28th November 2025
HEADLINES
By Mr J Munro
Deputy Headteacher
FRESH EYES REVIEW
Following on from Headlines on 14th November, where James Saunders talked about our Fresh Eyes review, I can now share more detail with families.
We have just received the overwhelmingly positive findings from our recent school review. The feedback confirms the outstanding work being done by our learners, staff, and the wider school community, and highlights key areas where we are truly excelling and will continue to build upon our success.
A Strong, Supportive Culture
One of the most celebrated findings is the maintenance and celebration of our school’s warm and inclusive culture. This welcoming environment is fundamental to our leanrers’ wellbeing and success. This culture is closely linked to our approach to learner management: the review specifically praised our ongoing commitment to relational approaches to behaviour management, ensuring that relationships are at the heart of how we support and guide our young people.
Academic Excellence and Teaching Quality
We are delighted that the review recognised the significant recent improvements in GCSE outcomes. This is a testament to the hard work of our learners and the dedicated teaching and non teaching staff.
Furthermore, the review highlighted the high quality of teaching observed across many lessons, specifically noting the strong focus
on key vocabulary. This explicit attention to complex and academic language is crucial for learners’ progress across all subjects. The best lessons visited also showcased great modelling of responses, providing learners with clear examples of high-quality work and thinking, which we are committed to building upon across the curriculum.
Commitment to Attendance and Engagement
The review acknowledged the great work which is underway to improve attendance levels in our school, a national drive currently. Our teams are proactively implementing strategies, including engaging our families to ensure every learner is in school, ready to learn, and achieving their potential. All evidence indicates that through maintaining a high attendance of over 95% those learners achieve considerably higher outcomes than their peers at GCSE. We are committed to maintaining this focus as we move forward.
Looking Ahead
These findings provide a clear mandate for our future focus: to maintain and strengthen the positive culture, build upon our academic achievements, and continue to implement supportive strategies in teaching and attendance.
Thank you for your ongoing partnership. Your support is invaluable in creating the positive, high-achieving environment that our learners deserve. We look forward to continuing this work together.
Mr J Munro
HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE
On Monday, Health and Social Care learners attended the NHS Fayre held at the Colchester Stadium. It was an opportunity to meet health care professionals and discover more about the roles available in this sector. They were fantastic ambassadors for our school and thoroughly enjoyed the morning.
INFORMATION FOR C11 FAMILIES
From January, intervention/revision sessions will be offered to learners in preparation for their GCSE exams in the summer. A letter will be sent to families this afternoon (Friday 28th November) outlining the full programme of intervention for C11 learners.
GCSE REVISION TIPS
Christmas Film Week
POLITE REMINDER
Please do not park across local residents drives when dropping and picking up your child. In addition, parent/carers continue to drop off on the yellow zig zag lines which is extremely dangerous for learners crossing the road to and from school. Please consider others when driving and parking near the school.
