Dear Parents and carers, 

This morning, it was a real pleasure to present offer letters to the year 11 students who had expressed an interest in staying on in the Sixth Form. The atmosphere in Tranby House was fantastic with everyone clapping and cheering as fellow students came up to get their letters. Two very brief speeches focused on the benefits of Sixth Form, especially staying on at Hessle because the Hessle students are known, of the great culture we have here, and. The room was packed so it bodes extremely well for the future. What a great way to start the day.    

I did a walk round going into lessons with Mark Brown (Executive Director of Education) on Wednesday morning. The standard of books we saw were very good, with some exemplar cases of high-quality work and presentation. Students were attentive and on task and we witnessed some very effective question and answer techniques. We were particularly impressed at how attentive students were and I am really pleased to say that every student I asked said that they were proud of their work - and they were quite right to be proud.  

One of the many privileges of being a headteacher is working with young people, and our students are great. I am a great believer in regular rewards for those students who attend and work hard, so I have just increased our rewards budget. Research shows that lots of small, short-term rewards are really appreciated and have a greater impact. We continue to see a dip on Fridays so please encourage your child to attend, even if they are not feeling 100%. My thanks to the vast majority who do.  

Last night’s Year 8 parents’ evening was well attended. It was a pleasure to be able to walk around chatting with students and parents and hear how their child is doing at school. The format for parents’ evening hasn’t really changed over the decades - except for Covid - and there is a reason in that a face-to-face discussion with a teacher is extremely valuable.  

We are also delighted to inform you that Mrs Kelsey, our current Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead, will be stepping up to take on the role of Interim Designated Safeguarding Lead to support Mr Chapman as he leads the Leap team. 

Finally, I have presented to staff a number of planned changes going forward, some of which are being introduced on our return after half-term. I will be sending out a letter to all parents next week giving more detail.  

Mr Nixon

Headteacher