Doesn’t the world seems like a better place when the sun shines! The weather has been glorious this week and there has been a lovely atmosphere in the school. The departure of Year 11 and Year 13 has given us a bit more space and now that the centre assessments are finished the school feels a little less hectic.

I would like to congratulate students in Year 11 and 13 for making it through those assessments. The school is busy finalising our recommendations to the awarding bodies and this task will be complete by this time next week. The whole process has been a huge task and all of the heavy lifting has fallen onto schools and teachers. I have to say that I believe that the profession has done a terrific job of just getting on with this task. I would like to place on record my thanks to the staff of the school for their work on this.

One final thing about Year 11 and 13……I just wanted to say how lovely the final days were at the end of last term. I can honestly say that I don’t remember better ‘leaving ceremonies’ during my time at the school. There was a lot of laughter, the sharing of amusing anecdotes and some real emotion as well. As ever we wish them well as they contemplate the next phase of their lives.

COVID protocols

There has been an uptick in cases locally and I believe that we should continue to be vigilant. All of our existing protocols continue inside the school. Could I urge you to continue to use twice weekly lateral flow tests at home.

I understand that the Prime Minister will make an announcement shortly about plans for the next stage of ‘opening up’. Once we have that I’ll be in contact as regards how it affects the school’s operations.

Uniform

Following a uniform review we have decided to offer girls an alternative skirt and full details will be available on the website from Monday.

Blazers

The weather is warming up nicely so from Monday we will dispense with the need to wear blazers although students can continue to do so if they wish.

Have a nice weekend.

Dominic Burke