Welcome Back!!

Welcome back to Priory!  Going back to school is a reason for celebration because it means a new step towards a wonderful future!  For those of you that are joining us in Year 7, back to school can seem a little scary, but it means you are growing up and becoming even more amazing!

Congratulations to our Year 11 leavers this year.  PCSA students were thrilled after they achieved another excellent set of GCSE results. Some 62% of students achieved 9-4 grades while 12.3% received the highest 9-7 grades.  52% of students achieved the old measure of five 9-4 grades including English and Maths.  It is yet another excellent set of GCSE results for PCSA that have been sustained over many years.

I want to say a big ‘well done’ to all of our students who have worked extremely hard and deserve their success.  I would like to wish everyone a lifetime of achieving their dreams, and encourage them to always be part of Priory.  I would also like to acknowledge it is a real partnership between students, staff, parents, carers, Academy Councillors and the community that has lasted over many years.  Please accept my sincere thanks to everyone involved.

As per my message at the end of last term I would like to clarify that the start of our new term is Monday 3rdSeptember for all of our new Year 7s.  Year 7s will be finishing at 11:25 on this day.  The rest of the school start back on Tuesday 4thSeptember at 8:35 ready for tutor time.  Your new timetables will be waiting for you!

So now it’s time to switch from wearing jeans and trainers to putting on brand new school uniform and to get ready to learn.  Can I remind you that full school uniform applies: black polishable shoes (NO TRAINERS), black trousers, green sweatshirts for Year 7 and 8, and black ones for Years 9, 10, and 11.  No crazy hair colours please!  We will be happy to supply you with pencil cases again this year and please ensure your school bag is big enough to carry an A4 file.  Rucksacks are a great option, and sensible fashion bags are also fine – but no handbags.  Please do ask your tutor, Head of Year or myself if you are unsure, just as Sophie did (and even sent me a photo of her new bag which holds four A4 files and is perfect!)

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All signs point to another incredible and productive school year.  Our skilled and devoted staff are already planning and preparing for the new year.  Our enthusiastic student service team are printing off timetables, filling around 1500 pencil cases and updating student files! 

Site Update

If you passed by the school over the summer I am sure you may have noticed numerous maintenance and construction projects.  The site team do an incredible job at PCSA and we hope to have all the building work fully completed by October.  I am truly excited about seeing our updated restaurant and new languages centre as we expand our numbers to 1500 students over the next few years.

Diary Update

Thank you to all of you who fed back on how it was helpful to see all the things happening in the up-coming term.  As ever this is not an exhaustive list but it gives you a flavour of our challenges and I hope there is something for everyone.

  • Thursday 6thSeptember – Year 7 Parents Information Evening
  • Saturday 15thand Sunday 16thSeptember – D of E Assessed Expedition
  • Tuesday 18thSeptember – Year 8 and 9 Parents Information Evening
  • Thursday 20thSeptember – Year 10 and 11 Parents Information Evening
  • Saturday 29thSeptember – PCSA Family Breakfast
  • Monday 8thOctober and Tuesday 9thOctober – Curriculum Enrichment Days
  • W/C 15thOctober – French and Spanish Speaking Assessments for Year 11
  • Thursday 19thOctober – Last day of Term 1.  School will finish at the normal time of 2:55pm.
  • Monday 5thNovember – Term 2 commences.

I hope you enjoyed a wonderful summer.  I also hope you are relaxed, recharged and ready to start a new school year.  I am so delighted that you and your children are a part of our amazing school.  I welcome and value your positive energy and dedication to providing the best experience of school our young people can have.  I really look forward to working with you this year.

Please do feel free to e-mail me directly at jane.mcbride@pcsa.org.ukshould you have any concerns, that way I can direct them immediately to the appropriate member of staff to deal with.  I also look forward to receiving messages about your child’s success outside of school so that we can celebrate with them in school and perhaps even do a feature in our Jill Dando Newsroom!

 

Warmest Regards,    

Jane McBride  

 

 

Maven ConsultancyYear 7, Year 8, Year 9, Year 10, Year 11