Week one – done

And there we are, back to school. And what a pleasure it’s been too. I have the privilege as Headteacher of speaking to all 1550 students at the start of the year across five assemblies – Years 7 and 11 on Tuesday and Years 8,9 and 10 on Wednesday. I have to say that I absolutely loved it. I’m not ignorant of the fact that for many teenagers in the hall, the absolute last thing they wanted to be doing was to be up before 8am and sitting in a hall listening to me at 9am…but they masked that well and were a delight. It was great welcoming the new Year 7s, encouraging the Year 8s to lead by example, challenging the Year 9s to earn the right to choose whatever options they want for next year, praise the Year 10s for spectacular Spanish, French, Sports or Art results in the summer and set the bar high for Year 11 as they enter their final year. They have the chance to be the most successful cohort in the history of MHS and I’m excited about the prospect of working alongside them.

One key ingredient is of course turning up to school, and arriving on time. The link between attendance and learning is absolutely nailed on. Apologies for the slightly blurry quality of the graph below, but this is national data showing how average attendance directly impacts average ‘Progress 8’ – which is the measure of how much a child has developed from Year 6 to Year 11 in their best 8 subjects. Attendance is across the bottom and progress up the side, the higher the better, where zero is average. I’m only a history teacher but even I can tell that higher attendance leads to better results. So, as I shared in the article from the BBC in my previous blog, I urge everyone to do all they can to maximise a child’s attendance and help them achieve their potential. If you need help with this then don’t hesitate to get in touch. We know that getting kids to school can be a challenge and we have strategies to help, so as soon as you spot an issue then please reach out.

Best wishes

Joe Barker

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