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Posted on: May 11th 2023

Headteacher Update 12.05.23

Alaric govan sml picWeek 31

"It is possible to be busy-very busy-without being very effective.” – Stephen Covey

It’s been a few weeks since my last update - this is the busiest part of the year and we have been focusing on ensuring that the Year 11s and 13s are as supported as they can be. This term, I’ve been teaching a Year 11 English class, which is the first time I have taught a class properly in five years (I’ve covered lessons during this time but not a class full time). Four weeks isn’t enough time to build up a proper relationship with a class- this is something that develops over time as you get to know their strengths and areas for development- but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to discuss Literature once again.

It is also recruitment season in schools. In education, there are effectively three ‘transfer windows’ (to use a football analogy), with teaching staff able to move at the beginning of each term, as long as they have handed in their notice by the end of the preceding half-term. This means that all new appointments need to be confirmed by the end of this month. Recruiting (and retaining) high-quality staff is one of the most important things I need to do and this is taking up a lot of time at the moment.

This is also the time to set the school’s budget for the following academic year. We are a large school, with almost 200 members of staff. Like everyone else, we are being hit by the increases in the cost of living- our utilities’ bills have virtually tripled, the cost of repairs and building works continue to rise, and ICT equipment is more and more expensive. Thankfully, our ICT refurbishment this summer has already been costed in- this will improve the school’s WiFi, phone system, and update some of the computer hardware. This will improve the students’ experiences, especially in the sixth form which currently does not have good coverage.

Finally, it looks like the good weather has finally decided to arrive. I am looking forward to sharing news of the school’s sporting successes in athletics, cricket and other sports in the following weeks. Plus, as a keen chess player myself, I will be following the fortunes of our chess team in their up-and-coming matches.

It’s good to be busy; hopefully, we are being productive too.

For further details of what’s going on in the school, please see the NEWS area on the website.

Have a good weekend.

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