September 2011

Dear Parents

I hope you and your families have had an enjoyable summer and that the girls and nursery boys are fully refreshed and eager to start the new term.

There have been various developments over the summer. The Year 11 Common Room has had a makeover; the girls have discussed fabric swatches and are looking forward to the soft furnishings in the Common Room.  As mentioned at Speech Night, we have a new Art and Design area which will be available for the younger girls as well as the seniors and there are an additional 12 computers in our new Music and Technology Room, next to the Library, which staff will be able to use for class teaching and older students for private study.

We are delighted to welcome a number of new staff this academic year:

Ms Dawson                 Music

Mr Lewis                    ICT with Mathematics

Mr Lipkin                    Science / Physics

Mrs Thornton              Mathematics

Miss Walters               Art

Miss Williams              Head of Nursery

We are sure they will be made most welcome by parents and girls as well as by colleagues.

Our GCSE results were as usual, excellent.  All the girls are to be congratulated on an exceptional performance this year.  You may wish to see how we fared compared with other local independent schools in terms of A/A* grades.

How our GCSE results compare with local independent schools

in terms of A*/A grades:

Open Mornings this year are on Saturday 1 October and Saturday 5 November from 10.00 a.m.–12.30 p.m.  You are warmly invited to come and view the school on either of these days. We would like Senior girls and girls in years 5 and 6 to act as guides and/or demonstrate their subject skills.  Letters will be sent out in due course to confirm the girls’ availability.  In recent years a number of parents have volunteered to host the refreshments and talk to the visiting parents and we would be delighted for this arrangement to continue.  Please contact the office if you can help on either or both mornings.

The VLE/e-Zone is being updated with the autumn term’s programmes of study, calendar and extra-curricular activities.  Extra-curricular activities will start next week.

Years 5 and 6 are leaving on Monday 19 September for a week’s residential trip to France and we look forward to hearing about it on their return.  Other visits begin with the Year 11 Drama outing to see one of their set texts, ‘Blood Brothers’ in London next Thursday.

We are looking forward to another busy and successful term.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs S. R. Watts

Headmistress