Posted May 3 - 2024Headteacher's Newsletter
what's happening at Chesham Grammar
Posted on: May 13th 2022
Head's Blog
Dear parent,
First, apologies for the fact that my newsletter is not in its usual format this week. Rachel Baillie, my PA, who works wonders each week and turns my text into the newsletter you usually receive is currently on holiday.
YEAR 13 LEAVERS' ASSEMBLY
Yesterday, we held our Leavers' Assembly for year 13 students and parents. Over 200 parents joined us for this event to mark the end of their child's school career. I believe that this day is as much a rite of passage for parents as for students and that having taken a child to school on their very first day at the age of 4, there is something rather poignant about a parent also being there as their child leaves school for the very last time at the age of 17 or 18. The event was wonderful, a fitting end to the students' time at CGS and especially meaningful given the abrupt end to year 11 they experienced when schools were shut in March 2020. For some parents, yesterday brought to a close a long relationship with the school. Some families have had several children here so have been with us for many years. Thank you to parents for making the time to come and for your unfailing support. Your children did you and the school proud! Thank you also to those who have very kindly donated to the Class Gift. This will remain open as an option on ParentPay for the next couple of weeks.
GCSE AND A LEVEL EXAMINATIONS
Next week, GCSE examinations begin for year 11s and we wish them all every success. For those with a child in year 10 or year 12, the Department for Education has this week confirmed that subject content and assessment arrangements for exams next summer will revert to the pre-pandemic format and that the adaptations put in place this year will not be needed moving forward. The information released said that Ofqual will consider the approach to grading for 2023 in light of outcomes in 2022. You can find a summary of this information here. We will of course keep you updated if and when anything further is released: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/subject-content-and-assessment-arrangements-2022-to-2023/subject-content-and-assessment-arrangements-in-the-academic-year-2022-to-2023
WELL DONE TO
Well done to brothers Caspar in year 12 and Reuben in year 7 who have made and sold Ukrainian flag keyrings to raise over £65 for Ukraine Disasters Emergency Committee. They would like to thank all the students and teachers who supported them. Sam in year 9 is also fundraising. He is doing the Thames Path Mighty Hike in July, raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support who have supported his step-grandad through cancer treatment. Well done, Sam. Anaya in year 10, an air cadet in the Rickmansworth and Chalfont Squadron, travelled with other Squadron members to RAF Longmoor for the Wing Ex competition recently. This involved three days of competition to test skills in teamwork , physical endurance and leadership. Twenty-three squadrons took part and Anaya's squadron came home with gold medals and the Spartan shield. Congratulations!
BIRTHDAY TEAS
Happy 12th birthday to Joseph, Rahul, Ethan and Rose in year 7 and happy 18th birthday to Nikolaj, Rebecca, Annie, Dylan, Jake and Matthew in year 13, all of whom I met with for birthday tea during the week.
SPORT AT CGS
This week, we have had a number of sporting fixtures, though a couple had to be cancelled due to bad weather. Our U13 girls played paired cricket v Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School. This was a very competitive match with the lead switching between the two teams several times. Ultimately, SHFGS won by a few runs. Our year 7 rounders team have got their season underway with three good matches against other schools on Tuesday while athletes from across the school travelled to Hillingdon Athletics Stadium yesterday to take part in the ESAA Cup South Bucks round. Well done to all those who represented the school. We received final confirmation of the results of the District Netball League this week. Congratulations to our 8A, 9A, 9C, 11B and Senior A teams who all won their leagues. Well done too to our 8C, 9B, 10A and 11A teams who finished 2nd and to all 17 CGS netball teams who competed. An excellent season! Finally, on Tuesday, a number of those in year 11 who are taking GCSE PE travelled to Watford Grammar School for Boys on Tuesday to take part in moderation for the practical element of the course. They performed superbly and the staff felt very proud of them. Well done. The Sport and PE schedule for next week is here.
JUNIOR MATHEMATICS CHALLENGE
During the week, we received the results of the Junior Maths Challenge which lots of key stage 3 students sat a few weeks ago. Three quarters of those who entered were awarded a Bronze, Silver or Gold certificate with 19 of those being Gold. A number of the students also scored highly enough to qualify for the invitation only Junior Kangaroo round while Liam in year 7 and Bjarni in year 8 both qualified for the Junior Mathematical Olympiad. Very well done to everyone.
CAREERS
Please find attached the latest Careers Newsletter which Mrs Lovelace, our Careers Leader, has put together. This gives you a good overview of all the excellent careers work going on within the school to support our students and I would like to thank Mrs Lovelace for all she does. If you do not yet follow our Careers Team on Twitter then I would recommend following @CGSInspiration to ensure you keep up to date.
75th ANNIVERSARY PARTY
Finally, a reminder that you are all invited to our 75th Anniversary Party on Friday 8th July. Tickets are selling fast and are available via ParentPay, priced £45. I am very much looking forward to celebrating with parents after such a long time of not being able to hold any social events. If any parent might like to donate a silent auction or raffle prize, please get in touch with the FoCGS on
friends@cheshamgrammar.org.
With best wishes for a relaxing weekend,
Annmarie McNaney
Headteacher
