It feels like the school year is firmly underway now that so many facets of school life are up and running. Learners have made their CCA choices and are looking forward to the activities beginning next week. The sports and music programmes have of course been running for some time now. The auditions for the School Production, Hairspray, have already taken place and there is much excitement around the first rehearsals. This week we held the Overseas Trip Meetings for learners in Years 7, 8, 9 and 12; the trips to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia will happen later this semester.

Learner Leadership

We are looking to strengthen our learner leadership this year. Rather than having a Student Council as in the past, we are going to build a Learner Leadership Team to empower learners to take the lead in the school community in terms of learner-led events, initiatives and Well-being. Furthermore we are building upon the existing House System to empower learners to take leadership roles in each of the four Houses. The purpose of the House System is to organise activities, charitable events and competitions throughout the year groups to further embed our school values. Leaders from each House will meet regularly to discuss any issues arising from the wider body of learners. The application process is underway and we are looking forward to meeting with learners to discuss these new leadership opportunities.

Our New School

Our new school is nearing a major completion milestone: the TOP inspection in around 3 weeks. After this inspection we will be granted more access to the building so we can push forward on readying the campus for occupation in January. I have been lucky enough to visit the school several times recently and am staggered by the progress made between visits, which is captured in these images:

We look forward to being able to show you around the new campus. From Music Technology to the Main Auditorium, from the Roof Terrace to the Play Deck, from the Flexi-Walled Classrooms to the two-floor Learning Resource Hub, there is sure to be something for everyone!

Please take time to read through the various pages of this newsletter as it is one of our main methods of communication.

Peter Hart, Head of Secondary School