May I start by wishing you all a Happy New Year. The students were welcomed back to Roding Valley on Tuesday following the break and no time was wasted as they got straight back into the swing of things. On Wednesday the Year 11s were off timetable all day to embark on a range of activities to help them prepare themselves for the rigours of the examinations to come. They were given a range of support and guidance involving writing revision timetables, developing mind mapping techniques and the use of various technology applications to support their preparations. I would like to thank the teachers that were involved in the day and the Year 12 students who also offered their ideas and discussed their experiences with regard to which revision methods worked best for them. All in all a very positive day and one which will have helped the students prepare for the Pre-Public Examinations in the weeks to come and then the GCSEs in the summer. In the week before the holidays we invited a former X Factor finalist into school to perform and deliver a strong Anti-Bullying message to the students. Sam Callahan has been in the news recently highlighting his treatment at the hands of another contestant on X Factor and he gave a sterling performance outlining the need to speak out against Bullying. He worked throughout the morning and Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 all enjoyed his set in the Hall where he interspersed music with some stories of his experiences and how he encourages young people to seek support if they feel that they are being victimised. The feedback from the students was excellent and whilst they thoroughly enjoyed meeting Sam, I believe that they also took on board the message that he was promoting. I would like to wish Ellie Blundy and Ella Margetts, both from Year 8, the very best of luck as they are taking part in the next round of the Future Chefs competition on Monday 11th January. This will be taking place at Passmores School and I am sure that the competition will be fierce. Both girls performed superbly in the last round so I wish them every success next week and hope that they enjoy the competition. Finally I would like mention the football fixtures that have been taking place this week. The Year 9s did well to beat West Hatch 3 - 2 on the astroturf. A good performance and they are through to the next round of the District Cup. Unfortunately the Year 8s were pipped in a tough encounter with St Bonaventures. A penalty in the last 5 minutes consigned them to a 1 - 0 defeat but they certainly put up a fight against very powerful opposition. However, I would like to congratulate the Year 7 boys' Football team who are into the Semi-Finals of the County Cup Competition. This week they defeated a strong side representing Albany School 3 - 1. It was an outstanding team performance but special mention should be made of the impressive display from Micah Newton who scored an excellent hat-trick. I know that Mr Hudgell has very high hopes for this team and with continued hard work I very much hope that they can go all the way in the competition.
J Luck Headteacher
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