Principal's Weekly Update

Welcome to this week’s Vlog

Hello and welcome to this week’s vlog. As you can probably tell, we are filming this as part of World Book Day, which will be one of our key themes today. We will also be covering:

• Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)

• Curriculum

Curriculum – Year 9 Subject Choices

This week, Year 9 students will receive an email with an Expression of Interest form to help shape their curriculum for Years 10 and 11.

We refer to this as "building the curriculum" rather than "choosing options" because this process is about students taking ownership of their learning and selecting subjects that will help them progress towards their future goals.

Parents and carers, please check in with your child to make sure they have received the email. If not, tutors will be following this up on Monday.

For Year 10, 11, 12, and 13, students are continuing to work through their curriculum choices. Year 11 and 13 are currently in the middle of their final set of pre public examinations, before their public exams in the Summer. These assessments are an important part of their preparation, and we appreciate the effort they are putting in.

We know this period can be stressful, but the experience of sitting these assessments will help students feel more prepared and confident when they take their final exams later this year.

For Year 10 and 12, parents and carers will have received information about their upcoming assessments. These will take place later in the year, and we appreciate your support as students prepare for them.

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)

You may have noticed that I am wearing purple today. This is in reference to International Women’s Day and the history of women’s right to vote. Throughout the year, we continue to highlight different aspects of diversity and inclusion.

• Last month, we focused on LGBTQ+ History Month.
• This month, we are recognising Women’s History Month.
• Today, we are also marking World Book Day as part of our commitment to ensuring that all students have access to a wide range of literature and learning experiences.

We also want to take a moment to acknowledge that Ramadan has begun, and we recognise the importance of this time for our Muslim students, staff and families.

To support students who are observing Ramadan, we have:

• Spaces available for prayer during lunchtime.

• Iftar boxes available from the canteen, which can be pre-ordered online.

• Support available for any student who may need adjustments during the school day.

We are committed to ensuring that all students feel supported, and we encourage any students or parents with questions to reach out.

World Book Day

Today, the school is celebrating World Book Day and it has been fantastic to see so many staff and students getting involved. Staff have joined in with costumes and there have been plenty of activities for students throughout the day.

• Year 7 students have been taking part in a treasure hunt, where they have to guess the different book characters around the school.
• Year 10 have been attending a special World Book Day assembly.
• Students have also been engaging with the Masked Reader challenge, which has been running on social media, where they try to identify staff members reading aloud.

World Book Day is a great way to promote reading across the school. It is an opportunity to encourage a strong reading culture, and we are already seeing the impact of this on reading. In Year 9, 94 students have achieved the highest possible reading age, demonstrating the success of the literacy strategies we have implemented from Year 7 onwards. Additionally, the majority of Year 9 students are now reading at or above their chronological reading age, which is a fantastic achievement. Strong reading skills will support students across all subjects and help them as they move forward with their curriculum choices.

We also recognise that some students find reading more challenging, and we are committed to providing as many opportunities as possible to help develop confidence and engagement with books. Events like World Book Day play an important role in that.

A message from Salim - IT department:

"Hello there, I’m Salim from IT—it's World Book Day today, and I thought it would be great for staff to get involved because we have students from Year 7 to 11 here. It’s a nice, easy way to make the day enjoyable for them, to help them feel comfortable and engaged. It also builds their confidence and creates a positive atmosphere across the school."

As always, thank you for your continued support. Have a wonderful weekend, and I will see you back here same time, same place next week!

Best regards,

Ms Seymour