FROM THE PRINCIPAL #212

The first week of the school year is complete!

Welcome to our new students and parents, and welcome back to our returners! Whilst the summer is filled with busy work refreshing and preparing, it is always so heartening to see the students return and add the soul to the building. The week has gone very quickly, with the enrolling of nearly 200 students, induction in school and boarding, start of term assemblies, meeting teachers and classmates and getting used to a new timetable and school app, EduLink, which all parents and students should now be using (please check junk email folders, if you have not received your log-in details) to check information such as personal timetables, homework and so on. The app does have more functionality, which will be rolled out in due course, such as the parents’ evenings we hope parents can attend, to talk to their child’s teachers.

My focus for the students is on qualifications and character – we want our students to achieve the results that will enable them to have choices, post-DLD, but also be equipped with the life skills to cope with the challenges which come with that. All staff are here to support and guide, but ultimately, students must make good choices and ensure they stay true to their own values, which I hope aligns with our own: Tolerance, Respect, Academic curiosity, Community, Kindness. I asked the students to think about how they are part of a wider community, and what they will offer this year to make that space better.

The Upper School students also enjoyed an assembly from a group that visited us from New York, and who travel globally to focus the minds on setting goals and figuring out how you will achieve these. The session also talked about the inevitable stresses that teenagers face, and confronting that, so they could have more positive experiences. The school has many qualified coaches on the staff and I personally love a coaching conversation, and seeing how someone can use it to figure out next steps that help them discover the steps to succeed! Please encourage your child to seek out support with this.

Finally – and very importantly – all students received information in an assembly on Wednesday about academic requirements for their courses and expectations around behaviour and attendance – please ensure you have read the policies on behaviour, attendance and also noted the school’s term dates; all students should be in for the first and last day of the term – we already enjoy long school holidays, and lessons should not be missed for this. Similarly, wherever possible, please ensure all planned medical appointments do not clash with school. A reminder that all students are expected to attend all lessons, tutor sessions, activities and whole-school events – please do not be surprised, therefore, if requests to miss them are declined; please do expect sanctions to be put in place for continued unauthorised absences – missing school is not a choice that leads to successful end outcomes. Parental support and compliance with these policies is vital in setting a good example for your children.

I am looking forward to an excellent academic year!

Best wishes
James Kidd, Principal