Battlefields Trip, 14^th-16^th March: Please remember that your child needs to be at school at 6.30am with their passport and EHIC card.

I would like thank parents for their attendance at last night’s meeting with the Governors to discuss the future of the school. I very much appreciated the thoughtful and insightful questions. It was very apparent that parents are now working with the school to ensure the best possible outcome at this difficult time. I am extremely grateful for the positive comments made by the vast majority of parents, demonstrating clear recognition of the rapid progress the school has made since the beginning of the academic year.

The last six months have brought many challenges and uncertainties and, as the Governors have kept me fully informed, I was aware some time ago, that there was a possibility that Sandy Upper School would not be converting under the Barnfield umbrella. Regardless of this, we have ensured a relentless focus on ensuring the school continues to move forward swiftly towards becoming one of the best schools in the county.

There have been many successes since the beginning of the academic year. For example, achievement is already the highest it has ever been in the history of the school; Year 9 uptake has improved by 30%; Sixth Form applications have doubled; fixed term exclusions are the lowest ever; attendance at Parents Evenings has been as high as 88% and overall attendance is also much higher than last year. In addition, our teachers have made excellent progress with the quality of teaching and learning and the percentage of good and better lessons has increased from 48%, in September, to 83% in the recent Local Authority inspection. Our own internal monitoring indicates that most teachers are now delivering good and outstanding lessons.

The school is very much on a steep, upward trajectory. We are, however, at the beginning of a journey and there is still much to do in order to ensure we become an outstanding school in record time.

Ms B Hare

Principal

Half Term is approaching quickly and Year 11 students   will start their break informed by their recent mock results.   We know that they will have discussed these with you at home.  There are many opportunities for students to receive additional support and you will see a full programme later in today’s Spotlight. There are also opportunities for intervention at half term and on Saturdays.  Please ensure that your son/daughter is taking full advantage of all that is on offer. 

It has been wonderful to see the school come alive with fresh displays and student achievement information in recent weeks. Every form room now has a range of resources and posters to ensure that students are focused for all of their learning time. My thanks to all of the staff and students who have helped to make this possible.

Finally,  you will have received a letter from our Governing Body and its Chair, Mr Richard Banks.  You will undoubtedly have many questions and I would urge you to send them, in advance, to the temporary  email address which we have set up, which is: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .  This preparation will allow for your questions to be answered more effectively. 

Ms B Hare

Principal

At the end of last week, we received our outstanding Year 11 GCSE results for English Language and we could not be prouder of our students.  93% of the students entered achieved an A*-C grade with the majority improving on their grade from the summer term and many achieving, and exceeding, their academy target. 55 students have already achieved an A/A* grade compared to only 11% at the end of last year. These are , by far, the best English results ever achieved by the school and they will be amongst the highest in Central Bedfordshire. I would like to thank all of the English staff who provided excellent support during this period, particularly Miss Walsh who stepped in to lead the department during staff absences. We have had a special assembly this week to acknowledge and reward all of these achievements and hope that these successes will be motivation to all of our students to achieve similar levels of success in all of their subjects. With  excellent results already being achieved in English and Mathematics, it is now time for students to consider the high levels of support and challenge they will receive if they join our Sixth Form in 2014. Our Open Evening has given all students in the school the opportunity to consider our provision and our Parents’ Evenings in coming weeks will provide an opportunity for detailed discussion about future pathways.  We hope all parents and guardians will take advantage of these opportunities.

Ms B Hare

Principal