Headteacher's Report

Dear Parents and Carers,

Like many of you, I watched the unfolding horror of the Haiti disaster, and felt not only compassion for the people of Haiti but also a sense of helplessness at what I could do to support a community experiencing such a moment of crisis

The student body shared this sentiment, and, at the time of writing has raised more than £700 for the Haiti disaster appeal. Looking outwards, and considering and developing our role in the communities in which we play a part is a fundamental part of our journey this year.

You will see from the articles in the newsletter that our students have been involved in a wide range of community and extended activities. It is extremely pleasing to receive feedback from visitors and external agencies who work with our young people.

We are a Community School, and developing further links with all of our communities is one of our top priorities.

One of our community foci this year is on developing better links in the local community. Something students can do is to remember to behave in an appropriate manner to and from school, since what they say, and what they do, are what local residents remember. I am pleased to say that the vast majority of the students are a credit to the school in this respect. But the development of an outstanding reputation in the local community is of profound importance, so we regularly remind students of their responsibilities when travelling in our uniform.

You may remember that in the summer term last year we undertook a neighbourhood survey as part of our developmental work for Building Schools for the Future. There was a large response, and one of the requests from local residents was to be able to access advice and support from the Safer Neighbourhood Team. I am pleased to be able to tell you that we are working in partnership with the Metropolitan Police to provide a room on site for this purpose.

At a national level the 6th form have received an inspirational lecture from Jim Colley, whose remit is to energise young people into aspiring to apply for top universities, including Cambridge and Oxford. Several students in Year 12 will be personally coached by Jim in the coming months to prepare for this.

And of course, we were delighted to be recognised as being one of the most improved schools in London in 2009.

At an international level we were very pleased to receive confirmation that we have successfully gained the Intermediate Level of International Schools Status - We intend to convert this into full International Status in the coming year.

We are a global community here – with 41 languages spoken, and children from every corner of the world educated within our walls. I am immensely proud yet again of the efforts of the student body to look outwards to other communities, and I hope that other initiatives to connect with communities at every level this year will not always be tinged with the sadness associated with the Haiti disaster.

Ms E.A. Horrigan
Acting Headteacher
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