Headteacher's Bulletin
Headteachers Bulletin - Friday 13th December 2024
The end of term is definitely approaching quickly, and while we are still focused on learning across the school, there have been some opportunities to celebrate and to get into the festive spirit.
Year 7 with top attendance were rewarded with a Christmas movie night, with over 165 students attending! The evening was very well received, with students enjoying the cinema experience.
A group of students were also able to visit the Greeno Day Centre in Shepperton to spend time performing and singing Christmas carols. Our bands and choir were fantastic, with residents commenting on how polite and friendly all of our students were. As well as performing, students took the opportunity to chat with residents, listening to their stories and sharing Christmas memories, finishing with a group sing along of Silent Night and Jingle Bells. Before Covid, this was an annual event, and I am thrilled to be able to bring this tradition back and enable our students to give back to their community.
This week saw the inaugural meeting of our year group councils. A different year group met each day, representing their tutor groups, and discussed key issues on behalf of their peers. The main topic was extra-curricular activities. This is a common theme raised by students and indeed coming through the parent surveys (more to follow on our actions following this). Students had some wonderful ideas on what additional clubs could be offered, but we were also able to have constructive conversations about what was realistic and how we could go about making those ideas a reality. While it will take more time for us to develop our extra-curricular offering to reach the level we would like, we will be sharing the updated outline of our current offering with parents next week, ready for January. I would encourage all students to attend at least one club as there really is something everyone can enjoy. This week, the science club were making bouncy balls- I'm sure everyone would find that fun!
This week saw the final round of Yondr pouch launches, with year 10 collecting theirs on Tuesday, and it was another successful week. Almost every student has worked with us to embrace the new protocol, and we are already seeing a drastic change around the school. I actually think that quite a lot of our students are grateful to have the temptation taken away for a few hours each day! Don't forget, students must bring their yondr pouch each day as part of their equipment, and we will check them as students arrive at school. This is still the case if students don’t have a phone or don’t bring one to school! Letters have gone home to year 11 students this week informing parents that the same rules apply to year 11, although we won’t be issuing them with pouches, and we are expecting our year 11s to be good role models for the younger year groups, with phones turned off and not seen or heard.
With the final week of school upon us, can I remind everyone that this is a normal week of school, with regular lessons, normal expectations and full uniform throughout. I’m sure there will be the odd festive themed activity, and I know we are all wondering what Mrs Quincey’s final week of Christmas outfits will be, however students should still be ready to learn for each of their lessons, right up until we break up.
Have a great weekend!
Headteachers Bulletin - Friday 6th December 2024
It has certainly been an eventful week this week at Sunbury Manor as we hit December and really started the countdown to the Christmas break. While I know everyone will be looking forward to the break and festivities for those who partake, we must also make the most of the final couple of weeks of lessons to ensure every student has the best opportunity to succeed. We will have normal lessons right up to the time we break up, and just as a reminder we finish our final day with our usual early finish- students will be dismissed at 12.20pm.
I’m sure many of you will still be absorbing the news that Sunbury Manor will be joining the Harris Federation, and I am glad that, this week, I have been able to share this news with you. I’m sure there are lots of questions (what colour the uniform will be has been the talk of the playground this week!), and I will endeavour to answer these questions as soon as I am able, and there will be more opportunities for parents to hear more in the new year. I will be working closely with colleagues from Harris to ensure we build upon the improvements we have already seen at Sunbury Manor throughout this year and moving forward.
Despite heading towards the end of the term, life continues in school. We’ve had a number of exciting events this week, with the Heathrow STEM Challenge for all of year 8 taking place on Monday- an exciting workshop for students to engage with science and technology. The final of the House Bake Off competition took place on Tuesday. Students submitted their designs for a decorated swiss roll, and the top 12 designs were selected for students to put their designs into practice. The results were amazing (photos to follow in the newsletter). The winning entry was from Attenborough House, made by Ankunda and Martha in year 9. Well done! On Thursday we had the incredible GCSE music showcase evening. Students from the GCSE music class performed for us, and also introduced their original compositions- truly incredible and an amazing display of talent!
We continue with our roll out of the Yondr mobile phone pouches. This week saw year 9 embrace the new routine and be phone free for the whole day. We are already seeing dramatic change in the year groups as we introduce the pouches to them. Next week, year 10 will join year 7, 8 and 9, with their pouches given out on Tuesday. As well as supporting their focus in class, free from distractions, we are seeing students talk more and interact. It is such an important life skill to be able to survive without the use of a mobile phone, and I’m pleased to say that almost all of our students are really embracing the opportunity.
