Dear Parents and Carers A shorter than usual letter from me this week following Mr Gent’s letter to families on Wednesday and the launch of the 2 minute parent survey. That survey remains live and will help us shape the direction of future provision. Thank you for the 200+ responses …

4Dear Parents, Carers, Students and Colleagues NHS Test and Trace: COVID-19 testing for students and staff As I hope you are aware, we continue to work hard to keep our school as safe as possible. You may have heard that testing for those without coronavirus symptoms is beginning across the …

Friday 8 January 2021 Dear Parents and Carers We all hope the first few days have gone well and that the transition to remote learning has not been too difficult or problematic. I shall write to you each Friday and this week have a series of clarifications, reminders and a …

Dear Parents, Carers and Students I hope that this letter finds you well and that we might all emerge from this very difficult period as soon as possible. Following the Prime Minister’s announcement last night, I wish to set out how this will affect your children in the weeks ahead. …

Dear Parents and Carers A Phased Start to the Spring Term Please forgive me for writing to you on New Year’s Eve. Following yesterday’s announcement by the Department for Education, I am now in a position to set out how the spring term will commence. Monday 4 January & Tuesday …

Dear Parents and Carers Managing COVID-19 through the CHRISTMAS BREAK The main purpose of my letter to you today is to set out what needs to happen if your son or daughter tests positive for COVID-19 during the Christmas break. This a complex matter and therefore I hope the following …

Dear Parents and Carers As we enter the final week of term, I am so proud of the way that your children and my colleagues have responded to the full resumption of school life since September. For most of us it has been pretty ‘full on’ since the release of …

Dear Parents and Carers RE: COVID-19 UPDATES Well, we continue to live in very interesting times and the past few weeks have, of course, been no different. From US presidential elections to the cancellation of examinations in Wales, there has been plenty to talk about, as well as the good …

Dear Parents and Carers With the national lockdown now underway, we just wanted to contact you to clarify the limited impact this has on your son or daughter at CNS. After School Clubs [continue as normal] We have been advised that all school-based activities that relate to catch-up, examination preparation …

Dear Parents and Carers End of Term Fundraising Our term ends on Wednesday and therefore we shall be running a non-uniform day. The day will be in support of one of the four local charities that we support at CNS. THRIVE has done tremendous work before and during the pandemic …

Monday 12 October 2020 Dear Parents and Carers Meet the Tutors Evenings This Week Starting today with years 7 and 8, phone calls will take place throughout each evening between my colleagues and yourselves this week. Naturally, the focus of each conversation will be different, depending on the individual circumstances …

Monday 28 September 2020  Dear Parents and Carers  Last Week’s Letters from Mrs De Bruyn and Mrs Armistead  I hope you enjoyed last week’s letter from our new assistant headteachers and that it allowed you to  broaden your awareness of the many ways in which we strive to be an …

Monday 14 September 2020 Dear Parents and Carers I trust you received my letter regarding a confirmed case of COVID-19, sent last night. Whilst I do not wish to revisit the content of that letter, it is worth dwelling for a moment on the fact that such letters and responses …

Thursday 10 September 2020  Dear Parents and Carers  Health & Safety Update – Including Revised Face Covering Expectations  Those more familiar with our risk assessment will be aware that we carry out a weekly review of our  reopening procedures. I am writing to you today to set out a few …

Dear Parents and Carers Between us all, we seem to have started the term really well. In broad terms, the zones across the school are working and everyone appears to have got the hang of it pretty quickly. However, we continue to learn a little more each day about what …

Wednesday 2 September 2020 Dear Parents and Carers Today That’s it; we are back up and running! The Year 7s arrived this morning with very little fuss and have enjoyed a full day with their new tutor and several lessons as well. We hope they arrive home with plenty of …

Dear Parents and Carers I hope this final week is going to plan – whether that is catching a few final days together as a family or simply getting everything ready for next week. You may recall that I wrote to you last week andcommitted to setting out more information …

