Christmas lunch is being served in school on 16th December. The menu is below.
I write to draw your attention to the fact that this week is Anti-bullying week. The week is organised by the Anti-bullying Alliance. Further information can be found at this link, including some useful information for parents and carers. The theme this year is One Kind Word. We are delighted that this is the theme, as we have spent a lot of time in recent months celebrating and encouraging acts of kindness within our community.
Throughout the course of the week, we are holding the following events;
- Nominate a student or member of staff for a Kindness award. If any parents would like to nominate a student or member of staff, please complete this form by Friday 19 November.
- Odd Socks day on Friday 19 November – Students can wear odd socks on this day. A voluntary contribution of £1 would be appreciated, as this will be donated to the various charity projects being organised by our Prince’s Trust students in Year 10.
- Anti-bullying assemblies including the use of resources provided by the Anti-bullying alliance.
Reverend Paul Rusby led our Remembrance Service on Tuesday. Year 9 form representatives were in attendance and our Senior Students laid wreaths on behalf of the school, the Edwardian’s Association and the Foundation Governors in remembrance and tribute to all who suffered or died in war.
In World War One, 58 Old Boys and one member of staff paid the supreme sacrifice. Most of them found their last place of rest far from home: in Belgium, in France, in Gallipoli, in Poland, at sea; many of them have no known graves.
In the Second World War, by a strange coincidence, yet another 58 Old Boys perished in War – this time together with two members of staff. Only a few of them are buried in the UK. The remainder lie in France, Holland, Belgium and Germany, in Iceland and Italy, in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, in Burma and in Singapore. Again, many have no known grave but the sea.
In the Korean War of 1953, one Old Boy was killed while fighting for the United Nations in the cause of world peace.
In gratitude for the service and sacrifice of all these young men – their average age was only 24 – Harrison Epworth took the reading and Mr Tedder read The Pride of the Poppy.
From Monday 1 November we will be implementing the following additional measures in school, in line with the advice from NCC:
Testing for household contacts: Where a family member has tested positive for COVID we will be advising that all household members should arrange a PCR test and undertake a daily LFD test. This is so that any subsequent positive cases can be quickly picked up and for self isolation to begin as soon as possible. School will continue to distribute test kits as needed.
Face coverings: All staff, and students will be advised and encouraged to wear a face covering in communal areas of school including corridors and halls. We would appreciate it if you can provide your child with an appropriate face covering for their return to school after half term.
Reducing mixing: We already have a timetable structure which minimises the amount of movement and mixing that happens during the school day. We will continue to monitor this and make further adjustments should we feel that this is required.
Firstly, can I please take this opportunity to thank you for your support with the temporary reintroduction of face coverings in response to the high number of Covid cases within the school community at the start of term.
We have seen a significant decline in the number of positive cases and currently have 19 positive cases within the school community.
We have reviewed our current case numbers and prevention measures with PHE and they have advised us that from Monday 11 October staff and students will not need to wear masks in school unless they choose to do so, though all other preventative measures will remain in place.
The King Edward VI School – Virtual Open Evening
As your child is now in Year 8 and will be moving on to the next phase of their education in September 2022 we wanted to share some information with you about our school and how to apply for a place.
It is of great disappointment that due to the number of cases currently in school, and subsequent guidance from Public Health England, we are unable to offer the opportunity for you to come and visit the school in person at this point. However, in order to help you make an informed decision about which school to apply to, we have produced a set of resources and information about the school.
We are really proud of our school and hope the information in the links above show you why this is the case.
The portal for applying for High School places in Northumberland is now open and closes at midnight on Sunday 31 October 2021. Further information about the admissions process can be found by following the link here. Final confirmation regarding the allocation of places is made on Tuesday 1 March 2022.
If you have any questions or queries relating to any of this information please do not hesitate to contact us on 01670 515415 or via email at [email protected].
Full details of the GCSE/A level exams 2022 consultation outcomes are here. A summary of the key changes are here.
In the event that exams can’t be held next summer, Ofqual have released a consultation about their contingency plan. The consultation is here if you would like to read it and submit a response. In summary, it is proposed that a teacher assessed grade process will be adopted. As such it is important that all students prepare fully for any assessments they have throughout Year 11 or Year 13.
The letter issued to all parents/carers and Y11/Y13 students, can be read in full here.
On his 17th birthday former student James McConnell, signed a 3 year professional contract with Liverpool Football Club. As a school we couldn’t be prouder of his journey. Further information can be found here. Good luck to James.
On Tuesday 14 September the Government announced that children aged 12-15 will be offered the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.
This is now being rolled out in schools across Northumberland. It is anticipated that this will run alongside the flu vaccination programme which is also taking place within our school. Public Health England advises that there are no safety concerns and that COVID-19 vaccines can be given at the same time as other vaccines, including the nasal flu vaccine. It is standard practice for different vaccines to be given at the same time as each other. This happens frequently with routine vaccinations that are given to children in the UK and other countries.
Please note that the School Age Immunisation Service (SAIS) team will be the primary provider of the vaccination programme and will be legally responsible for the delivery of the vaccine with the school being requested to provide the venue. All questions regarding the vaccine should be directed to them.
The letter issued to all Parents and Carers can be read in full here
Unfortunately, following my letter to you last week Covid cases continue to be high and we currently have 56 positive cases within the school community.
We remain in regular contact with PHE who are monitoring our situation and they have advised us that given that all other prevention measures are already in place within the school and cases continue to rise, we now need to reintroduce face coverings within school. This will be for an initial period of two weeks when it will be reviewed in conjunction with PHE.
In response to this guidance we will therefore introduce the following school expectations for staff and students from Monday 27 September 2021:
- Staff and students are asked to wear masks at all times inside the building where social distancing is not possible
- This includes in classrooms, when moving between classrooms on corridors and in halls and communal areas at break and when queuing for food inside at dinner time
- Staff and students will be expected to use their own masks. The schools will retain a small stock of masks for those times when a mask is lost, damaged or forgotten
- We are aware that there are some students who cannot wear masks for medical reasons and we will continue to be sensitive to this situation