Finally, just a reminder. You will previously have received a link to the parent survey and there is still time to complete it if you haven’t already- closing date Monday at 9am. The link is below, and I would encourage as many parents to complete it as possible. Your views (good and bad) are really valuable to us and help to form our priorities for the school, so please do take a few minutes to complete it if you can!
https://forms.office.com/e/zNneJuTAKw
Have a great weekend and week ahead!
Headteachers Bulletin - Friday 29th November 2024
I want to start this week by saying huge congratulations and well done to our year 11 cohort for how well they have conducted themselves throughout the mock exams over the last two weeks. There are still a few exams left to complete next week, but the exams team has been singing the praises of the students for their mature and committed approach. It really does make me incredibly optimistic for the outcomes in their GCSEs in the summer.
Meanwhile the rest of the school have been getting on with the day job of lessons and learning. We've been focusing on tightening up some of our routines and expectations. We are now able to make sure that everyone is wearing their tie each day (in their new year group colours), that everyone is ready to learn, moving into their classrooms sensibly and calmly, particularly when coming from their line ups, and that lessons are purposeful through our new lesson structures and routines. It still excites me walking around the school and seeing students engaged in their lessons and making real progress.
We have had the usual array of activities going on. Our year 10 footballers won the district 7-a-side tournament against 7 other teams from across the district, winning their group, semis and final without conceding a goal. Special mention to Sam who captained the team, Oscar who scored 5 goals and Alfie for scoring the winning goal!
Over the last 2 weeks students from all year groups have been competing in the House Basketball Competition. It has been great to see so many students taking part and representing their houses, as well as so many students coming to provide support! And the final result:
In 3rd Place: Curie House with 4750 points
In Joint Second place: Attenborough and Lovelace Houses with 5500 points each
And in 1st place, congratulations to Mozart House with an amazing 7000 points!
It’s not only sport where great things have been happening. In Mr Ediare’s electronics club students were really excited to make a dimmer switch and see how science links to electronics in the real world.
Finally, this week we launched the use of Yondr phone pouches with year 8 students and it has been an astounding success so far. Students have engaged extremely well and have really understood why we are moving to this system. We are rolling this out to year 9 students next week, and I am looking forward to having the majority of our students across the school, and all of key stage 3 phone free for the whole day, without distractions or temptations. I would also like to thank parents for the overwhelming support for this initiative.
Have a wonderful weekend and week ahead.
Sparx readers for last week: Emily (Year 7 and Connor (year 8)
Headteachers Bulletin - Friday 22nd November 2024
I’ve been very proud this week watching our year 11 students complete their first week of mock exams. There have been some nerves, but students have worked really hard and done their best to show what they have learned, practice their exam technique, and get ready for the real exams in May and June. There are still some exams to complete with written exams continuing throughout next week, and practical and speaking exams the week after.
We are always on the lookout for ways to extend and deepen our offerings in subject departments across the school, and there have been 2 departments who have worked hard to move the school forward that I wanted to draw attention to this week. This week was maths week, and the maths departments ran a number of activities to celebrate and challenge students, including some lessons beyond the curriculum such as creating Islamic tiles and solving maths mysteries, as well as puzzle of the day competitions and year 9 will be taking part in Edge Hill University Mathematics Challenge. As a mathematician myself I am excited to see our maths department encouraging students so they can see how maths applies in so many different contexts.
The other department I wanted to celebrate this week is our music department. Following an application, we have successfully met Music Mark’s vision for accessible and excellent musical learning and engagement. Music Mark is an award that recognises the commitment that Sunbury Manor makes towards providing high-quality music education and promoting musical opportunities for our students. It's fantastic to have our commitment to delivering and inclusive, diverse and accessible music curriculum recognised, and my congratulations go to our fantastic music team.
Sticking with a musical theme, I am thrilled to congratulate Layla in Year 10 on her successful audition for the musical Disney Newsies Jr. at the BUZZ theatre, Woking, which will be performed in February half term. Layla managed to secure the role of Katherine Plumber, which is the lead female part.
I’d also like to celebrate an accolade we received this week from Girls’ Football School Partnership who designates us Equal Access School 2024 for helping Surrey to provide equal access to girls’ football provision. It’s great to know that what we are doing is helping to move forward equality in sports in the area! We can also celebrate our year 7 boys 7-a-side rugby team who came runners up in the district tournament, the first time they had played together, and some having never played before!
Finally, I would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who donated coats to wrap up London. Reverend Wood could barely get into her office this week as there were so many, and we have now taken them off to benefit those in need.
Thank you all for your ongoing support, have a wonderful weekend, and be sure to wrap up warm and stay safe.
