What a wonderful start to the Summer term we've had! It's been genuinely heartening to see pupils and staff return with such positive energy and enthusiasm. Long may that continue as we head into what promises to be an exciting few weeks ahead.
I would like to extend a warm welcome to our new families; it’s been lovely to meet you and get to know our new students. We hope they settle in well. Please do get in contact if we can help ease the transition into Danebury.
On a staffing note, I'm pleased to share that we're welcoming Mr Tom Andrew-Porter to our English team in September. He's a highly experienced English teacher and leader in education, and we're delighted to have him join us. I do want to thank Mrs Ball for her service to both Test Valley and Danebury – she's been a valued member of our community, and we wish her all the very best as she moves on to pastures new. We're also pleased to confirm that Mrs Dolke will be joining our Maths team in September. We do have a number of vacancies we're currently recruiting for, including a Head of Humanities, a Teacher of RE, and a Teacher of Science, all to start in September. If you know of anyone who might be interested, please do get in touch.
GCSE season is well and truly upon us now, and I want to extend my congratulations to our Art students who completed their final pieces this week during their two-day exam. The quality of work never ceases to take my breath away – the talent within this group is truly remarkable. I'd also like to recognise our Year 11 pupils who have completed their functional skills exams in English and Maths this week. It was wonderful to see them emerging from those exams feeling so positive about their performance. That's exactly the mindset we want to foster.
Well done to all the Year 11s who attended the Easter School revision sessions and the sessions running after school and at lunchtime this week, the hard work will pay off! It was great to see the dedication of some Year 10s who joined the Year 11 revision session, a great example of excellence.
One of the most exciting pieces of news I shared in our whole-school assembly on Monday is that we've been selected to attend a STEM day at Paulton's Park on the 6th May to mark the opening of their new Valgard- Realm of the Vikings. Sixty of our pupils will participate in STEM education sessions and will then be among the very first people to experience the new rides. Paulton's will have film crews, photographers and drones on site capturing our pupils enjoying the day – this footage will feature on their website and in their promotional material. It's a fantastic opportunity for our young people, and Paulton's have also generously offered us highly discounted tickets for a future visit, which we'll be using as a reward at the end of term for pupils who achieve over 97% positive points and 97% attendance. Names will be entered into a draw, so there's a real incentive to maintain that excellent engagement and attendance.
It's also been lovely to see so many pupils outside during breaks, connecting with one another and enjoying games together. This wouldn't have been possible without the generous support of our PTA, who have funded some wonderful new equipment for break times. We now have ten new football goals, Pickle Ball courts, Ultimate Frisbee and Volleyball facilities – it's made such a difference to how our pupils are spending their time outside the classroom.
Important notices
INSET day – Tuesday 21st April, school will be closed for pupils.
We're also looking forward to welcoming our Year 8 parents and carers on Thursday 23rd April – please do ensure you've signed up for appointments online if you haven't already done so.
Please can you ensure that your child hands any form of medication into reception upon arrival in the mornings; pupils aren’t permitted to carry any form of medication with them in school for safeguarding reasons.
Finally, I'd like to politely remind everyone of our uniform policy. Hair must be of a natural colour. Acrylic nails, nose rings/studs, trainers, and false eyelashes are not permitted. I appreciate that a small number of pupils are making choices that sit outside this policy, despite being aware of what we expect. It's important that we treat all pupils fairly, and the vast majority of our young people arrive at school ready to learn, respect our rules and behave appropriately. I'd very much appreciate your full support in ensuring that fairness prevails across our community.
Have a lovely weekend.
Nicky Goodridge
Head Teacher
