Dear Parents and Students,

I hope you and your loved ones are well.  It has been wonderful this week to welcome back our students and staff.  We have missed each other, and the College has started to hum again.  Today was especially good as we welcomed our Y6 students who are joining us in September.  We were determined to do whatever we could to give our new students their two full days and that’s what they are getting. It has also been good to meet their parents.  Rather than meet as one large gathering, our new parents were welcomed in groups.  I always think this transition experience is as important for our parents as it is for our students.  Our Year 12 students have been exceptional in welcoming, caring for and generally being superb role models to our new students today.  Miss Lea will soon be sending out timetables to our students for next week.  As always, we have endeavoured to maximise the provision and remain safely within the Government guidelines.

What do we know?

• ‘What do I wear?’  ‘You are not wearing that!’:  I am aware that such conversations may have taken place in homes during the past two weeks as we have integrated the students back into College.  Wearing casual clothes is nice though it can bring some unhelpful moments too.  As we expand our curriculum coverage, next week students will have PE lessons.  Therefore, they need to be dressed appropriately.  So, from Monday students are asked to wear their PE polo shirt, PE jumper, leggings or tracksuit bottoms and trainers.  No Skorts, shorts or skirts please.  If your daughter has grown out of her kit, please do consider donating it to the Second-Hand uniform shop by leaving it in a bag at the school office. Should you require any items of uniform, including sports kit, before the end of term, please email a list, together with sizes, to Mrs Fiona Howarth: [email protected]. Mrs Howarth will then check availability and contact you direct.  If all that fails, she may wear similar clothes to that described above.
• Weds 8 July:  As we have a special induction programme for Year 11 in preparation for their move to Year 12, the Dome will not be serving food throughout this day.  Therefore, all Years should bring a morning snack and Years 8 & 9 (who are staying for the afternoon) should bring a packed lunch.
• OfQual statement re. Exams 2021: ‘We recognise students expecting to take exams next year, and their parents and teachers, are concerned about the disruption to teaching and learning caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Our overriding aim is to ensure exams and assessments are as fair as possible and take into account any public health requirements and the well-being of students. We are working closely with the Department for Education, exam boards and groups representing teachers, schools, colleges and students, to carefully consider a range of possible measures. We are planning to publish for consultation, before the end of term, our proposals for next year. We will confirm our decisions as soon as possible to allow time for you to prepare.’  As always, as soon as we know the outcome of the consultation, we will inform you.
• Year 11 & Year 13:  I have written to students and parents regarding the arrangements for exam results days, the process for Appeals and how to request CAGs following the publication of results.  If you haven’t received this email or have any questions please do let us know.
• ‘Go miles for Gorillas’: Over the course of this week, we are asking the students to walk a minimum of a mile per gorilla, and there are six of them, and to be sponsored at least £1 per gorilla. Of course, students are encouraged to walk further and raise more if they are willing and able! As an extra incentive, students will be awarded a House point for every mile they walk. To show how many miles they have done, students can take a selfie while out on their walk, or a screenshot of a walking app, such as Strava, and upload it to their House folder in the ‘Gorilla Challenge’ area of the Student Shared area on Sharepoint.  If you feel able to make a donation in sponsorship of a student ‘going miles for gorillas’, please pay through your TouchTopUp account (touchtopup.net/login), making payment through the ‘Show wallets’ button on the left side of the screen. Please select the item called Durrell Gorilla Fundraising from the list on the right of the screen.  In order to keep the six gorillas on our campus permanently, we need to raise a total of £500 per gorilla. When they arrived in school, the gorillas were immediately locked up and we have to raise the required funds to release them from captivity! Thanks to your generosity, we have already raised £1000 and released two gorillas.  All the funds go to Durrell, which desperately needs our help.

And finally, Mrs Le Blancq, our wonderful Assistant to Head of Upper School, and much loved and cherished by students and colleagues, has decided to have a well-deserved break at the end of this term and will be sadly leaving JCG.  Many students will have felt the warmth, care, support and often honest, straight talking words of advice from Sophie.  We will miss her though know she will be a frequent visitor.  Alice Veitch, an Old Girl and currently member of our student support team, will succeed Mrs Le Blancq ensuring our team remains strong and enduring for our students.

If there was one visible sign that the lockdown was very much coming to an end and life was returning to some normality, then the long traffic jam on Mont Millais this morning was it.  I don’t think any of us have missed that.

Take care.

Yours,

Carl Howarth

Principal