Parents’ Evenings

Following on from Options Evening, last week we held an online parents’ evening which we hope will have provided further information to help parents/carers support Year 9 students through the sometimes difficult choices they have to make. They should also now have access to our online resource with videos to supplement the booklet that has been distributed. Dates of remaining parents’ evenings are provided below.

Pre-Public Examinations

Well done to all of Year 11 for completing these assessments. These ran very well and the year group lined up and entered the Hall and other venues in the manner expected. This is an important part of the process of preparing for public examinations. Year 13 have also now been completing their PPEs. We are very aware of the need to use these to prepare for public examinations given their GCSEs were cancelled and replaced by teacher assessments two years ago. Spare a thought for the marking load of teachers at this point. Once everything is marked and graded we will be sending home reports to parents/carers, aiming for the end of term with both year groups. Whilst these additional assessments will have been a challenge, students need to learn from them and continue to work hard through Easter and into next term.

DWS Audio news

DWS Audio has been nominated for the prestigious Young Audio Awards. Watch the nominations announced on YouTube here: (43) Young Audio Awards nominee announcement with Fun Kids – YouTube. We look forward to hearing the results on 23rd March.

DWS Dance Company

On Sunday, 13^th March, DWS Dance Company had the fantastic opportunity of performing at the UDance London Regional Platform, at Trinity Laban. One of the only secondary schools selected, amongst youth companies linked to Dance colleges and the English National Ballet, our dancers performed a piece called ‘Empower.’ The piece explored the theme of empowerment with feminism as a catalyst to inspire young girls to stand up for their beliefs and rights. The group were professional and danced so beautifully, an absolute credit to the School. It was amazing to see what this new company has achieved in such a short time and exciting for what the future holds for this talented group of dancers.

St. Christopher’s Bluebell walk

We have agreed to share the following local walk organised by St. Christopher’s and the Rotary.

Summer term changes

We continue to plan to return to single break and lunch for the new term. This will not affect the start and finish of the School day. We will share the final timings with parents/carers before the Easter break.

Red Nose Day

Well done to all who wore something red today. We’ll find out soon how much we raised alongside our collection for Ukraine. A more detailed report and further news will follow.

Uniform consultation

Thank you to the 486 parents/carers who responded to our uniform consultation. The results of this are summarised below. These were shared with the Governing Body at its meeting on Tuesday. The next step will be for a small focus group to meet to discuss the findings and any recommendations. Thank you to the many parents/carers who said they would be happy to be involved further. We will contact those who provided details as required.

PSFA Second hand uniform sale

Come and pick up a bargain this Saturday, 19th March. The sale will take place in the Dining Hall from 10am to midday.

Dates for the diary

19th March – Second hand uniform sale

24th March – Year 10 Parents’ Evening

1st April – last day of spring term, early finish, timings will be confirmed next week

19th April – first day of summer term

21st April – Year 7 Parents’ Evening