Welcome from Dr Gillespie 

Dear Parents, Carers and new Year 7 students,

Firstly, congratulations on gaining a place at Burnham Grammar School as we are the most oversubscribed school in Buckinghamshire and one of the most oversubscribed schools in the country.  Our fantastic new facilities are only a small part of the reason behind this popularity, as it is driven by our focus on developing individual students through exceptional support and pastoral care.  Consequently, it is important that you formally accept your place at the school to secure it.

Burnham Grammar is an incredibly friendly school and the vertical tutor system means that Year 7 students quickly get to know students in older year groups who they will see every day to ask for guidance and advice.  We work hard to get to know your children as individuals in order to notice issues before they become problems.  In the initial weeks of their career at Burnham Grammar please let us know if you notice anything wrong or that does not seem right so that we can support every new student to settle into our community.

Our partnership is important and will support your child through their career at Burnham Grammar.  I would ask you to read through our school aims so that you can remind your child of the key points and they hear the same messages at home as they do at school.  Please remember we welcome mistakes in every lesson and want your child to develop the skills to get unstuck when they are at the limits of their understanding.  Please praise your children for the effort they put into their work and where you see them focusing on the areas where they need to improve.

Please look through the presentation from the New Year 7 information evening in March for the list of the key induction events for your child.  Whilst we recommend that they attend all of these events we are aware that circumstances may prevent them from attending the induction day or Summer Camp due to school trips or family holidays.  If this is the case please do not worry as attendance at the other events will enable your child to get to know the school, their teachers and make friends.

As a school that is trying to promote sustainability and limit our impact on the environment we would ask you to think carefully about the transport options for your child.  We would encourage walking or cycling to school of the use of school coaches and the excellent Elizabeth line train services.  If there is no option but to drive, we would encourage you to pick up your children from 3.45pm when you will be able to drive directly onto the school site and not have the stress of trying to find a parking space.

Over the next few months you will receive a lot of information and have many questions that will come to mind.  To help you quickly find the answers that you need we have created this one stop web page that contains all of the information that we think you might need.  We will be asking you to review this page in the Autumn term to enable us to make it even more useful and streamlined, however, if there is a key bit of information that you feel is missing please contact us via the admissions@burnhamgrammar.org.uk  email address.

I look forward to meeting you all at the induction events or in September.  Enjoy the rest of Year 6 and have a restful summer.

Best wishes,

Dr Gillespie