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Hessle High School

Headteacher Blog

MR V GROAK

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On this page you will find weekly informative blogs. 

February 2025

Archive

  • WEEK 22 - Friday 28 February 2025

    Published 28/02/25

    It was the writer and football fan, Nick Hornby, who wrote that ‘the natural state of the football fan is bitter disappointment’.  And it was the comedian Jack Dee who admitted that his own ‘natural state’ was grumpy. 

    Others, with maybe more intellectual insight than those two, have agreed that the natural state of the human mind is to be dissatisfied or, at best, to be as happy as the human condition allows us to be. 

    As I get older, I do find myself more inclined to be grumpy, like most people of my age and generation, I guess.  But I have also identified a trait which may be more in tune with my job role, that of being ‘restlessly dissatisfied’.  I run a terrific school, with marvellous people working in it, fantastic students and great parents.  And yet, it is never enough. 

    As I walk the school site, I always come across something that isn’t quite as it should be - a student who isn’t where they’re meant to be, a display that has become tatty or unsightly, a poster on a wall with a spelling mistake.  I carry my phone with me (it ought to be a note pad) and will quickly note it down, or take a picture of it, so I can address it later.  As I do this, I sometimes wonder whether other people notice what I have seen.  I ask them but invariably they haven’t - they’re simply too busy, or they’re doing something else and don’t have the luxury that I have perhaps to walk the site without singular purpose, with my head up.  Basically, looking for things that aren’t as they should be. 

    The challenge for me – in grumpy middle age – is not to overreact to what I have seen.  I must put right whatever the problem is and try, as far as we can, to prevent it from happening again.  But not to blame, not to show too much dissatisfaction.  My leadership philosophy has always been to communicate my expectations, based on our Trust and school values and vision, and then to empower my staff to deliver to the best of their ability.  This carries an inherent risk that they will make mistakes.  But the pay off in terms of their motivation and creativity and discretionary effort is more than worth it.  Which is why, when mistakes are made, I mustn’t overreact or attach too much blame. 

    But it does getter harder as I get older.  Being aware of it, I suppose, is part of the remedy.  As is having other senior leaders who will point it out when I get things wrong, as they do.  

    ***  

    This week we have been putting our finishing touches to the Third Edition of The Eagle, which will be emailed to you shortly.  Reading these before they go out definitely moves the dial in the positive direction on the ‘grumpometer’.  Seeing the range of activities that our students are engaged in, across sports, arts, charity work, as well as in their classrooms, fills me with pride.  Whilst we send out The Eagle edition which corresponds with the year group your child is in, you can read all five of them on our website.  It will give you a strong sense of the full breadth of activity taking place in our school. 

    Thank you also to everyone that has completed the Edurio Parent Survey.  This is still open until the 10 March and can be found here if you have not yet completed it. 

    ***  

    There are now just 38 school days until our Year 11 students sit down in the hall for their first external GCSE exam.  They have acquitted themselves admirably this year, especially during recent mock exam weeks, which they have mostly taken in their stride. 

    There is a huge amount of activity taking place to support our Year 11 student, with lots of information being communicated to them, and home.  To help organise this, next week we are launching a dedicated area on our website which will enable students and parents/carers to find things such as exam timetables, revision schedules, tips on studying at home and so on.  We will share more information with you next week on this. 

    ***  

    On the subject of Nick Hornby’s ‘bitter disappointment’, Hull FC have begun their season in typical fashion – a good win which promises hope, followed by crushing defeat.   By the time you read this, they may well be back in action again on Friday night against Huddersfield.  My son and I will be watching on TV, prepared for whatever happens, knowing that the downsides, just make the upsides even better.  Just like life really. 

    However you are spending the weekend, I hope you can spend some time outdoors enjoying the spring sunshine.  Thank you for your support. 

    Mr Groak

    Headteacher

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  • WEEK 21 - Friday 14 February 2025

    Published 14/02/25

    It was great to see so many parents and family members in attendance for our Year 7 Progress Evening this week.  It is no secret that we have had some technical issues with our booking systems this term which we hope has not caused too much inconvenience.  We have learned lots from each event and hope that these are resolved as we approach the Year 9 Progress Evening after half term (March 6).  As ever your patience is appreciated, as is your support. 

    Year 9 Information (Options) Evening is also on the horizon (February 25th).  On that evening (starting at 6pm), you will hear a presentation from school leaders outlining the options pathways available to students in Year 9 as well as having the opportunity to ask any questions you may have.  This event is part of the transition process for Year 9 which steers them towards Key Stage 4 and their GCSE studies.  We would love to see as many parents/carers as possible at this event, as well as the Progress Evening which follows.  Your support at this stage in your child’s education is imperative. 

