Dear Parent / Carer,
Re: End of Term
Well it certainly has been a much busier year for us all at THS culminating in an outstanding Activities Week for Years 7-9 and Work Experience for our Year 10 students.
Today we welcomed them all back to school for one last time before heading off for the long-awaited summer holidays. It has been wonderful to see the wide range of activities and experiences our students have encountered this week and I am sure many of them have created fond memories and new friendships along the way.
As leaders of the school, my Senior Leadership Team are already making plans and preparing for September and we will be sharing some of these changes in this letter but also at the beginning of the new academic year. Here are some reminders and some changes we want to share with you before we break up:
Attendance
Being in school is important to your child’s achievement, wellbeing, and wider development. Evidence shows that students with the highest levels of attendance go on to achieve the best outcomes in their GCSEs. At THS we aim for all students to have an attendance rate of 95% or above. Whilst the last few years have been disrupted by school closure due to Covid and strike we do not anticipate the same levels of disruption next year. DFE guidance states that every child has the right to attend full time education and that parents have a legal responsibility to ensure their child attends school regularly. Whilst we appreciate that at times your children may have genuine illness, we ask for your support in ensuring that where your child can be in school they are. We very much look forward to working in partnership with you to ensure excellent attendance and achievement for all our students.
Reading
We will continue to focus on the importance of reading across the school. Reading is a fundamental skill and also a great pleasure and it is our priority at THS that we support every student to be able to read fluently. The tutor reading programme will continue but as a result of feedback from staff and students we have made some adjustments to some of the books that will be studied. D.E.A.R Drop Everything and Read will now take place for 15mins every day. Both whole school reading priorities will be supported with a targeted reading intervention programme for those students who are identified as requiring additional support.
Equipment
In order for students to be ready for the learning day ahead, it is vitally important that they come to school fully equipped. Please see below, a list of expected equipment to be brought to school every day by all students.
- School bag
- Clear pencil case
- Black Pen / Purple Pen / Pencil / highlighter / Eraser and Ruler
- Reading book
- Scientific calculator
- Reusable water bottle
- Glue stick
We would appreciate it if you could draw your child’s attention to the new expectation around an appropriate reading book for every day as essential equipment to facilitate our focus on D.E.A.R. The expectation is that all students in all year groups have the correct equipment at all times.
Warn/Move/Remove
Further to communication this term we have successfully seen a decrease in the number of resets given to students after some changes to our warn/move/remove system. This has specifically tackled low level disruptive behaviour that prevents learning from happening. From September we will be rolling this out whole school to ensure consistent practice from all colleagues. We will be sharing our updated Behaviour policy with you in due course which will highlight these changes along with further information on relational practice, promoting positive collaborative working with all stake holders in our school community.
Uniform
Our uniform policy, including PE uniform and jewellery remains unchanged for September, please see our website for clarification. The links below are acceptable uniform in line with our school policy. As with all uniform items, on individual bodies they can look quite different so please ensure that trousers are not of the stretchy material and are tailored. Shorts are to be worn to the knee. If you are unsure in away way your child’s Head of Year or Assistant Head of Year will be available to support.
Uniform links
Tiverton High School • Thomas Moore (thomasmooretoymaster.com)
Girls Black Straight Leg Adjustable Waist School Trousers | New Look
Black Slim Leg Trousers | New Look
Boys Black Adjustable Waist Slim Leg School Trousers | New Look
Boys’ Slim Leg School Trousers (2-18 Yrs) | M&S Collection | M&S (marksandspencer.com)
Boys’ Regular Leg School Trousers (2-16 Yrs) | M&S Collection | M&S (marksandspencer.com)
Girls’ Slim Leg School Trousers (2-18 Yrs) | M&S Collection | M&S (marksandspencer.com)
Girls’ Button Front School Shorts (2-16 Yrs) | M&S Collection | M&S (marksandspencer.com)
Boys’ 2 Pack Slim Leg Black School Shorts (T76 4934) (mandsyourschooluniform.com)
ASOS DESIGN slim skim cigarette trouser in black | ASOS
Buy Slim Trousers from the Next UK online shop
Buy School Formal Slim Leg Trousers (3-17yrs) from the Next UK online shop
To support families with the cost-of-living crisis we are opening a second-hand uniform shop which is being built over the summer holidays. We already have a wide array of trousers, cardigans, ties, jackets, and PE uniform. Parents will be able to look at these items over the summer holidays on the same days that we are opening for riveting (see times below).
Year 11 change ties for their final year at THS. Please ensure that your son/daughter has one for the start of September. Ties move with the year groups, please see below the tie designs for September 2023.
If trousers or shorts are purchased from Thomas Moore, they will rivet them at the store to confirm that they are approved items of school uniform. All other trousers and shorts need to be approved and rivetted at THS. The school will be open on the following dates for you to get your items checked and rivetted, please report to reception:
- Wednesday 23rd August – 9:00am – 11:00am
- Thursday 24th August – 12:00 – 2:00pm
- Monday 4th September 8:30 – 4:00pm
- Tuesday 5th September 8:30 – 4:00pm
The actual process of riveting takes a matter of seconds, so we will not have you waiting at the high school for long.
Staff return to school on Monday 4th September with two full staff training days.
On Wednesday 6th September we welcome all our new Year 7s into school at 8:25am for an 8:30am start gathering under the covered way ready for assembly.
The remaining Years 8-11 can arrive from 11:00 for a 11:25am start.
At 11:25 am Year 11 will assemble at the front of school.
Year 8, 9 and 10 students go straight to tutor rooms.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the families who supported the school this academic year.
As a school community we are all looking forward to the summer break and hope you have a safe and happy summer holiday and look forward to welcoming all our students back to the High School on Wednesday 6th September 2023.
Yours sincerely
Sammy Crook
Head