A Message from the Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

As we have once again been able to throw open the doors to our families and visitors at LAB, I can only describe the feeling as if Spring has well and truly sprung. Our year 7 and 8 consultation evenings, along with our key stage 4 options evening for year 9, have been a real delight: with both staff and supporting students relishing the chance to show everyone around and provide them with a snapshot of life at LAB.

Throughout module 4, we have taken every opportunity to explore the world outside of LAB. There have been visits to the theatre to see ‘Life of Pi’, a trip to the Saatchi Gallery, Goldsmiths University, and our Rugby teams have also participated in the Old Colfeians Festival (where our under 13’s girls team were awarded the RESPECT cup, whilst our under 15 boys team brought home the winners cup)! We wish our skiers a very safe and enjoyable trip to Austria over the Easter break and look forward to seeing the updates on Facebook whilst they are away.

This week we held our very first ‘Pathways to your future’ event for our year 10 students. The day consisted of a series of workshops delivered by external speakers, and provided students with focus time to consider what study and career options are available after P16 (sixth form). Two of our governors - Manikandan Vijayaraghavan and Sandra White - spoke to students about their own career experiences, and the skills and experiences they look for in job applications when recruiting within the banking sector. Our founding students were invited to wear business dress for the day and it really felt as if we had opened LAB16, our sixth form, a year early!

I am delighted to announce that Mr Morrison has been appointed as Deputy Principal, and will take up his new position at the start of the 2022-2023 academic year. This appointment is new to the LAB structure and sits between myself and the Vice Principal/ Head of College roles. I know you will join us in congratulating Mr Morrison on his appointment. We also welcome Mr Vaughan to the LAB team, as Assistant Principal of LAB16 (sixth form); he will join us in September 2022. You can find out more about him later in our newsletter.

We wish all members of the LAB community a safe and peaceful Easter break, and extend our thoughts to family and friends across the world, in particular those affected by the war in Ukraine.

E Smith