Dear all,

I have thoroughly enjoyed my start at HP over the past few weeks, notably seeing our students work so hard every day and starting to meet yourselves. Mr Farmbrough and I will be alternating writing these letters over the coming weeks and I am looking forward to sharing many of our students’ excellent achievements with you. Moving into the end of Term 2 and then into Terms 3 & 4, we have our Parents Evenings scheduled. You will be receiving more information about these in due course, but I hope to meet many of you at these events.

This week has seen the start of our Year 11 mock exams. The students have risen to the challenge superbly and applied themselves with real focus across the week. The mock exam time is such an important milestone for our exam year groups as they get both vital practice and then find out their next steps to improve further. Next week our Year 13s begin the same process and we look forward to supporting both year groups to achieve their best in the upcoming fortnight.

Earlier in the week saw the closing date for Year 7 applications to start at HP next September. We are absolutely delighted with both the total number of applications and the amount of first choices, both of which have increased around 50% from even last year's record numbers. This is testament to the hard work and dedication of our students and staff as well as the support of yourselves. Alongside our huge improvement in the exam results’ league table released in October, It is exciting to see the school population continue to grow and now become the first choice for so many families in Gloucester.

Our sports fixtures have continued in often pouring rain this week. Particular congratulations to our Year 7 rugby team who claimed their first win of the season against Henley Bank. In another extra curricular opportunity, over 140 Year 11 students went to Cardiff at the start of half-term to watch the play An Inspector Call. Representing HP, whether that be at sport, on trips or through our other clubs and societies is an honour and we have been proud of their conduct at these events. It's been striking how many complimentary comments our staff have received about our students at these events.

Best wishes,

Mr Hudson

Head of School