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December 2007
As always this has been a very busy term in all areas of the
school. Our Senior School Prize Day, when we celebrated the
100% 5 A* - C grades at GCSE was a great occasion as Mrs Liz
Booth returned to present the awards and certificates. The
format was changed as we chose not to have a speaker, but
I think that was in no way detrimental to everyone’s
enjoyment.
Preps and seniors have been engaged in tests
and examinations and we believe this to be a valuable time
for them as a preparation for their future public examinations.
Year 6 will be sitting their senior school Entrance Examination
on Saturday 26th January 2008 together with a number of children
from other schools and Year 11 face trial GCSE examinations
on their return from the Christmas holidays.
Pupils have participated in a variety of school
trips and we thank the staff who accompanied them, particularly
those who made all the arrangements.
Kindergarten’s Nativity, ‘The Sleepy
Shepherd’, the Prep and Senior Christmas services at
St. Stephens were all most enjoyable and I thank all of you
who gave so generously to the various causes they supported.
We are giving consideration to some uniform
changes in the senior school as of September 2008. We have
chosen a new senior school track suit which will be compulsory
for the new Year 7 and which is, we believe, more practical,
and certainly a great deal cheaper than the present option.
The white polo shirts will also be changed slightly as they
will have a double stripe on collar and sleeve bands which
will be of house colour. Rugby shirts will change as well.
We are also looking at the possibility of Year
10 and 11 girls wearing suits (with skirts, not trousers!)
instead of a blazer and skirt. I have a sample of a particularly
smart jacket if anyone is interested in seeing it and I await
samples of appropriate skirts. The jacket will not be badged,
but the girls will wear an enamelled badge on their lapel.
The suit will be compulsory for Year 10 girls in September
2008 and may be worn by Year 11 girls, but there is no compulsion
for them to do so. The two different year groups will wear
different coloured blouses without ties.
We are also considering a change of track suit
for the prep school, but this is still at a very early stage.
Other than the above, uniform will remain the same and I urge
parents to check the requirements as set out in the planner
and ensure that all aspects of the uniform are as prescribed.
We are particularly aware at this time of year, of outdoor
coats and shoes which do not conform and we look for your
co-operation in this matter.
Another change for September 2008 is that Year
7 pupils will no longer swim. We have decided that we can
combine the time allotted to swimming, with the French curriculum
time and offer both French and Spanish from the beginning
of Year 7 instead of waiting to offer Spanish at the beginning
of Year 8. The swimming provision is so good in the pre-prep
and prep school, that we believe this will be of benefit to
the pupils without compromising their acquisition of a life
skill.
I would like to thank the Parents’ Association
for their continued support. The fireworks evening was great
and the Christmas Fair busier than ever. Thanks to their work
there are many ‘extras’ throughout the school
which have been provided as a result of the work of the PA.
Thanks also to the ladies of the ball committee
who once again this year created a superb evening, raising
over £3000 for Holly Bank School – brilliant!
Early next term you will be receiving a questionnaire
from Cognita as they solicit your opinion of various aspects
of the school. This will be done online and I know many of
you have provided e-mail addresses already. If you have not
given the office an e-mail address and wish to do so, please
e-mail admin@huddersfield-grammarschool.co.uk.
If you either do not have an e-mail address, or you do not
wish to provide one, you will be given a web address where
you can access the questionnaire. Please keep an eye on ‘The
Grapevine’ for details.
Yet another questionnaire will be sent at some
stage during the next two terms. As a ‘non-association’
school we will be inspected this academic year by OFSTED.
One of their requirements is that all parents are sent a questionnaire
and that results are made available to them within 48 hours.
It would therefore be a great deal easier if these questionnaires
could be e-mailed. Meetings will be held after the inspection
to inform parents of the outcome.
The notice given of inspection is 48 hours,
so we are all working feverishly to ensure that the inspectors
are given an accurate picture of our school, one of which
we are justly proud!
I take this opportunity to wish you all a peaceful
Christmas and a Prosperous New Year and look forward to welcoming
you back in January.
J L Straughan
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