Parent and student information evening for years eleven and thirteen

I have written to year eleven and thirteen students and their parents this afternoon to invite them to a meeting with our senior team next Thursday 4th February at 6pm to share with them as much as we know about the government's plans for grading. We do not expect that the final plans will be in place by then, but we want to be able to listen to concerns or questions so that we can ensure they are addressed.

In light of the lack of clarity at present, I would remind parents of my request to not be asking for predicted grades at present. Where students may need entry requirements for courses, we may be able to confirm that the student is expected to meet the minimum entry requirements but until we receive clear guidance from Ofqual on how grades will be awarded in the summer we are unable to give specific grade predictions.

Return to school

You will have seen that the government hopes that students will be able to return to school from March 8th. Whilst we welcome a signal of intent, there are clearly issues of what this return may look like, whether there will be a rota system, whether it will be staged and whether examination years will return first. When we are aware of further details we will inform you.

Year Nine options

We had a successful evening last night with a presentation from Ms Williams on the options process. Unfortunately a number of parents were unable to get into the meeting so we are repeating it on Tuesday 2nd February at 6pm. A link will be sent out on the day for any parents of year nine students who wish to join us.

Updates to parents

As I have mentioned, we will be issuing information to parents in the week commencing 8th February on the work that has been completed in Google classroom. I would appreciate it if parents could await this information rather than asking teachers for feedback over the next week.

Google Meet

I have met with quite a few staff this week in individual catch ups and they have made it clear how pleased they have been with the response of students in their Google Meet lessons. Attendance has been high and contributions have been strong. We are really pleased with the vast majority of our students. Please continue to reinforce our expectations and encourage your children to keep focussed.

Snow

The week started with heavy snow and yet we remained open. Thank you to all of our site staff who work so hard to ensure we are safe. Whatever disruptions are thrown at us can make us stronger. I hope this is how our students will feel when we look back on these times.

Best wishes,

David Phillips