Open Events

Dear Year 5 and 6 Families,

Thank you for showing an interest in finding out more about our school. We understand that the transfer from Primary to Secondary School can be really daunting. Arriving at the right decision for your child/ren will have been made even more challenging by the fact that we are all having to operate in a virtual environment at the moment, as a result of keeping people safe and at school through the global pandemic.

Our student leadership team was very keen to find ways to show you their school and what they love about it. They worked closely with senior leaders to put together a programme which they felt would give you an insight into how the school works, the high quality relationships which exist amongst staff and students, and also a feel for the changes which the school has made to remain fully open and safe.

The final result of this planning is two videos. The first is the Headteacher’s speech, which would normally be delivered on Open Evening. This is an ideal opportunity to find out more about the values which underpin this tight-knit school community, the recent developments and our ambitious plans for the future. Our second video gives you a flavour of the teaching and learning environment in the school, some SEN insights, a welcome from the Head of Year 7 and lots of student voice giving you a real sense of what the students love about the school – they even get to take you on a tour through their year bubbles!

We hope that you enjoy the videos. We have held three “live” question and answer sessions for prospective parents over the last week where we were able to answer many of your questions. However, if you were unable to participate in these events and still have questions, please leave your question with your contact details here. We will endeavour to get back to you as soon as possible.

We wanted you to get a sense of the school and the choices facing families, so we were delighted that these parents submitted their views for you to listen to and see.

Many of you have asked about how our transition arrangements operate. The entire process this year was undertaken during lockdown, but you can click here to see the welcome video made by Ms Savage (Head of Year 7) and Ms Southgate (Deputy Head of Year 7). We even found some students to tell you all about their experiences as new Year 7s!

It finally remains for me to welcome you once again to the school we love. We hope you enjoy seeing our virtual open session programme. For admissions to the school, the closing date for applications to secondary school is 31 October, and our school is part of Richmond Local Authority.

Your sincerely,

Rebecca Poole

Headteacher