As we approach the end of an incredibly busy half term, it is the perfect opportunity to pause and reflect on the many events and successes within the St Clement Danes School community. This month, we have hosted several valuable information evenings aimed at helping you stay connected with your child's educational journey, including sessions for Key Stage 3 and 4, as well as the Year 10 Parents’ Evening. Following our highly successful Open Day, we also welcomed prospective parents for an Open Morning, allowing a fantastic glimpse into the daily operations of our school, which received wonderful feedback. We were especially delighted to welcome our Year 8 parents to a dedicated welcome morning on 3rd October. This was the first event of its kind, and we were so pleased with the excellent turnout. Thank you to all those who attended; we hope you found the morning informative and beneficial.

I am delighted with the enthusiasm and creativity our pupils have shown in celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Anchor Fund. They have embraced a wide range of fundraising activities, from sponsored silences and 10-mile walks to bake sales. I have been thrilled with the efforts made so far and look forward to seeing more fundraising activities over the upcoming weeks. Half term provides the perfect opportunity for pupils to complete their fundraising. Even helping around the house could contribute towards earning them their suggested £25 donation! As I mentioned in my letter launching our 25-year celebrations, the importance of the Anchor Fund has never been greater. Your continued support through the Anchor Fund is vital in ensuring we can continue to provide the best opportunities for our pupils. As a reminder, all donations should be made via The Anchor Fund donation page.

This week, Year 13 Geography pupils have been on their A Level field trip to Slapton, while A Level Psychology and Sociology pupils have an exciting cross-seas trip to San Francisco. We eagerly await their return and look forward to hearing all about their experiences. Some additional highlights from the past few weeks include our Tri-Golf Tournament; Year 4 pupils from three local primary schools came together for an exciting tri-golf competition hosted by Three Rivers and Watford School Sports Partnership. The event was expertly led by our Year 9 and 10 Sports Leaders, who did a fantastic job organising and guiding the younger pupils through the competition.

We want to give an early mention of an important initiative; we will be launching a pilot parent survey next month. For the 2025-2026 academic year, we are transitioning to using the TEP platform to gather your feedback on family engagement. Since TEP is already the platform we use to survey our staff and pupils, expanding its use to parents will enable us to gain a much deeper, holistic understanding of stakeholder engagement across our entire school community. This consistent approach will be invaluable, providing the evidence-based insight we need to effectively plan and drive continuous improvement in how we partner with our families. We will share further information about how you can take part in this survey in due course.

We have been delighted this half term to see so many of our pupils receiving merits in recognition of their effort, positive behaviour and helpful contributions to the school community. In fact, we have seen a huge increase in the recognition given out this term compared to previous terms, with a staggering 32,050 rewards given to pupils across the school! This significant figure highlights the positive atmosphere, the dedication of our pupils and the commitment of our staff to encouraging and celebrating their achievements. We are incredibly proud of their successes and the confidence this helps to build in young people. This explicit celebration and acknowledgement of success is an integral part of our commitment to character education and pupil engagement. We hope you have enjoyed seeing these successes through the new arbor App, postcards home, telephone calls, letters home, Instagram and in Headlines itself. .

We'd like to extend a huge thank you to our wonderful Parents' Association and all the parents who came out to support the Comedy Night on Saturday. It was a fantastic evening of laughter. These events play a vital role in building our community spirit and raising essential funds for the school. Your commitment and enthusiasm make a real difference, and we are incredibly grateful for your time and support.

We wish all our families a restful and enjoyable half term break. Especially, wishing a bright and joyful Happy Diwali to everyone in our community, pupils, staff, and parents, who are celebrating the Festival of Lights! We were delighted to invite our pupils to decorate the main entrance of the school, and we encourage you to check out their wonderful creations on our Instagram and Facebook pages.