Headteacher's Weekly Update 10 - Friday 13th November 2026
Dear Parents and Carers
I hope this letter finds you and your families well; a Friday update for you as always.
It has been another busy and productive week at Kelmscott, with students continuing to work hard both in and beyond the classroom. I wanted to share a few updates and highlight some of the opportunities available to our students.
A group of our Year 10 History students visited The Clink Prison Museum in Southwark as part of their Edexcel GCSE History course, specifically their study of Crime and Punishment. The Clink dates back to the 12th century and is one of England's oldest and most notorious prisons. Indeed, it is where the expression 'in the clink' originates. Students explored the history of crime, punishment and imprisonment, examining historical artefacts and learning about the often harsh conditions experienced by prisoners. This was a fascinating opportunity to bring their classroom learning to life and deepen their understanding of how attitudes towards crime and punishment have changed over time.
Our Year 10 Art and Photography students recently visited the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, where they explored its extraordinary plants, glasshouses, historic buildings and landscapes. Photography students put their skills into practice using DSLR cameras and macro lenses, capturing the gardens’ varied forms and discovering sculptures by Henry Moore. They also visited an exhibition exploring his work alongside contemporary artists inspired by nature. The visit gave students the chance to develop their observational and photography skills, gather visual research and find ideas for their GCSE coursework, while experiencing one of London’s most remarkable natural and cultural environments.
It was good to welcome so many families into school for yesterday's Tutor–Parent Day. I hope you found the conversations with your child's form tutor constructive and informative. These meetings provide an important opportunity to reflect on progress, attendance, punctuality, behaviour, rewards and participation in school life, as well as to celebrate successes and identify any areas requiring attention. We place enormous value on the relationship between school and home. Our shared commitment to each child's education and development is crucial, and I am grateful to families for the time they invested in these conversations and for their continued support.
Next week is national Anti-Bullying Week, with this year's theme being 'Break the Silence'. The campaign encourages young people to speak up when they experience or witness bullying, and reminds us all of the importance of listening, challenging unkind behaviour and taking action. Students have already participated in assemblies exploring these themes.
On Monday 16th November, we will mark the start of the week with Odd Socks Day. Students are encouraged to wear odd socks as a simple way of celebrating individuality and recognising that our differences are something to value.
Today is World Kindness Day, a timely reminder of the importance of kindness in our school community. At Kelmscott, we work hard to build a culture of kindness, respect and belonging. Bullying in any form is never tolerated, and students should know they can speak to a trusted adult if something is troubling them. We also want students to feel confident challenging unkindness when they see it. Kindness is not simply about what we say; it is shown through our everyday interactions and the way we treat one another.
You may have seen recent government announcements this week concerning mobile phones in schools, with further restrictions coming in from September 2027.
(This sits alongside mandates concerning young people's access to social media set to begin in Spring) We welcome the greater clarity on this important issue and will explore the implications carefully as a Senior Leadership Team before updating families, as soon as possible. A Kelmscott ban on mobile phones, including both smartphones and basic 'brick phones', is the likely direction of travel. From conversations I have had with families over recent years, I suspect this would be welcomed by many. Indeed, for the past four years, my advice to incoming Year 7 families has been not to buy their child a smartphone. We will consider any changes carefully, particularly the practical implications for students and families, and communicate our plans in due course.
Our attendance this week stands at 93%, with our whole-school target remaining 98%. Thank you to families who continue to prioritise regular attendance and punctuality. Every school day matters, and I would particularly encourage families to maintain strong attendance on Fridays, which our recent analysis has identified as an area for improvement. Good attendance is fundamental to students making progress, maintaining friendships and participating fully in school life.
We are moving to a digital booking system via EduLink One for Progress Evenings, starting with Year 9 on Thursday 26th November. Year 9 families will need to have access to the app or the online portal to book their appointments. The booking window will open on Monday 16th November at 7pm and will remain open until midnight on Sunday 22nd November. Detailed instructions went out to Year 9 families earlier today. We kindly ask any families who have not yet accessed their EduLink One account, or who are experiencing login difficulties, to contact the school so our team can assist you.
A further reminder about our PE kit arrangements. Students must arrive at school wearing their Kelmscott PE kit on days when they have PE lessons, bringing their full school uniform neatly packed in their bag in case they need to change following wet weather. This arrangement allows PE lessons to begin promptly, maximising valuable learning time. It is important that all students follow this expectation consistently, as even a small number arriving without their PE kit can delay the start of lessons. Thank you for your continued support with this, it has worked much better this week.
Finally, congratulations to all students who have earned rewards points this week through their hard work, positive attitudes and contributions to our school community.
A particular mention must go to Iris Bogan in 8C, who topped the whole-school rewards chart last week with 23 points. Well done on setting such a positive example.
Year 7: Eesa Sajjad (7C) – 18 reward points
Year 8: Iris Bogan (8C) – 23 reward points
Year 9: Matthew Zakharkov (9K) – 15 reward points
Year 10: Yousra Kerzazi Jaadi (10E) – 17 reward points
Year 11: Jayden Summers-Hendricks (11S) – 7 reward points
As always, thank you for your continued support. I hope you and your families have a restful and enjoyable weekend.
Mr Sam Jones
Headteacher
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