Dear Parents and Carers,
Happy New Year to you all, I hope you’ve had a good Christmas.
It’s been a challenge to keep the site clear this week due to the cold spell we’re having. Thank you very much to our amazing site team for working hard very early every morning to keep us safe.
2025 has started well at Danebury. Monday was a bit of a shock to the system for some, but otherwise we've got back to business quickly and positively. I’ve really enjoyed spending time on Learning Walks around all subjects this week. Pupils have been engaged in their learning and working hard. Our new LORIC projects started on Wednesday afternoon. I had a ‘goosebump’ moment walking around the groups, watching Years 7-10 working alongside each other, collaborating on their ideas and empowering each other for the hour was a sight to behold. I must say the British Sign Language group brought a tear to my eye! Thank you to Mrs Boulton and Mrs Lovell for coming in and supporting our LORIC projects. Year 11 are not involved in the LORIC projects this term. With less than 60 school days left before their GCSEs start, they are taking part in a carousel of English, Maths and Science booster sessions on a Wednesday afternoon. I was so impressed with their attitude to learning in these sessions.
I would like to extend a warm welcome to our new pupils and their families this term. It's so pleasing to see the school grow. We are also hugely encouraged by our applications for September. They are significantly higher than this time last year. I really appreciate those of you who have supported us on our school improvement journey with your positive comments in the community. It makes a huge difference to us as staff and impacts positively on the growth of the school.
I would also like to welcome Mr Draper to our Danebury Staff Team. Mr Draper is joining our excellent SEND and Inclusion team.
Many thanks for your support with the uniform. It was great to see everyone looking so smart as they came into our whole school assembly on Monday ( I couldn’t believe how much everyone had grown in 2 weeks!!). Attendance has also been above national average for most of the week. We will continue to work on our attendance strategies to improve attendance across all year groups. We are determined to be above national figures this year.
During our line-ups and assemblies, we regularly celebrate positive to negative points ratios between year groups. I set a target of 97% for each year group. At the end of last term, all 5 year groups hit the 97% target. This was a first and an achievement which we're so proud of our pupils for. Long may that continue!
We are looking forward to welcoming Year 10 Parents and Carers for our consultation evening next Thursday 16th January. The booking system is now open, please see the separate email with the link to the system.
Nicky Goodridge, Head of School
