Headmaster's Welcome
Dear Parents
Thank you for your support and good humour over the course of the term. Your children have been a credit to you and I am very proud of their collective and individual achievements and their ability to confront and overcome challenges. This term has brought with it many highlights.
Our end of term whole school mass, wonderfully led by Junior 6V, was celebrated by Fr Kevin yesterday. Well done to all pupils, who read and sung beautifully. It was wonderful to all come together, as staff, pupils, parents and families, parishioners and trustees at this time and we thank Father Kevin for his support and guidance. Thank you to Mrs Paphitis, Mrs Vaughan, Mrs Forino and Mrs Olden for their support. I was delighted to welcome trustees, Mr Richard Harcourt and Mrs Liz Griffin, to mass. Mrs Griffin has just stood down as Chair of Trustees and I should like to extend my sincere thanks to her for her many years of care and service. Her support over the years has been invaluable and we wish her the very best for the future.
We also say goodbye to Mrs Wendy Glover who has been a stalwart in our kitchen and dining hall for the past 10 years and Mr Eddie Tolcher who has been an outstanding Bursar over the past 16 years. I am sure that you all join me in wishing them the very best for their well-earned retirements (semi-retirement in Mr Tolcher’s case).
Yesterday’s Christmas lunch was delicious, and we saw many happy faces and filled tummies. The turkey and trimmings, cooked and served by our hard-working catering team, led by Mrs Sam Swann, really ensured that everyone was well fed and happy. It was lovely to be able to invite Fr Kevin and Fr David to join me for lunch as well. Thank you very much to Mrs Swann and her wonderful team.
Please look out for the letter with the results and commentary on the recent parental survey on the school. This was circulated to families today and certainly goes a long way to helping us focus on continuous school improvement. It also highlights areas where we are succeeding, which is so affirming for the staff here – great motivation to continue doing an excellent job.
I also need to highlight the matter of school attendance as this is very much on the government’s, as well as the Department for Education’s, radar at the moment. If you receive a letter from school on this, please do accept it in the spirit in which it is meant. Not only do we have a statutory duty to uphold, we also want to ensure that every pupil has the best opportunity to succeed and be the best that they can be. Our aim is for every pupil to have managed an attendance record of 95% and above – well done to everyone who has achieved this. This would mean that you have not missed more than 4 days over the term. We understand that there are many reasons beyond your control, such as long-term illness, bereavement or other private matters, where someone is not able to attend school. These cases are noted by the school office as such so that we are able to report this to the authorities when questioned over attendance.
I should, once again, like to thank all the staff for their hard work and dedication over a busy term; to thank our parents and families for your support and assistance; the trustees for their oversight and, once again, the pupils for being such stars. They come into school with smiles on their faces and tackle everything with such positivity; they have achieved so much. Thank you to Mrs Gordon and Mr Johnson for their work as officers of the PTA – we are most grateful to both of them. I am delighted that Mrs Gordon will stay on to help the new PTA committee in the future; she has been a star!
I would like to wish you all a most blessed and peaceful Christmas and a happy and fruitful New Year. The Jubilee Year of 2025 has been proclaimed by Pope Francis as the Year of Hope.
I hope you get the chance to spend some quality time with your families and loved ones. That you manage some well-deserved rest. I want to thank you also, for the kindness shown to myself and all the staff in the giving of cards and gifts.
For those travelling anywhere, I wish you safe travels.
God bless,
Rob Duigan
