The sun is shining and it is great to be back in school. Everyone – students and staff – seems to have returned refreshed and revitalised and that is simply fantastic.

I have spent much of this week looking at large piles of earth, deepening holes in the ground and some very nice diggers and that is also brilliant as it means that the construction of our new teaching block at the front of the school is properly underway. It is going to be a twelve month build and there will inevitably be a little disruption during this period, but the school community has already adjusted very well to a tweaked one-way system and the hoardings which surround the construction area. Students who cycle to school have also acted very responsibly in parking their bicycles in a different area as an interim measure while the cycle shed is in the process of being repositioned – well done to them.

The school site is going to be even busier than usual over the next twelve months with regular deliveries of materials and equipment. As you would expect, there are clear plans and procedures to support this and we are particular mindful of the effects of this upon our neighbours. As such, I would like to encourage parents and carers who drive students to school to please drop them off some distance from the site and to pick them up in a similar fashion if they can; this may be particularly helpful at this time when there are a number of roadworks in the town which are also snarling up traffic. Thankyou in advance for your support with this – it almost certainly means not having to be caught up in traffic around the school and is also very supportive of our local community.

A final thankyou to all parents and carers for their support with the procedures around lateral flow testing. There is ongoing communication coming out about arrangements but the maturity and responsibility demonstrated by all of our school community have been greatly appreciated.