It has been a week when further “normality” has returned to our school – notably, the extra-curricular lifeblood of our school community is being restored with afterschool activities including sport and music – the return of the Bigg Band! – and these are to be celebrated. We will manage changes to our COVID-safety procedures in school carefully as announcements are made and will keep parents and carers updated. As you would expect, outdoor events will be a focus and we will be holding carefully planned outdoor assemblies in the near future as these are a particularly important aspect of the school which we have missed this year.

This week we have had the fire alarm triggered a few times. The first couple were for unconnected genuine reasons and were therefore effective tests of our equipment and procedures. It was disappointing that there was then a copycat incident triggered by a student and I spoke with the school on Thursday morning about this. We have the highest expectations of behaviour within our school community and such actions are ultimately highly irresponsible, inconsiderate of others, will not be tolerated and will incur a significant sanction. That is my stand as Headteacher and I trust that our families recognize and support that.

I continue to be hugely impressed by our Year 11 and Year 13 students and their approaches to assessments. Further communication will follow with more details but I can confirm that the last day of timetabled lessons in school for both year groups will be Friday 28th May. We are then planning a bespoke offer of activities for Year 11 students including extended Sixth Form Induction Days and support for students who are moving on to other destinations for next year – this will culminate in what we hope will be a really fun Year 11 Leavers’ Event on Thursday 24th June. The Sixth Form team will also be communicating the plan for Year 13 students soon and we again want to ensure that we mark their leaving properly and in style. These young people have coped admirably with everything which has been thrown at them over the past year and deserve a memorable end to their schooldays.