It is really important that we listen to the views of our school community in order to inform what we do as a school and support the planning and development of our provision. Over the past couple of years we have conducted an annual Parent and Carer Survey which for obvious reasons has focused on the consequences of the pandemic upon our students and the school. The first survey in 2020 was especially useful in providing us with a steer as to what was effective and what wasn’t with our remote learning offer during the first lockdown and that was very helpful at the time; we adjusted and developed our provision accordingly in response to feedback.

This year we are going for a more general survey opening today and closing at 9am on Wednesday 16^th February. If you can, please do take the time to complete it. Please note that it is about the overall school experience for our students and as ever if you have a particular concern or question do not hesitate to get in touch with the school. Thank you in advance for your support and time in completing the survey. We will share the results in March. We will also be undertaking a number of student surveys in March in addition to our more regular work around student voice – again, more to follow on this nearer the time.

It has been a typically busy week in school and a highlight has been our Year 12 team representing the Merchant Taylors’ Company schools at the Livery Academy Awards at the Mansion House in London on Tuesday evening. They didn’t win but presented brilliantly and were commended for their efforts by former Apprentice judge Nick Hewer and current Apprentice judge Tim Campbell. A very well done to the team and thankyou to all the staff who have been involved in supporting them over the past few months.

Finally, we are delighted to have our new Trust Catering Manager in place and he is doing some really impressive work already in developing our food offer within the school. It is early days for him but we are looking to develop this offer significantly in the months to come and into next year with a broader, more varied menu and better facilities - in terms of student voice, we know this is something they feel strongly about!