Headteacher’s Blog

24 Jun 2022

Today, those Y7 students who participated in Y7 camp will arrive back from the ancient woodland of Boughton Woods, near Kettering, where they have spent the week in the wild amongst ash, oaks, beeches, limes and evergreen western red cedars having had real back-to-nature experiences, that, we hope, students will never forget (and for all the right reasons!).

Students have been staying in safari-style tented camps, from where they became fully enveloped in the wilderness, sleeping under the stars, and cooking over open fires. Away from their screens and technology, all activities were designed to encourage team building and to give students the chance to develop new skills and interact with their peers in a fun, creative environment. Whether students were learning first-aid techniques, building shelters or tackling a SOS scenario, we hope their experiences this week have inspired them. I have no doubt that this weekend, more sleep will be needed than usual, and, once recuperated, we look forward to hearing about their experiences.

We thank Mrs Cramb and Mrs Young for organising and leading this educational visit and Miss Boote, Mr Gowers, Mr Hebden, Mr Huckin, Miss Hughes, Mrs Millan and Mr Oliver for accompanying the group.

A level and GCSE exams have now concluded and, as students reflect, we hope our Y13 and Y11 students feel they have done themselves justice. We look forward to seeing them enjoy their end of year celebrations on Friday 1st and Tuesday 5th July, and to congratulating them on their results days on 18th and 25th August respectively.

Y12 and Y10 pre-public exams have also concluded and we look forward to learning how well these students have performed in the weeks ahead. If students find they are not yet meeting their target grades, they should adopt a positive mental attitude, work out where they have fallen short and take appropriate measures now, and in the months ahead (e.g. by improving note-taking, essay-writing or learning skills), so that the pre-public exams in the autumn/spring terms next academic year better reflect their real capabilities. Remember: Aim High. Work Hard.

Finally, following our 2022-2023 Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) bid submission, we have been notified that we have been awarded £265 000 towards the cost of roof refurbishment work. All other areas of the roof have already been refurbished, and the humanities and music blocks are the final phase of this rolling project to ensure our roof is totally watertight. Our array of solar panels will be moved to another roof to ensure these are out of service for minimal time. This work, which will keep our school’s buildings safe and in good working order, will commence this weekend when the scaffold and contractors’ compounds will be set up. Students have been briefed today and will be briefed again on Monday morning during registration and tutor time about all health and safety requirements that they must follow in order to keep themselves and everyone else safe while this work is on-going. The plan is that all works will be concluded by 1st September.

Wishing everyone a pleasant weekend and Y10 an enjoyable week of work experience next week.

Jane Cartwright
Headteacher