On Monday morning, I drove to school with the energy and determination that comes from having a long summer break to relax and refocus. That was about fifteen minutes ago. Or so it seems.
A week may be a long time in politics, but it is the blink of an eye in schools.
For those parents and carers that are new to our community, this is the Headteacher’s Blog. I write this every week and try to capture what the week has been like – its ups and downs, its challenges and its many joys and moments of hilarity.
The first week of a new school year is an opportunity to set even higher standards and goals. In schools, we get two chances to set ‘New Year’s Resolutions’ and we take the opportunity seriously. This is communicated to our students, and I start each ‘first’ assembly of the year by praising their impeccable uniform and asking them who ‘has 100% attendance for the year so far’. Of course, they all put their hand up and the point is made that they have shown that they can reach high standards – the challenge is to keep them.
Chefs use the term, ‘Mis en chef’ to mean "everything in its place". It is a fundamental concept for professional chefs, referring to the practice of preparing and organising all necessary ingredients, tools, and equipment before beginning to cook, ensuring efficiency, safety, and a smoother cooking process. That is the principle we teach our students to apply; prepare the night before, be organised, be ready. Thank you for your part in ensuring that the students arrived to school this week in correct uniform and with the correct equipment.
It was lovely, on Wednesday, to see our new Year 7 students. They were impeccably turned out and conducted themselves wonderfully. As parents and carers, you should be extremely proud of them – I am sure you are.
To our Year 11s, I set out the challenge of the year that lies ahead for them. A year from now, a lot will have happened in their lives. They will have completed their GCSE studies, prepared for and sat their exams, completed their coursework. More than that, they will have moved on with their lives. Many will be in our sixth form, but conscious and well- researched decisions will have been made about their futures, which involve many open nights, discussion and consideration. They will be a step closer to adulthood and finding a purpose and a role in life. And, amongst all of that, they must find time to be teenagers, to have fun, to make new relationships and to learn more about themselves. It is exciting but can be very daunting. I reminded them that don’t face that on their own. They have you, they have their friends, and they have all of the adults in our school, whose job it is to educate and nurture young people at precisely this stage of their lives. My only piece of advice is to them to use that support; don’t try to do it alone. I am optimistic that they will heed that advice.
All other year groups returned on Thursday and the whole school came to life. The school is busy, every year we get bigger, and the students embrace the opportunity to meet new people and learn new things. Students in years 8, 9 and 10 are in the middle of their journey and they set off on the latest chapter this week with enthusiasm and drive.
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On a practical level, we have been pleased with the response of students to our lunchtime arrangements. Early lunch has three year groups on it but queues have moved briskly and will get quicker still as Year 7 students familiarise themselves with the canteen offerings.
There have been one or two hiccoughs with rerouting of school buses, but I am confident these have been communicated and adjustments made.
Finally, school uniform changes have been embraced well by students. We pride ourselves on the high standards of our uniform and each year seek to raise the bar of expectations. I am a strong advocate for the consistency that uniform brings; it enables students to focus on what really matters in school – learning and expressing themselves through their personality, not what they choose to wear.
Thank you for your support which has enabled us to set and maintain these very high standards.
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Finally, I usually finish my blog by giving you an occasional insight into how I spend my time away from school. This weekend, myself, my wife and our two children are heading up to Newcastle where I am running the Great North Run on Sunday. I have never completed a half-marathon before, and my summer training regime did not go fully to plan but I am hopeful that I can complete the race without having to walk or stop. I owe my place to a commitment to raise money for Cancer Research which is a charity that has a lot of personal meaning to me, so I am doubly determined to finish the course.
If you see me a little slow on my feet on Monday morning, you will know why!
Have a lovely weekend and thank you for your support.
Vince Groak
Headteacher
