Welcome and the School

Welcome

This Handbook for pupils and parents is intended to provide information about daily life in the Junior School and it will also act as a useful source of reference as time goes by.

It cannot be an exhaustive guide to every aspect of school life so please do not hesitate to contact the relevant member of staff to ask any questions you may have. Contact details are included in this handbook.

There will be updates to the handbook as we continually develop our procedures and policies to ensure an outstanding experience for children and their families. Significant updates will be highlighted in the Headmaster’s weekly newsletter.

The School

Royal Russell School is a co-educational school with just over 300 pupils aged 3+ - 11 in the Junior School and over 750 (or 862?) pupils aged 11 - 18 in the Senior School.

Mr John Evans is the Junior School Headmaster and Mr Chris Hutchinson is the Senior School Headmaster who has responsibility for the whole school. They report to the Board of Governors who are the trustees of Russell School Trust, an educational charity which administers the school.

The Chairman of Governors is Mr Andrew Merriman and he is assisted by other Governors who bring a breadth of educational, professional and technical expertise to the running of the school.

The Senior School Headmaster is a member of the Headmasters & Headmistresses Conference (HMC) which represents the top 250 Senior Schools in the country. The Junior School is a member of the Independent Association of Preparatory Schools (IAPS).

For pupils and parents, IAPS and HMC guarantee the quality of education in their member schools by regular inspection and accreditation. They provide a wide range of opportunities for in-service training for the teaching staff. All teachers in IAPS and HMC schools are fully qualified.

The Headmaster of the Junior School is supported by two deputy heads; Mrs Ruth Bannon is responsible for Learning and Teaching and Mrs Sarah Pain has Pastoral responsibility. When necessary, these members of staff deputise for the Headmaster. Mrs Tanya Mawanda is the Head of Early Years. These members of staff form the Junior Leadership Team (JLT).

Mrs Alys Netherway oversees the operational elements of the Junior School in her role as Assistant Head Operations. Phase Leaders are responsible for both academic and pastoral matters within their phase in partnership with the Junior Leadership Team (JLT) and class teachers. Subject specialists are responsible for the curriculum and monitoring of progress within their area. The class teacher/s remain the first port of call for all matters concerning your child.