School Closure
School is now completely closed to all those with whom individual arrangements have not been made. It is important that our pupils understand the importance of social distancing, and put the health and wellbeing of everybody above the enjoyment of social activities outside the home.
Further down this page, pupils will find a link to a page containing tasks specific to their year group. Some Y10 and Y12 classes may instead receive work directly from their teachers via email, so they should log-in to their school email account at the start of every day. In anticipation of this closure, we recently checked with every pupil that she is able to access her emails, so do not anticipate any problems with this.
If access to a desktop or laptop is limited at home, pupils may wish to use a mobile device instead. We would not encourage anyone to complete all of their schoolwork on small screens, but this may prove helpful for short periods of time. A lot of the work we have set will require the use of Microsoft products. For the benefit of anyone who has not previously used these on their mobile device, our Computing department has prepared the following guides:
How to download and use Microsoft Outlook on a mobile device
How to download Microsoft PowerPoint to a mobile device
How to download Microsoft Word to a mobile device
We absolutely understand that every family is individually adapting to the situation it finds itself in, as are our staff. We do not by any means imagine that everything will be perfect at this stage. After Easter, the process for setting and marking work will be reviewed, and we will adapt our approach accordingly.
All school activities and trips have been cancelled or postponed on the advice of the government. Where we have already made payments to travel companies, theatres, etc, we are not currently in a position to make any refunds. We apologise for the fact that insurance claims will take some time to process, and thank you for your patience in this matter. We urge you not to contact your card provider for a ‘charge back’, as every time this is actioned it costs the school £25, regardless of the amount refunded to you, and such costs simply cannot be absorbed by the school. We would certainly suggest that you do not make any further payments for trips until we have a clearer picture.
Please prioritise the health of your family above everything else. May God keep you safe.
Mrs Lynch, Headteacher
Guidance on working at home
It is important to stay safe online, and pupils are advised to remind themselves about how to do so by visiting this website. It is also important to think about how you are sitting. This nhs leaflet offers good advice on this.
Where possible, pupils are advised to stick to their normal timetable. Avoid spending more than an hour at a time on any one subject – remember that we would rarely expect anyone to work for that long without pausing to review and discuss progress, and remember also that the work set so far is expected to take several lessons to complete! There is more than enough work here to keep your learning moving forward across all of your subjects. Avoid favouring certain departments, and please do not request further work in any subjects. More will follow after we have reviewed the effectiveness of the current arrangements. When you are asked to send in work, please only send it to your own teacher, even if you have received an email from the Head of Department. Make sure you never click on “reply all”, as nobody else needs to see your work!
