Dear Parent/Carer
I hope that the summer holiday has been enjoyable for you and your child/ren and that you have had an opportunity to spend time with family and friends. I remind you that we have a staggered return to the academy on the following days:

Monday 5th September - All Primary, Year 7 and Year 12
Tuesday 6th September - Year 10, 11 and 13
Wednesday 7th September - Year 8 and Year 9

We look forward to their return and trust that you will have equipped them with the required uniform and equipment. We have high expectations regarding uniform and equipment. It is important that these boundaries are maintained. If, for whatever reason, this has not been possible then it is important that you let your child’s SafeWorker know, we will then do our best to help overcome any issues that you may face.

I am pleased to report that the summer assessments and examinations have gone well. In the primary, pupils in Reception, Year 1, 2, 4 and 6 had some form of national assessment last term. The results were impressive, especially when you consider the amount of learning time that has been lost due to Covid and that these assessments were not adapted to reflect this.
In the secondary our results at GCSE were the best in the school’s history and reflected the upward trend over the last few years. As a result, the number of pupils studying A level courses in our sixth form has grown significantly. A similar level of success was also seen in Year 13 with students getting into first choice Universities. We wish these students all the best in the next stage of their education.

An area of concern nationally has been children’s over reliance on mobile phones. With this in mind, we will be reinforcing our pre-covid expectation that mobile phones should be turned off and be out of site when children are in the academy. The only exception to this is when a teacher specifically gives permission for them to be used, for example to take a picture of a piece of coursework. Phones will be confiscated at all other times. I am sure you will support us in this approach.

My vision for the academy is that we provide the best possible education for every one of our children. To achieve this we need your support, if we work together then we can achieve great things and ensure your child is afforded an education that enables them to obtain lifelong skills that make a real difference to their lives. Key to this is ensuring that they are
rarely absent from school and attend learning opportunities that take place at lunchtime and after school. Let’s support one another to make this happen.

Kind regards,
Phil Cosby
Principal & CEO