Message from the headteacher

When you apply for a headship they occasionally do an ‘in tray’ test where they present you with multiple scenarios such as ‘a supply teacher doesn’t show up and a sinister looking clown has been seen in the lower fields…what do you do?’ I was reminded of this when I arrived on Monday to be greeted with the words, ‘owl loose in the art corridor- how do you want to respond?’ By way of reassurance my response was a textbook example of the owl-in-art-space-scenario emergency recovery plan (OIASSERP) and by lunch time the owl was safely released to resume his life and potentially, artistic pursuits. See pic for owl.

One of the reasons governors revisited the skirt issue this year was to ensure that girls wore uniform which allowed for physical activity (the very short/ tight skirts being worn were precluding this). I’m thrilled to report that staff on duty at break and lunch have noticed a significant increased in the number of female students getting active both in netball and football, and especially at Starkholmes site. We are pretty fanatical at Highfields about kids getting physical exercise to support both their physical and mental health. The picture to the side captures on of our many informal lunchtime activities open to students; boxercise. This particular club is currently popular with boys but other clubs feature up to 52 girls at a time (netball, for example).

In lessons this week I’ve seen a range of great stuff but the most interesting perhaps was a sixth form lesson on consent. This looked at the legal and moral questions underpinning decisions around (physical or sexual contact) consent. As per last year, a number of our sixth formers will be trained to deliver an adapted version of this workshop to students in lower year groups. It’s one of the many steps we take to improve the quality of students’ relationships and to reduce further the chances of incidents involving non-consensual contact or sexism.

Thanks for all the sympathy (not) following last week’s newsletter regarding my old Volvo which is having major surgery in the garage this week after blocking Starkholmes Road last Thursday when it broke down. A member of senior team sent me this image which apparently depicts my attempts to wedge my very significant frame into the tiny car I’ve had to rent. Thanks again.

And finally…you probably won’t remember the lockdown assemblies but they featured a cat, Romulus, who people occasionally ask after. He became very ill on Monday night so I took him to the emergency vet but he died on the way. Each evening for the last 20 years at around 10.30pm he has sat with me and, no matter what’s happened that day (birth of two kids, changes in career, divorce, Ofsted inspections, lockdowns etc) we have dosed off together watching the news- see pic. I know he was just a cat but he was always there for me and I’ll really miss his company.