It was with great pleasure that I was able to share our recent Ofsted report with families earlier this week. If you haven’t seen it, then by additional blog on the report is here, and the report itself can be accessed directly here. Thank you again to everyone who has supported our work at MHS, we really appreciate it.

However…I said in my blog on Monday that we’ll never stop trying to get even better, and that was certainly the case this week. Year 11 have had their first full taste of a real exam ‘season’ with trial exams in English, maths and science all week long. These are an important first step in the final year of school for this cohort, and I know I’m not alone in being impressed with how they approached the challenge.

Secondly on Friday we welcomed the BBC Bitesize Careers team into school to speak to students in Years 7 to 10 about their future career options. It’s never too early for young people to start thinking about the future, and actually having an idea of a plan is proven to be important in motivating students to work hard. The sessions are interactive and engaging and great for students to hear.

After all this, and a very busy half term all round, it’s time for a well deserved rest. I wish everyone a calm and relaxing week whatever you may be doing.

Best wishes

Joe Barker

Parents and carers of MHS students will be aware that the school was inspected by Ofsted in mid September. I am pleased to be able to share the final report with you, which is available via this link here.

As MHS was already deemed to be a ‘Good’ school, the recent inspection was classed as ungraded which means that the overall outcome of ‘Good’ couldn’t be changed. However, Ofsted do have the option within an ungraded inspection to highlight where a school may be better than good. I am very happy to tell you that this was the case with MHS. As the report states, ‘the evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might be outstanding if a graded (section 5) inspection were carried out now’.

This is the best a school can get from an ungraded inspection and is of course a great outcome for everyone connected with MHS. We are so proud of the students who make our school what it is, and the staff who dedicate so much to making the school a success. Thank you to all parents, carers and family members who support the school and students so well.

We will of course build on this outcome and continue to do all we can to be even better in the future.

I hope you enjoy reading the report,

Best wishes,

Joe Barker

I had been looking forwards to last night for quite some time. Over the past few weeks I’ve heard the rehearsals taking place in Bradshaw Hall, I saw glimpses of the matinee performances this week, and colleagues who attended the evening shows on Wednesday and Thursday were full of praise. My expectations for last night were therefore quite high but blimey, the show exceeded them by far. I absolutely love seeing Bradshaw hall full of beaming students and a captivated audience, and that is exactly what happened throughout this week. The joy on the faces of the cast and crew was a real privilege to witness, and seeing a huge team come together with such great results is truly inspirational. The quality of the music, acting, singing and dancing makes you forget you’re watching a school show, especially given the really high production standards made possible by the very talented stage crew and technical teams. I love every school production but for my mind, Bugsy Malone was the best one yet!

Therefore it’s a huge well done and thank you from me to everyone involved in the show. 120 students in total, 15 members of staff and countless hours of support and encouragement from parents, carers and families. These things take a lot of effort but wow, it’s worth it! I’m already eager to know what the next production will be, although we’ll give Miss Swift and Mr Osgood at least the weekend off before they have to think about it!

I hope that many of you got to witness the show and, if not, then I encourage you to buy a ticket for next year. I promise you that you won’t be disappointed!

Have a great weekend,

Joe Barker

Being a member of the Marple Hall School community means believing in our school ethos, better known at the Marple Hall Spirit. These are the five qualities or attributes that we most respect in each other, and that we try to develop in ourselves and others in everything that we do. Determination, Honesty, Readiness, Respect and Spark will take you a long way in life, which is why we make no apology for reminding students and everyone else about these qualities on a regular basis.

One way that we do this is through ‘focus fortnights’, a chance to spend a bit of time looking at one of the qualities in the Spirit in more detail. This week and next we’re focusing on (for me at least) arguably the most important part of the Marple Hall Spirit – Honesty.

I think that this is such an important attribute to develop, and not just because it’s important to tell the truth. More than that, our definition of honesty also includes being honest with yourself and acting with integrity. Doing what is right, not what is easy – that really sums it up to me. Young people are often faced with minor decisions of doing what is right over what is easy – should they hang back with friends knowing they’ll be late, or crack on and get to class on time because that’s better for them? Should they be part of the crowd when a friend is being unkind, or step up and lead by example? Should they raise their hand and ask for help in a lesson, or sit there and hope the teacher doesn’t notice that they don’t get it? We want to empower our young people to make the right decision every time, and that’s what Honesty focus fortnight is all about.

Finally, I can’t end without taking this last opportunity to encourage you to grab a ticket or three for the performances of Bugsy Malone next week. It promises to be spectacular, don’t miss out! Details below.

Best wishes

Joe Barker

https://www.trybooking.com/uk/events/landing/46074