Hello there. Mr Hanratty here in the absence of the Head, who, along with some of our Year 12 students, Mr Andrews and Mrs Van Mol, are, as I write this, approximately two hours from landing at JFK airport. Once landed, they will make their way through snow lined streets and avenues, and across the nearly frozen Hudson River to Manhattan, where they’ll spend the next few days sightseeing before coaching it up to Boston on Friday to take part in the Harvard Model United Nations conference over the weekend. We wish them the very best of luck for the conference and know that the preparations they have been putting in since September will serve them well, and we look forward to hearing all about their experience when they return to the school at some point in the afternoon next Monday.
Now, the eagle-eyed Casual Readers amongst you are likely wondering why their journey begins on Tuesday when previous trips (almost twenty years of this trip) have taken place from the Sunday before. Well, Sunday was the original departure date, but unfortunately, due to the polar vortex that has sat over New York State and New England since late last week, all flights were grounded, meaning lots of last-minute rescheduling and changes to itineraries over the weekend to enable a departure today. It was hit and miss on many occasions over the past few days, and even up to the departure lounge this morning, but shortly after 8.20am the flight departed Heathrow. The trip will be a great experience, and the photos will be all the better with snow.
The start of this week marked the halfway point of the term, which is passing by at an incredible speed - with the Year 13 mocks now complete, their teachers have seen their marking workloads increase. We continue to appreciate the hard work they do, and, for some of them, their Year 13 workload will disappear only to be replaced by a Year 10 mock marking load, as yesterday marked the start of their fortnight of Mock Exams. This is the first time that this year group has taken on examinations of this scale, and we wish them the very best of luck in these examinations. Thank you also to the invigilation team and our exams office, who have run a tight ship over this exam period.
Eighteen fixtures took place last week and we thank and praise our PE and Sport staff for continuing to provide these opportunities and help students build lasting memories. We also had a Year 12 trip to Invicta Barracks and thank the staff who planned and led the visit.
Parents’ Evenings this year are two-part events - something the Head may have written about in his blog for you Casual Readers - and the first part of the Year 8 and Year 11 takes place this afternoon. Parents’ Evenings are often nerve racking experiences for students; however, in my experience, I enjoy celebrating the success of our students and providing tangible next steps on their continued journey toward excellence, in whatever form that looks like for that student.
Amongst another busy week of fixtures taking place this week, a special mention needs to go to our 1st XI squad who tomorrow (Wednesday) will play in Round 6 of the English Schools’ Football Association (ESFA) Boys’ U18 Schools’ Cup. The competition consists of nine knockout rounds, with the semi-final in Round 8 and the final in Round 9. Best wishes to the squad, Mr Hughes, and staff who travel to Forest School for this match.
And finally, we welcomed Mrs Maxwell to our staff body yesterday, and she joins us in a new role within Student Services. Mrs Maxwell brings a wealth of experience, having worked in Kent grammar schools, and we look forward to her sharing her expertise with the school.
Take care, until the next time I pen this blog.
Mr H