2nd October 2017
October Newsletter Dear Families, As Headteacher I, once again, am extremely proud of our school community. Open Morning was a huge success, with so many students helping out with the vast numbers who attended. With over 900 people in the three talks, our Head Girl and Boy spoke from their hearts of the strong ethos and vision of our school; its academic success coupled with that deep sense of individual worth and community. We have already received a lot of highly positive feedback and I wanted to share a few words with you: ‘…was very friendly (chatting to our son Max, age 10), very articulate, very personable, very knowledgeable, a good sense of humour and she was happy to share her honest opinions with us. She was also exceedingly patient with us, and answered our numerous questions and requests. We couldn't have asked for more!’ ‘The Head Boy and Head Girl spoke with passion, humour, articulacy and great commitment - I heard many parents saying that they will not forget the analogies of the seeds and the pizza! Impressive well beyond their years. A year 7 boy took me around the school and I was astounded by how much he already knows and loves about the school after just a few weeks! He was a credit to Simon Balle. I spoke to many others too, in passing, and they were polite, helpful, welcoming, well-spoken and enthusiastic about their school experiences. ‘ The fun run was another example of that community spirit. This year we are focusing on raising funds for our swimming pool, which is not only used by our school but by an increasing number of community groups. The theme for fancy dress was “European Languages” and the school was ablaze with a variety of outfits. It was lovely for everyone to see our youngest children enthusiastically taking part too. To date we have raised almost £9000 so please send in any outstanding donations/ sponsorship money as soon as you can as we have some way to go to reach our target for the replacement swimming pool liner.