Dear Parent/Carers,

I would like to thank all families for their time and support with our aim of pursuing excellence in character and learning.  We are proud to be ambitious for all our students and therefore place a high priority to attendance and punctuality.  It is a credit to our young people who have shown resilience and, with your support, a determination to attend school.   We continue to sustain high attendance in all year groups Yr7 to Yr11, this week as well.

At Bourne Community College the vast majority of students attend every day and are on time.  However, I have noticed there is a small group of students who are late for reasons that are unacceptable, for example – sleeping in or waiting for a friend or for going to the local shops after being dropped in school ahead of time.  We want, and I’m sure you will agree, every student to be on time so they do not miss any learning. The start of every lesson is crucial where retrieval practices lay the foundations for a long term recall.  We understand that mornings are busy and things do happen which may result in a student being late. Therefore communication is key; if you know your child is going to be late, please let school know in advance, thank you.

Another key issue, regarding standards since the start of term has been uniform.  A gentle reminder that our policy can be found on Page 9 of the Parent Information Booklet.  Students are allowed to wear only one pair of ear studs.  Multiple ear/nose piercings are not permitted.  Nail varnish/acrylic nails are not acceptable.  These must be removed.  I have noticed an increase in piercings and jewellery after the Christmas holidays.  Similarly, with the temperatures plummeting, fashionable/branded leggings are emerging.  Please note that students can wear trousers or tights but jersey style fabric leggings, for example, are not a part of the uniform.  Whilst we endeavour to support the students in rectifying the issues, they will spend time in internal isolation until we (families and school) can resolve the matter.  Our aim is to be fair as possible whilst keeping our high standards.  Please use the ‘Contact us’ page on the website to inform the Leader of Year or Student Services, in confidence, of any issues.

I would be grateful for all parental support on this matter in order to reduce in-school conflict between students and staff, so that good relationships are maintained at all times. Should you wish to discuss this matter directly with myself please email office@bourne.org.uk.  Thank you.

We are very much a school that is outward facing and no doubt on many occasions you have had conversations at home about teachers or visitors being in classes asking questions about their learning.  To meet our vision to be the best version of ourselves, we are constantly trying to review what we are doing and evaluating our provision for our students; to provide them the very best education. Inviting educational experts to work with us, supports us on our journey from attendance to classroom practices.  This week we reviewed our Science provision.  They are making great strides into getting all where they need to be in very interesting and academically challenging subjects.

I will end by saying a big thank you to all parents and carers who attended the Year 11 parent’s evening.  A positive turnout with lots of conversations around improving performance through effective revision practices and exam stress support – mental wellbeing during the exam period.

As ever, I am incredibly proud of our young people; they always speak so well about the school and are such fine ambassadors of our values of kindness, respect and determination.

Best wishes

Mrs A Sharma
Head teacher