Dear Parents/Carers
It gives me great pleasure to welcome pupils back to the summer term, our first new term as an outstanding school. This is an important term for our year 11 pupils in particular as the exam season begins and I wish to thank parents for their support in preparing their children for the next few important weeks ahead.
It is an exciting time to be at Pleckgate; in the last week of last term, we welcomed our new September 2019 admissions into school along with parents/carers, to sample what life is like at Pleckgate and meet our school community. Pleckgate is now the local, outstanding school of choice in the area, and we are proud to welcome our newest members of this great school community. As younger pupils prepare to join Pleckgate, our Year 11 pupils are working hard preparing for their GCSE examinations. There were several revision workshops taking place in school during the Easter holidays and it is essential that this momentum continues, to allow all pupils to achieve their full potential.
I would like to draw your attention to the latest version of ‘Pleckgate News’, the termly newsletter written by our pupils; this is a celebration of all the activities and events your children are involved in during the last term. It is no surprise that our Outstanding Ofsted report takes centre stage, something we are all still extremely proud of and I value your support and messages in recognition of this achievement. Last term has also seen pupils participate in a variety of different activities: The Super Learning Day allowed pupils the opportunity to experience wide range of personal, social and health issues alongside employer engagement visits where pupils are able to have meaningful contact with local employers and experience the world of work. We have had a wide range of guest speakers into school and pupils have been involved in fundraising for a variety of charities including Cancer Research. Pupil leadership goes from strength to strength through the Restorative Justice and Anne Frank Ambassador projects allowing pupils to develop confidence and teamwork. We have also recently begun the Duke of Edinburgh Award and have an excited group of Year 9 pupils ready to start the programme this term. Pleckgate offers pupils experiences not just to be academically successful but also to participate in a variety of extra-curricular activities including sporting achievements, culinary masterpieces entered into national competitions and our Year 7 school team who won the local heats in the ‘Race for the Line’ Rocket competition and will now go on to represent Pleckgate in the nationwide finals. Visitors to our school continue to comment on how smart and well mannered our pupils are; I am proud of how well they represent the school in the local community.
Finally, I want all pupils to take pride in their appearance and I expect high standards in both attendance and punctuality. It is a key message I have been delivering to all pupils in assemblies, explaining the critical relationship between good attendance and excellent results, every day matters. As well as this, pupils should arrive to school on time and in the correct uniform wearing shoes and not trainers.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the trust you have put into the school over the past few years and your ongoing support as we move forward into a new and exciting chapter.
Mark Cocker
Head Teacher
