respect they deserve. For Year 11, the mock exams act as in important staging post on their journey towards their final exams in the summer. At KS3, the Order Assessments enable our teachers to see if students are making progress in line with expectation. Thank you for the support you have provided your children as they have prepared for these key assessments.  

On 11 November 2024, Severn Vale students attended the Remembrance Service at St James’ Church in Quedgeley. The students, all members of various cadet forces including:  RAF, Army, Navy, Royal Marines, Police and St John’s Ambulance, paid their respects to those who have suffered as a consequence of war and to our current serving members of the Armed Forces.  Wreaths and poppies were laid at the memorial in the church grounds.  A one-minute silence was also held at the school at the eleventh hour.  Lest we forget.

Every year we run a competition, the Big Sing for our Year 7 students. This sees the students divided into choirs, each made up of 3 tutor groups. They then learn a song in readiness for a grand performance just before Christmas. The practice for the Big Sing began this week. It has been a pleasure to see the students singing with such gusto through the week. With the able support of our music department, I know they will produce fantastic performances later this term. 

On Thursday we held our Awards Evening for the class of 2024. They achieved superb results so it was a delight to see them again and to share in their individual and collective successes. It was an absolute pleasure to catch up with them afterwards and to hear about their progress in their many Sixth Forms, Colleges and Apprenticeships.  

Sporting fixtures resumed this week and included:

• Year 7 Rugby –our 7s made the short journey over to Crypt. As expected, it was a tough battle with Crypt having some big players who made inroads every time they had the ball. What is great about our 7s is their resilience. After going two 2 tries down, they fought back and scored 2 tries immediately in the 2^nd half. It was a really open game with both teams throwing the ball about. It finished 7 - 4 to Crypt. Special mention to Brooklyn K who carried and made yards every time. MOM goes to Lewin B who attacked and defended heroically.

• Year 8 Rugby – it was a tough evening at the office for our Year 8 boys against a well organised Crypt team. We lost 7 tries to 3 in a really physical game. We scored some great tries with brilliant individual efforts, but at times our defence was left open. Special mention to Cam R who tackled everything all game, to TJ for some great running and to Year 7 student Jake K who had a brilliant game.

• Year 8 Football – our Year 8s played a great cup game versus St Peter’s this week, only to be defeated in a heart-breaking penalty shoot-out. A fantastically open game see-sawed this way and that with Severn Vale leading 3 – 1 and then 4 – 3, only to be pegged by a resilient St Peter’s team.  In the penalty shoot-out St Peter’s won the toss and decided to go first, eventually winning the shootout 5 - 3. MOTM went to Oskar A for his unrelenting defensive work rate and strong tackles throughout. 

• U14 Football - our U14 girls played a brilliant match against Gloucester Academy coming away with a 6 - 3 win. Brooke F was nominated as player of the match after scoring a hat-trick. Amber H scored 1 and Lily H scored 2 in what was a great team performance.

• U16 Hockey - the U16 hockey team played another tight game, narrowly losing 1 – 0 to Denmark Road. Once again, excellent team work, spirit and determination were on show. POTM went to Abby J, for some fearless goal keeping skills, and to Sophie B for excellent passing, link up play and work rate. Keep going girls, that first win will come soon.

A reminder that on Thursday 21 November we will be holding our Year 10 parents evening. Full details have been sent to parents this week. If you have any questions, please contact Abby Pogue via email.

As ever, I include my 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 hope you have a great weekend

Regards 

Richard Johnson   
Headteacher