We are delighted to welcome back learners this week following the half term break. Many of our learners will be observing Ramadan, fasting through the school day. To support this, we have split our dining room facilities to provide a no food space for learners to use. We were also pleased to welcome Moulana Aslam Seedat (Chaplain for the Mid Yorkshire Trust) to school today to talk to our learners about Ramadan and how to manage this with commitments in school and at home.

 

At the same time we have a number of our learners who are supporting our Parent Forum members as they organise our Eid Fair due to take place on Monday 23 March. If you can support with either time or donations please do contact Mr Laher of Miss Aswat who are coordinating events.

 

The points below summarise the information shared with learners this week.

 

Gary Kibble 

 

Attendance and Achievement

• Impact on Results: Please remember there is a direct link between attendance and GCSE performance. For example, a learner with 98% attendance achieves an average grade of 7, while a learner with 89% attendance will on average achieve a grade 4.
• Attendance Boost Week: To encourage high attendance, learners who are in school every day from Monday 23 March to Friday 27 March will earn double attendance activity points toward the "Big Day Out".
• Support: Parents are encouraged to discuss any issues affecting their child's attendance with group tutors or achievement leaders so we can mitigate any fall in the number of days learners are in school

 

Academic and Literacy Expectations

• Literacy Standards: We expect all learners  to use rulers for underlining, use correct punctuation and capital letters, and use purple pens for corrections. Please support us by reviewing your child's books. 
• Homework: All homework is now set on Class Charts. Failure to hand in high-quality homework on time will result in a "Study and Support" (SAS) detention.
• Reading Rewards: Teachers are awarding "Reading Awards" on Class Charts for excellent effort in reading or vocabulary. Five winners across Years 7-11 are selected weekly to win a book from the school's vending machine.

 

Extracurricular Activities focus on Science Club.

• Science Club: A weekly club runs from February through March 2026 on Tuesdays. Upcoming activities include:
  • February 24: DNA sweet models
  • March 3: Making fossils
  • March 10: Making crystals
  • March 17: Chromatography.
  • March 24: Cheek cells and microscopes

 

Learner Recognition

• Positive Points: The bulletin celebrates the "Top 5" learners in each year group (Years 7-11) for categories such as Character, Creativity, Community, Connection, and Collaboration.
• Community Groups: Points are also tracked for the school's community groups (e.g., Betty Boothroyd, Jo Cox, Rosa Parks).