Headteacher's Update

The start of the second half term has started busily, just as the last one ended. Sports teams are traveling over the county and celebrating many successes. We have had a number of trips take place; to Colchester Zoo for Business Studies, to the theatre for Drama and Southwold for Geography and now we are making final plans for Year 7 Camp as the Autumnal seasonal weather hits East Anglia with a vengeance.

Our Year 11 students have undertaken their first set of exams, becoming accustomed to sitting in the exam hall and working under the pressure of a big clock counting down the minutes. There are many more of these to complete as they prepare for the final summer season of exams. Across many subjects, non-examined assessment is being taken by GCSE students in Years 10 and 11.

Our first set of reports, awarded to our new Year 7 students, was the best set – ever! More awards were issued showing that students have met our high expectations and they make us very proud – I hope that families feel the same when they read them. Years 9, 10 and 11 will all received reports soon and we hope that they can match the standard set by Year 7.

It has been a privilege, as always, to show visitors around our school and Open Mornings have been busy as families explore schools in advance of the deadline for applications for secondary school places. They see what we have the pleasure of seeing each and every day; hundreds of young people engaged in their learning, working in a range of specialist classrooms, challenged and supported by a range of staff. If you have not yet taken up the opportunity to visit the school during a working day, please look out for our schedule of Open Mornings and take a look for yourself.