Headteacher's Newsletter

what's happening at Chesham Grammar

Posted on: April 23rd 2021

Head's Blog

Dear parent,

The summer term has started with some lovely weather which has meant that for this first time in 18 months, our students have been able to have access to the field at break and lunchtimes which they are enjoying. This term, we also have a number of sporting fixtures planned and some of our extra-curricular clubs are resuming, all of which is good news indeed.  

Over the Easter holiday, we had our new covered areas installed and the students have been making good use of these spaces this week. They provide shade from the sun as well as protection from the rain and, once again I want to thank you for your support; without it, we would not have been able to do this. They will be enjoyed by generations of CGS students to come.

Well done to Areeb in Year 9 who has been selected for the Bucks Cricket Player Pathway for the 2021 season and to Daksh in Year 7 who has been selected for the Bucks County Cricket U12 squad.  Mollie in Year 8 recently achieved a Merit in her Grade 7 Musical Theatre singing exam while Keeva in Year 11 has been accepted into the Central School of Ballet in London on their 3 year Dance and Performance Degree course. Excellent news and well done to them all. 

During the break, Mr Stoddern ran a marathon - with a difference! He ran up and down White Hill 26 times, doing so in 4 hours 14 minutes. White Hill is not only very steep, it is one of those hills which goes on and on and I think it is safe to say that Mr Stoddern is in no hurry to repeat this experience! He did so to raise money for one of our Young Enterprise teams, Understood, a social enterprise with the mission to help people with unseen disabilities by providing free, personalised cards which outline their symptoms and explain what to do if they need help. Mr Stoddern set himself the target of raising £1,000 and has smashed this, with the total standing at just under £1,400. Well done and thank you, Mr Stoddern.  If you would like to know more about Understood, you can visit their website here: https://www.understand.me.uk/

Next Friday will be the last day of formal lessons for Years 11 and 13 before their final assessments begin.  For Year 13, this brings to an end a student's school career. Usually, we hold a leavers' assembly for Year 13 to which we invite parents, mindful of the fact that this is as much a rite of passage for parents as for students. We are obviously unable to invite parents to join us next week but I am determined that we should be able to formally mark this important stage in your child's life. Assuming the government's roadmap goes to plan, we are hoping to be able to hold a leavers' event for Year 13 students and parents after the measures currently in place are removed on June 21st. We have put a provisional date in our diaries of Friday 25th so please try to keep the afternoon of that date free. Further details will follow.

Finally, can I remind you that those students taking part in the twice weekly Covid testing should take a test over the weekend, preferably on Sunday, and upload the results via the 'Student Covid Testing' Team.

With best wishes for a relaxing weekend,

Annmarie McNaney
Headteacher