I hope that our newly adopted two week break has allowed families to spend some time together reconnecting. It has certainly been most welcome for students and staff and we feel ready to achieve more than usual in the second half of this term. We are already moving swiftly towards year eleven and year thirteen mock examinations.

I have also started to receive the notes from school council meetings and would like to share some of the comments from these meetings:

Year elevens feel that the new year sevens are settling in well. They are getting the support they need and the new stricter rules seem to have helped them with this. The basic expectations are being met, because the rules are stricter.    

Year elevens have welcomed the new rules, including the "no phone" rules and the new uniform guidelines.

Students feel  positive regarding support offered and are happy to approach teachers for help and advice.

Behaviour across  the school is improved and behaviour in lessons is much better. Some pupils who were disaffected have re-engaged with school.

Year nines feel there is a massive improvement in behaviour. They feel more respected by teachers and that support is being provided more when asked for. Students felt that homework is appropriate and reasonable in amount given. They also that the new policy of giving whole class feedback is much more beneficial.

Year sevens are enjoying learning new ‘stuff’. They enjoy the fact that teachers are recapping knowledge from primary KS2. They also enjoy having an assembly just for year seven- the focus is on them. The library is very popular - at lunch and before/after school, the ability to book rooms in music and there are lots of clubs,
Finally the year sevens recognise the importance of lining up ‘outside’ for lessons as it reduces congestion on corridors.

The year eight and ten student councils will be meeting shortly. The views of students is very important in developing our provision and I am very pleased that the year councils take such an active role in sharing student views.