October 2015
Firstly, may I thank you all for your support
of our ‘building fund’ appeal which was included in the summer letter to all
parents and carers. We have been able to
raise several thousand pounds, which is extremely helpful to us as we cope with
the incidental expenditure associated with the building project. (It is hard to put a precise figure on the
outcome here, as some families send in cash donations and others signed up for
direct debit arrangements: many thanks
to you all.)
Also on the subject of money, but in a
different way, I am concerned about the security of bikes on site. We are going to look at the bike shed
security and improve it, but it is never going to be perfect and students with
expensive bikes should consider proper insurance, I think. This week, attempts have been made with bolt
cutters to steal expensive bikes. One
was taken, and the thieves seem to have left the others with their security
chains half cut through. I had thought
that with all the builders around, it would have been harder to access the
bikes; however, other staff suggest that
the building work may have made it easier to come on site with bolt cutters and
not look too out of place. Either way,
we need to work together to guard against such thefts.
A more positive
note now. Open week has passed very
successfully this year. I thank Mrs
Gittins for all her work in managing the business and I thank all the staff,
parents and students who have gone out of their way to make the daily visits and
the open evening successful for the school and its visitors. I think the school looked especially good on
the open evening itself, with crowds of families attending – with an
unfortunate knock-on effect regarding parking! - and what I judged to be a good
atmosphere. It was nice, too, to see
England rugby player Charlie Sharples in that day, working with Keiran Montagu
and our primary schools.
I have heard
lots of positive feedback from parents and visitors and I hope that you agree
with me, if you were one of those shown around, that a good impression was
given of the school.
Lots of our
visitors are keen on sport – and not just on rugby – and it was splendid to be
able to report to them in my open evening speech that the girls' hockey team
has qualified to attend the national championships, an event dominated, it has
to be said, by teams from independent schools.
Many congratulations to them!
Mrs Gittins and
Mrs Layhe are concerned that some girls are wearing their skirts too short –
what is acceptable on the hockey field or the tennis court is not really acceptable in
lessons! We are beginning to look at
different styles of skirt so that this uniform rule can be more easily enforced
in future. However, it will take us time
to evaluate options and to consult with students, parents and governors, so in
the meantime can we ask you to do your best to ensure that your girls do not
wear their skirts too short, and that they look smart and presentable in their
uniforms. Thank you.
Many thanks for
all your support of the school. As I made
clear when I spoke to parents during open week, the school relies on the
cooperation between staff, parents and students to be what it is. Every student at St Peter's has asked to come
here – no-one has been sent here – so we need to build on that to guarantee
that all students are helped to do their best.
And don’t forget
to get your tickets for ‘Singin’ in the Rain’!
The box office is open each day.
Yours,
Philip Rush
