Welcome
back after what I hope was a restful half term – it does seem quite a long time
ago!
Those of
us who did not manage to stay up all night watching the electoral votes coming
in, woke to a very interesting political scene this morning. Commentators have
reflected that this is the General Election in which young people have taken to
the ballot boxes to make their voices heard. Perhaps we will see politicians
engage much more heavily with the younger demographic as a result – this can
only be a positive thing for our future. As a school we take very seriously the
need to equip our students with the life skills that they will need to stay
informed with this ever changing world. Our mission statement resonates this -
‘Teaching boys and girls to think intelligently, act wisely and be fully
engaged in a challenging and changing world’. We thank all of those politicians
that have come into school in recent weeks to meet with our students and
explain the political process. As I write this, the current Government, is
looking to establish itself with the support of DUP, ten days before Brexit
negotiations begin. The question of grammar schools, academy sponsorship and
school funding, to name but a few, will become more important than ever now.
In the
spirit of staying informed, I hope that you will take the time to read Mr
Clackson’s safeguarding letter relating to TV programmes, websites and apps
currently available to children who have access to mobile devices, sent out to
parents and guardians earlier today. It is a topic that is important to us – we
are continually assessing our safeguarding procedures to ensure that your child
is safe at school, physically, mentally and virtually. Please don’t hesitate to
contact your child’s tutor should you have any concerns.
It has
been another busy start to term, not least as the exam season continues.
Yesterday saw our Year 10 Drama students performing powerfully executed
extracts from Hitchcock’s ‘The 39 Steps’. We also welcomed visitors from
Bristol Cathedral Choir School who were conducting a friendly peer review of
our teaching and learning to prepare us for future Ofsted monitoring visits.
Their feedback was positive – they were clear that there has been apparent
progress since January and that there are tremendous strengths and
demonstrations of outstanding practice visible in the school. Thank you to
everyone involved.
On
Tuesday we held a minute’s silence in honour of all of those affected by the
London terrorist attacks. Our thoughts and prayers remain with them and with
their families and during times like this, it really does put things into
perspective.
We have
had a number of cricket and rounders fixtures this week, with fiercely
contested matches against Millfield, Hugh Sexey’s, Westfield Academy and Huish
Episcopi. And a reminder that next Tuesday sees the final Acoustic Night for
the year – do please come along and support the excellent work of our
musicians. The weather today has been pleasant (more reminiscent of how it
should be during summer) and we wish all those going on the Bronze Duke of
Edinburgh expedition across the Mendips this weekend the very best of luck - let’s
hope the weather is kind to them.
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