Bronte SchoolHeadmaster’s Newsletter 44

11 September 2015

If, for our new pupils, last week was a hurdle, this week has brought the daunting experience of the 11+ examination, which on Thursday was sat by all our Year 6 class. It’s quite something to undergo examinations for most of the school day, a test of character to sit the papers and calmly to answer the questions. Now it’s over and it is the time when our candidates can – and should – avoid the temptation to re-run the exam in their minds, and instead look firmly forward. I’m quite sure that all of them will have done well by themselves. All went very smoothly with the administration of the exam – and I’m very grateful to all our staff involved, and to Mr Devlin, the external invigilator.

Mrs Gordon has asked me to pass on congratulations to parents for the healthy quality of the children’s snacks! We introduced some new guidelines for the start of this term, and the children will I am sure have benefitted from all that parents have provided.

This past week has seen the term’s routines being established. It has been the second and last one when Reception children leave early – next week they are on normal school days. Clubs and activities got going, and also swimming started, this term for Years 2 and 5.

Last Friday’s talk by Mrs Kybert to Reception parents was a fascinating insight into early learning. It was a reminder of the technicalities of introducing to these 4 year-olds the mysteries and, in English at least, some of the quirky rules of reading, writing and much else besides. We learned about the power of young children’s brains to absorb and learn new material, but even so, these are surely some of the greatest learning challenges of all our lives.

Mrs Rezki has started some sports taster sessions at lunchtimes, details of which have just been sent out on ParentMail by Mrs Wood. These are a great opportunity to learn about a sport and see if it is something which appeals.

Finally, we have been looking at how to develop assessment of children’s academic progress, a notoriously hard thing to do well, as the concepts of “academic ability” and “progress in performance” are of course complex, and difficult to measure. Many parents will be familiar with National Curriculum Levels, and these have been serving us well in giving a snapshot of what has been learned and absorbed. Additionally we have looking at our ways to assess basic ability across a range of areas, and Mrs Wood has written to give you more details about this. It’s a very helpful guide, and I commend the letter to you. Fair, accurate assessment is such an important part of the educational journey.

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Looking Ahead Week 3 Tuesday, 15th September

Year 1: Forest School begins

Week 4 Friday, 25th September

Macmillan Cancer Support Coffee Morning 9.00am – 11.00am & 2.30pm – 3.30pmAll parents welcome