Message for all
Wednesday, July 20, 2022
Dear families,
I wanted to write to you as we approach the end of the academic year. I am pleased to say that this is the first academic year since 2019 that we have managed to complete without being affected by a national lockdown. Whilst Covid is still around, it has been great this year to be able to get back to some of the events that ‘Bring Learning to Life & Life to Learning’ for our students. Matilda, Sports Day and end of year trips to name but a few things from the last few weeks, that have made this school year feel a little more normal.
I look back on the academic year with a great sense of pride in terms of what we have been able to do for our students, both inside and out of the classroom. It is pleasing that this has been noticed by the community and we are delighted that we have a full cohort of Year 7 students joining us in September. We had 225 first choice application and 378 applications in total, for our 210 spaces. Also, due to our popularity in the current Year 8, we have added an extra AM group for September so that we can satisfy the demand for places. It is great to be the school of choice in the local community and I am proud of the work of the students, staff and families that has gone in to making this happen.
I would like to thank the students for all of their hard work this year. We are constantly looking to offer them the best education that we can, by raising our aspirations for them and standards expected from them, whilst maintaining a supportive and cohesive learning environment. They are brilliant at rising to the challenges set and it is great to see the progress they have made across the year.
Thank you also for your support of your child and the school across this academic year. As with every year, the support you provide is excellent, very much appreciated and the main reason behind your child’s progress. .
Thanks also to the fantastic team of staff who have helped and supported your child(ren) so well across the year. Despite the presence of Covid, and other bugs, we were able to remain fully open when other schools weren’t due to the dedication of the staff and their willingness to go above and beyond in terms of covering colleagues’ absence. I am very grateful and proud to work with such a great team of professionals. At the end of this week we say farewell to the following colleagues:
Teaching Staff Teaching Assistants Associate Staff
Miss Hasell (PE) Ms Akinfe Mrs O’Sullivan
Mrs Moore (English) Mrs Francis
Miss Watkins (English) Mrs Kurylczyk
Mr White (Science) Miss Wybrew
Miss Thompson (Cover & History) Miss Hewitson
Most are leaving to go to schools closer to home with less of a commute and congratulations to Ms Akinfe and Miss Wybrew who start their teacher training next year! We wish all of the staff leavers the very best for the future and thank them for all of their hard work during their time at Preston. We are fully staffed for September and I will introduce our new colleagues to you in September.
Thanks also to the staff and governors for their work in making our transition to joining the Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership (MNSP) so smooth and successful this year. It has been great to finally join the trust after so much time doing our due diligence and preparation work and we have already felt the benefit of being part of such a successful and progressive organisation.
I know that very soon the shops will be full of their ‘Back to School’ ranges and you will be keen to purchase your school uniform ready for September. As you will remember from a previous letter in March of this year, the only two changes that we have made to the uniform are the changing of the school skirt and the removal of the PE skort. Thank you to those families who have fed back over the availability of some of the new, cheaper skirts from Asda, especially in the older age sizes. To help you get a skirt that fits your child and also complies with the uniform guidelines please do try and purchase the ‘Senior Girls Navy Waist Panel Permanent Pleats School Skirt’ from Asda: https://direct.asda.com/george/school/girls-school-skirts/senior-girls-navy-waist-panel-permanent-pleats-school-skirt/GEM836170,default,pd.html . However if this proves difficult, any navy blue panel pleated skirt will be fine. If you are in any doubt at all please do send me a photo or link to the product you are thinking of purchasing and I can help you. My email address is gregg.morrison@prestonschool.co.uk . Uniform can also be purchased at the School Wear & More shop in Yeovil and the link to their website is: https://www.swschoolwear.co.uk/shop/pcategory/schoolwear/preston-school-academy-trust/ .
I would like to finish by wishing you all a wonderful summer that you can all enjoy safely & happily. A reminder that we finish at 12.15pm on Friday and we look forward to seeing all students back on Monday 5th September 2022, with Years 7 and 11 starting at 8.30am and Years 8-10 from 1-3pm.
Best wishes
Gregg Morrison
