Dear all,

We have had a very busy and enjoyable first full week back. It has taken a bit of time, but I feel like we're beginning to fall into a more natural rhythm now, and it has been wonderful to once again walk around the school and see focused learning in every single classroom!

I'm very excited to be able to share our Character Programme for Term 1, which is attached at the bottom of this page. As you will see, despite the requirements to keep year groups separate, we have significantly increased the number of clubs on offer. This is one of our big focuses this year, and I look forward to the list continuing to grow!

I also wanted to share some important updates this week:

First, many of you have contacted either us or Stagecoach regarding their school bus timetables. I'm pleased to say that from Monday 14th, the 10H bus will leave a few minutes earlier to ensure students are not late. The updated timetable can be found here. It will also leave school a few minutes later in the afternoon to give students time to catch it. 

Second, I wanted to update and remind you of a few important COVID-19 precautions (for full details, click  herehere). First, we have very slightly tweaked our break timetable. As you will be aware, we originally trialled moving to three ten minute breaks to allow teachers time to move between different zones each lesson. We felt that ten minutes was more time than was needed, but also that it meant students didn't get a proper morning break. We have therefore switched to a 5 minute transition time between Periods 1/2 and 3/4, which allows a full 20 minute break between Periods 2/3.

I also reminded students this week about the importance of maintaining their bubbles. As you know, it is not possible to ensure full social distancing between students in secondary schools, and so schools have instead been asked to keep students in bubbles, which is why students have their lessons and breaks in zones. There are two things that students can do to really help. First, as far as possible students should keep their distance from other year groups. For example, when arriving at school students should not socialise with other year groups, and should head immediately to their year group's gate. Second, we ask students to remain distant from teachers. This is not because we think teachers are more important than students - but because teachers have to move from bubble to bubble. It is therefore essential that students try and give teachers sufficient space so that if we do have an outbreak in one bubble, there is minimal chance of it transferring to another bubble. I'd be grateful if you can also remind your children of this - particularly regarding before and after school. 

Finally, please can I remind you that we expect students to demonstrate the school values at all times, not just while in school. While overall I've been very impressed with the conduct of our students since returning, we have had a small number of reports of students not socially distancing from other passengers on buses, or misbehaving after school. We can, and will, sanction inappropriate behaviour out of school which fails to uphold our school values and damages our reputation.

As always, thank you for your support,

Mr Farmbrough

Headteacher