April 7th - Message from the Headmaster

Dear Parents,

The Senior School is full for September both boarding and day. Late applications will still be considered but, in the present climate, I am delighted to share this with you and I would like to thank you all for your great support. The good opinions expressed by our parents are such a valuable part of marketing the school. I hope also that you feel your concerns are both welcomed and listened to.

Some of you will know that we have introduced an exciting new change to the curriculum for all those of our pupils going into Year 10 in September 2011. Our students will be studying 9 GCSEs instead of 10 and for the rest of their curriculum they will be studying four core areas: Society (Religion, Politics and Economics); Culture and Sport (Art, Drama and Sports Leadership); Personal Development (languages for non linguists, Careers Education, the Duke of Edinburgh Award and a Service to the Community element).

We believe that this will better prepare our pupils for the rigorous demands of A level and broaden their horizons in preparation for University interviews and later life in general. We have received confirmation from Oxford, Cambridge, Warwick, Nottingham and UCL Universities that this change will in no way prejudice a student’s application to these top universities. The Admissions Office of Oxford University wrote as follows "We can confirm that your students will not be at any disadvantage in the Oxford admissions process because of the number of GCSE qualifications they have obtained. We do not have any fixed requirements at this level and as such do not discriminate between candidates on the basis of the number of GCSEs they have". The other University Admissions Offices replied in a very similar way. I am confident that this development will greatly enhance the learning experience of our KS4 pupils and I look forward to sharing the finer details with you at the beginning of next term.

The achievements of this term are catalogued for all to see in these newsletters. The school has been busy and productive and I am very pleased with how the term has gone. I have met more parents this term than usual; I welcome this very much and hope that you will continue to feel able to contact me at any time. The school is open during the holidays and I will be available should you need me.