Welcome back to MHS after half term, I hope you all had a good week. We kicked off the new half term with the annual Dance Show, a wonderful reminder of what our students can achieve when talent, hard work and joy come together. Every performer on stage brought energy, commitment and a real sense of teamwork – students from our school, those from other schools and even some MHS Alumni too. These events don’t just happen, of course, and I want to offer a heartfelt thank you to Miss Griffies and her brilliant team. Their dedication, creativity and countless hours behind the scenes gave our young people a platform to express themselves and feel proud, and that matters enormously.

Looking ahead, next week marks the start of the Year 10 trial exams. For many students this will be their first taste of the pressure and rhythm of a formal exam season, and I know that can feel daunting. But I also know how capable they are, with the vast majority of them having already tasted success in Year 9. My message to Year 10 is simple: take a breath, do your best, and trust what you’ve learned. We believe in you, and we’re right behind you.

Finally, a little word about the Year 11 Trial exam season which concluded before the break. In assembly on Friday we explained to the students that they shouldn’t expect their exam papers to be handed back immediately in every subject. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE that the students are keen to know how they did and what they need to do to improve – it says a lot about them and the school – but some subjects take longer to mark than others. It’s great to see students in Maths and other subjects getting papers back pretty much straight away, but as a full signed up member of the ‘takes-ages-to-mark’ gang like History, English and others, I’d appeal to students to just be a little patient!

Have a great weekend,

Joe Barker

As we reach the end of a busy and purposeful half term, I wanted to take a moment to look back on the past few weeks. Our Year 11 students deserve particular praise. Their approach to the recent trial exams has been outstanding: calm, focused and mature. Seeing the students in action it was clear just how seriously they are taking this important stage of their school journey, and staff have been genuinely impressed with their determination. Massive thanks too to all my colleagues who will be dedicating hours of time, often over the coming break, marking and preparing to give high quality feedback to students when we return.

Likewise, a huge well done to our Year 9 linguists, who tackled their own assessments with real positivity. Languages can be a challenge, but the effort and ambition shown by so many students has been a real highlight of the term. As ever, none of this happens in isolation. My thanks go to parents and carers for the encouragement, patience and support you provide at home. It makes an enormous difference which we never take it for granted.

Finally, because no half‑term would be complete without at least one setback, our brand new toilet block in the brand new Oakwood building enjoyed a magnificent two‑hour opening on Thursday… before an unexpected water issue forced an abrupt closure. A textbook case of “so near and yet so far”… but we’ll get there!

Have a restful break,

Joe Barker

Like many of you, I’ve been following the national conversation about mobile phones in schools with interest. The topic has been everywhere in the news lately. The Department for Education has tightened its guidance, making it clearer than ever that schools are expected to be “phone‑free environments by default”, and Ofsted will now look closely at how effectively mobile phone policies are enforced during every inspection. At the same time, the House of Lords has gone even further, voting in favour of a statutory nationwide ban on smartphones in schools as part of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. Apparently this isn’t likely to happen yet but it’s a sign of the direction of travel.

As an interested observer, I can see both sides of the debate. Phones bring obvious risks in terms of distraction, wellbeing and exposure to inappropriate content. On the other hand, parents quite reasonably like the reassurance of their children having a way to contact them on the journey to and from school, and much of life (including some learning tools) are on phones.

That’s why I remain pleased with our own sensible approach. We moved early on this, probably 8 or more years ago now. We trust students to bring their phones into school if they wish, but we operate one very simple rule: we don’t see them, and we don’t hear them. It works because we don’t make exceptions. It keeps the school calm. And it promotes responsible behaviour without adding unnecessary layers of enforcement or complication. I am not daft, I know that some students break the rules in ways we don’t see, but seeing a phone in general circulation is rare at MHS.

I want to add a special thank you to our parents for backing this approach, especially when it’s inconvenient for you. Whether it’s resisting the temptation to message your child during the day, understanding why we ask an adult to collect confiscated phones or reminding you children (again!) to keep their phone switched off, your support genuinely makes a difference.

Whatever national changes come next we’ll respond sensibly and calmly, as we always do, with the wellbeing and learning of our students front and centre.

Have a great weekend,

Joe Barker