Another busy week at Roding Valley High School with a variety of events aimed at supporting our students. It was great to see so many parents on Thursday evening at the Parent Information Sessions for Years 8 and 12. These are always positive sessions with a view to providing as much information and guidance to ensure that every student is provided with the right help and conditions to thrive across the range of their subjects. It is important that parents are aware of the increasing level of challenge of examinations at GCSE and A Level as this has meant that we are changing the way that we are teaching the students throughout the school. It is crucial that we ensure that all students are stretched and challenged from Year 7 upwards if they are to be fully prepared to succeed in the public examinations in the future. A close working relationship between teachers and parents is, I believe, imperative if we are to make further progress as a school so events of this kind are a critical part of the calendar. It was lovely to meet Jessica Eddie earlier in the week who came in to school to speak to Year 8 and the Sixth Form. As an Olympic silver medallist in the Women's Rowing Eight at Rio she was perfectly placed to share her thoughts on how to tackle the barriers to success. We speak to the students regularly about resilience and working hard to overcome difficulties so it was great to hear the tales from the Olympic training camp about what it takes to compete at the highest level. This was very well received by the students and staff alike as it was inspirational stuff and it was a real thrill to hold an Olympic medal (which I can tell you is heavier than I thought it would be). Sadly Jess wanted it back afterwards. This week also saw our first UCAS evening for the Year 13s. It is vital that our students receive first rate guidance on the technicalities of applying for university courses as it is an involved process. I am very pleased that the turn out was good and the parents commented on how helpful the evening had been. We are very proud of the support that our Sixth Formers receive from Mr Harris and Ms Flaherty as well as the superb careers advice that Mrs Mason provides. Thanks to the tutors and everyone else who is involved in this and the very best of luck to the Year 13s with their applications. It is wonderful to see how many individuals are planning to apply to Oxford and Cambridge Universities as well as the Russell Group institutions. Setting challenging targets is so important at A level and I can't wait to see how the cohort get on. Finally I would just like to highlight the fact that we have moved our Open Evening for prospective parents to Wednesday the 12th October. I apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause anyone. Similarly to last year we will have the early finish at 12.20pm on the 12th so students will go home for the afternoon and then they are due to attend registration the following morning at 11am with lessons commencing at 11.20am. I would like to thank in advance all of the students who will act as guides and helpers on the evening. I always feel that our students are the very best ambassadors for the school and it is wonderful to see how proud they are of Roding Valley and how keen they are to support this event. Have a lovely weekend James Luck Headteacher You can follow us at www.rodingvalley.net , on Facebook at the ‘Roding Valley High School Official’ page or on Twitter (@RodingValleyHS). You can also sign up to our free electronic media release service at rodingvalleymedia@gmail.com
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