Headteacher's Weekly Update 37 - Friday 4th July 2025

Dear Parents/Carers

I hope this letter finds you and your families well.  A Friday update for you as always, this time composed in Switzerland, where I am currently representing Great Britain in the Over-50s Basketball World Championships.  It has been an incredible experience so far and I am proud to share more about it with you later in this letter.

The summer term continues to move at pace. With just under three school weeks remaining before the holidays, there is still plenty happening.  It has been an exceptionally hot week and I know many will be grateful for the slight respite brought by the cooler weather.  As ever, our students and staff have risen to the challenge, making the most of every opportunity.

Firstly some Key Reminders:

INSET Day – Monday 7th July.  A reminder that Monday is an INSET day.  Students will not be in school and we hope they enjoy the extended weekend.  Staff will be on-site taking part in professional development activities, as well as using the time to plan and prepare for the year ahead.

EduLink One - If you have not yet downloaded and logged into our new school app, EduLink One, please do so before the end of term.  This will allow us to resolve any login issues in advance.   Please note that from September, we will no longer be using MyEd, so it is essential that all parents/carers have the EduLink One app installed to ensure continued access to school communications.  Thank you for your support and please get in contact with us if you require any assistance with this.

Sports days - Calendar reminders: For Years 7 & 8 sports day will be on Thursday 17th July.  Years 9 & 10 sports day will be on Friday 18th July.  Please look out for MyEd messages with full details that will be sent out towards the end of next week.

On Wednesday, we welcomed just under two hundred Year 6 students for Transition Day; our newest cohort of future students.  It was also a pleasure to welcome many of their families and carers during the evening information session.

The students made a fantastic first impression; polite, enthusiastic and eager to get involved.  Many are siblings of current or former students, which is always lovely to see.  It is remarkable to think that just a year ago, our current Year 7s were in their shoes - they have grown so much in confidence and maturity.

During her welcome to students, Ms Thorp made a powerful and encouraging point when she spoke about our newly appointed team of prefects, who supported the cohort throughout the day.  She reminded students that these students were sitting exactly where they were, five years ago, and since then, have embraced all that Kelmscott has to offer.  They have kept the Kelmscott Way at the heart of their five year journey, a compelling reminder of the exciting path of growth and achievement available to every student. 

At the evening information session, Ms Dalton, Deputy Headteacher, delivered an informative presentation covering the transition process, school expectations and our values.  She also spoke about our alumni;  happy, confident students, who have gone on to a wide range of exciting pathways.

Our uniform partner, Fashion Flair, was also in attendance to display uniform options and answer questions.  The event was extremely well attended, and it was fantastic to see such high levels of engagement.   We very much look forward to welcoming our new Year 7s in September.

We are incredibly proud of Year 8 students, Mabel Harris, Ruxandra Handiuc, Ayaan Sarwar and Saaqib Siraj, who represented Kelmscott at the Young Green Briton Challenge finals on 1st July, at London City Hall.  Out of just forty five schools nationally, our students presented an innovative biodiversity project, impressing leading environmentalists including BBC presenter Chris Packham and the Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy.  Their homemade seed bombs and thoughtful local solutions drew particular praise.  While they did not secure final funding, reaching the national stage is a fantastic achievement.  Congratulations.

On Wednesday six students visited the William Morris Gallery to explore the William Morris Mania exhibition, learning about the artist’s life, stained glass and nature-inspired textiles.  Led by Miss Kelly, the trip was a wonderful opportunity to learn in a new environment and connect with local history and creativity.  The students returned full of enthusiasm and keen to visit again after a picnic in the gallery grounds.

Sports now and over the past seven weeks, fifty Kelmscott students from Years 7–10 have competed in borough-wide athletics events, culminating in an action-packed finals day at the Feel Good Centre.  Across over twenty events, our students brought home an incredible twenty nine medals.

