Dear all,

Normally my first letter home is a chance to celebrate all the wonderful things which have happened in the first week back, but given yesterday's sad news I will save this for next week.

This morning the whole school community came together to pay our respects to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. I talked to the school about how the Queen very much represented the best of what it means to be British. She has shown the very highest standards of integrity; who can forget the heartbreaking photos of her sitting alone at her husband's funeral? She has shown great humility and quiet dignity throughout her reign, despite the trappings and wealth she was surrounded by. And above all, she has shown an incredible sense of duty and service; on Tuesday, just 48 hours before her passing, she oversaw the transfer of power to her 15th Prime Minister.  Whether one is a royalist or not, it is impossible not to admire her dedication to her country. She will be very deeply missed. 

We shall be commemorating her life more at Holmleigh Park in the coming days, and in the meantime our thoughts are with King Charles and the rest of the Royal Family. Should an additional bank holiday be called, we will of course inform parents. 

I will write again next week with a fuller account of our first fortnight of the year. For now, please can I just remind parents of the following notices:

• Clubs restart on Monday. You can find the full list here. Please can I highlight this includes a breakfast club running from 8am for students who need or want to be dropped off earlier. 

• Homework restarts for all students as normal. New parents can find further details here. Students will be issued with their planners on Monday.  

• There will be a meeting for parents of students involved in the Year 7 residential at 17:00 on Tuesday; parents involved have been contacted directly. 

• We are aware that there have been some significant delays with the buses after school. I have been in touch with Stagecoach this week who have promised to prioritise Holmleigh Park. In the meantime please rest assured that senior staff do remain at the bus stop until the buses arrive. 

• Our renovation of the Sports Centre is nearly complete, but the completion date has slipped back to the 29th of September. Please be aware that there may be some disruption to PE lessons while some changing rooms are being renovated. Students should still bring their PE kit, but if there is insufficient space to change, students will be participating in team building activities instead. We should be back to our full offer within a fortnight. Thank you in the meantime for your patience. 

Best wishes,

Mr Farmbrough

Headteacher