In The Loop

Dear families,

Tuesday evening saw our Sixth Form Open Evening and I know many parents of Year 11 pupils were in attendance for what was a busy and successful evening. I am grateful to the Year 12 and Year 13 pupils who supported on the evening and to Mr Scott, Head of Sixth Form, for leading on the organisation. As ever, our pupils are our best ambassadors and Suhaan and Marta, who both spoke as part of the presentation from Mr Scott and me, were incredibly impressive and a real credit to themselves, their families and the school. 

Parents and carers of Year 10 pupils will be aware that a number of pupils in Year 10 participated in the Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge public speaking workshops led by the Speakers Trust. I am delighted to be able to share that, after a very robust and challenging judging process, the team were able to reduce the cohort down to five exceptional finalists and the school final, which took place during Year 10 assembly on Tuesday, was incredibly challenging to judge. I would like to warmly congratulate Lily, who was chosen to represent the school at the local authority finals, and Kritika who, as runner up, will be a reserve for the finals. Congratulations to all the pupils involved and my thanks to Ms Subramoney for her dedication and support for this excellent event.

We had an INSET day on Wednesday and the focus for the day was on belonging, with teachers sharing best practice for adapting teaching to support all pupils before all staff came together to hear from our educational psychologist and her colleagues on how to ensure the school has a trauma-informed approach. This is part of a wider trauma-informed project that we are working on with the local authority, and we are very much looking forward to working on this project.

Students in Year 12 have assessments next week and pupils in Year 11 begin their mock examinations on Monday 8th December and I know pupils are working hard to prepare for these important examinations. I am well aware that any examination is stressful and it is natural to feel some stress around mock and public examinations. I would like to remind families that mock examinations serve to support pupils with practising the routine of public examinations and to identify the key areas teachers and pupils need to focus on before next summer. Should your child have any questions or concerns, please encourage them to speak to a member of staff and parents/carers should email info@ccfplus.com if you require further advice or support. More information is available on our website (click here).

Finally, I would like to wish you all a lovely weekend. 

Dr Ruth Hill

Headteacher