Head Teacher Message

posts up to Friday, 20 December 2024.

Dear Parents and Carers

Nothing says Christmas like a Panto complete with a Dame, a Prince, an Evil Queen and lots of smutty innuendo – great stuff. Thanks so much to all the staff who contributed to the production last night. As those who were there will know, all the money raised by the Panto and by the Year 11 students who were baking and selling cakes outside will go towards helping one of our students gain that bit more independence by funding an electric wheelchair. The generosity of all the parents who came to watch the Panto has been really moving and the whole production has raised over £2000. Thanks to all who gave and took part. A special thank you also to our cleaning company Reef who, via one of their employees Surinder, raised £125. We have several other plans to raise funds and will be back in touch in the new year.

In the meantime, have a great Christmas and New Year, thank you for your undying support over 2024 and we’ll see you all in 2025.

Dear Parents and Carers

It feels very Christmassy around the place today as the kids and staff wear a beautiful selection of tasteful Christmas jumpers. Though my own participation in this event has been defeated by the mysterious shrinking (obviously the only explanation) of my Christmas jumper over several years so now it doesn’t fit at all and if forced on, the image of Rudolf on the front gets stretched and distorted to the extent it may upset the children. Still, hopefully the Christmassy feeling lasts for the remainder of the term before we can begin the two week holiday in earnest and I can renew my annual quest to eat so much rich food and so many cheese boards that I begin January with Gout.

Next week we have our Christmas Concert and the Year 7 Carol Service which will add to the festival atmosphere. As will the staff panto, a new feature of Christmas at Myton following the success of last year’s production. Who would have thought we have such talent in the staff (I had no idea) and so many teachers who want to dress up as pantomime dames? Tickets are available to buy through ParentPay.

Best wishes

Andy Perry

Dear Parents and Carers

You may have heard that we had some unexpected visitors onto our school site this week. Before dawn most days we have a herd of deer who graze on our school field, making for a very majestic sight. However, they got either brave or lost earlier this week and some ended up on site during the school day. We sorted the situation quickly and safely but it certainly made for a bit of unexpected excitement.

Best wishes

Andy Perry

Dear Parents and Carers

I’m always glad to move from November into December. Maybe it’s the dark evenings, or the weather we’ve had of rain, gloom, snow and floods, but whatever it is, it seems some kids struggle a bit in November. So I’m very happy we move into December and advent next week and fingers crossed the dry weather holds out. It’s a good time for our Year 11s as well. They are finishing their mocks and will come out of the last fortnight not only with a clearer idea of what an exam season feels like but also, once their papers are marked and back with them, absolute clarity on what gaps they have in their knowledge and/or skills to get them their desired grades. We will often speak to Year 11 about how long is left before exams (18 school weeks or so – 9 rotations of the 2 week timetable) but given the clarity they will have about their strengths and weaknesses after these mocks, that is plenty of time to make a huge difference to their outcomes.

I will be looking forward to delivering a Year 11 assembly on all this very soon and will keep giving the same message……concentrate on what you can control; getting into school on time, understanding your own knowledge and skills gaps, studying at home regularly to address these gaps and putting in a huge effort into all of this.

Best wishes

Andy Perry

Dear Parents and Carers

As you will see in this week’s Weekly News stories, our school clubs have been busy this week. We have a really great variety of clubs and societies on offer at Myton, taking place at lunchtimes or after school, with something to suit pretty much every interest. Alongside the sports clubs, we have ‘Not so Horrible Histories’, Robot Wars, Filmosophy, Crochet and Knitting, Game Making, Vocal Group, and many, many more. I really would encourage your child to join at least one of these clubs if they can. They are a great way to gain a new interest or hobby (or develop an existing one), learn new skills, and to make friends with students outside of their own friendship or year group. Well done to the students who already participate in these clubs and for your efforts in organising events and competitions within the school. And thank you to the staff who run them, for your time and enthusiasm.

