Tuesday 3 November 2020

Welcome back and I hope you all have had an enjoyable but restful October break.

This week sees the beginning of the autumn GCSE examination period.  Due to the National Lockdown year 12 students sadly missed the opportunity to sit their GCSEs, so a number of them have chosen to sit some of their examinations over the next three weeks.  We wish them all well.  Results will be released in January.

Today we welcome to MGS a representative from The Good Schools Guide.  The Good Schools Guide is a well-recognised guide that helps parents choose the best education for their children.  Today will provide an opportunity for us to showcase what we do and how we have developed as a school since they last visited four years ago.  Thank you in advance to the students and members of staff who will be supporting me during the day.

Friday will see the first set of assessment data published to students and parents following the first term of work.  The students have returned to normal school in good spirits and this data will help us understand how they have progressed since lockdown.

Tuesday 20 October 2020

This week sees the end of the A-Level examinations.  A handful of Old Maidstonians from last year’s Year 13 have returned to sit their A-Level examinations as they were unable to sit them back in the summer.  It has been good to see them and find out how their lockdown has been.  We wish them well for results day in December.  After half term the GCSE examination period begins with students from the current Year 12 choosing to sit some.  Good luck to them.

Tomorrow we welcome back Year 11 from self-isolation.  Last week we had to send them home after we received confirmation of a positive Covid 19 test from one of them.  They all appreciated the situation they were in and have all immersed themselves in home learning once again.  It will be good to see them again.

On Thursday our virtual Year 6 Open Event goes live on our website.  Thursday would have been the day when we opened our doors up to the hundreds of Year 6 boys and their parents to see the school for our Year 6 Open Evening.  Sadly, due to the circumstances we are unable to do this, but hopefully the video presentations that we have put together will go some way in illustrating what life is like for each and every Maidstonian.  Even if you are not a parent of a Year 6 boy do take a look. 

Tuesday 13 October 2020

Firstly, I would like to say how pleasing it is to have Year 13 back in school.  They returned last Thursday after having to self-isolate at home for the previous two weeks.  Lessons during that time continued virtually via Microsoft Teams, but nothing can replace being in the classroom and engaging with the learning there.  Welcome back Year 13.

Each week, as we progress through the term and our new way of working, we are looking to see if we can introduce some of the activities that would normally go on in and around school.  A number of them have evolved and moved to a temporary home on line, but senior rugby training for years 12 and 13 has started, CCF training and parade continues on a Thursday, and this week preparations for the next Harvard trip begin.  And also, very soon, peripatetic music lessons begin.  All of these activities are being risk assessed to ensure they can go ahead, with the long term aim being to bring back as many as possible, but as carefully as possible.  It is vitally important that we return to the MGS we remember.  

Just a quick update, the all-weather pitch is coming on well with a completion date around the middle of November.  As I do a lot of my duty in the Year 7 area up by the new pavilion, I have watched the progress of the pitch on a daily basis.  I was particularly impressed with the machine being used to ensure each level of hard core and gravel being laid are level.  Now the fencing posts are being installed right around the pitch as well as the retaining wall that lines the edge that runs adjacent to the school building.  We are all looking forward to it being completed.  

 

Tuesday 6 October 2020

 Firstly, I would like to thank everyone who supported last week’s charity day which was in support of the Teenage Cancer Trust.  Considering the circumstances, and the fact that Year 13 students were not here, we did extremely well, raising £1302.73.  We should all be very proud of this, and thank you to the Year 12 prefects who helped out.

This week, for the first time ever, MGS is staging autumn public examinations.  With there being no GCSE and A-Level examinations in the summer there is now a series of examinations for those students from last year’s Year 11 and Year 13 who wish to sit them.  A handful of students have made this choice, and so we wish them well.

This week we are continuing to make preparations for our Year 6 virtual open event.  Under the current circumstances we are sadly not able to welcome the wider community into the school, so we are having to do things differently.  So, students and staff have been working really hard to move what we normally do, online.  The open event, which will go live in a couple of weeks, will include a speech from me, a speech from the School Captain and a Year 7 student, and a virtual tour of the school.  We hope that perspective parents and their sons find the presentations useful.

Tuesday 29 September 2020

Thank you to the many members of the school community who supported last Friday’s MacMillan Coffee Morning.  Under the current circumstances we were unable to host the event in the Hall, but across the school site in the various year group bubbles staff and students came together, but at a distance, and enjoyed a slice of cake and a morning cup of coffee.  In total we raised £680, which is a fantastic sum considering the situation we were in.  Thank you.

Congratulations to the many year 11 students who completed the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh expedition over the weekend.  The weather on Friday would have certainly been an element to deal with (!), but knowing the students, they would have not let that deter from their enjoyment.  Thank you to Ms Adams and Ms Alloy for coordinating the entire programme, and to the other members of staff who gave up their weekend to supervise.

Tomorrow is the School’s first charity day.  Again, under the current circumstances, we cannot run our charity days in the way that we would like, but hopefully we can raise awareness and money in support of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.  Thank you to the staff and students for organising the day. 

