Headteacher blog 17th May 2024

It has been Y6 SATs week across the country this week. I am sure that most of our children will have done very well, although a few did show signs of some stress despite our best efforts to make the week fun. I am particularly concerned for those children that can only just access the tests, scoring just a few marks on each paper. At age 16 there might be a couple of different papers or courses at different levels so young people can achieve well at different levels. I wish that there was something like that at KS2 too – there used to be.

Our U11 football team fell short in the Champions of Champions game this week against St Peter’s. We lost 3-1 in a fantastic, very physical game. Our opponents were very big and strong, but we battled hard and played excellent football. Their teacher said that our boys were: “By far the best team we have played this year.” Well done to St Peter’s and to our boys for an excellent season.

We have had two good governors’ meetings this week: a Resources sub committee and a Teaching and Learning sub committee. The resources meeting approved our new budget and encouraged me to invest a little more, if possible, in teacher release time for curriculum leadership activity. The Teaching and Learning committee enjoyed an informative presentation from our Geography leads, Mr Hemming and Mrs Broadhead, showcasing work described as ‘exceptional’ by Ofsted last year. Some of this work will continue next week in the Yorkshire Dales as part of Y5 residential at Ribblehead.

I spent an enjoyable, if rather damp, afternoon on Wednesday working with Y1 children doing a series of ‘Chicken Workshops’ on the top field. The hens enjoyed a very free-ranging afternoon in the grass and amongst the trees and almost all the children confidently worked with the birds. The children already knew a lot of ‘chicken facts’ and I look forward to seeing some of their hen-related written work and drawings soon.