Thursday evening saw the school host the annual Open Evening for prospective parents and students. This was an incredibly popular event with huge numbers of visitors. The school hall was absolutely heaving for the two addresses that I gave and I spoke to numerous parents throughout the evening who were extremely positive about the school. The Open Evening is the culmination of our full programme designed to give prospective parents as much information, guidance and support that we can in order for them to make an informed decision about whether this is the right school for their child. I have been visiting a number of our feeder primary schools along with Ms Cordwell, Assistant Headteacher, as well as a number of Year 11 students. We have spoken to Year 6 students and their parents about the school and the changes that we are making and the students spoke in glowing terms about their own experiences of starting at Roding Valley and the progress that they have made in their time at the school. I would like to say at this point that the 300 students from Years 7 to 11 who helped out on the Open Evening deserve a huge amount of credit. Many acted as guides around the school for the visitors and others worked in departments, engaging the Year 6s and getting them involved in activities. A selection of fantastic photos from the evening are available on https://ww.flickr.com/photos/everythingeppingforest/sets/72157648168275740/ and they are certainly worth a look. The students were tremendous ambassadors for the school and I lost count of the number of visitors who told me how wonderful their guides had been and how much the students in the departments had entertained their children and made a great impression. I am very grateful to every student who played such a valuable role on such an important evening for the school. They came out in rain and wind and many were still here at the end helping staff tidy up. You should be very proud of your sons and daughters. The staff, too, deserve enormous credit for working hard to decorate the departments and design activities and themes for the visitors to enjoy. There were spectacular experiments in Science and the English faculty was transformed into themed rooms with students in costume adding to the experience. As I mentioned the evening was extremely busy but the staff were incredibly positive about the school and showed our visitors what a wonderful school this is. I would like to thank them all publicly for their commitment. Every department put on a show and I was delighted with the overall impression. Next week is a busy one as well with Year 7s going on a Humanities trip to the British museum and the Year 11 Geographers going on their fieldwork. On Thursday we have the Year 7 Parent Information evening which is designed to provide some practical ideas for parents to help support their children to be successful in school. I look forward to seeing many of you there next week. I would also like to mention that the first Parents' Forum of the year will be held on the 20th October and I see this as a great opportunity to discuss the progress that we are making and hear your views. This will take place in the school hall from 6pm. I would like to congratulate the Year 10 boys football team who progressed to the next round of the English Schools Cup Competition. They braved the elements to win 5 - 2 away in Shepherd's Bush and we await to see who they will draw in the next round. Credit must also go to Jack Stone who won the Senior Boys Cross Country this week and the Senior Boys were also victorious in the team competition. Very well done to you all. Mr J Luck Headteacher
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