My first half term at Roding Valley seems to have flown by and I can't quite believe that we are already eight weeks into the academic year. I have thoroughly enjoyed my first half term and would once again like to thank the students, parents, staff and Governors for making me feel so welcome. I feel privileged to be leading such a wonderful school and I am sure that we are heading in the right direction to become an Outstanding school. This has been an incredibly busy few weeks with a number of key events taking place. In addition to the highly successful and very well attended Open Evening we have also enjoyed the Sixth Form launch evening which was a true celebration of the fact that Roding Valley will have a Sixth Form for the first time. I have spoken to large numbers of Year 11 students, parents and staff and we are all in agreement that this is a fantastic opportunity for the school and absolutely the right thing for our students. I believe that our students will benefit enormously from staying on to complete their A Levels here with the support and guidance of teachers who know them well and have developed such positive relationships with them over the years. This would be very difficult to replicate if they had to start afresh at another school's Sixth Form. The Key Stage 3 Awards evening was another highlight this half term and it was great to welcome so many students on to the stage to receive recognition for their hard work and their success in the lower school. In addition to this there have been Parent Information Evenings to help parents support their children to be successful in school and I was delighted that so many of you took the time to come along and take a real interest in your child's progress. At Thursday's Challenge and Enrichment evening there was a further opportunity for parents to see how their children are being supported and stretched to achieve their very best. On top of all of this we have had many trips and visits for the students to a range of locations. The school has had a number of sporting successes as well. I was lucky enough to have watched a magnificent performance by the Year 11 boys' footballers winning 4 - 0 in the Essex Schools Trophy. They worked hard as a team and produced some superb football at times that the opposition could not come close to matching. I look forward to them going all the way in the competition. The Year 7 boys were also victorious this week beating Chobham Academy 5 -2 and I think we have some real talent there as well. If I could make one request to parents I would ask that you try to avoid dropping your children off at the front of the school unless they have an injury or you need to speak to a member of staff. It has been getting rather congested at times this week with some parents driving in just to drop the students off and I would appreciate it if you could avoid doing this if at all possible. I very much hope that you have a lovely half term. Thank you for your continued support. Mr J 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