Executive Headteacher's Report
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It has been a brilliantly busy term again and so much has happened in school since Christmas. It has been just wonderful to see the range and variety of activities taking place in class and through our extra-curricular life of the school.
We are still in a bit of a no-man’s land with Covid. We have had peaks and troughs of infections amongst students which has obviously impacted on the continuity of their learning. We have been very fortunate to be able to deal with any staff absence without having to close year groups or classes as some schools have unfortunately had to do. Our teachers and cover supervisors have been amazing standing in for their colleagues. Our excellent reputation with supply teachers in Norfolk has also meant we have always had a good pool of reliable colleagues to call upon. We have worked hard to make our own luck in this respect thanks to our excellent school culture. Our teachers love teaching our students. The Covid guidance has changed, we will update parents about expectations later today.
The autumn term ended with the triumphant production of Joseph and his Technicolour Dreamcoat. This represented our first major in-school event since lockdown. Since Christmas we have had a wonderfully busy time in relation to events and activities.
Our trip to Iceland was a fabulous success. It has restarted our ambitious programme of trips and residentials. We have since begun our planning for our year 11 English visit to Derbyshire and the Lakes and our history trip to Berlin. A ski trip is also in the pipeline. It’s also going to be great to finish the year with activities week again. All of these experiences run thanks to the dedicated generosity, and enthusiasm of our staff who love and value the power that these experiences have to change lives.
Our PE team have been amazing in ensuring we have had a really busy programme of fixtures, training sessions, clubs and competitions. Our teams have enjoyed great success and have consistently represented the school in the right way and with a fabulous attitude. Our amazing facilities often mean that we are a hub for much of the inter-school sport that takes place in this area. We are making good progress towards securing the funding to making our new leisure building a reality. This will provide the school and wider Aylsham community with access to a member’s gym, additional studio and new fitness spaces. We have a number of teams in a number of finals. Whatever happens they have done wonderfully well to get to where they have. We are also looking forward to the return of our fabulous inter-house sports day next term. The house colours, the passion, and mutual support are wonderful to behold.
Our careers advisor Mrs Durand led a brilliant week of activities as part of national careers’ week. Our year 9s got to visit a careers fare at the Norfolk showground. Our year 7s got to work with employers in a guess the job event. The event did a brilliant job in helping to challenge career stereotypes, particularly in relation to gender. Our Year 10s and 11s had some excellent sector best sessions in relation to the construction industry. In addition, it is wonderful to have year 10 ready and raring to go with their work experience at the end of the summer term.
We had two wonderful visits from Norfolk dignitaries. The Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk Lady Dannatt visited our ICE students and planted a tree for the Queen’s platinum jubilee. She also got to see our fantastic allotment space and our new construction building. We also had a visit from the High Sheriff of Norfolk who came to celebrate the work that our ICE students have done with our local RHS volunteers on renovating the paupers’ graves in Aylsham. All of these projects illustrate the fabulous work that our nurture team do with some of our students across the school.
Our student newspaper The Present Tense has had a rebirth online thanks to Miss Bates and her team. A link can be found here http://www.ahspresenttense.com/ much of their focus has been around hearing from voices in our community who have lived elsewhere in the world and subsequently settled in Norfolk. This is particularly resonant at the moment as our community prepares to potentially welcome Ukrainian refugees. Our Harbour Group is committed to helping AHS become a school of sanctuary.
We were able to hold our Inter-house Music Competition on the 11th March. It was an incredible success with wonderful solo and group performances. The ultimate winners were Wolterton House. Congratulations to them and all the students who made it such a wonderful evening. It was brilliant to have so many parents there too.
These are just a flavour of the amazing work going on outside of the classroom. To that list we can add the GreenPower Project, The Duke of Edinburgh Bronze and Silver Awards, The Young Chamber, The Pencil Case Student shop, Diversity Club, play rehearsals for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, theatre company visits to school and peripatetic music lessons. We are an incredibly busy school. It’s wonderful. I do urge our students to take every opportunity they can.
I want to wish all students who are taking GCSE and equivalent exams the very best. May and June will be busy months for our students as they take the first summer exams since June 2019. I know that our teachers are working hard to ensure that they are as well-prepared as they can be. The rest is up to the students. Revision is obviously crucial. Those that practise, prepare, and revise their learning stand the best chance of doing their very best in any exam. Our subject teachers will help with the content, focus and methods of revision. Our Pastoral and SEMH (Social Emotional and Mental Health) colleagues will help with stresses and worries. Our brilliant exams officer Mrs Gilbert is happy to help with any questions and is always a wonderfully calming voice at times of challenge for our students.
I wish you all a very happy Easter Break. I urge our students to balance any revision with taking time to properly rest and recharge. Here’s to a great summer term and a wonderful end to a busy and important academic year where we have really began to rebuild and reconnect with all of the things that make our learning community so special.
Love and best wishes
Duncan Spalding
Executive Headteacher