Following on from this weeks "Get ahead" online lectures, a further set of Microsoft Teams tutoring sessions with fully qualified teachers covering essential GCSE topics, exam answers and Q&A sessions are running in the New Year from 6pm - 7pm Monday - Thursday on the dates shown on the attachment below.
You may be aware that all schools in England were written to this week by the Department for Education advising them to use the last day of term (18th December) as an additional INSET day. The reason they have suggested this is to allow school staff to be available for 6 days from the end of term to support with any track and trace requirements. Closing on the 17th would bring this 6-day window to 23rd December. As an academy we have followed the government guidance closely since the very beginning of the pandemic and feel that this has helped us to remain fully open. We are also permitted, as an academy, to insert additional INSET days to the calendar without reducing the already planned training days.
Therefore, in following the government guidance, the school term will end on 17th December, with the 18th being an INSET day.
As the last day of term will be Thursday 17th December, we will be inviting pupils and staff to wear Christmas jumpers for the day and to make a voluntary contribution of £1 to raise money for Save the Children.
Pupils will be returning to school on Tuesday 5th January.
May I take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support and wish you all the best Christmas and New Year possible under the current circumstances.
Best wishes
Mr Chris Wade
Principal
Congratulations to Mark Lawrence who has been duly elected as Parent Trustee.
Vacancy of Parent Trustee. As we have more candidates than vacancies an electronic ballot will take place.
Parents are asked to provide their name and a contact email address as a means of verifying their eligibility to vote. These details will be accessible to the Returning Officer only and will be treated in absolute confidence. As votes are returned they will be checked against the students on the school register to ensure that each parent only votes once. In the unlikely event of there being an attempt to use a parent’s identity to cast a duplicate vote, all votes from that individual will be discounted.
How to vote:
Please click here for the ballot paper. If you are unable to vote electronically please contact the returning officer, Miss Zoe Leach, to request a paper ballot form. Each parent/carer has one vote each and must submit the ballot paper separately under their own name.
The election results will be published on the Academy website within three working days of the end of the election period.
Dear Parents/carers
As you will be aware the R rate in the South West is growing (currently between 1.1 and 1.3) and the infection rate is subsequently increasing by 1%-4% per day. As mentioned in my last communication we have not yet had a positive case in the student population, but it is only a matter of time. In the event of a positive case I will work with Public Health to ensure all guidance is being followed appropriately, which may include sending a class or year group home to self-isolate. In this event we are prepared and will be ready to deliver the curriculum via a blended learning approach, which includes recorded lessons, set work on google classroom and some live teaching on Microsoft Office Teams. The form below will help us to identify any pupils who should not be included in live teaching, based on permission. Please spend a few seconds completing this form to enable us to act swiftly if we have to close classes or year groups in the coming weeks.
Many thanks
Mr Chris Wade
Principal
We have a vacancy for the role of Parent Trustee (Governor) on our Academy Board. Please see the letter below for further information.
Please unite with us wherever you are for the national two-minute silence at 11am today to honour and respect the courage and sacrifice of all those who served our country and to acknowledge our responsibility to work for the peace they fought so hard to achieve.
We also reflect upon and thank the NHS and all key workers who have worked tirelessly in the line of duty for their country this year. 
Please click here to view a brief remembrance speech by Principal Chris Wade.
Please see the attached Covid Risk Assessment for November 2020
Our Sixth Form Open Evening Event will be live on 15th October from 18.15. Click here to access the live link: https://youtu.be/0jT8JLX6q80
Please click here to take you to an instructional video on using the virtual system.
Please see the attached letter from Somerset County Council to parents of all pupils using school transport
If your child is due to start or transfer school for September 2021, it is now time to make your application.
The deadline for primary phase applications is 15th January.
The deadline for secondary phase applications is 31st October.
Please apply online by visiting https://www.somerset.gov.uk/education-and-families/ https://www.somerset.gov.uk/education-and-families/
Important dates for information
Round One
Secondary phase closing date 31 October 2020 – Outcome Date 1 March 2021
Round Two
Secondary phase closing date 22 March 2021 – Outcome Date 4 May 2021