Friday 17 July 2020 Dear Students For most of you, this is your last day of term – but please spare a thought for those GCSE, BTEC and A level students of Geography and PE who will be coming in next week. My hope is that this letter will be …

Friday 21 August 2020 Dear Parents and Carers Welcome back as we step-up preparations for the start of a new term and year. I do hope that you have had a great rest and break and that your children are increasingly eager, if not desperate, to get back to school. …

Monday 13 July 2020 Dear Parents and Carers In the past week, there has been a great deal of work ‘behind the scenes’ to put flesh on the bones of our plans to fully reopen the school to all students in September. I expect to write to your children (and …

Monday 6 July 2020 Dear Parents and Carers As we enter the final two weeks of the summer term, it continues to be business as usual in terms of both the provision / completion of home learning and the continued on-site provision for Year 10 and 12 students. You will …

Monday 29 June 2020 Dear Parents and Carers Welcome back to a new school week. I hope your weekend was restful and that you managed to enjoy those patches of summer weather between the various showers and downfalls. You may recall that I used last week’s letter to look ahead …

Dear Parents and Carers This week: focusing on the future As the reopening for Year 10 and 12 students gets underway, with mentoring conversations this week and lessons next, I feel able to step aside from the day-to-day operational work of the school and look towards the future. I hope …

Monday 15 June 2020 Dear Parents and Carers It is another bumper letter but it is an exciting one because I can finally move our focus to reopening and the gradual return of normality. I shall do my best to set this letter out in a logical order and try …

Monday 8 June 2020 Dear Parents and Carers I hope this letter finds you all well and that the sudden turn in the weather did not put too much of a dampener on the first week back after half term. Reopening Feedback from Year 10 and Year 12 Families Since …

Monday 1 June 2020 Dear Parents and Carers I hope that the half term break was refreshing in every respect and that the resumption of home learning, including our A Level bridging courses, is going well this morning. With things being so busy in every household right now, I am …

Monday, 18 May 2020 Dear Parents and Carers Staggered Reopening of Schools in England Following the Prime Minister’s statement last Sunday, there has been a great deal of information circulated regarding the eventual reopening of schools. It appears logical and reasonable for secondary schools to begin that process with those …

Monday 11 May 2020 Dear Parents, Carers and Students VE Day Celebrations And so, how did Friday go in your home or street? The added poignancy of the lockdown clearly intensified the dignity with which the nation remembered those brave men and women who fought for our liberty. There was …

Monday May The Fourth Be With You 2020 Dear Parents and Carers School Closure Update Like you, I am sure that over the weekend you heard, read or watched a great deal of discussion and speculation about the timing and manner of how the national lockdown might be eased in …

Monday 27 April 2020 Dear Parents and Carers Hart of Gold In amongst the inspirational stories of fundraising altruists, you may have noticed one of our Year 11 students doing her bit for the NHS. Issy cycled over 100 miles in order to raise £2000+ for NHS Charities Together after …

Monday 20 April 2020 Dear Parents and Carers WELCOME BACK I hope that this letter finds you well and managing the various demands on your lives, including the resumption of home learning this week. Having spent several hours with my daughter on her work today, I was again reminded of …

Monday 30 March 2020 Dear Parents and Carers I hope this letter finds you all well and managing the various new demands and pressures. The Goldilocks Zone – Not Too Much and Not Too Little? We hope the letters sent to you in the past week were helpful. We also …

Monday 23 March 2020 Dear Parents and Carers Keeping You Updated We shall do our very best to strike the right balance between keeping you informed and overwhelming you with information from the school. Our plan is that we shall issue a whole school letter on most days as follows: …

Dear Parents and Carers Years 11 and Year 13 Celebration Day It is too early to compose anything vaguely coherent about today. Our Year 11s were just brilliant – stoic and happy to have had a day to celebrate their school lives together. We do not quite know how or …

