Issue 1121: 8th May 2026

HEADLINES

Year 10 Work Experience

Next week, we are looking forward to welcoming our Year 10 pupils back to school following their two weeks of work experience. Our pupils have represented the school across a wide range of industries and organisations, including solicitors’ firms, schools, gyms, marketing companies, accountancy practices and florists.

We have been incredibly proud to receive such positive feedback from employers, who have praised our pupils for their respectful behaviour, enthusiasm and positive attitudes throughout their placements. These experiences provide invaluable opportunities for pupils to develop confidence, workplace skills and a greater understanding of future career pathways.

Thank you for supporting this iportant element of school life, we hope to share some photographs from the placements with you soon!

Mobile Phones in Schools

As you may have seen in the news, the House of Lords voted in favour of an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill that will make existing guidance on mobile phone use statutory.

This means all schools will be legally required to restrict phone use, that is, ensure pupils do not have access to their phones during the school day. As we have raised before, the access to mobile phones during the day can contribute to disruption, bullying and a loss of focus that holds children back.

We expect any mobiles phones that are brought onto the school site (at the owners’ risk) to be placed in lockers immediately and not accessed until after 3.05pm. After the half term break, we will be applying the Behaviour Policy to any pupil we find in possession of a phone.

We will also carry out spot-checks to ensure compliance. If there are any issues with your child(ren)s locker(s), they or you should contact Pupil Services before the half term break to ensure the problem can be solved.

I thank you in advance for supporting the school in making this legal requirement land smoothly in our school.

Sustainability – Food and Textiles

As a school, we always strive to be as sustainable as possible and to ensure we get the best value for our resources to support our pupils as much as possible.

If you are planning a spring clean, we would be extremely grateful for any of the following items you might no longer need. These will be used by our Food and Textiles department to enrich learning opportunities across all key stages:

Reusable bags (bags for life or strong carrier bags)
Cutlery (knives, forks, spoons, teaspoons)
Jeans (any size)
Yarn
Buttons
Plain plates and bowls (no patterns, please)
Ribbons or decorative braids
Cushion inserts

Donations can be dropped off at either the main school office or Pupil Services during usual opening hours (although we would ask that you avoid the busiest periods at the start and end of the school day). Thank you, as always, for your continued support and generosity.

All donations will be gratefully received.