Dear all,

Since the Easter holidays we have changed our parental communications from Edulink to the My Child At School [MCAS] app. MCAS allows you to report absences and view key information like your child's timetable and attendance. We will use the app for most communication and alerts.To get set-up on the MCAS app you need to visit https://www.hphigh.co.uk/mcas which has all the relevant information. The MCAS app will grow in features and capability over time as we fully integrate it with all of our processes within school. 

On Thursday our Sixth Form Young Enterprise team attended the Gloucestershire final of the Young Enterprise Company competition. They have had to set up a company over the academic year and make all the decisions about their business; from deciding the company name and product, to creating a business plan, managing their finances and selling their product. We were delighted that they were named the winners and will now go on to the regional finals. Thank you to Mr Kavanagh, Mr Miles and Mr Lord for supporting them to achieve this.

Our Y10 Scholars were fortunate enough to go on a trip to Oxford University this week. They were welcomed to Lady Margaret Hall where we were given a tour, and a talk about studying at Oxford. They walked through Oxford to visit the famous Bodleian Libraries and had an all-access tour of the Western Library along with a chance to look around the History of Photography Exhibition. After heading back to Lady Margaret Hall, they ate lunch in the grand dining room and after a further Q&A session with the Outreach Officer, students took part in a practical workshop led by the Chemistry Department at the University. It was a challenging task to crack the codes using a range of scientific skills and knowledge to get into a locked box, but our students were very determined to do so. The Chemistry Department were incredibly impressed and informed us that our students' progress excelled most other groups that had visited previously. It was a brilliant day with many of the Scholars feeling inspired to consider a future Oxbridge application.

On Thursday evening, two of our Sixth Form students, Ronnie and Jahvon, enjoyed the  success of playing for Gloucester City U18s winning team in the Gloucestershire FA Shield final. Many congratulations to both of them.

We have marked the King’s Coronation today with an assembly from Mr Farmbrough, reflecting on King Charles III’s sense of duty, including his advocacy for the environment, pushing for the monarchy to modernise and his setting up of the Prince’s Trust to support vulnerable young people. In addition, one of the traditions of our city is to send lamprey pies to the reigning monarch every Christmas. This dates back to the Middle Ages, but the custom died out in the 19th Century, and now the city now only makes the traditional pie for special royal occasions. One of our Y10 students, Lewis, successfully completed his recent work experience at the Folk of Gloucester Museum. After making such a positive impression, he was asked last week to accompany the Mayor of Gloucester in gifting the lamprey pie from Gloucester to the Lord Lieutenant to celebrate the King's Coronation.

I wish you all a lovely Bank Holiday weekend,

Mr Hudson
Head of School