Tuesday 14 December 2021

Welcome to my last blog of 2021 - I cannot believe we have reached the end of the calendar year already.  I am sure, like me, you are looking forward to the upcoming festive period, particularly considering the restrictions we had to endure last year.  Once again I wish to thank the staff and students for bringing life back to MGS since returning to school since September – it has been so good seeing the energy and buzz around the place. 

Reflecting on last week, I would like to thank College House for organising last Friday’s Christmas-themed charity day.  Students and staff enjoyed the Christmas market in the Quad, sang along to numerous Christmas songs being played over the school Tannoy, and enjoyed the many cakes and gingerbread sweets on offer.  Everyone enjoyed the day and raised loads of money for charity.  Thank you for the support.

On Saturday the school rugby squads enjoyed the last weekend fixture of the season.  It has been so good having the rugby fixture programme return this year, but there is still one more game of the season: 1^st XV MGS vs. Oakwood this Wednesday.  Good luck to the players.

Yesterday we congratulated Year 12 at the GCSE Certificate Presentation Afternoon.  Students in Year 12 who were at MGS last year received their GCSE certificates in this formal event where the students came up on stage in the Hall to receive a round of applause from their peers.  In amongst the presentations, speeches were made by Mr Martin, Mr Rivers, and two students, before singing the School Song at the end.  A good way to finish the year.

This week there are of course a number of Christmas events to finish off the term.  Today and tomorrow the students enjoy their Christmas meal cooked for them by Cucina; on Thursday the MGS Christmas Concert and Carol Service takes place at 7pm at All Saints Church; and then on Friday I will be leading the Christmas assembly across the airwaves before everyone going home for a well-deserved break. 

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas.

Tuesday 7 December 2021

Firstly, a huge thank you to all the School’s rugby players who came out to play the biggest game of the season, The Judd School.  Following last week’s mixed performances against Dartford Grammar School I expect some players approached The Judd School with a little bit of trepidation.  Sadly, many of the results did not go our way, but a big well done to the U15 squad who came away with a win. 

And also at the weekend, four boys from years 9 and 10: Alan, Jack, Alex and Theo all competed in the final of the National Cross Country Competition in Newquay.  Out of the 28 schools that competed, the MGS team came 16^th, which was a fantastic result.  Well done boys, and thank you to the parents who made the long journey down to support them.

This week Year 11 return to normal lessons after two weeks of mock examinations.  Teachers are now busy marking the papers, with results being shared before Christmas.  Let us hope they do well. 

The Year 12 Virtual Parents’ Evening is taking place today providing an opportunity for parents to hear how their children have progressed at the start of their A-Level studies.  This is the first parents’ evening of the year, and just like last year, we are delivering it through our new School Cloud system which seemed to go down well last year.  Fingers crossed the technology works!

Students in Year 8 this week are involved in two days of activities that will help them think about future careers and in doing so get them to consider what GCSE subject choices they wish to make.  We have run these two days of activities for Year 8 for a number of years now and we have found they really help the students think about what they want to do after they leave MGS.

And on Friday we are hosting our Christmas Charity Day where students will be encouraged to wear a Christmas jumper, buy goodies from the MGS Christmas market, and bring food donations in for a number of local homeless charities.  The usual £1 contribution on the gate for non-uniform will also apply.