26 September  

At this time of year, most schools up and down the country are holding their Open Evenings for future students/parents.  Ours was last night and, as in previous years, we are calling it a roaring success.  We had 169 families pre-registered in advance and a further 175 walked up on the night, meaning that 344 families attended and are at least considering our school for their child. Throughout the night, there was lots of information available to families and plenty to see and experience, but my message delivered in three presentations in the hall, was that I wanted parents to reflect on their feel as they walk around the school.   

The feeling you get as you set foot in a school is important and it sets the tone for the experience you will have there.  I know that our visitors saw lots of examples of terrific relationships between staff and students and these relationships are at the heart of what we believe makes our school special.  Throughout the night, I received lots of comments from parents and children and these are just a few examples:  

"Your staff are friendly and real people." 

"We were really impressed. Everything was very organised compared, the teachers were all really friendly and engaging. The activities they had in each room were fantastic. It was buzzing and busy which I suppose isn't surprising with Hessle reputation." 

There was a brief moment when a child became separated from her mum and 'lost' in the building. Everyone, including students, leapt into action and the girl was soon found sitting in the hall with her sister, waiting patiently for my presentation! Mum was relieved and very impressed.  

We never take for granted that we will fill all the spaces in our school and know that we must work hard to gain that trust.  My staff also understand that which is why they were happy to still be here after 7pm closing down and preparing for another day today.  My thanks to them, and to all of that attended for making it a terrific evening. 

A reminder that the deadline for applications is 31 October. 

We move on soon to our Sixth Form Open evening which will be held on 14 October.  Please look out for our emails and social media messaging with more information on that one. 

Thank you for your ongoing support and have a lovely weekend.