Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome to All Students

It is wonderful seeing our Year 11 and Year 13 back in classrooms with their teachers. Our new Year 7s have made an excellent start in the next chapter of their educational journey.

We look forward to welcoming Years 8, 9, 10 and 12 next Monday for their induction sessions.

The induction sessions support students to reconnect with teachers and their peers and become aware of the adaptations to the school building and outdoor space in order to implement Public Health England’s safety protocols.

It is important that all in the community adhere to our expectations to ensure our school is safe, in line with the latest national guidance to minimise the transmission of the virus.

Educational Provision

We are committed to delivering our broad and ambitious curriculum. In doing so it means, the Upper School and Sixth Form are moving to different classrooms, unlike the Lower School, who are predominantly in one area of the building. Students must wash or sanitise hands when they change rooms.

It is important students stay within their year group “bubbles” and avoid mixing across year groups, staying in their correct zones at break and lunch time.

All students in Years 9 to 13 must bring their own equipment into school as there will be no sharing of equipment. A reminder below of the equipment required for lessons in maths:

  • Scientific calculator (e.g. Casio FX-83GTX)
  • Protractor
  • Compass
  • Ruler (30cm)
  • Pencil

Subject areas have adapted their schemes of work to allow for consolidation and strengthening of the work set during the SNS Home Learning phase. It is hoped that by Summer 2021, curriculum plans may have reverted to normal, having addressed the areas affected.

The school will also use additional Catch-up Funding and resources provided under the National Tutoring Programme to facilitate rapid student progress; more to follow in due course.

Further information will be shared with Year 11 and 13 students, parents and carers regarding expected arrangements for the Summer 2021 examination season, as well as any national modifications to specifications, schedules and examination content as soon as this is confirmed by Ofqual.

In a bid to streamline the number of online platforms we use as a school, we will no longer be using Satchel One (Show My Homework). Instead we will operate ClassCharts for the setting of homework tasks.

Should provision for a year group bubble be suspended as a result of confirmed cases at the school, or as part of a local lockdown, the school will revert to online educational provision incorporating lessons delivered by MS Teams and student independent tasks communicated by ClassCharts.

Please log on to your Classcharts accounts.

Access codes will be sent to all parents next week. We will also be running online support and training sessions for parents in the coming weeks.

Dates for your diary for this half-term

  • Year 12 Parents’ Information Evening 17th September 2020 6.00-7.00pm
  • Year 11 Parents’ Information Evening 23rd September 2020 5.30-6.30pm
  • Year 6 Open Evening 23rd September 2020 5.00-7.00pm
  • Year 7 Parents’ Information Evening 30th September 2020 6.00-7.00pm

The above events are planned to be online events.

It is so encouraging to have the students returning and whilst we remain cautious, these are positive moments. We enter this new era knowing our community has shown itself to be compassionate and resilient at the most difficult of times. Together we, staff, students, parents and carers, will move forward boldly knowing, collectively, we can overcome any challenge.

Once again, thank you for your support.

Best wishes,

Zehra Jaffer