Curriculum Enhancement

Over the course of the academic year 2015-16 we have reviewed our curriculum and for 2016-17 have introduced changes to enhance our offer as a result of external curriculum changes, such as exam reforms at GCSE and A Level and internal requirements to provide the world class education our students deserve.

The core subject of English and Science have undergone a significant reform by the government and as a result we require further curriculum time (lessons) for their effective delivery.  The delivery of the GCSE course in English, Maths and Science will begin in Year 9.  Drama will be introduced in Year 8 as a discrete subject and Textiles into Year 7.  In Year 9 all students will now specialise in one Design and Technology subject either Food Technology, Product Design or Textiles. 

In order to facilitate these changes we have reduced the number of classes in some subjects, and in some cases increased the teacher contact time as appropriate for the delivery of the subject.  We have given staff planning time next academic year in order to modify their schemes of learning such that pace, variety, challenge and opportunity are further enhanced throughout the curriculum.  We hope that these changes will further enable students to have an excellent experience at the High School.  Students will be issued with their timetables on the last day of term so that they are fully prepared to resume learning on the first day of term.  Please do ask to see these so you are aware of the curriculum they will be following for the academic year 2016-17.

Should you have any further questions concerning the curriculum please contact Miss Giblin via email, giblinc@hsfg.org.

Changes in Reporting

As a result of a number of comments made in the last parental survey over parents’ evenings and reporting we have undergone a complete review of the scheduling and I wanted to share with you the rationale behind the changes.

The new reporting and parents’ evening system that has been developed is outlined below:

Year 7 and 8	2 progress monitoring reports (in February and July).
Year 9	3 progress monitoring reports (in November, March and July).
Year 10	5 progress monitoring reports (in November, February, March, May and July).
Year 11	3 progress monitoring reports (in November, February and March).
Year 12	5 progress monitoring reports (in November, February, March, May and July).
Year 13	3 progress monitoring reports (in November, February and March).

The dates of the parents’ evenings have also been reviewed and are listed below:

Year 7 – July, Year 8 – May, Year 9 – January, Year 10 – March, Year 11 – November, Year 12 and 13 – November and March.

There will also be a targeted parents’ consultation evening in February which parents from across the year groups will be invited to attend if there are any concerns which need to be discussed.

I hope that this pattern of reporting and parents’ evenings will help with the monitoring of students and with communication to parents.

New Assistant Director of Post 16

I am delighted to announce that Mrs Dunnett has been appointed as the new Assistant Director of Post 16 from September 2016.  She will replace Miss Bowman who is moving to another part of the country.

Dining Hall Extension

Unfortunately the dining hall extension has been delayed due to the planning department requiring a longer term for the application to be discussed.  We are hoping to hear by the 13th August that the extension has been approved so that the ground works can begin on the 15th August.

It is hoped that all the noisy ground works will be completed in the summer holidays and that once the school is back the structure will be put in place.  The project will take approximately 10 weeks to complete and we are hoping to hold the opening ceremony in November.

Digging in Day

Thank you to all the parents that have contributed money towards the landscaping.  We have planned to hold the digging in day on Saturday, 12th November from 9.30am – 12 noon.  So please reserve this date in your calendar so you can help us put in the plants.

Record Number of Successes

We are delighted to announce that we have recently heard that a large number of former High School for Girls’ students have received 1st class honours degrees:

Helen Tatlow – Geography – University of Oxford.

Lucy Cooper – English – University of Exeter.

Georgina Timmins – Geography – University of Lancaster.

Alexandra O’Neil – Mechanical Engineering – University of Loughborough.

Samuel Ogden – Law – University of West of England.

Sebastian Harker – Acting – University of Wales, Trinity St David.

Samantha Hodges – Physics – Swansea University.

Congratulation also go to:

Dr Matilda Young, Dr Eleanor Pickett, Dr Emily Maxted who have completed their medical training.

If anyone knows of other successes please let me know.