Dear Parent/Carer
September 2013
I trust you and your family have had a restful summer, and I do hope that you have been able to enjoy some of the good weather that we have experienced this year. It is great to see the students back in school, refreshed and ready for the new school year and to welcome our cohort of new students into Year 7, and their families to the school community. We also welcome a number of new staff and trust that they will enjoy working at Honley High School. Summer Success I am very pleased to be able to inform you that for the fifth year in a row this summer’s examination results were the best ever in the school’s history, with 78% of students achieving five or more A*-C passes including English and mathematics. Once again grades reached their highest ever levels in English with 89% of our students achieving A* - C. In mathematics 83% of students achieved A*-C grades and in many other subjects; child development, dance, history, home economics, ICT and media studies, over half of the students made better than the nationally expected progress. In addition there were some fantastic individual performances with some students achieving up to 10 A* grades, and a third of students achieving three or more A*s and As. Congratulations must go to all our Year 11 leavers. School Improvements Over the summer we have continued to improve the learning environment for students, staff and visitors through an extensive programme of refurbishment at school. The school hall, corridors and classrooms have been decorated and had new furniture and, in addition, we have created a further classroom for use by English and media studies. One of the objectives of our school improvement plan is to ensure that the school environment supports our vision and values and we hope that the new look to these parts of the school and a renewed focus on wearing our uniform correctly will continue to inspire “pride in the Honley badge”. May I take this opportunity to say thank you to all parents for your excellent support of the school’s uniform policy. The standard of uniform at the start of this new year has been fantastic. Parent Communication We will be writing to you soon to confirm your contact details. Please check your child’s details carefully and let us know of any amendments that need to be made. It is essential that we have the correct information so that we can contact you in the event of an emergency and also to ensure each parent/carer has access to Insight – our parental portal which enables you to track the progress of your child in school. It only remains for me to wish you the very best for this autumn term, and to ask all parents and carers to support the school and its activities throughout the year as we maintain our absolute focus on providing the best possible education for our children and young people. Please take a moment to note the dates on the list overleaf that may affect you; I look forward to meeting many of you over the next twelve months. With my very best wishes, Yours faithfully
H Rogers - Acting Headteacher
Term Dates 2013-2014 October Half Term Christmas Holiday
SCHOOL CLOSES Friday 25th October 2013 Friday 20th December 2013
SCHOOL OPENS Monday 4th November 2013 Monday 6th January 2013
(12.15pm)
February Half Term Easter Holiday Spring Bank Holiday Summer Term ends CLOSURE FOR STAFF TRAINING Monday 20th January 2014 September Friday 21st March 2014
Friday 21st February 2014 Monday 3rd March 2014 Friday 11th April 2014 Monday 28th April 2014 Friday 23rd May 2014 Monday 2nd June 2014 Friday 18th July 2014 (Time TBC) Please note: School will close at 2.15pm on Thursday 26th
Other Key Dates 2013-2014 Event
Date
Time
Open Evening
Thursday 26th September
Post 16 Information Evening for Year 11 Parents Year 7 Tutors’ Evening Post 16 Information Evening for Year 11 Parents (Local Authority) Year 11 Mocks Start KS4 Information Evening for Year 10 Parents A Night at the Musicals Christmas Concert Year 11 Parents’ Evening Year 9 Options Fair Dance Evening Year 9 Parents’ Evening
Thursday 10th October
6.00-8.30pm (note: School Closes at 2.15pm) 7.00pm
Wednesday 17th October Thursday 24th October Monday 11th November Wednesday 13th November
5.30-7.30pm 5.30-8.00pm John Smith’s Stadium n/a 7pm
Thursday 27th November Tuesday 10th December Thursday 16th January Tuesday 28th January Thursday 13th February Wednesday 19th February
7pm 7pm 5.30-8.30pm tbc tbc 5.30-8.30pm
Year 10 Parents’ Evening
Wednesday 2nd April
5.30-8.30pm
Shakespeare Festival Performance
Friday 4th April
tbc
Year 8 Parents’ Evening Achievement Evening Year 7 Parents’ Evening Young Musician of the Year
Thursday 19th June Wednesday 9th July Thursday 10th July Tuesday 15th July
5.30-8.30pm tbc 5.30-8.30pm 7pm