Dear parents and carers
The school has started an action packed half term with an abundance of events and activities for our students to participate in.
This year’s KP Cup event hosted by Perins annually is on Saturday 23rd November. Our sporting partners at Alresford Rugby Club kindly work with us to ensure sufficient pitches are available to run such an event. A sporting tradition organised by our school, the KP Cup is an annual Rugby competition between King’s School Winchester and Perins. The games are always close fought affairs, and we welcome everyone to join us to watch matches for children from years 7 to 11, staggered through the day.
Adverse weather warnings have been received around the country this week. In the event of any significant impact to Perins which might require a school closure please consult the Hampshire School Closures and school websites for further information.
Following parental engagement events last year our communication system was identified as an area where we could improve. Our subsequent review of the telephones resulted in an upgrade and a new menu to help route calls more effectively. I am pleased to say feedback has been positive since we embedded that system. The next port of call, highlighted by parents, is our website. I am pleased to say work has been ongoing behind the scenes to make this more user-friendly and accessible. It will not be an overnight exercise but should be worth waiting for. I will look for parents to pilot its navigation before launching.
Following Black History Month, students completed additional work on the topic of inclusion in curriculum time. The History leaders competently led Remembrance assemblies to all year groups, culminating in them presenting at the Remembrance Sunday service at St Johns Church in Alresford. Tutor time activities prepared by the Perins History team complemented the student leaders’ presentations. Anti bullying week was a focus for assemblies led by Mr Western, and related tutor activities around the theme of “Choose Respect” undertaken with all our community encouraged to wear odd socks for a day on 12th November to provoke thought, and celebrating what makes us unique.
Year 11 have completed trial assessments in most practical GCSE subjects, and the feedback has been encouragingly positive regarding the standard of work, commitment, and focus. This message was conveyed to the year group in my assembly prior to their trial exam period where I challenged them to maintain their diligent work ethic throughout the trials. A “mock” results day for Year 11 will follow on 13th December, with the aim of giving students an idea of what to expect next summer when they collect their final exam results.
Phase one of the additional fencing to safeguard the school site is complete, and the gate system by the public carpark at the Jacklyn’s Lane entrance installed. This is working smoothly from the feedback received. Following the generous release of funds by the Perins MAT Trustees for phase two of the project, a contractor has been appointed to complete the work in December. We are therefore expecting to start 2025 with a more secure school site and with a more straight forward access to Perins for parents and visitors during the school day. I appreciate your continued patience whilst this essential safeguarding work is finalised. The closing of the main gates during core school hours has however highlighted areas we need your assistance to work on. Some students who are habitually late in the mornings, and whom, in the past were able to disguise this now need to make a new year’s resolution to get to school on time, with perhaps the consideration of an alarm clock on their Christmas list. Traffic on The Avenue is being backed up by cars dropping off on the main road as our gates are locked. This requires a change in habit with drop-off at either Alrebury Park or Jacklyn’s Lane entrance. For clarification, and for the remainder of this term, late arrivals and visitors can only access Perins during core hours (0830-1515) via the pedestrian gate at the Jacklyn’s Lane entrance. I will send a further communication when work is completed to allow a second entrance point to outline entry/exit points. This link shows where the gate for entry during the school day is located.
With the well-publicised current lack of funding available to schools we have had to consider all options at our disposal. One consideration is the sale of some land we have not used for many years. This would generate funds to upgrade our sporting facilities, in particular the astro turf and assist in developing the wider physical environment at Perins. As mentioned in a recent email a consultation meeting is to be held at The Swan in Alresford this Thursday 21st November. You can access the information Leaflet and Info Pack here. Any support would be welcomed.
Our House fund-raising events this academic year are collecting money for covered areas, where students can congregate when outside of the school buildings. This is something both student voice and parent feedback has identified as being a priority need on the Perins site. The area we are targeting for phase 1 is that space vacated by our temporary classrooms outside Pascal. Quotes for suitable structures are between £50,000- £70,000, and fund-raising has started positively. This week we have received a donation pledge of £10,000 from a supporter of the initiative. Although we have a long way to go toward the target, the journey has begun!
Finally, as I am conscious of the length of my correspondence on this occasion. One of our educational partners, Elevate Education, offers webinars on topics which can assist parents to aid their child’s learning. These sessions are free for Perins parents. Apologies for the short notice, but we have just been made aware, there is one this evening Tuesday 19th November at 1800- 1900 on improving your child’s memory which might appeal to parents in year groups other than those parents of year 11’s who have already signed up to accessing the events, especially when you need to train them not to forget to tidy their room or do the washing up! The link for the free parent webinar https://go.elevateeducation.com/ukparentwebinar
As the cold weather draws in let us encourage our young people to arrive at school on time correctly and appropriately dressed.
Yours faithfully
Mark Nevola
Perins Head of School
