Monday 28th April | Head of School Letter
Welcome back!
It’s always brilliant to welcome back our students after a holiday, to hear what they got up to over the break, and to see them happy to meet friends and classmates and catch up with one another. We got straight back into the swing of things with Year 11 attending an exam preparation assembly on Wednesday morning with myself and Mr Toon, to remind them of the rules and regulations as set out by JCQ to ensure the integrity of the qualifications they are going to achieve is maintained. Year 10 students took their second mock exam in Statistics or Functional Skills Maths on Thursday morning, in preparation for the real things next month.
We are incredibly proud of all our students undertaking formal exams this summer. They have worked tirelessly to reach this point, and we are confident that they will continue to demonstrate the dedication and resilience we have seen from them throughout the year. As a reminder, detailed information regarding key dates and procedures has been sent directly to the families of our KS4 and KS5 students. Although exams are imminent, we're always here to support everyone in our community. Please don't hesitate to get in touch via Form Tutors, Heads of Year, or the School Office if you, as a parent/carer or your child needs anything at all.
London Marathon 2025
You may have been in London yesterday to support friends or family running the 45th London Marathon, have been running it yourself, or watched it on television. Congratulations if you did complete it, running 26.2 miles is a challenge and the heat made it a very tough experience yesterday.
Yesterday, myself and another member of staff completed the marathon. I want to particularly highlight the inspiring achievement of our PE teacher, Mrs Kinloch. She finished in an impressive 5 hours and 17 minutes, a deeply personal tribute to her late husband, Brett, and a fulfilment of one of his bucket list challenges. Since Brett's passing in 2019, Nicola has been honouring his memory by embracing other experiences he had hoped for, including travels and adventures. Despite running not being her natural strength, even as a PE teacher, she drew immense motivation from Brett's remarkable determination throughout his illness and recovery.
Running as part of the official LME pace team for the fifth year, I had the pleasure of seeing Nicola on the course as she ran past me early in the race – a wonderful moment to share with her. Nicola’s completion of this marathon was a significant and moving tribute to Brett. With her kind permission, I am sharing her fundraising page for Cancer Research UK. Nicola and her family would be incredibly grateful for any support you are able to offer via this link: Cancer Research UK: Nicola's page
3G Pitch Update
The work has begun today on our 3G pitch! If you use the coach park to pick up/drop off your child, you might notice lots of fencing going up on the field. We’re really looking forward to being able to use this wonderful new facility next academic year.
Parent Survey
Parent Survey 2025 Thank you very much to the 150+ parents and carers who have completed the survey so far. The survey will remain open until this Friday at 3pm if you haven't been able to complete it and would like to share your views of the school with us to help inform our school self-evaluation process.
Coming to school in PE kit during the exam period
A letter has been shared regarding changes to wearing PE kit to school when students have their athletics lessons. Please contact the PE team or your child’s form tutor if you have any queries.
Warm Weather
We're looking forward to a spell of much warmer weather this week, a welcome change! To ensure everyone stays hydrated and comfortable, please make sure your child brings a refillable water bottle to school each day. While the mornings remain cooler and blazers are still expected to be worn upon arrival in and around the school, teachers will use their discretion within learning spaces, allowing students to remove blazers during lessons as appropriate. A reminder that the black V-neck jumper is an optional item and not something to wear instead of a blazer.
Unifrog webinar for parents and carers: research into options after school
This is being offered by Unifrog for parents/carers of students aged up to 16. Unifrog say "Not sure on your child’s options after school? Think university is too expensive, or not sure where to start looking for apprenticeships? Join experts from the University of Bradford, Unilever and the National Saturday Club to find out about what early research your child can do, and things to consider when weighing up their options." The session takes place on Wednesday 30th April at 17:30.
Sign up to attend via this link: Parents and caregivers session: research into options after school : Unifrog Event (please put yes for the question, ‘Is your school a Unifrog school?’)
TCS Families and learners Careers Evening - 1st May
We’re looking forward to welcoming lots of you to our Careers Evening this Thursday. If you’ve not signed up yet, there’s still time. Please complete the form below so we know you’ll be attending. Families and Learners Careers Evening
Buckinghamshire Adult Learning Opportunities
Buckinghamshire Adult Learning offers a wide range of courses open to all adults. As part of their offer, they support families with children - there are courses for primary-aged children, courses to support the transition from primary to secondary and courses specifically for teenagers. Many of the courses are free. Click on this link to find out more: Family Learning A course taking place next week that is likely to be relevant to a number of our families is this one: Support Your Autistic Child at Home Workshop - Online
Sports Fixtures and Results:
We’ve not had any fixtures to report on yet - we’re now into the cricket, tennis and athletics seasons; I’m looking forward to sharing the results!
Year 13
Good luck with the exams which start this week with A Level French speaking.
Year 12 and 13
All students will be attending a Finance Talk during PSHCE this week.
Year 11
GCSE French, and GCSE German-speaking exams begin today, and throughout this week. Bonne Chance et/und Viel Glück!
Year 10
The Year 10 GCSE Drama students complete a Drama Showcase this week.
Year 9
D of E Bronze students are out this week on an expedition in the Chiltern Hills.
Year 7 and 8
Students will be completing Accelerated Reader assessments in the hall throughout this week in their English lesson time.
Have a good week in the sunshine! Thanks as ever for your ongoing support.
Best wishes,
Louise Baldwin
Head of School