By Neil Blundell, Principal of BCCS
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Buildings update: Last week we gained possession of the Science Department, which has been transformed. The new windows and blinds will make it much more comfortable, and the carpets and decoration throughout bring it up to the standard of the Rectory and Parsonage. The new ICT equipment will be installed this week, including interactive whiteboards in each room. Abbey House has also been painted. There are some minor delays to the completion of the College Square scheme and this will lead to some difficulties in parking at the beginning of term. PLEASE DO AVOID DRIVING INTO THE SQUARE WHEN TERM BEGINS. Trinity is now complete and the new lights, carpet and decoration make a real difference.
Examination results: It was good to see so many delighted Sixth Form students last week on A-level results day. The percentage of A/A*, B and C grades has risen from last year, and most students did very well to gain places at university in these competitive times. GCSE results were also very pleasing today, with 80% of students gaining 5 A*-C, and 75% including English and Maths.
The leadership team meet on 2nd September to begin work on the School’s Self Evaluation framework; we are likely to face a full Ofsted inspection this year! All staff begin work on the 6th September for training and to facilitate the move into the new buildings. With 16 new staff joining us and significant changes to the School fabric, it will no doubt feel like the biggest change so far.
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I have spent some time in School over the last two weeks and thought that parents and students may like an update on the works. Last week the roof was completed on the Fortune building and over the next two weeks we will begin to see the windows take shape in the hope that it will be watertight by the middle of September. College Square works have begun in earnest but may be subject to some minor delay. The amount of activity in the square certainly vindicates the decision to extend the school holidays and it is certainly a busy place to be. I cannot imagine trying to ensure the safety of 550 students at the moment! The railings have all been removed and a new wall is emerging around the tump. The new railings will sit on top of this wall and the access to the Square has been widened to make it a much safer place for students. Student access through College Square will be via the new lower play ground from September.
Trinity remains a construction site: the lighting is now nearly in place and builders are beginning to decorate in readiness for the new carpets. The ICT equipment is due to be installed at the end of August; a new ICT suite for Humanities and new interactive whiteboards for all classrooms will also be fitted. Each classroom will have a desktop machine, which will be used for electronic registration, giving us all much more information about students’ attendance and punctuality. New lockers have arrived and are now in place. Work begins this week on the path leading to the new School reception, and Abbey house has been painted. The Science refurbishment has now been completed and the handover will take place this week. Work on the middle school common room also remains on target and the Gym is getting a much needed lick of paint and new ceiling tiles this week.
All in all a rather busy summer! I hope that you are all enjoying the holidays. I look forward to A-level and GCSE results over the next two weeks and will certainly update you all at the end of August.
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I do hope that all parents received the end-of-year reports which were sent out with the students on the last day of term. I realise that this is not always the most reliable form of postage and you are more likely to receive a positive report than a negative one! If you did not receive a report via ‘student mail’ please do call the main School office and we will post you a copy. We will be holding a concerns evening at the beginning of term and we will invite parents in to School if we are concerned about any examination results or effort checks. It is a useful evening that can be very productive and can often set the tone for the rest of the academic year. We will continue with the parent information evenings, which will begin in October. Parents are also invited to evensong on the 27 September, where staff will be available for informal discussions over tea and coffee in the Chapter House.
I am aware that the new system of communication has not been without its difficulties. All letters are now emailed to parents though it is clear that some of these emails have not reached their recipients. I have asked that all letters are now uploaded on to the School website under the letters section and would ask that all parents check that the School has got their current and correct email address on our system.
I attended a meeting yesterday to celebrate the launch of South West Academies at Merchants’ Hall.
Those attending were:
- Ray Priest - Principal of the City Academy and first Education Advisor for South West Academies
- Richard Morris - Society of Merchant Venturers
- Neil Blundell - Principal, Bristol Cathedral Choir School
- Stephen Kings - Principal, Merchants’ Academy
- Anne Burrell - Principal Designate, Merchants’ Academy
- Gill Kelly - Principal Designate, City Academy
- Lesley Ann Jones – Principal, Colston’s Girls’ School
South West Academies aim to work together in four key strategic areas:
1. The provision of a professional learning community across our schools in which leadership development, succession planning and the improvement of teaching and learning is at the core of our work
2. The development of shared services that support effective school improvement and enable individual academies to increase capacity and spend maximum resources on the needs of students
3. Representing the academies and Society of Merchant Venturers as key players in the education of children within the city of Bristol and beyond, enabling us to forge strategic alliances for the benefit of all our students
4. Developing new projects for the benefit of children. This could include facilities development, the provision of community engagement projects, furthering links with primary education, creating opportunities for international learning, and supporting the new academies across the region.
