Dear all,

With September drawing to a close, we have had another very busy week at Holmleigh Park.

On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of travelling out to the Forest of Dean to watch Year 9 and 10 take on Five Acres High School at netball and rugby. This was our first intra-Greenshaw match and it was a real pleasure to see the matches played in such good spirits, and I was delighted to see all four teams record resounding victories, with the highlight a 35-1 win for the Year 10 netball team. We had a number of other fixtures this week, including a 50-20 win for the Year 8 rugby team against Gloucester Academy, and the Year 7 girls making their debut against Churchdown. Another highlight was attending Henley Bank’s Open Evening. I received lots of very positive comments about Holmleigh Park, which really showed that our reputation is growing beyond the immediately local area. 

On Thursday, we hosted a Year 11 Information Evening. I have been incredibly impressed by how Year 11 have started the year; they have hugely stepped up their effort and shown a huge depth of resilience and maturity. Based on the past month, I have complete confidence that this is going to be the most successful year for the school in some time. At the same time, the Sixth Form Team were hosting a Sixth Form Information Evening. It was wonderful to see both events packed out, and I’m very grateful for all the support from our parents. 

Our work on communications continues. Could I please take the opportunity to remind you to let us have your contact details here: we only have verified email addresses for around half of our parents.

Finally, I wanted to update you on detentions. Currently, homework detentions are being set for fixed days; for example, Maths detentions are always on Mondays. This has caused some confusion when texts have then gone out on the day but a student is absent. From Monday, if a child is absent on the day their detention has been set, the detention will be carried over until they are back in school. The text sent home will be updated to include this, which I hope will help eliminate confusion.

Best wishes

Mr Farmbrough

Headteacher