Dear Parents
Welcome back to a very important year in the history of the school.
We start our Centenary year in January, the school having been founded in Bexhill in 1912. There will be many Centenary events and you should all have a copy of the Centenary calendar to help plan your year.
The Senior School is full and the Prep School is also enjoying strong numbers with 19 new pupils this term. The 54 new pupils at the Senior School seem to have settled in extremely well and we are working hard to make their first weeks with us happy and fulfilling.
We also welcomed 12 new staff in a variety of capacities to our work force of 120. Not least of these is Maria Maslin, the new Head of the Preparatory School and I look forward very much to working closely with her in the years ahead and to sharing her great expertise. She is already an extremely highly regarded local headteacher.
We are delighted to celebrate the academic success of last year’s examination candidates. There have been both collective and individual successes. Two of our pupils will be starting their studies at Oxford University in a few weeks, two more will be starting at Central St. Martin’s, one will be studying medicine at Heidelberg University, another Music at Durham, one will be starting at Guildford College of Acting and another at the Academy of Contemporary Music. Other pupils will be going to a wide range of universities, which include the Royal Veterinary College, London Queen Mary’s, Birmingham, Sussex and Essex.
We had our best ever performances at GCSE from some extraordinarily talented and hard-working young people. Jo Hartnell achieved a staggering 11A*s and Dani Edmunds 10A*s with 99% in an incredible 6 of her subjects and 100% in another. Bethany James, after a year of ill-health, nonetheless managed 9A*s and Daniel Snape also 9A*s with one A. Lily Lindon amassed seven A*s with 4 As. Other pupils gaining 8 or more As and A*s were Lilly Lee, James McIntyre, Rocky Bullin, Betty Edwards and Emily Montford. Jed Crouch and Helen Kingwell achieved 7A*s and A grades. I am delighted that all bar one of these hugely sucessful pupils above will be gracing our Sixth Form for the next two years.
The factor which all the above pupils have in common is that they worked extremely hard and, in the end, this is the most powerful message their success gives to the next generations.
So, a very exciting year lies ahead and as always I urge you as parents to stay in really close contact with the school. The education of your children is a team effort in which we are privileged to play a part and we can best help them by combining our talents and working together in their best interests. Share the ups and the downs of these vitally important years with us!
Best wishes to you all
Roger Clark
As my son commences his final year at the Abbey I find myself reflecting upon the many changes that have taken place since he joined Nursery in November 1996!! There have been many teachers and pupils that have come and gone but the key factor that encouraged us to entrust the education of our son to Battle Abbey has never changed: the family, caring environment. Even when you sometimes feel disappointed, there is always someone at the school willing to support you, and your child. I think my son is ready to move on and that's a good thing to encourage him to grow and move on. I for one, however, will miss the long and supportive relationship we have had with the school.
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