Friday 9 June 2017

Headmaster's Weekly Notes - 09 June 2017

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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