Dear Parents & Carers,
I am writing to you following my letter of 23rd February to provide you with further information regarding your child’s return to school.
As you will be aware, the government have asked that as many children as possible participate in a programme of Covid testing on their return to school, with three lateral flow tests to be administered by the school, 3-5 days apart. You have already been sent a consent form and we ask that these are completed and returned to the school no later than Wednesday 3rd March, even if you do not wish your child to take part in this. (Link to the consent form below)
Like many schools, we have decided to administer the first lateral flow test on Thursday and Friday of this week. Students will not be provided with an individual appointment time but instead we have allocated a time slot for each year group to attend school for their test. Students taking part in the tests should go to the Student Entrance during these specific times and follow the instructions of our testing staff. Students do not need to wear their uniform when coming into school for these tests.
The ‘Testing Only’ arrangements for students to come into school for their first lateral flow test are as follows: –
| Date | Year Group(s) | Times |
| Thursday 4th March | 11 | 9.00am – 11.30am |
| 10 | 11.45am – 2.15pm | |
| 9 (Surnames A-H) | 2.30pm – 4.00pm | |
| Friday 5th March | 8 | 9.00am – 11.30am |
| 7 | 11.45am – 2.15pm | |
| 9 (Surnames I-Z) | 2.30pm – 4.00pm | |
From Monday 8th March, students will be returning to school to resume face-to-face education. Due to the additional organisational burden of administering the second and third Covid test for large numbers of students, we have had to arrange a phased return to school during that week.
The phased arrangements for year groups to return to school from 8th March are shown in the table below.
| Date | Year Group(s) in School | Test Count |
| Monday 8th March | 11 & 9 only | #2 |
| Tuesday 9th March | 10 & 7 only | #2 |
| Wednesday 10th March | 8 only | #2 |
| Thursday 11th March | 11 & 9 only | #3 |
| Friday 12th March | 10 & 7 only | #3 |
When returning to school during that week, the arrangements for students will continue with the structure put in place in September: –
- Full school uniform to be worn at all times unless a student has a PE lesson
- On the days that a student has a PE lesson, they must only wear the approved school PE kit and their blazer
- Year groups will enter school via their individual entrances from 8.30am onwards
- The school day begins at 8.35am with a ‘Welcome and Wellbeing’ period (students arriving later than 8.40am will receive a late mark)
- The arrangements for the timings of lessons and social time will remain the same
- Café Mojo will be open each day and can be accessed by children at break and lunchtimes
- The school day will end at 2.50pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
- The school day will end at 1.50pm on Wednesday
During this first ‘phased’ week back in school, students will experience face-to-face lessons (following their normal timetable) as well as online assemblies. We are very mindful that some students will be anxious about their return to school and we will ensure that we offer appropriate support on an individual and whole-cohort basis.
On the days that year groups are not required to be in school, we will continue to provide a remote curriculum of five lessons per day to be viewed and completed at home.
All students will attend school full-time from Monday 15th March onwards. (Year 8 testing #3 will be carried out on Monday 15th).
We will issue further information later this week, including clarification of the school’s policy regarding the wearing of face coverings in the classroom. We will also be shortly issuing the school’s response to the recently announced arrangements for the assessment of GCSE grades for our current Year 11 students.
We are very much looking forward to welcoming your child back to full time education and are hopeful for a return to ‘normal’ conditions as soon as possible. If you have any questions relating to the content of this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours faithfully,
Mr J Cregg
Headteacher