Finally, I wish to acknowledge and thank the 52 year 12 students who have stepped forward to support the School in the absence of Year 13.  With Year 13 needing to self-isolate at home we are currently without the entire prefect team.  The prefects play a number of different roles across the school, and the month of October is always a busy one for them.  These 52 students have illustrated once more how many of our students feel about their school and how they wish to support their peers.  Thank you so much to them. 

Tuesday 22 September 2020

We are now into the third week of school and already students and staff are settling into the new way of living and working.  Everyone has really appreciated the adjustments we have had to make, and for that I am extremely grateful.  The weather has been on our side, which has been fortunate, as we all know that the best place to be under these current circumstances is outside.  Sadly, this fine weather cannot last, so the four marquees that we have recently purchased will come in very handy.  A big thank you to all of the staff members who have worked hard erecting them, as well as constructing the many picnic tables and benches that are now around the site for students to sit on.

This week we will be speaking to years 11 and 12 about the Harvard Model United Nations Trip for January 2022.  Sadly, we won’t be able to go this January, but we are keeping our fingers crossed for the following year.  It is an amazing opportunity for the students to attend, so we are keen to continue to run the trip despite the circumstances we are in. 

And this Friday we are acknowledging the MacMillian Coffee Morning.  Sadly, we cannot deliver it in the normal way, but hopefully we will be able to go some way in supporting the charity and come together at a distance over a cuppa and a piece of cake.  Thank you to parents who are sending their children into school with a piece of cake!

Tuesday 15 September 2020

Firstly, I would like to thank the entire school community for the excellent start we have had to the new academic year.  With the many changes we have had to make, both the students and staff have adjusted to them extremely well and have already settled into a new way of living.  All credit to them. 

This week is the first full week for everyone, and so hopefully by the end of the week everyone has got used to things.  With it being the first full week, we have also been able to introduce year group assemblies to each day, with this week’s theme being, ‘It’s Good to Talk’.  This quite simple mantra is being used to re-brand and re-launch the work we already do in school in supporting students with their mental health and wellbeing concerns.  So far the assemblies have been positively received and very much appreciated.

Also this week, on Thursday, every student in the school is having their individual photograph taken; so parents be ready to make a purchase if you would like.  Seeing one’s child grow up can sometimes remind us how old we are getting!

Tuesday 8 September 2020

 Welcome to the first Headmaster Blog of the new academic year.  It is so good to be able to welcome all of the students back to their school and return to some form of normality.  School is going to be a different place for some time - we have had to make many adjustments to the school to be in a position to welcome everyone back – but those adjustments are worth it in order to bring life back to MGS.  I have missed the students, as it is the students, not the buildings, that define MGS; and already after only a few days, laughter has returned.  The induction days for years 7 and 12 went extremely well, welcoming over 400 students back last Thursday and Friday.  They were joined by years 11 and 13 on Monday, and will be joined by years 8, 9 and 10 on Wednesday.  I look forward to saying hello to many of them over the coming days and weeks. 

The main focus of the first few weeks is to teach the students how to be students again.  Some will not have been in formal school for 24 weeks, and so they are going to need our support in settling in as well as ensuring any gaps in their progress are filled.  We of course do not know how things are going to develop over the coming year. We still do not know what the public examinations are going to look like for years 11 and 13, and we don’t know if there is going to be a need to ask some students to work from home for a period of time if there is a local lockdown, but we are flexible and ready to make any required adjustments to ensure the students receive the best possible experience in any eventuality.  I was so proud in what we did achieve during lockdown - thank you again for the overwhelming positive feedback from parents - and we are ready to do the same again if required.

 

Tuesday 16 July 2020

Firstly, I wish to apologise for the tardiness of this week’s blog.  As you can appreciate my mind has been focusing on our return in September and ensuring we get as much done as possible before we break for the summer holiday.

This week a number of video presentations have been created and released.  My presentation on Monday provided more detail about the start of the new academic year, and will be followed on Friday with my final assembly.  The Heads and House and Senior Prefect Team put together a video to our new year 6 students; and the School Captain and School Vice-Captain, accompanied by some year 12 students, created an amazing video looking at the work we do in promoting good mental health and wellbeing, saying, ‘It’s good to talk’.  Do look out for these presentation as they get released.

The last thing to say is I do hope that you all have a pleasant holiday and a well-deserved rest.  See you all in September.

Tuesday 7 July 2020

The last week for me was filled with looking ahead to the start of the new academic year.  The Government released its guidance last Thursday illustrating what schools are going to look like in September.  There is plenty to do to make all of the necessary adjustments, and life for a while will be somewhat different, but it will be so good having everybody back together. 

This week we are running a new event: The MGS Virtual Sports Week.  With not being able to hold the normal Sports Day the PE department devised a virtual competition that everyone can get involved with but from the comfort of their own homes.  All participants will generate points for their house, and some houses really do need the points!