Posted Dec 19 - 2024Headteacher's Newsletter
what's happening at Chesham Grammar
Posted on: March 19th 2021
Head's Blog
Dear parent,
On this Friday one year ago, Chesham Grammar School, along with all other schools, was closed to the vast majority of students for an indefinite period. I vividly remember seeing the students off at the end of the day, a moment I shall never forget. My newsletter from that day reads:
"We said goodbye to your children today. We are well used to doing this but never without the certainty of knowing when we would see them again. As I stood at the gates and welcomed the students this morning, I felt quite emotional, not knowing when I would get to do so again. They have been a credit to us and to you this week. This time last week, we had fixtures, assemblies and school visits and in a week, so much has changed but the students have just carried on regardless and this has enabled us to carry on as normal. I spoke to them in assembly this afternoon because it did not feel right to let them leave without passing on a few key messages. These were to be kind to themselves and each other during what will be a difficult period. I asked them to be considerate at home and to help where they can. I said it is fine to be anxious, worried or sad and that while they should do the work set, they must remember that learning is not just something set on Canvas. Above all I told them not to worry about what they will miss when they are off. They are not alone and we will work hard to catch up whenever we are back."
Re-reading this reminded me of just how quickly events changed leading up to that day, as the reference to 'assemblies, fixtures and school visits' attests. Of course on that day last March, nobody knew that it would be September before schools would fully reopen and nobody would have dreamt that a year on, things would still not be back to normal. I reiterate what I said last March: your children are a credit to you and to us and I dearly hope that it will not be too long before things are as they were before March 2020, with assemblies, school visits and fixtures once again a routine part of life at CGS.
The students seemed to enjoy the Red Nose mufti day today and this will have raised a good deal of money for Comic Relief. My thanks to the Franklin House Captains who coordinated this and to Mr Spittle for overseeing it.
Yesterday, I spoke to students in Years 11 and 13 about the process for grading their GCSE and A levels and Mr Patteson has sent home information today which indicates what subject content will be assessed in each subject and, by omission, what content Subject Leaders have removed so that students are clear about what they need to know. This may change slightly (ie the content may be further reduced: it will not be increased) once we get the final information and guidance from Ofqual and the assessment materials from the exam boards, all of which is due by the end of this month. We are just finalising the assessment timetable which will be made available in the next few days, along with detailed information on how the assessments will run. Thank you for the questions about GCSEs and A levels submitted via the MSForm I sent out last week. Mr Patteson has responded to those of you who included your contact details, having asked for an answer to a specific question and I hope you found this useful.
Our lateral flow testing came to an end on Tuesday with the final test taking place just before 3pm. We have now moved to home testing for students and staff with those taking part asked to conduct these twice weekly. It would be very helpful if you could help us to get the students into the habit of doing them on Sunday and Wednesday and then to upload the results. This can be done very quickly via the 'student Covid testing' Team of which they are all a member. Thank you for your support with this and please encourage a test to be undertaken this Sunday. Finally, another huge thank you to those parents who were in school assisting with the testing process. We simply could not have done it without you. We are lucky indeed to have such a supportive parent body.
With best wishes for a relaxing weekend,
Annmarie McNaney
Headteacher