Best wishes

Andy Perry

Dear Parents and Carers

I was really proud of the school on Monday as we gathered together for our Remembrance event. We have reflected that in previous years Remembrance Day hasn’t had the profile we believe it should. It is so important, in a world where kids live in the here and now and increasingly through social media, that we take a moment and help them understand the sacrifices that have gone before, are still going on today and which have gotten us to this point. So rather than the usual assemblies and silence, we gathered all the students and staff around the “D” where our flag is located to show our respect together. We had readings and poems, a bugler and our fantastic students from the Army and Airforce Cadets marched along the road to place the wreath. We have a lot of kids and staff so we did this in three sessions, the final one coinciding with the 11.00am silence which was marked by cannon fire from Warwick Castle (which also set off about 200 of the noisiest geese in the world who flew directly overhead in a V-shape during the two minutes silence in a kind of budget fly past).

Thanks to all the staff and students for their participation and particular thanks to our fantastic Cadets and bugler.

Best wishes

Andy Perry

Dear Parents and Carers

We are very proud of our Sixth Form and what we can offer to post-16 students. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted, our large Sixth Form offers a broad curriculum of 36 subjects (with a range of A levels, BTECs and other vocational courses) taught by experienced and specialist teachers. Our Sixth Formers continue with a full-time experience, with all students on site every day, making the most of their new purpose built Sixth Form Centre (with very tempting Sixth Form Café) and impressive study space to support learning.

There are a host of enrichment and leadership opportunities available, including our Student Senior Leadership Team, work experience and the Kissing it Better community project. We have an extensive careers programme offering help with university and apprenticeship applications and students are supported by designated form tutors, a Head of Year, plus pastoral support from within the Sixth Form team.

Dear Parents and Carers

We have had a busy and eventful start to the academic year (and this year for all the right reasons) with a half term packed with great activities, events and trips. We’ve had (among others) Art and Photography trips to Birmingham, a visit to Cadbury’s World, fieldtrips to Shrewsbury and Carding Mill Valley and students start their root to shoots project at Mallory Court Hotel. We have welcomed guests to deliver workshops in school, from the NCS providing skills booster sessions to Explorer Dome, who brought their immersive planetary dome experience to our Year 9s. Our sport teams have celebrated successes and as you will read this week, the KS3 debating club have debated their way into a competition semi-final. We ended Black History Month with an African dance workshop and disco (you can read an excellent write up of this in this week’s newsletter by Year 13 student Izzie).

Dear Parents and Carers

The last few weeks have seen lots of families touring the school with their Year 6 children, which has been really enjoyable. Thanks to the staff who have welcomed into their classroom a tour group of 20 people to watch them teach or paused their lessons to speak to the Year 6s and their parents, and thanks to all who joined us over the last few weeks, I hope you enjoyed seeing the school in session.

One thing that is always discussed (normally before the tour over a coffee in our new Sixth Form Centre) is catchment areas in Warwick and Leamington. The answer to this is now very different to how it was two years ago due to Oakley School opening. Oakley School has taken all the place pressure out of the area, especially Warwick, which means current Year 6 parents will have lots of choice. The numbers show this will remain the case for the next few years as the new housing is built. Myton can take up to 284 into Year 7 (though we are slightly fewer than that in our current Year 7 due to higher numbers going to Oakley). We also saw our catchment move further out, as far as Hatton for our current Year 7s.

The next few years will see exactly what the Local Authority planned, giving parents some choice and having all kids in Warwick and Leamington in local schools. Certainly a good time to be a Year 6 parent and if I saw you on our tours, I hope you enjoyed seeing us with all our kids in.

Best wishes

Andy Perry

Dear Parents and Carers

We have been busy with school tours over the last couple of weeks. Attendance for them all has been fantastic and I have enjoyed the opportunity to show off our school. Open days are great, but you can’t really beat seeing a school on a normal day, full of the bustle of students and lessons. The feedback received from parents and carers who’ve attended the tours has been extremely positive, particularly about our new modular buildings. We are very aware that the buildings look like HMP Myton from the outside and unfortunately we are restricted on how we can improve the exterior. However, the interior is a very different story. Inside is modern, clean and smart, with our CARE message prominent throughout. Teachers have made their classrooms colourful, welcoming and inspiring. Parents and carers have been very pleasantly surprised at what lies beyond the boring grey walls and have been impressed with our new specialist Art, Music and Photography facilities. The old phrase applies here – don’t judge a book by it’s cover.