Headteacher Update
September 2023
It was wonderful to welcome so many families to John Spence yesterday for our 2023 Open Evening. Once again, we were overwhelmed with the numbers who came to experience what life is like at school and I’m pleased to say that the feedback was extremely positive. Events like this are a wonderful showcase of the opportunities available to our students that result from the commitment of our staff who will always go above and beyond to provide the very best for your children in our care. A special thank you to our amazing tour guides who were confident, informative and true ambassadors of John Spence – I lost count of the number of compliments that I received from parents about them.
The next large scale event on the calendar is our or Annual Awards Evening which will take place at 6pm on Thursday 19th October. These awards celebrate the talent and achievement of students from last year and we will be delighted to welcome back students and their parents from Year 11 to recognise their successes alongside students who are currently in Years 8 to 11. Staff are busy nominating students for awards this week and once the deadline closes we will look at all the nominations and put together shortlists for the special awards. We will send out information about the ceremony to parents of students who have been nominated for an award week commencing 2nd October.
I am delighted that we have now confirmed the dates for the Year 7 residential. The residential, at Ford Castle in Northumberland, will take place between 10th and 12th July. Full details will be sent out next week including costs, payment plans and support for those families who may not be able to meet the full cost. It was an amazing trip last year, which was thoroughly enjoyed by the children and their form tutors!
Finally, our lawyers have confirmed that we will be converting to Academy status and joining the Pele Multi Academy Trust on 1st November 2023. As I have mentioned in previous updates, there is nothing to worry about and there will be no changes to our curriculum, our policies, uniform or the school name; indeed, on the surface very little will appear to change. I will write to you in the coming weeks with further details about Pele Trust along with details of changes that will occur behind the scenes as well as reminding you of the long-term benefits that joining the Trust will bring to the students at John Spence both now and in the future.
Best wishes
Jonathan