Headteacher's Weekly Update

Dear Families

Welcome back to Aureus School for the start of Spring Term, which feels slightly ironic given the
temperature. I trust that the festive break provided you with a well deserved opportunity to
relax and recharge. As we embark on the new term, I am delighted to share with you what has
been going on in school this week.

As you will be aware, Mrs Vicki Knight started with us this week and she has already had a
significant impact on the school, building the capacity of a fantastic team. She has already
started to build rapport with the students and is looking forward to meeting more families as
the term progresses.

I would like to thank all families for ensuring students arrive at school ready to learn, in full
school uniform and with the equipment they need for the day. It has been lovely to start the
term without needing to reiterate that message, and knowing this is part of our students feeling
like they belong and are part of the school community. Behaviour at the school has significantly
improved and we are proud of our students for upholding the high standards every day.

Our recent INSET day focussed on the precision of teaching strategies which is our main focus
for this term. The team has looked at the importance of ensuring every student is engaged in
thinking during a lesson and how we best achieve this. Learning, in essence, is the residue of
thought, and therefore everyone needs to be thinking to be able to learn. The training session
also included a snippet of putting teachers in the students position to remind them of how
difficult it can be to be a student and what we can do to support all of our learners.

This week, some of our students had the opportunity to visit Oxford University for the “It All
Adds Up” trip. This initiative is designed for female students and aims to inspire young women
to pursue further education in Mathematics. As a mathematician myself, I understand the
significance of supporting female students in their academic journey and I was pleased to hear
all about it from the students involved.

Our Personal Development Time schedule has been updated for this term and I am pleased to
see a fantastic array of sporting activities on offer. We were delighted to welcome Ella Goodwin,
a commercial dance teacher, who conducted a brilliant street dance workshop for our Dance
PDT this week, and I look forward to seeing the students working on the skills taught in the
coming weeks.

As we progress into the term, it’s remarkable to realise that the GCSE exams commence in just
17 weeks. Our Year 11 students have shown unwavering determination as they approach their
mock exams next week. During this week, 60 students participated in a lecture with Mrs Clark in
preparation for the English literature exam. We are immensely proud of the dedication they are
demonstrating.

Looking ahead, we are excited to start the Year 9 options process, marking the beginning of
their GCSE journey. Parents of Year 9 students will receive a detailed letter from Mr O’Regan this
week outlining the process and the support available. We are lucky to be able to offer a range of
subjects to our students and look forward to talking to them about their choices and supporting
them through this milestone.

Finally, please do take care during the icy weather. The roads are a reminder to exercise caution
during travel to and from school. We are of course committed to keeping the school site safe,
and ask that students give themselves enough time to walk to school safely in the mornings.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

Kind Regards

Kirsty Rogers
Headteacher