It is lovely to celebrate the successes that we have had such as the Year 4 Band concert. The talents of the children and the way they have grown in their musical abilities is amazing! The performance was as good as many seasoned bands that I have seen, well done to all the teachers, tutors and students!

During our staff meeting this week, the teachers were asked to reflect on a highlight for the year. The ones that stood out for them were the learners who may not have received the top mark in the class but who worked so hard and made such great progress that cannot always be seen in their report. It was also the ones who faced challenges and participated in activities that were well out of their comfort zones such as giving a speech, tackling a difficult problem and those showing kindness and care to others. As parents sometimes we only look at the grade on the report, rather than the effort it took for the child to reach that point, or the character that your child displays which will really help them as they grow and mature. Please take the time to look at all parts of the report, look at the evidence in Seesaw and see how far your child has come this year.

I would also like to thank the many volunteers that we have helping our students across the College. The time you give to our learners is invaluable and so special. The children look forward to working with you and there is a special bond that develops along the way. Thank you also to the parents that support our community events, one of the things that I will miss next year is the community that we have built together that is welcoming and inclusive of all our families.

Planning for next year is underway and I would like to reassure you that the teachers look very carefully at the placement of every child. I sometimes get requests from parents about a particular combination of students that a parent feels will work best, or a teacher that they think may be the right one. Sometimes these combinations are not the best for learning and the teachers need to look at the big picture of the year group. We will always consider the requests that you have but cannot guarantee that they will be met as we have to do the best for all students.