19 March 2020 Dear Parents and Carers Years 11 and Year 13 Celebration Day Our Year 11s and Year 13s have been so brilliant today and plans are now in place for a great day tomorrow. I understand that we shall be visited by ‘The Star Chip Enterprise’! Jeans for …

18 March 2020 Dear Parents and Carers Coronavirus Update 7 This has of course been a very significant day. Please forgive the lengthy letter that now follows. Which Children Should Go To School on Thursday and Friday?  Your son or daughter should attend school for the remainder of this …

16 March 2020 Dear Parents and Carers Coronavirus Update 6 Updated Self-Isolation Advice: You will be aware that the updated advice released this evening is that an entire household should self-isolate for 14 days should one or more members of that household develop a new continuous cough and / or …

13 March 2020 Dear Parents and Carers Coronavirus Update 5 There are again no substantial updates to provide families with today. It is a relief that three weeks have now passed since our students and staff returned from Italy and none of our returning skiers have tested positive for the …

Monday 9 March 2020 Dear Parents and Carers Coronavirus Update 4 There are no substantial updates to provide families with today. Please be assured that we are watching the situation with great care and have contingencies in place that would be actioned in the event of any changes in the advice …

Dear Parents and Carers Coronavirus Update 3 We have all read and seen a lot about the virus in the news over the weekend. I am pleased to confirm that none of the students or staff who visited northern Italy during the February half term have tested positive for the …

Dear Parents and Carers Despite the Christmas rest, we continue to note usually higher level of sickness amongst students with previously great attendance. We hope they all have speedy recoveries and thank parents for their contact with us each morning of absence. There appear to be an unusually high number …

Monday 13 January 2020 Dear Parents and Carers Welcome back to the new term. We hope you all had a really restful and refreshing holiday – which of course seems so long ago already. The first week back went really smoothly and very calmly here, and reflects a growing feeling …

Thursday 19 December 2019 Dear Parents and Carers Wow, another term has gone by in a flash! In the last few weeks alone we’ve been so busy with Year 11 mocks, Christmas shopping trips abroad, two major carol services and of course the Christmas Fayre a few weeks back, which …

Dear Parents and Carers NOTICE OF A CHANGE TO THE SCHOOL CALENDAR The Governing Body have agreed to a proposal to bring forward the date of the next INSET Day from Friday 3 July 2020 to Monday 6 January 2020. This will mean that all students will now return to …

Dear Parents and Carers This week I wish to draw your attention to the forthcoming Celebration Assemblies but would like to begin with some great news regarding generous support from a local company.  Owen Mumford Ltd In 2014, CNS received £10,000 from Owen Mumford Ltd to provide a laser cutter so …

Dear Parents and Carers Welcome back again to another newsletter that will begin with a few short notices from myself and raise awareness of activities that are taking place in our community. The first being the Santa Fun Run organised by one of our sponsored CNS charities – Katherine House …

Dear Parents and Carers National Anti-Bullying Week – 11- 19 November 2019 Once per year, all schools across the country come together to focus on how we can reduce or even eradicate bullying. Bullying is often the most terrible experience in a child’s life and can turn a happy-go-lucky individual …

Monday 4 November 2019 Dear Parents and Carers Fundraising Day for THRIVE – Thursday 24 October 2019 Once again we have been thrilled by the response of students to the first of our four planned fundraising days for local charities. We shall be sending off a cheque for £1000 to …

Dear Parents and Carers Non-Uniform Days – Showing Character Between us we raised £1552.57 on the day for Anna. We shall be forwarding those voluntary donations to the Just Giving page this week. This is more than we’ve ever raised on a single day. We have our first planned non-uniform …

Dear Parents and Carers Additional Non Uniform Day – Friday 11th October 2019 Last week I learned of a local child called Anna Drysdale. Anna is in Year 4, attends Holy Trinity Primary School and is bravely fighting Osteosarcoma bone cancer. The little girl has a sister with us here …