It was my privilege to attend the Epping Forest District Parliamentary Debate on the evening of the 13th November. As a school we have had a lot of success in the competition over the years but I think that this year’s performance probably topped the lot. I would like to commend both Doncho Atanassov and Matthew Tinker for their superb performance on the night. They were incredibly well prepared for their brief, to debate why Britain should leave the European Union. They spoke confidently and impressively, dealing with interjections from the other teams with ease. Their arguments were well considered and they spoke without notes to a packed Common Room at Davenant. I would also like to say how pleased I was to see so many Roding Valley staff, students, parents and Governors in attendance to see the boys triumph against the seven other local schools. An enormous amount of work goes into an event of this kind and I would like to thank all those involved. MP and Deputy Speaker, Eleanor Laing, was full of praise for Matthew and Doncho and suggested that successful careers in politics lie ahead for them both. Congratulations to the Year 7 boys’ football team who were victorious on Monday afternoon. A 4 – 1 win against their opponents was an excellent outcome but the fact that it was against Queensmead School, where I worked for 9 years, was particularly pleasing. I was very impressed with the team as a whole as they worked hard for each other and clearly have a great deal of talent. They have now won eight games out of eight which is a fantastic effort. Let’s hope that they can carry on this run next week when they play Queens School in the National Cup. Following the horrific events of last weekend we have taken the decision to cancel the Year 10 visit to Paris. The French Ministry of Education has advised foreign school groups to avoid travelling to France until after the state of emergency has expired. However, I would like to point out that as things stand all other planned school trips overseas will still go ahead. Finally I would like to make a request on behalf of the Governing Body. There is currently a position available for a Co-opted Governor. The preference would be for this post to be filled by someone with a wealth of experience of fund-raising or PR. If this is something that would interest you please contact me via email me on jluck@rodingvalley.net. J Luck Headteacher
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