I have had the pleasure of working at Myton School since 1996, when I joined as a newly qualified teacher. I joined the leadership team 12 years ago and my current position involves designing the school curriculum to support and benefit all students, and in that capacity you may well have seen me at options evenings for both Year 8 into 9, and Year 11 into sixth form.

As you will know from our excellent published exam results, we are largely successful in catering for the diverse needs, abilities and interests of our students from Year 7 through to Year 13. We have been acutely aware though, that it is not true for all students, especially some of our more vulnerable students; something that Ofsted emphasised in their report in February.

I am constantly reviewing the range and balance of subjects and time allocated for each one. We need to continue to deliver a breadth of subjects, to the high standards and outcomes we have seen over many years, whilst introducing new approaches to support those students who have not historically done so well with us. To this end, we have been recruiting additional English and Maths teachers for September, allowing us to both increase the number of hours allocated to those subjects and also introduce smaller group sizes to enable more rapid progress.

I’d like to ask you to talk to your child about their experiences at school and the important phases of their journey, through Key Stage 3, into the GCSE and BTEC options and A Levels. I recognise that the pace of change in education can be daunting for all, and to that end, if you would like to ask any specific questions about choices, options and our curriculum, so you can help your child, please do not hesitate to contact me, and I will do my best to support you.

Clubs and trips

In my role as the point of contact for all visits and trips, I would urge you to encourage your child to become involved in activities beyond the classroom. We have a hugely diverse range of extra curricular opportunities at Myton, including sports, drama, music, homework support, chess club and academic support. If your child joins a club, they will have the opportunity to make new friends and challenge themselves with new experiences that take themselves out of their comfort zone. This might mean performing on stage in a drama performance, singing with the school choir, or representing the school in a sporting fixture.

We also run off-site activities, including theatre trips, educational visits, opportunities to explore museums, and residential visits both in the UK and abroad: New York, Duke of Edinburgh, Newquay, Iceland, Auschwitz and the Into the Woods trip to name but a few. If they are able to join us for one of these experiences, they might have to face their fears coasteering at Newquay, wonder at the powers of the natural world when they see the geyser erupt in Iceland, or reflect on the importance of valuing all humans equally as they enter the chilling gates to Auschwitz.

I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank those staff who organise and support these events. They are life-changing, hugely developmental opportunities for our young people, and without staff willing to lead and support them, they simply couldn’t happen.

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