Dear Parents and Carers,
First, I must highlight the outstanding effort from our Year 11 pupils this week. Their energy, focus and determination in lessons, intervention groups and Masterclasses has been truly impressive. As a parent myself with a son currently sitting his GCSEs, I fully appreciate how much you as parents and carers are doing to support your child through this challenging time. It means the world to them, even if they don't always say it! Monday sees the first of the big exams – English Literature. I would encourage you to help your child revise by testing them on their cue cards, especially the key quotes they must memorise. Every bit of support counts.
We look forward to welcoming Year 11 parents and carers to our Year 11 Leavers Assembly on May 22nd. This is always such a special occasion, and we would love you to be part of it. If you have any baby photos you would like to share, please do send them to cleaver-baileys@danebury.hispmat.org – these always bring a smile to everyone’s faces!
Following the Leavers Assembly, we will be holding our annual Stock Fest to mark the occasion, running from 1:00–3:00pm on the top field. Parents and carers of Year 11 are warmly invited to join us once the assembly has finished. Refreshments will be on sale, and our Community Ambassadors will be running stalls to raise funds for school resources. It is a wonderful way to celebrate together.
I am delighted to share some exciting news on our recruitment front. In September, we will be welcoming Mr Booth as Head of Humanities and Mr Wilding as Teacher of Humanities to our team; in addition to Mrs North as Teacher of English and Mrs Dolke as Teacher of Maths. We continue to hold interviews for a Medical Welfare Officer, and there are more internal posts going live this week. We are thrilled to be growing our staff to support our expanding pupil numbers.
Speaking of growth, as our numbers for September continue to increase, we are expanding our transport service. We have secured a third minibus which will be transporting pupils from the villages towards the Wiltshire border. We will be in touch with parents and carers on an individual basis with further details. We are now looking to recruit 2 minibus drivers to do the morning and afternoon runs. If you know of anyone who might be interested, please share this link.
Beyond the classroom, our pupils have been having some wonderful experiences. Year 8 took part in a visiting author workshop on Thursday – an engaging and immersive experience. Many thanks to Mrs Dunn and Miss Barton for organising this, which will truly enhance their learning. Congratulations also go to 12 lucky pupils who have been selected for an Army Gliding Experience Day – what a fantastic opportunity. Well done too to the pupils who attended the STEM Day at Paulton's Park; it was an excellent day and behaviour was exceptional.
Finally, I wanted to remind parents about two important uniform matters. All pupils need to wear school shoes unless we have a doctor's note stating that an individual must wear trainers. Additionally, Year 11 must continue to wear their full uniform throughout their exams. JCQ guidelines state that students must be in uniform, and entry to the exam may be refused if these guidelines aren't adhered to.
Thank you for your continued support of Danebury School, enjoy the lovely sunshine this weekend.
Warm wishes
Nicky Goodridge
Nicky Goodridge
Head Teacher
