I hope that you are all safe and well. Normally I would comment on hoping that you’ve all had a good half-term break. However, I am fully aware that for some of you it has been the same routine as you have had for the past few months. That said, I hope that everyone has had an opportunity to enjoy some time in the glorious weather that we have been having.

So, at the start of the holiday I wrote to you to explain that the guidance for secondary schools was still unclear and that if we were going to open to Year 10 students it wouldn’t be until the third week back at the earliest. Since I sent that correspondence, the government have recommended that schools should offer some face-to-face opportunities from the week commencing the 15th June if they feel that the schools are able to do so.

Over the past week, we have been looking at different models for us to be able to offer some form of contact with our Year 10 students without compromising the safety of all of our school community. Therefore, over the next week, we will be finalising this and then communicating with students and parents to gauge how many of the Year 10 wish to return to school before the summer. It is important to understand that this is likely to be in small groups and will be most certainly on a part-time basis.

In the meantime, we will continue to deliver our online work for years 7 to 10 using the Moodle platform on our website. It is important to note that when we first went in to lockdown, it was unclear as to how long schools would be shut for. Even though there are current plans to reopen to some year groups, it still seems highly unlikely that our school will be open to all years before September (at the earliest). Therefore, it is very important that students try to engage with as much of the learning as possible. I have asked staff to try to be clearer on the amount of time students should be spending on pieces of work as well as improving the quality of any resources attached.

So now I have a message for the different year groups.

Year 7

I am sorry that you haven’t been able to have a full year with us yet. What I will say is that you have done exceptionally well at settling in. You have really thrown yourself in to PVS life and I can’t wait to have you back with us so that you can help settle the new Year 7 students in next year. Keep studying hard and preparing for your return to us.

Year 8

You were beginning to find your feet over the past two terms and were most certainly growing in confidence. This time next year, you will have chosen your GCSE options. You need to bear this in mind as you will really need to apply yourselves now and engage with all of your learning so that you are in the best position for you to choose your preferred subjects next year.

Year 9

You have chosen your options now and will have had confirmation about the subjects that you have opted for. You will need to work on the preparatory work that we will be setting over the coming weeks and then hit the ground running in September.

Year 10

I need to you to seriously consider what I am about to say. There is a distinct possibility that you may not be sitting all of your GCSE exams in the traditional manner next

summer. If this is the case, they may be asking for your teachers to have a significant input into providing predicted grades and the evidence for this. Therefore, as from today, we are going to be recording everything that you are doing and the quality of work that you are submitting. Please bear this in mind and start engaging in all of your work. Be great.

Also, we are about to start the Senior Prefect and Head Boy / Girl application process so I look forward to hearing from some of you.

Year 11

Your post-16 providers continue to set work. If you are still unsure of what you want to do next year, get in contact with us. We have had to postpone your Prom but that doesn’t mean that we won’t all meet up as soon as we can and we will be in contact regarding this over the coming weeks. I look forward to seeing you all on results day.

So, in summary, we will continue to update you of the plans for the coming weeks. Remember, if you are struggling or need to talk to us, please do contact the school office. Our tutors will still contact you regularly and make sure that you are all doing well.

Look after yourselves and I truly look forward to seeing you all when this is over.

Neil Pritchard