Hats off to Year 11

School continues to feel increasingly normal as every week goes by – attendance is improving, lessons are purposeful, extra-curricular is returning and we’re praying that the potential for Covid disruption keeps fading further away. We’ve even started to see a little more of the pre-covid misdemeanours of lateness to lesson from a few younger students, a sign that things must indeed be ‘normal’ again.

However one thing that is far, far from normal is the experience of Year 11. If this were a standard school year then we would be just two weeks from the first formal exam. Students and staff would be working flat out to prepare. Parents, siblings and family pets would be fully aware of the stresses that the students were under. The culmination of the past two years’ work would be just around the corner, and I personally would be looking forward to the first exam. I always get excited by the start of the exam season; it’s the time when the students show themselves at their best and the whole school comes together to support Year 11. The atmosphere changes a bit as the massive exam machine kicks into gear.

But not this year. This year we are heading towards TAGs – Teacher Assessed Grades – based on a growing base of evidence produced every day in lessons. Across the whole curriculum students are completing assessments based on what they have been taught over the past two years, supported by learning support assistants and teachers. The process is pretty relentless and I am full of admiration for how well the Year 11s have settled to the task. We’re about half way through now and I am sure that much good work is yet to be created over the final four weeks. The marking load for teachers is pretty high, but speaking as a Yr11 teacher myself I am happy to say it’s worth it. I have always had a great deal of respect for the class of 2021 and it’s a privilege to be able to pitch in and work hard alongside them in these totally unpredictable circumstances.

A lot of information is going to Year 11 students and parents/carers today as we guide them through the complexities of the TAG process. I therefore just wanted to reaffirm that looking past all the paperwork and procedures, we are very proud of you, the Class of 2021, and are determined to help you get grades you deserve.

Best wishes,

Joe Barker

Ps Thanks to everyone involved in Year 10 parents evening yesterday – another successful virtual event with around 95% attendance!

Student leaders, charity work and lateral flow tests

Last week I bravely/foolishly took the step of saying that I expected things to start turning back to normal this term. Happily, nothing has happened since then to change this opinion, quite the opposite in fact. Apart from the obvious difference for Year 11 students who are not preparing for a full set of final exams, the summer term feels like the summer term…with such momentous milestones as the day that the field opens for Years 8-11 at lunchtime finally upon us. Exciting times.

Another sign that the usual cycle of school life is returning is the start of a new round of elections for student leaders. Our MHSL (Marple Hall Student Leaders) team has been going strong for a while now, and this week Mrs Wilson launched the search for a new team to lead the student body. Over the years the team has done great work whether collaborating with other students across Stockport, sorting out litter in school or raising a huge amount of money for charity. The details on how students can apply are on Satchel One, as mentioned on the website here.

Speaking of charity work, last year MHSL played a major role alongside many other students in raising funds for the Kamla Foundation. This locally based charity does incredible work for disadvantaged people in India, and the way that the student body took to fund-raising was spectacular. Covid did its best to hinder fundraising efforts this last year and more, but despite this the charity has been able to benefit to the tune of £8721.98 (including gift aid) from MHS activities. This is a remarkable achievement by the students and their efforts will make a huge difference to people who need it the most.

As you can probably tell I am trying hard to make sure that Covid no longer dominates my blogs. However sometimes need must and today is one of those times. I have two specific points to make;

1) Coats will no longer be allowed in lessons from Tuesday 27^th April. As you may know, we have allowed coats to be worn due to the fact that windows are always open in classrooms to aid ventilation. The ventilation will stay, but as the weather picks up we see no reason why shirt/blouse, blazer and if needed school jumper won’t keep students warm enough. I’d therefore appreciate it if parents and carers would make sure that students have the correct uniform, including blazers, from next week.

2) Lateral flow tests. Today the Department for Education asked headteachers to remind parents and carers of the need to keep up the regular use of lateral flow tests at home. This is a key strand of keeping infections down, as a positive lateral flow test means that the person should isolate while going for a PCR test to confirm the outcome. It is true that LFTs can give false positives (we had a couple early this week, but thankfully the negative PCRs came back quickly so isolation periods were just for a day or so), but I recommend that families continue to use them as planned. We believe that a new delivery of supplies will be in school next week, but they can also be collected from a number of locations in the area.

That’s it for today. Not quite Covid-free but not far off either.

Best wishes

Joe Barker