The Courier

Dear Parents

We have finally seen the first proper cold snap of the term, with clear skies and heavy frosts more or less throughout the week. As I drive to work each morning there is one section where the road takes a significant dip and as, a geographer, I like to use it as a gauge for a possible temperature inversion. ‘Cold air sinks down the valley sides at night and forms fog and frost pockets’ is a standard I remember well from years of teaching. I registered minus 5.5 degrees centigrade in the dip on Thursday morning, compared to a balmy minus 1 on the higher parts of the road. Exciting stuff.

Equally exciting was the wonderful nativity performance on Wednesday morning from the children in Reception and Year 1. It had been a cold and frosty start, with traffic jams more or less in every direction and many parents arrived stressed and looking at their watches. Over the next magical 30 minutes the children changed the mood in the room with their wonderful performance, with smiles and happiness all around by the end, it was a real triumph.

Next week we look forward to a new format for the Year 2 show, they will be performing songs and poems on a festive theme to parents. With the Upper School Carol Service at Princethorpe College Chapel still to come on Tuesday next week, there is much to look forward to.

Thank you to everyone who completed the parental survey questionnaire, which closed on Tuesday this week. It is very useful to hear your views on all aspects of the school and a survey to everyone is perhaps the fairest way of doing this. I will write a separate communication to all of you in the new year with more details but it was very pleasing to note that close to 100% of parents responded that their child felt happy and safe at the school and also that they felt they would be able to recommend us to friends if they were asked. We are never complacent here, but it is always nice to get good feedback. There are lots of areas for us to improve on, we know that, and we continue to question ourselves as to what we can do better as we move forward.

I will finish this week with a very big thank you to the very many parents who contributed so generously to our Salvation Army appeal over the last few days. Many of us have been moved by the idea of a child somewhere receiving a Christmas gift when they might otherwise not have had any or many to enjoy. The meeting room is full of bags and boxes of gifts that will put smiles on faces this Christmas and your generosity is so much appreciated.

Will I put the Christmas tree up this weekend? Will England win their quarter final match against France? Big questions for the weekend ahead. I won't give any predictions as, like many of my generation, I haven't yet got over the defeat to Poland in 1973, so I never actually think England are going to win. They do actually have a genuine chance, I will say that much.

Enjoy your weekends.

Joe Thackway
Headmaster