I hope you are all well, and these sunny crisp October days find you in a good place. As well as being a lovely season, autumn is also important to secondary headteachers as it is when schools find out, by comparison with all other schools in England, just how well their students and staff did in the summer. I was very happy with our overall GCSE results but comparing the progress our students made, with that made by other students across the country can only be done when all the results are gathered by the Department for Education, and I am really proud of what the data confirms.

I share a couple of examples:

• In English, students in our school made over two thirds of a grade more progress than all students nationally; 
• In Maths, one in two of our students achieved a grade 7, 8 or 9 (equivalent to A or A*); and
• Overall, our progress is likely to put us in the top 10% of schools nationally.

I hope you know that I would never want our school to be a narrow ‘exam factory’. I want our students to get great results while also receiving a broad education, doing well and feeling well. So I share this information with you, not because it is the only thing that matters but one of several that do make a difference to our students, and their future prospects. I remain incredibly proud of our students and staff, and what they achieve.

Today’s INSET Day

As a parent of two secondary students myself I know that INSET days can present challenges, particularly in arranging supervision for our youngest students. I thought I would share with you that today we are spending our time reviewing each of our staff’s individual objectives, as well as preparing learning resources for the coming school terms. In the context of excellent GCSE and A Level results last summer, INSET days like today are essential in maintaining our high quality of education. Thank you for your forbearance with dealing with a school closure today. 

Students of the week

Congratulations to our stars of the week who have demonstrated something special in their attitude to their peers, the community or their learning. Well done to each of them.

Year 7	Year 8	Year 9	Year 10	Year 11	Sixth Form
Kelly	Alexander	Victoria	Dani-Jae	Aren	Kwesi / Sathusa

Lost property

Over a month into the term, and with the wearing of coats increasing, I thought I’d remind you of what we do with lost property. Where items are named we try to return them to their owner, normally via their form tutor. Where items cannot be returned directly to the pupil, we have a rail of lost uniform and coats in our second dining hall that students can check at morning break or lunch time every day. We also have a growing collection of lost water bottles, also in the same location, so please do ask your youngster when they come home without the items you sent them in with to check in Dining Hall 2. 

Wishing you all a restful weekend.

Nick House, Headteacher