Dear all,

This morning we held our whole school Act of Remembrance, led by our CCF Cadets, whose parade and recitation was extremely moving amongst the atmosphere of grey clouds and slightly drizzling rain. I spoke to the whole school about our duty at this time of the year to think of the British men and women and their allies from the Great War alongside those who fell in the Second World War and every conflict that has happened since. I also asked our school community to pause and consider the devastating effect that each one of these deaths have on families and communities and to think about the people in their lives who make sacrifices for them. The two minutes’ silence was impeccably observed and suitably honoured the occasion.

Something we are considerably expanding this year is the amount of charity work that we are doing. I believe that being involved in charity is absolutely essential for us to live our values of being kind and taking responsibility. Each house has a designated charity who they will raise money for throughout the year. Hurricane are linked to The Family Haven who are a Gloucester day centre for parents and their children under five, as well as children with additional needs. Javelin will be raising money for The James Hopkins Trust who provide nursing respite care for Gloucestershire’s life limited and life threatened children. Meteor will be supporting The Spring Centre who are based in Quedgeley and provide day care for young adults, pre-school sessions and an after-school club. Typhoon are connected with the Gloucestershire Nightstop who support young people experiencing and at risk of homelessness. We are very proud to be working with all of these charities, who are all making an impact directly in our local area. As the year goes on I will share more information about the charity events that each house will be running.

The 31st October is always a key date in the school calendar because it is the deadline for families of Year 6 students applying to secondary schools. This year we have had our record number of both total number of applications and families who have named HP as their first choice secondary school. Being the undoubted school of choice for our community is a critical priority for us so it is excellent to see the faith and support placed in us by our next cohort of families.

I wish you all a lovely weekend,

Mr Hudson
Headteacher