Dear all,

I’m writing after a brilliant INSET day. Most of today was spent in departments, looking at our curriculum and how we can improve it, and I’ve had the chance to sit in with several different teams. I’ve been left inspired by their passion for their subjects, and it’s been hugely valuable to spend a day really getting under the skin of the intricacies of our different subjects. 

I’ve hugely enjoyed this term, and wanted to pick out a few particular highlights:

First of all, we had an evaluation day yesterday, with a number of colleagues from across the trust spending the day assessing the school’s progress. It was great to hear about all the positives they found, but I was most pleased that their feedback aligned extremely closely with the areas of development we’re currently prioritising in our school development plan. We’ve still got a long way to go to ensure HP is the best school it can be, but it’s good to know we are moving in the right direction!

Second, yesterday we hit 200 applications for Year 12 spaces in September. Coupled with our large Year 7 waiting list, this is great news for the school, and we are on track to grow significantly over the coming years. 

Third, I’m particularly pleased to report that, since we launched our new exclusions strategy at Christmas, we have had almost no exclusions and are well below both local and national averages. Despite this, standards in school remain unchanged, but instead of being at home, students still come in to school to complete work under supervised conditions. I’m very grateful to you for your support in making this change - an important step for the school. 

And fourth, huge congratulations to all of the students who won awards and school colours in our achievement assemblies this week. As usual, the list of students receiving their colours can be found at the bottom of this email. I also want to congratulate two students in particular: 

Fabio VG in Year 11, who has completed Hegarty by completing every single task possible. This is an incredibly rare achievement, and Year 11 are currently petitioning for the Maths Block to be renamed in his honour - watch this space!

Rachel C in Year 13 for achieving Bronze in the UK Chemistry Olympiad - our first time entering as a school, and an incredible individual achievement for Rachel.

Finally, I wanted to share an update on the leadership of Holmleigh Park. Since becoming Holmleigh Park, the number of students has risen by close to 25%. By September we expect to have around 1,350 students, and by September 2024 we expect to become the largest school in Gloucester. Next year I have also been asked to spend more time working directly for the Greenshaw Learning Trust, to support other Headteachers in the trust. As a result, the Governing Body agreed to my recommendation that we appoint a Head of School. I will remain the Headteacher of Holmleigh Park and will be based here for the majority of the week, but will be working hand in hand with the Head of School to oversee the daily operation of Holmleigh Park. This will allow me to focus on driving Holmleigh Park’s improvement further forwards. 

I hope you have a wonderful holiday, especially those of you celebrating Easter or Ramadan which unusually fall over the same period!

Best wishes,

Mr Farmbrough

 

 

Junior Colours

Academic

• Alesha R (Year 7)

• Scarlet RJ (Year 8)

• Thomas E (Year 8)

• Libby K (Year 8)

• Lilly M (Year 8)

• Daniella O (Year 8)

Culture

• Gbolabo O (Year 7)

• Riley S (Year 8)

Sport

• Bobbie G (Year 7)

• Taylor H (Year 7)

• Maja K (Year 7)

• Lawson D (Year 7)

• Ewan S (Year 7)

• Efosa O (Year 8)

• Alfie H (Year 8)

• Gabby B (Year 8)

• Maisie R (Year 8)

Values

• Isabella T (Year 7)

• Mckenzie B (Year 7)

• Gbolabo O (Year 7)

• Maizie-Jayne B (Year 8)

• Daniella O (Year 8)

• Daniel J (Year 8)

• Ryan D (Year 8)

Half Colours

Academic

• Jordan G (Year 9)

• Kismat L (Year 9)

• Darius I (Year 9)

• Anamika J (Year 9)

• Pheo O (Year 9)

• Robin T (Year 10)

• Dylan H (Year 10)

• Amarah P (Year 10)

• Christian M (Year 10)

• Georgia P (Year 10)

Culture

• Evie S (Year 10)

• Amelia J (Year 10)

• Daniel F (Year 10)

Sport

• Jessie M (Year 9)

• Alfie S (Year 9)

• Dae'Juan B  (Year 9)

• Finley R (Year 10)

• Colby A (Year 10)

• Rhianna R (Year 10)

Values

• Gracie K (Year 9)

• Daniel I (Year 9)

• Billy B (Year 9)

• Milly P (Year 9)

• Ryan B (Year 9)

• Joseph W (Year 10)

• Nazar P (Year 10)

• Lily-Mai H (Year 10)

Full Colours

Academic

• Niamh HW (Year 11)

• Noelia EO (Year 11)

• Keanu C (Year 11)

• Cheyanne J  (Year 11)

• Will D (Year 13)

Culture

• Ellis J (Year 12)

Sport

• Megan P (Year 11)

Values

• Kris C (Year 11)

• Harry J (Year 11)

• Noelia EO (Year 11)

• Connor S (Year 13)

• Beth B (Year 13)

• Nellie S (Year 12