Headteacher's Blog December
As we approach Christmas it is good to reflect on the term as a whole so far.
Our new Year 7s have settled in fantastically and the Year 11s are unrecognisable in terms of their attitude to learning, their focus, positivity and readiness to do well in their exams – I am so proud of them as a year group.
We continue to do things new such as the first ever school trip to Hollywood, Los Angeles. Taking over 30 students thousands of miles away during half term was a pleasure for the staff involved. For the students, this was life-changing and will be with them in their memories for a very long time. Miss Nelson took our new choir to the Royal Albert Hall and they performed to thousands of people and joined schools from the UK – how proud they look in their photo. We are busy preparing for our yearly show: Castle View at the Movies!, this no doubt will be a success like last year’s #80s!!
As I write, we had an OFSTED Inspection from Tuesday 12th December until Wednesday 13thDecember 2017 and, whilst I cannot write about the outcome or the detail, as Headteacher, I am very pleased with the school they saw, the young people they met and the progress we have made. Our young people were impeccable as always; they looked smart, behaved well and interacted with the team well. In lessons, all the students spoke about was their work, their progress and what they thought of their school.
We rolled out the new girls’ uniform to the whole school this half term – it has definitely added another look to the school and every visitor is commenting about how smart our young people are and how they wear their uniform with pride. It is very rare that we see a student wearing incorrect uniform and this is thanks to the support of parents and carers.
We continue to work with our primaries all the time with transition, attendance and on joint learning opportunities – it great to see colleagues sharing knowledge and expertise. It was an absolute pleasure to host Celebration of Christmas with all of our primary schools and local secondary too. It certainly got the schools into a festive mood.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you a fantastic Christmas with your children, family and friends. I hope we all have a fantastic new year and I am excited about what 2018 may bring!
