Recognition and reward 

Week Six has brought with it the opportunity to acknowledge a number of successes for students in Year 10.  Earlier in the week, the boys’ football team was successful in the cup with a 7-0 victory, including a four-goal haul from one in-form individual. The team all arrived back into school on the morning after the game full of excitement about their performance and it was a pleasure to see this level of enthusiasm and pride. This week has also seen the first wave of our whole-school rewards package being rolled out to students. On Wednesday morning, I had the pleasure of being able to deliver rewards to nearly 100 of our Year 10 students for reaching milestones for the number of House Points they’ve received this year. This is a part of the job I particularly enjoy and I look forward to many other opportunities to acknowledge the achievements of our students. 

It’s also important to recognise when our expectations aren’t being met. Unfortunately, this week there have been examples of student behaviour in the year group that fall below the standard that both the school and I expect. Success, as we know, isn’t a linear journey: there are ups and downs along the way but we must make sure that the dips don’t become valleys and that we learn from mistakes rather than accepting below-par standards. As a year team, we closely monitor all students and, where possible, pre-empt any support they may need. Our logic is a simple one: if you can catch an issue upstream it prevents it from gathering pace and becoming something more serious further downstream. It’s through this work that our wrap-around pastoral care is at its most effective, when we can be proactive rather than simply reactive.  

On a related note, our students are being given the opportunity to demonstrate their own proactive attitudes by taking part in the Work Experience programme we offer through our Careers Team. Next week sees the launch of the programme with a student assembly on Wednesday followed by a presentation for parents on Thursday 19th October. The event will give you the opportunity to learn more about the importance of students getting out into the world of work and developing skills they can take forward for the future. Our careers team will be available to take any questions and advise you about the steps you need to take to help your child to secure their placement. We look forward to seeing you there. 

Mr Riches

Head of Year 10

Mrs Lacey

Assistant Head of Year 10