Dear Parents/Carers
I hope this letter finds you and your families well; a Friday update for you as always.
On Wednesday, we opened our doors to prospective parents for our Open Evening. The run-up
to this is always a very busy time for all of the team, as we do our utmost to show off our
school. Hundreds of current student helpers were on hand on the night, providing tours or
supporting departments. There was a real buzz around the school, even before we opened the
doors.
It was our busiest Open Evening by quite some way. Family after family, pouring through the
gates, with standing room only at the two speeches that I gave on the evening. The feedback
was very positive indeed about the school. One prominent and ever-present compliment, is the
passion of the staff that work at Kelmscott. Their passion for working with young people as well
as a passion for their respective subject areas; we really do have a terrific team to work with.
Many thanks to all those involved in the evening; I think we should be very proud of how far we
have come as a school community.
A former Kelmscott student Michelle Brefo, popped into school during the Open Evening. She
shared some fantastic news with us, she is just about to go to Magdalene College, Cambridge
University, to read Human Social and Political Sciences. Michelle was one of the hardest-working
students I have ever come across, I am not surprised one bit by her success. I know this will
be just the start for her.
I spent some time this week reading fourteen essays, that were the culmination of The Scholars
Programme a group of Year 7 students took part in last academic year. The essays were hugely
impressive and it was a great pleasure to read them. As you may remember, the students
attended seminars with Becky Balfourth (writer and current PhD student) on the topic of Literary
Theory. They were then equipped with the tools to demonstrate their knowledge by writing
1500-word essays. Participants engaged critically and nurtured their writing skills as well as
learning about different ways of perceiving the world. This is an incredible achievement which
culminated in some extremely powerful writing. Reward points have been distributed to
recognise their outstanding effort. Kelmscott places a huge emphasis on students' ability to
express themselves, and there will be plenty of opportunities for students across the year to be
creative and find their own distinctive voice through writing.
Last call, almost, for Year 10 and 11 students to attend the Globe Players event that takes place
on Monday 9th October. The Globe Players will be visiting Kelmscott to perform plays for 3
GCSE set texts; An Inspector Calls, Jekyll and Hyde, and Macbeth. We know that students who
watch the plays do significantly better in their English exams as a result.
Our Safer Schools (Police) Officer (SSO) PC Simon Owers shared some information this week
regarding a social media site that can put young people at risk. He has asked me to share this
I have had a query or two about asbestos in schools, following an article that appeared in the
Echo recently. I thought it might be helpful if I provided the information that the local authority
shared with all Headteachers this week:
â– Asbestos is a common material found in a variety of buildings and is low risk when
managed appropriately
â– Schools are aware of the presence of asbestos within their buildings and have a register
setting out the location of asbestos-containing materials
â– The school has an Asbestos Management Plan which contains details of how to care for
this material and is supported by the Local Authority in doing this
â– Asbestos management surveys are undertaken by UKAS-accredited surveyors in line with
HSE guidance
This is something that we always have a close eye on and is managed very well at the school.
The Year 8 football team was victorious over Leytonstone School this week with a 2-1 win. The
goals were scored by Sercan Kucuk and Esa Bham, with Esa being declared as Player of the
Match. Well done to the entire team, keep up the good work.
Finally, well done to Eric Henig Griffin in 11S who topped the reward points charts last week with
twenty-five, a sterling start to the academic year, keep up the good work.
Mr Sam Jones
Headteacher