In our first meeting, we discussed some key priorities for action in the autumn. I will keep parents and students updated on progress.
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I took assembly this morning and think that it might be helpful to summarise it for parents.
I began by introducing the new Head Students’ team. Ollie Folland and Kandarp Patel will be Deputy Head Students. Rowan Henry has been appointed as Head Boy. They all received a warm round of applause as a welcome and have already begun their duties attending the Sixth Form taster days and they will also take part in the new Year 7 induction evening next week. I know that they will be a very positive force for good around the School and I look forward to working with them. I also presented a large number of students with their Associated Board Music certificates. There were a number of distinctions and merits. Well done to all.
The theme of assemblies this term has centred around wisdom, and I began with an inscription I read on a seat recently: “Societies grow great when old men plant trees whose shade they will never sit in.” It is an old Greek proverb and I discussed how our society (the School) must ensure that we nurture the new intake of Year 7 and Year 12 students in September. It will be important that we unpick the faith group core values as we move through the next few years. Fellowship, Courtesy and Respect are at the heart of these values and this is a real feature of the School that we must work hard to preserve. It is important that we take note of the very positive contributions the students have made this year. Here are some that I thought important enough to remind students of this morning:
- Throughout the year I have been impressed at the levels of respect and courtesy. There are too many examples to include all of them here, but to name just a few: students hold doors open and greet staff with a smile every day; members of the public have praised their behaviour during fire drills and on activities weeks and trips; the students remained absolutely silent for two minutes on Remembrance Day and the whole community acted with dignity and respect when we paid tribute to Mr Perry.
- The School Council have played a terrific part in School life this year, including leading tours and interviews for new staff and working on issues such as uniform and assemblies.
- The student faith group also worked very hard this year grappling with difficult issues and ensuring that the School is co-ordinated in its response to community cohesion and worship.
- I am pleased that the standards of uniform have improved. Students look much smarter. They have also treated the new buildings with respect and care.
- The students’ contribution to extra-curricular activities has been outstanding; including memorable music performances in the Chamber Concert and at St George’s and of course Oliver! to name but a few. I have also enjoyed watching the students compete on the games field and we are fortunate that so many staff give so very generously of their time.
I also outlined some of the challenges and changes for next year:
- The building work will continue and we must always be mindful of the dangers of working within a construction site. I want students to be particularly aware when they cross College Square, although the works this summer should make this area safer.
- Some 16 new staff join us in September, including seven new teachers. I know the community will welcome them warmly.
- Expectations on uniform will be set even higher. The black sports tie has been replaced by a School colours tie. There should be no more black ties around the School. I asked students to be aware of skirt length and reminded them that the summer holidays are a good time to renew uniform.
- I have asked students to make sure that they do not leave their bags around the School so much next year. There will be many more lockers in place from September and I expect students to use them.
- The School core values will be displayed throughout the building and will be referred to throughout the year by subject and pastoral teachers.
- Students will need to become more aware of the level they are working at in each subject. At Key Stage 3 they should know their current and target level. At KS4 they should know what their target grade is.
- The School will be looking at changing the pastoral system next year and we will be discussing this in more detail with students from September.
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I have just returned from being with the students at activities week. I visited both Newquay and Oxford. The trips have certainly been a success and I have heard similar reports that the France trip has also been terrific. These trips are not designed to be a holiday for the students and they are certainly no holiday for the teachers. I think that they do much to strengthen the relationships between students and staff, and this year between students in different year groups. I certainly welcomed the opportunity this week to play pool and football with the students. I enjoyed the shooting competition and cheering them to reach heights that I could never personally attain. Students get to try things for the first time; for some this may be cooking (opening a tin!), for others leaping onto a trapeze from atop a 60-feet-high post! They will often overcome their fears and find unrealised strengths. They will have discovered the value of working in teams and that they have leadership skills.
We have had some brilliant feedback from members of the public, hotel managers and activity leaders. “The best behaved school group we have ever had,” has been said more than once and the students have been a real credit to the School and to you our parents. I am very grateful to all the staff who have given so generously of their time this week and who have put so much work into the organisation of these activities.
I am this afternoon attending the service which installs the new Dean, The Reverend Canon David Hoyle. I will on behalf of the whole School community be welcoming him formally into the life of the School and look forward to his very welcome contributions in the years to come.
On behalf of the students, staff, governors and parents, I welcome David into the School community. Both locally and nationally this is an interesting time in education and there are both challenges and opportunities ahead for the Cathedral Choir School. We very much welcome David’s wisdom and all his future contributions, which will no doubt better prepare us for the challenges ahead.
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