Top Medal Winners: 🏅 Myah Farrigua (7E) – 1st in 200m, 2nd High Jump, 3rd Relay 🏅 Sercan Kucuk (9E) – 3rd 200m, 3rd Triple Jump, 2nd Relay 🏅 Taliyah Lottrie (7S) – 3rd 100m & Relay 🏅 Clementine Archer (8E) – 2nd High Jump, 3rd Relay 🏅 Ada Yeow (8) – 2nd 100m, 3rd Relay 🏅 Terrell-James McArthur-Dallas (9L) – 2nd Long Jump & Relay 🏅 Daniel Farkas (10M) – 3rd Long Jump & 100m

Other medallists included: Adam Watton, Eleanor Nickson, Ronan Kelly, Lily Adamo, Lina Laichour, Marlene McNamara, Kirsten Singh, Abdulmajid Senga, Burt Williams, Robert Basilio, and Usman Baccus.   A huge thank you to our dedicated PE team for supporting our athletes.  A brilliant end to a successful athletics season.

Looking ahead to next week when we are pleased to welcome Ms Moynihan, a Deputy Headteacher from Bishop Stopford School, who will be joining us as part of a research and development internship.   During her time with us, she will act as a critical friend, focusing on our assessment and feedback systems to support ongoing improvement and share best practice. 

I would like to signpost two community opportunities now:

HAF Summer Programme -  Waltham Forest’s Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme offers free summer activities for children eligible for free school meals. Details are available in the HAF and FSM info packs.  To find out more and the places available to book please see here.

‘Rolling with the Man Dem’  a free, eight-week roller-skating programme for young Black males aged 13–25 who live in Waltham Forest.  Combining physical activity with peer group discussions, networking and skills development to support mental wellbeing.  Participants will also benefit from inspiring guest speakers and potential employment pathways within the skating world.  Intermediate to advanced skating ability required.  For more information please see here 

You will have received a MyEd message on Wednesday 2nd July regarding the extension of the temporary uniform adjustment due to the warm weather.   To help keep students comfortable, this extension will apply through next week.  For all of next week, students may continue to choose to wear their PE kit instead of the full uniform.

If students opt to wear their regular uniform, they may leave their blazers at home but must not substitute them with any other jumpers or jackets.   Please remember that hoodies are not permitted under our uniform rules.  Lanyards must still be worn at all times.  We will review these arrangements again next week and provide an update as needed.

As we approach the end of term and the summer holiday period, we would like to remind all families about our attendance policy.

If a student is absent due to illness before the end of term or during the summer holidays, the absence will be marked as unauthorised unless medical evidence is provided.  Unauthorised absences may result in a Fixed Penalty Notice being issued, which applies per child and per parent - clearly something we would like to avoid.   

Similarly, if a student returns to school late after the summer holidays without supporting medical evidence, the absence will also be marked as unauthorised, potentially leading to a Fixed Penalty Notice.   We want to avoid this situation and appreciate your cooperation in ensuring that any absences during term time are avoided.   

As mentioned at the start of this update, I write this letter from Switzerland where this week I have been fortunate to represent Great Britain in the Over-50s Basketball World Championships, an unforgettable experience I am proud to share with the Kelmscott community.   We have faced strong teams: a narrow loss to Serbia was followed by a convincing win over Argentina.  Though we fought hard, close defeats to Italy and Colombia have kept us striving.  Now, we turn our focus to the final game against Poland. A victory would secure an impressive 20th-place finish on the global stage, a result the team would be immensely proud of.

Thank you once again for your kind messages and continued support.  It has truly made this experience even more special.  My sincere thanks also goes to the exceptional Kelmscott staff team and Governors for your unwavering encouragement and support.

Finally, congratulations to the students who topped the reward point charts this week.  A particular well done to Bea Burgess, who earned the highest number of reward points across the entire school.  Keep up the good work.

• Year 7, Bea Burgess in 7L with 47 points

• Year 8, Leon Kurczewski in 8S with 39 points

• Year 9, Linus Hopkins in 9E with 36 points

• Year 10, Vlera Podvorica in 10C with 14 points

  
  

As ever, thank you for your continued support. Wishing you a safe and restful weekend.

With every good wish,

Mr Sam Jones 

Headteacher