Newsletter, 1st July 2022

Good afternoon, 

I hope that you and your family are well. It is hard to believe that we are already into July – this school year seems to have passed very quickly indeed, and in school we are very busy planning the many activities that will take place at the end of this term, as well as planning for the new academic year.  

SCHOOL DAY, 2022/23 

Further to a previous message shared via this newsletter, I can now confirm that small changes to the timings and structure of our school day will be implemented from September 2022. The key changes will mean: 

• A slightly earlier start, with students now expected to arrive by 08.30 to be in class by 08.35 

• The reintroduction of a 10-minute comfort break during the morning session 

• A slightly later end to the school day at 14.40 

• The continuation of ‘Period 6’ provision for students in Year 11 each day after school between 14.40 and 15.25 

Thank you to the many parents/carers who provided feedback on the revised school day, which was broadly very supportive of the changes. Further details can be found here. 

 

ANTI-BULLYING WORK CONTINUES 

This week in Extended Form we focussed on building students’ understanding of prejudicial bullying. The types of prejudicial bullying were explained to students; 

• Racial/Cultural 

• Religious 

• Gender identity and sexual orientation 

We reinforced how proud we are to have such a diverse school community and how we should look to celebrate this. We looked at the news story of Jack Daniels, the Blackpool FC player who recently came out as gay and the positive impact this will have in men’s football and society. 

 

WELL DONE, YEAR 10! 

Our Year 10 students demonstrated fantastic resilience during their recent mock exams, that were completed on Wednesday. We were very proud of the conduct of Year 10 students and of the hard work they put into their exams. Most of our Year 10 students spent yesterday and will spend today on taster-days with Sheffield College. I am sure they will be very keen to receive feedback on their mock papers when they return to school next week, and teachers have already begun to plan in response to student strengths and areas for development revealed through the mocks.  

 

YEAR 6 TRANSITION 

Next week we welcome into school the Year 6 children who will become our new Year 7s in September, along with their parents/carers, for our Welcome Evenings. The following week our Year 6s will join us for two days in school to familiarise themselves with the building, to meet their new classmates and some of their teachers. We can’t wait to meet them all! 

 

START OF TERM, SEPTEMBER 2022 

In order to support the transition of children into Year 7 we plan to stagger the start of the new term as we have in previous years. This will mean students from the new Year 7 and Year 11 will return to school for 08.30 on Monday 5th September. They will be joined by students in Years 8, 9 and 10 on Tuesday 6th September.  

 

EXCITING ENRICHMENT OPPORTUNITIES 

Our Year 7 students have had a fantastic time and have shown a great attitude during their trips to Bolsover Castle which linked to their study of Gothic Literature. Yesterday a large group of Year 9 students set off with teachers from our Humanities Faculty to enjoy a trip to London. The group stopped off in Leicester en-route to London to visit a Temple and will today immerse themselves in the history and geography of our capital city!  
 

With many thanks for your continued excellent support, 

Joe Birkbeck 

Head of Westfield School