Headteacher's Weekly Update 11 - Friday 21st November 2025

Dear Parents and Carers

I hope this finds you and your families well; a Friday update for you as always.  It has been another busy and positive week in school.  I wanted to share a few important updates with you below.

Attendance - Our whole school attendance for last week was 94.00%. Here is the breakdown by year group:

• Year 7: 95.34%

• Year 8: 94.11%

• Year 9: 92.29%

• Year 10: 92.68%

• Year 11: 95.92%

This week, our students enjoyed two live language theatre performances in school.

The French play RSVP (Répondez, s'il vous plaît) followed Lea and Theo as they scrambled to organise a party in less than 24 hours.  They relied on the caretaker to book the venue, handle payments in Euros and set up the space. The story explored the humorous challenges of introducing parents and juggling family expectations, while lively music, decorations, professional choreography and engaging performances brought the party to life.

The Spanish play Un ensayo desastroso (A Disastrous Rehearsal) took place in a small-town theatre in Spain.  Verónica is unhappy at not being cast in the lead role of Romeo y Julieta, while the enthusiastic stage manager secretly dreams of taking the part herself.  Audience members were invited to get involved, taking on lines, props and even sound effects, adding to the chaos and fun of the rehearsal.

Live language theatre is always a brilliant way to bring languages to life, inspire confidence, and give students a unique, immersive experience in both French and Spanish.

A group of our Year 10 and Year 11 students took part in the BT Work Ready Virtual Bootcamp today, gaining valuable insight into digital and technology careers. The two-hour session introduced students to key digital and human skills needed in the modern workplace, and featured talks from BT Group Ambassadors about a range of career pathways.  Students also explored cutting-edge technology through a virtual tour of Aurora, BT’s flagship Customer Experience Centre, before reflecting on their own strengths and areas for development.

To put their learning into practice, students then took on an innovation challenge: designing a product to help young people aged 11–14 reduce procrastination and study more effectively.  This creative task allowed them to apply the skills highlighted in the bootcamp while building confidence, teamwork and problem-solving abilities.

Turning to our athletes now and a netball update for you.  The Year 9 team travelled to Heathcote School on Monday 17th November for the borough semi-finals. The girls played an excellent match, going into half-time with a close score of 4–2.  After the break, the team stepped up their game brilliantly, scoring three further goals while Heathcote added two more.  The match ended with a narrow 6–5 result.  Our Year 9s should be incredibly proud of their performance, progress and determination throughout the game.  Player of the match Kirsten Singh (9E).

I would like to highlight an exciting careers opportunity for those interested in careers in the armed forces, the RAF is hosting an online careers event on Tuesday 25th November from 5pm to 6:30pm, exploring a wide range of roles and pathways available to young people.  More details including how to apply may be found here. 

Fifty percent of Kelmscott students chose Monoux Sixth Form College (Sir George Monoux College) to continue their post-16 studies last year.  Monoux shares many of our Kelmscott values, kindness, inclusivity and a strong commitment to our community, and there are exciting post-16 developments underway.  With state-of-the-art facilities and an expanding range of courses on offer; I strongly encourage families of students in Year 10 and Year 11 to visit Monoux to learn more about what they can offer.  Their next open day is Saturday 22nd November, 10am–1pm.  For more information and to register, please see here.  

The Local Authority has asked all schools to share information with families about dangerous Christmas gifts currently being sold online and in shops, relevant for secondary-aged students as well as primary.  Please do take a few minutes to read the guidance from the child accident prevention trust, which can be found here.

We have installed two fully calibrated defibrillators (AED) on-site to support emergency first-aid. Both devices have been registered with ‘The Circuit’ so that emergency services can quickly locate the nearest unit if needed.  Each device includes a user guide and training is offered to all staff. Our AEDs are compact, portable, easy to use, safe and very effective. An AED will not allow a shock to be given unless the collapsed person needs one. 

You may recall that staff have recently migrated from Outlook to Gmail.  As with any large migration, there have been some teething issues and we have discovered that emails from some families have gone into spam folders unintentionally.  If you have not received a timely response to an email you have sent, please do get back in touch.  Thank you for your patience, it is much appreciated.

A reminder that Year 9 Progress Evening will take place next Thursday 27th November, from 4.30pm–7.00pm.  This is a vital checkpoint as we assess how students are progressing ahead of the Options process in the new year.  We look forward to welcoming Year 9 families into school.

Finally, well done to all our year-group reward-points winners for the week of Monday 10th - Friday 14th November 2025.  Your effort, kindness and positive contribution to school life do not go unnoticed.  A particular well done to Bailey-May Harley (10M), who topped the charts for the entire school.

➪ Year 7, Abigail Michale in 7O with 30 points 

➪ Year 8, Kaelan Kwateng in 8O with 15 points

➪ Year 9, Olive Crawford 9T with 19 points 

➪ Year 10, Bailey-May Harley in 10M with 31 points

➪ Year 11, Tazmin Jenkins-Meade 11K with 8 points    

Thank you, as always, for your ongoing support.

 Wishing you all a restful weekend.

Mr Sam Jones 

Headteacher