Working with young people is an honour and a privilege. It is also a constant source of optimism and positivity. I wrote in September about the genuine joy for me of standing at the school gate in St George’s Road each morning and speaking to our students as they walk into school.  It is now November and we are in the midst of a national lockdown but the smiles, enthusiasm and warmth of our young people are still very much there and that is wonderful.

It's really important that because of our current context we celebrate this perhaps even more than usual in the weeks to come. More details to follow but we will be having a Non-Uniform Day with a Christmas twist, a focus on new and different awards, some very different competitions and even more postcards and messages to congratulate students coming home before the end of term.

Our students are doing brilliantly and I would also like to say a big “thank you” to all of our parents and carers for the messages of support we have received in recent weeks. They are very much appreciated and also show that channels of communication are open and working well to support all of our young people.