22 November 2019

The Autumn Term is perhaps the busiest term in school with highlights coming thick and fast.

As we near the end of an overwhelmingly successful Open Week during which we welcomed remarkable numbers of families to school, we are now looking forward to our Christmas Fair on Saturday 30 November. Many thanks to all of you who brought in donations today to support the PTA in organising what is bound to be another fantastic event.

My thanks also to everyone who supported the Roving Bookshop as they visited school this week. As well as reinforcing our work in promoting reading for pleasure across the school, the sale also generated £300 worth of beautiful new books for our Libraries.

Our Year 10 Parents’ Evening also proved extremely enjoyable as we discussed the very positive start pupils have made to their GCSE options subjects and the exciting futures that lie ahead of them. And the week was rounded off in fine style as the Rt Revd Colin Fletcher, the Bishop of Dorchester, led a fantastic assembly during which he answered pupils’ questions on the role of a bishop, the process behind his appointment and his work in the Diocese of Oxford.

Finally, I’ve held several meetings with our Year 11 Leadership teams this week, discussing how the school moves forward. Our Senior House Captains provided great ideas about how we expand the House system throughout school, while our Heads of School presented their thoughts on how we can make Cranford House a more eco-friendly place. Environmental concerns are important to many of our student body, not least our Junior Eco Council, and I am very much looking forward to working with pupils from right across the school to help realise their ambitions.

With best wishes

Dr James Raymond