Up and Up!

Last week I mentioned how our Year 11 cohort have really risen to the challenge of the Trial Exams, both in terms of their efforts in the exams themselves and in their attendance too. More broadly, there’s really positive news about attendance overall. Whilst attendance tends to go up and down over a school year, often starting high at the start of a term and then dropping off, at MHS we’ve been bucking that trend recently. Not only were the last couple of weeks before Christmas really strong, but the first three weeks of the new year have been very positive too and improving week by week. To be a percentage point above the national rate doesn’t sound like much, but in attendance terms it is and we’ve been at that level for most of the year since September. However this term MHS attendance is rising, with the school almost a full three percentage points above national rates last week – and over five points above in one year group. That’s massive! Also, the percentage of students classed as persistently absent (with an attendance of under 90% across the year to date) is over 6% points below other secondary schools. We’re not complacent though, and there are definitely areas that we need to work on, but we should also recognise positives where they exist.

Well done to everyone who is contributing to this excellent and very encouraging picture. And it’s not just those with 100% or nearly 100% attendance who deserve the credit – well done to all those who have struggled with attendance and who have managed to improve recently. That’s just as important and just as significant. If we can keep this up then EVERYONE WINS, so fingers crossed. If the key to success in school is to ‘Turn up and read’ (and it really is) then more and more MHS students are at least half way there.

One week to go until half term, let’s make it a good one. Turn up and read!

Have a great weekend,

Joe Barker

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