Dear all,

We've had another excellent week at Holmleigh Park. 

I'm pleased to report that the number of staff and student COVID cases has reduced a little from last week. Although this still means that a number of lessons have required cover, I'm hopeful that things will continue to improve. Again, I'm grateful for your patience - I know the number of cover lessons isn't ideal, and I'm very thankful to all of the staff who have taken on extra duties and classes so that we can reduce the impact on learning as much as possible.

I also want to confirm that the NHS vaccination team have now provided a date for second COVID vaccinations for students aged 12-15 (or first if they were not old enough last time) on February 17th. Full details have been emailed to parents should you wish your child to receive a vaccination. 

The main event this week was the start of the Year 9 options process. A number of informational videos can be found our Year 9 options page, so if you are a Year 9 parent please do take a minute to read through them. Year 9 parents' evening will take place on Thursday next week (online from 17:00-19:00), with the options form going live immediately afterwards. 

We are also now getting started with Year 11's Sixth Form Interviews. Mrs Marsden-Green and her team have been busy conducting interviews all weeks for students applying from other schools, and I'm pleased to say we've already seen more applicants than last year. Next week we begin the process of interviewing our Year 11s, and I'm really looking forward to conducting some of the interviews myself.

Next week also marks the start of our LGBTQ+ History month. In a similar fashion to Black History Month, I'll be sharing some stories of amazing British LGBTQ+ heroes, and we'll be devoting DEAR time to reading some fantastic short stories and essays by LGBTQ+ writers. 

I'm also excited to say that we have our first RAF Cadets taster session on Tuesday after school. At this stage, we're looking for a small number of Year 10 or Year 11 students who would be interested in joining early, and then becoming ou first NCOs when we open up the cadet force more widely. Interested students should speak to Mr Ogden, Ms Abedrabo, Mrs Barrett or myself to find out more. 

Finally, huge congratulations go to Amy C who spend last weekend training with the Senior England Deaf Rugby Women's Squad. Although not yet old enough to be selected for senior international matches, it's a tremendous achievement for a Year 11 student - well done Amy!

With best wishes,

Mr Farmbrough

Headteacher