Dear Families,
I am delighted to confirm that your child has been offered a place at Preston School and will be joining us on 5th September 2026. Congratulations on gaining a place in what will be a full year group and become the ‘Class of 2031’. I am very much looking forward to having you and your child as part of the school community.
The start of secondary school is an exciting time but I understand that your child, and indeed many of you, will feel mixed emotions as they reach the end of their time at their primary school. A feeling of nervous excitement is entirely natural and something most students joining the school will have felt at one point or another during their transition.
To ensure that all students join Preston feeling comfortable, confident and ready to embrace the challenge of a new school, we have a comprehensive transition programme. All Year 6 students attending Preston School in September will join our Induction Days on Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2nd of July, during which they will meet their Head of Year and tutor, undertake a range of taster lessons, as well as bonding activities as a year group.On the evening of Wednesday 1st July, we invite all Year 6 families to join us for our Family Transition Evening. This will provide you with key information, as well as a chance to meet the Head of Year, Mrs Hughes, your child’s tutor and members of the senior leadership team. Due to space constraints, we politely ask that students do not attend this evening event.
We know that many of our students, particularly those with SEND or additional emotional needs, may benefit from additional visits to the school, which we support through our extended transition process. Our SENCO, Mrs Purton, will be in touch with primary schools to arrange these additional visits with relevant students. More information on how to request these will also be available within our welcome pack.
Our welcome packs will be posted home in April and contain a wealth of information that you will require over the next five years. They will include full timings for the induction days and important points of contact for these, but also practical information around topics such as uniform and the equipment that students will need in September.
In addition to the welcome pack, you will soon receive login details to Arbor, our online system for data and payments, via email. This will display the information shared with us by your current primary school, including your home address, contact information and medical needs. It is vital that this information is checked via the Arbor app and updated online when necessary. I would be grateful if you could check this upon receiving your Arbor welcome email, likely over the next fortnight.
Finally, the welcome pack will include a link to a separate online data form to collect the information not held within Arbor, including friendship choices for tutor groups and information on language preferences. This is a really important form, which we use to construct the tutor groups, ensuring all students are with at least two close friends. Finally, you will receive a login to our wider Parent Portal, used to view timetables, merits, homework and more, in September.
I look forward to meeting you and your child in July. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our front office on office@prestonschool.co.uk. It is particularly important that if email addresses change between now and the summer, our front office is made aware.
Thank you,
Matt Doble
Headteacher