Dear Families,
As we enter the second week of the second half term of this school year, I wanted to write to you to celebrate some of the successes from the year so far, but also to update you on some of the projects taking place across the school.
This has been another busy start to term, with a number of days out and local opportunities for students, as well as some further afield. At the end of September, Drama students attended a Blood Brothers masterclass, one of the pieces studied as part of the GCSE Drama course. Students in Year 7 had a visit from an author, listening to the creative techniques employed when starting to write a new story. Students in Years 8 and 9 will benefit from a similar visit later this month. On September 30th, a number of our students took part in a School in a Bag bag pack, a charity founded in memory of one of our alumni.
October saw the launch of the Duke of Edinburgh programme for this year, for which sixty students have already signed up. Year 11 began to receive assemblies from post-16 providers, while Year 10 began the process of finding work experience placements. Trips to the Tank Museum for Year 9 and the aquarium for Year 7 followed, while Year 11 Geography students undertook field study days as part of their GCSE course. A small group were exceptionally lucky to travel to Iceland over the half-term break, a brilliant opportunity for all involved.
I am acutely aware that a number of the trips launched recently have had substantial costs associated with them, and that while our upcoming residential trips to Paris, New York, Africa and our ski trip to Italy are exciting for students, costs will be prohibitive for many families. I am also aware that a number of these trips have come in quick succession as part of our drive to increase opportunities for students, but that this will certainly not have helped with budgeting. We are working hard to develop a booklet outlining all of the opportunities students can expect during their five years with us, alongside likely costs and dates. The hope is that this will allow families to choose carefully the trips that may be of interest, as well as to budget for costs. We are also committed to ensuring that all residential trips have an 18-month payment window to help with budgeting.
Key headline measures for the school continue to be exceptionally strong. National GCSE results from the summer are now validated and see Preston School exceed the national and county averages in nearly every headline measure. Preston sits within the top six schools of 31 across the county for overall Attainment 8 and the percentage of students achieving a 5 or above in both English and Maths. Similarly, our attendance is significantly above the national and local averages. A recent Department for Education report placed Preston third out of 21 similar local schools for overall attendance. We have also seen our behaviour continue to improve year on year, with overall behaviour points lower every week this school year than they have been in the equivalent week at any point over the last four years.
Two key building projects continue across the school at varying pace. Construction of a new classroom block has started behind our current Art block, and it will open in January. This will start as a single new classroom, but be expanded to five classrooms over the next 18 months. Our new Main Hall has seen some delays, with construction starting in January, but with a view to this still being completed by September 2027. We look forward to the exciting possibilities that these buildings will open up for the school as we move forward.
We are due an Ofsted inspection this year, which will take place under the new framework and provide families with a scorecard-style rating system for six key categories, as well as a pass or fail rating for safeguarding. We believe we are in a strong position as we move towards this inspection, which is a key time for any school. We aim to secure a ‘Strong Standard’ in a number of categories, with a minimum of ‘Expected Standard’.
As part of our preparation for this, on Thursday, six staff from the MNSP Trust will be visiting to undertake a mock inspection. A number of students will take part in this and be asked to share their views on the school. I would also like to invite families to take part, and have shared the Ofsted Family Voice questions below. The feedback from this is invaluable, and I would be grateful to any families who are able to complete this, the link to which has been emailed home.
I have been asked by local residents to politely remind families of the importance of parking safely around Larkhill Road at the beginning and end of the school day. A number of local residents are reporting their driveways being blocked and parking across double yellow lines.
Finally, a reminder that on Friday we will have a non-uniform day in support of Children in Need. We would encourage all families who are able to donate a pound via Arbor Pay.
Thank you,
Matt Doble