ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE HEAD NEW LATYMER SPORTS GROUNDS - CHISWICK

Dear Latymerians,

For several years we have been considering how we might best increase our off-site sporting facilities to complement our grounds at Wood Lane, as we further develop our sports programme.

For over twenty years we have been using the facilities at the Quintin Hogg Memorial Sports Ground at Chiswick or, as they’re often referred to, the ‘University of Westminster grounds’. This 31-acre site is on Hartington Road, W4 3UH and can be reached within 10 - 15 minutes by coach from the Upper School. We have now purchased the lease for the grounds from the University. As long-term users of the site, we know that these facilities would enable us to deliver a truly inclusive, co-educational sports programme that is within easy reach of the Latymer Prep and Upper Schools, reducing transfer times and cutting our environmental footprint.

This development is part of a long-term strategic plan for us, benefiting not just our students but the other users of the site and the local community. We plan to invest in the facilities onsite, extending the range of sports available and improve the access. This will be funded through existing reserves and judicious borrowing. This means that we are in a position to proceed without having to raise fees to pay for it or negatively impact our bursary programme.

This is an exciting opportunity to add to our existing sporting facilities for the benefit of our students and the local community.

Yours faithfully,

David Goodhew Head

I would like to share our efforts in promoting Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion over the past three years. In contrast to some organisations that treated movements like Black Lives Matter and Everyone’s Invited as public relations exercises – a hashtag to be forgotten - we have been actively working every week since to do better and improve.

So, what have we achieved? We have developed and implemented a new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy. This policy has strengthened the connection between our student societies, the Student and Staff Equality & Diversity Committees, and the Senior Management team (SMT), who review feedback from all our diversity groups and consider further improvements.

Our School celebrates all aspects of diversity from Black History Month to PRIDE. On 24th June we held our first Diversity Day, and it was brilliant to see how students embraced this initiative. We have also joined a new consortium of schools dedicated to diversity and inclusion, and we are working with a respected organisation called Inclusion Labs, who next term, will conduct the first annual Inclusion Survey involving all students, parents, and staff. This survey will be repeated every year, enabling us to track data and assess the effectiveness of our efforts in improving the everyday experiences of our community.

We have provided training to staff and globalised our curriculum, organised student projects focused on global perspectives, updated our academic departments’ schemes of work to reflect a more diverse global majority, and expanded elective options covering related topics in the Sixth Form.

Recognising the underrepresentation of particular ethnic minorities in schools, we have established a teaching scholarships programme aimed at recruiting and training two individuals from underrepresented groups annually. This initiative aims to increase the pool of teachers from diverse backgrounds, not just for the benefit of Latymer, but for all of society.

Our staff (including SMT) strike a 50% gender balance, and our Gender Pay Gap stands at 5% - well below the sector average of 22%. However, we strive to do even better. In response to the issues of misogyny and sexual harassment raised by Everyone’s Invited, our staff participated in a special two-day conference. We also provided active bystander training to all staff and students and expanded our Pupil Welfare team.

We have focused on improving our Personal, Social, Health, and Economic Education (PSHE) and Relationships and Sex Education (RSE), doubling the time devoted to these subjects. Many of the improvements in these areas have been suggested by students and alumni – including small group workshops that encourage debate and provide opportunities to ask questions. Certain topics are also covered lower down the school in an age-appropriate way. PSHE now holds the same status as other academic departments, and as well as the expert external organisations we work with, only staff trained to do so teach this content.

Our student-led initiative, the Common Humanity Project, promotes peer-to-peer discussions on consent and inappropriate behaviour. Additionally, the Lower School’s Stand Up Speak Out Be Kind campaign emphasises the shared responsibility of all community members in fostering a safe and inclusive environment.

At our School, the rules are crystal clear, and we have zero tolerance for sexual harassment or any form of persecution based on protected characteristics. Such behaviour has no place in our school. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion will continue to drive everything we do as part of our next five-year plan.

Mat Chataway Deputy Head (Pastoral)