Welcome back!

Dear All 

As ever, it gives me a great deal of pleasure to be able to write to you at the start of this new academic year and welcome you back to school after what we know has been a considerable amount of time away. So welcome to our first newsletter of 2020-2021.

A particularly warm welcome too, to all our new pupils and their parents and guardians. We look forward to working alongside you over the coming years as you start out on the next stage of your academic life and embark on an exciting and inspiring learning journey with us.

I also offer my very best wishes and thanks to all those pupils who have now moved on from Priory at the end of the last academic year, secure in the knowledge that they continued to build on the successes of previous years and produced, yet again, some great final examination results.

We know only too well that the end of their time with us was disappointing for them. We know they missed out on what other year 11s in previous years have taken for granted and we are saddened by that. 

Yet, they remain precious and unique and throughout this crisis they, perhaps more than most, proved how determined and hopeful our young people at Priory can be, demonstrating remarkable levels of resilience throughout all the doubt and uncertainty. We wish them all the very best as they embark on the next chapter of their lives.

And so, to the future. Amid understandable apprehension surrounding our reopening, from what I’ve seen from pupils and staff already this week, I continue to be optimistic. 

I am extremely proud of the way all in our school community have adapted so seamlessly to our new normal. It’s been a real testimony not only to the careful planning and preparation that has gone into our reopening plans, but also to the staff, pupils and parents for engaging in that material and arriving already knowing the new procedures in place.

It has been joyful to see our pupils and staff interacting and back together again in school and we look forward to being able to focus on our longer-term educational horizon from here on in.

On that note, I would like to finish by taking this opportunity to thank all of you for your continued support of the school and to thank all our pupils for the contribution they make to Priory in so many different ways, whether that be in the classroom, on the sport’s pitch, on stage, fundraising or in extra-curricular activities.

Priory is all about inspiring children to grow into well rounded young people; each child is unique, so our responsibility will be to continue to find how to enable each to make strong academic progress, achieve the highest levels of academic attainment and nurture their all-round personal achievement. 

Of course, there will undoubtedly be further challenges ahead, yet at the start of the 2020 academic year, we will ensure we continue to do this, and in so doing, secure the best for all, from all.

My very best wishes to everyone for a great academic year.

Mr M Eastham
Headteacher