    ***  

    Many thanks to those of you that have already completed the Edusurvey which was sent out last week.  This is a set of standardised questions that are being sent out to parents/carers across our trust and which will inform strategic planning.  If you haven’t yet completed it, please do so here 

    And, on the subject of feedback, thank you to those of you that have completed our own Parent survey, which is sent out around the time of each and every Progress Evening.  This information is then transferred into the Ofsted Parent View site which enables anyone to view the responses given either via the school or directly onto the site.  It can be found here.  Last year, we had 613 responses logged – lots of which came around the time of our Ofsted visit.  This year, we currently have 48 which is growing all the time.  I am delighted that 96% of respondents would recommend our school to another parent. This is great testament to the work we do and we appreciate the support you give us. 

    **** 

    Next week, myself and the family are spending some time in Berlin.  This is a city that I have visited several times and have a fascination with.  For this break, we faced a choice between somewhere further south with a chance of some sunshine (my wife’s choice) or Berlin, which will be cold and has a tendency towards bleak.  Nevertheless, my son is studying the Cold War and is intrigued by the story of the Berlin Wall.  My daughter, meanwhile, is hoping to see some stars on the red carpet as it is the annual Berlin Film Festival whilst we are there.  So, the timing seemed ideal for a trip to Germany.  And it is cheap at this time of the year, which helps! 

    As well as the history and culture, my son and I have also bagged tickets to see Hertha Berlin playing at the Olympiastadion, home of the 1936 Olympics, with all that entails.  It should be a fascinating trip.  The only problem being how to get all our cold weather clothes into a Ryanair-compliant 10kg suitcase! 

    Aside from that, I am looking forward to some relaxation and a chance to catch up on some reading.  I have a stack of books which I am trying to wade through but never really find the time to do so and am guilty of buying more books than I ever read.  School holidays give me some of that time and I intend to use it next week. 

    I hope that you enjoy the weekend and that half term enables you to spend more time together as a family.  Thanks as ever for your support.   

    Mr Groak

    Headteacher

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  • WEEK 20 - Friday 7 February 2025

    Published 07/02/25

    You would think it would be impossible to make Ofsted's system for reporting on schools any worse than the single phrase judgement system. And yet, according to Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of ASCL, that is precisely what they have done. The proposed report cards, he said, were “worse than single-word judgements”. 

    These were introduced on Monday at the start of a twelve-week consultation period which, in theory, should lead to them being used in inspections from November. This is a timeframe which is extremely short and has already led to whistleblowers from within Ofsted reporting that the whole process has been too quick and lacking proper scrutiny.  Alongside the report card is a proposed monitoring system, the detail of which I have read three times, and still don't quite understand.  

    Schools will be placed in ‘special measures’ if any area (except leadership) or safeguarding is a concern, and leadership is also a concern. Those schools will get six monitoring inspections over 24 months. A school will ‘require significant improvement’ if any area (except leadership) or safeguarding is a concern, but leadership is not. These schools will get five over 18 months. Clear?  

    It remains to be seen how 'high stakes' this becomes and what the consequences will be if a school gets an 'attention needed' judgement. That will depend on the perception of parents, local media and the rest of the system as to how they respond and whether schools will also get support from inspectors before, during and after each inspection. We can only hope that this will not be the 'cliff edge' judgement that has led to such perverse incentives in our schools for the past few decades.  

    The consultation is open now and runs until end of April.  It is open to parents to please consider taking part.   

    ***  

    This week’s lunch trial has been a qualified success.  Successful in the sense that the plans we had in place were effective; but this was qualified by the fact that it didn’t rain or snow! 

    When choosing early February to run a trial, we anticipated that we would get some wet weather which would enable us to see how our plans would cope with high numbers of students wanting to remain indoors.  That didn’t happen and, for most of the week, students have preferred to socialise outside once they had grabbed their food.  Nevertheless, the queues were managed well, adapted space was used well and, as ever, our students coped admirably with the change.  We will have another attempt at trialling this further later in the term. 

    On Monday, Year 11 students begin their last round of Mock Exams before the real ones take place in the summer.  The importance of mocks cannot be overstated.  They are useful for teachers in determining what a student still needs to work on and can also influence the tier of entry that a student goes.  For students, they have a big influence on confidence, good or bad.  We urge all students, and families, to treat these as if they were the real thing and prepare accordingly, which means getting plenty of sleep and exercise, but also doing independent revision at home, as well as in school.  This ‘balanced’ approach is always more effective than relying on revision sessions with teachers, or last-minute cramming.  If there is still any doubt about the pitfalls of ‘cramming’ then please look up the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve to see what I mean. 

    ***  

    I always think (optimistically) that February half term marks the beginning of the end of winter and the start of Spring.  That may not be meteorologically correct but it often feels that way as nights grow longer and the chances of snow and slush recede.  Tomorrow the rugby league season starts and we are just one week from half term.  I hope you have nice plans over the next couple of weeks to spend more time outdoors and with family over the half term break. 

    It has been another calm and purposeful week at school and we know that cannot happen without your support so thank you.  And have a lovely weekend. 

    Mr Groak

    Headteacher

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