Headteachers Bulletin - Friday 15th November 2024
It’s been a very busy week at Sunbury Manor this week, and it has been a real pleasure to see students embracing the opportunities that so many staff work hard to provide them.
On Monday we had the award winning Guilford Shakespeare Company visit school and perform Macbeth for all our year 11 students. Following the performance actors from the company led workshops and students engaged fantastically, impressing the actors with their knowledge and enthusiasm. Special mention goes to Syprus, Amiee, Marija, Owen and Riley, who won particular praise from the actors, who said that Sunbury Manor was the best school they had been to! These ‘co-curricular’ activities that support all students in their studies beyond the classroom setting are essential in ensuring that students can achieve their very best, and it’s a true joy when I see students really benefitting from these.
We always aim to ensure that our curriculum not only provides students with depth of knowledge and skill in that particular discipline, but also addresses current affairs, and local, national and world issues. This week in art Year 8 students have been making recycled plastic jellyfish sculptures, influenced by David Attenborough’s efforts to reduce plastic waste in the ocean. As well as being able to express their artistic abilities, this has provided opportunities for many valuable conversations about plastic pollution and what we can do at Sunbury Manor to help reduce our personal waste.
On Thursday this week we hosted our annual mock interview day for year 10. Members of our community, local businesses, governors and friends of the school kindly volunteered to ‘interview’ our year 10 students as part of their careers programme, and give them a taste of what it might be like to go for interviews for college, university and jobs in the future. The students thoroughly enjoyed it and the interviewers were full of nothing but praise for our ‘wonderful students’.
There was much talk through this week as students tried to guess what colour their year group would get for their new tie! I can confirm that the coloured stripe on the ties for each year group are as follows: Year 7- Purple, Year 8- Red, Year 9- Yellow, Year 10- Blue, Year 11- Green. If you do need to purchase a replacement tie, then please do make sure you purchase the correct colour. We now have a supply of spare, secondhand ties in school, and we plan to make these available to purchase at a much-reduced cost. Houses will continue to form an important part of school life, and students will receive a badge to indicate the colour of their house.
We were very lucky this week to have a visit from our local member of parliament, Lincoln Jopp. Mr Jopp met with me, with our head student team, and stopped into some classes. Some of our year 8 students had the privilege of Mr Jopp speaking to them in their citizenship lesson. Mr Jopp spoke about some of the improvements he would like to make to the local area, and it was a pleasure to speak to him about our community and what is important to us.
I will finish this week on what I think was my highlight of the week. While working in my office after school yesterday I heard some giggling outside my window but couldn’t see anything. As it turns out we might have some budding spies in our science club, who had been making periscopes! The joy from those students engaging in this is really the reason that teachers teach, long may it continue!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Sparx readers for this week: Nathan (Year 8) and Gurneel (year 7)
Headteachers Bulletin - Friday 8th November 2024
I find it hard to believe we have only been back 1 week since the half term break as it feels like we are right back in the swing of things. It’s been a very busy week at Sunbury Manor, with activities, events and sports matches; and of course, getting right back down to our main focus of learning.
We welcomed home our travellers from the WW1 Battlefields trip to France and Belgium who returned on Monday. What a wonderful experience for those children who were lucky enough to go and learn about this important period in history and the experiences of those soldiers. There was also a snail tasting experience- I'm afraid I wouldn’t have been partaking!
Our year 7 netballers had their first game at Sunbury Manor, and I’m thrilled to say that their hard work paid off, with a 6-0 win against Jubilee High School. The Year 8 netball team also showed great determination and teamwork in a close match. In other sporting news, Annabelle in year 11 has been selected to train as a mixed martial arts instructor for Shentie Mixed Martial Arts Academy- a real accolade and demonstration of her character and skill! Sport is a vital part of the community at Sunbury Manor, and this isn’t limited to the football and rugby fields, or the netball and tennis courts.
Our year 11 students began their qualification process for the prom this week, and as you can imagine they are extremely enthusiastic and looking forward to this rite of passage at the end of their Sunbury Manor journey. More information will follow in a letter to parents.
Our coding club is also increasing in popularity. We now have 5 groups of year 8 students ready to enter the Code Club competition to build an animation or game for a charity of their choice. I encourage all students to find extracurricular activities that they will enjoy. Coding club is for year 7 and 8 students, with no previous knowledge needed. There really is an activity for everyone at Sunbury.
Charity is another key aspect of our community at Sunbury Manor. However, we know that donating money is not always easy for everyone, or the best way to be charitable. Wrap up London is part of a wider initiative to donate old coats to those who need them as we enter the colder months. Last year Wrap Up London shared 16,500 coats with 75 charities. We will be collecting coats for this amazing cause so please do see if you have any adult or children’s coats you no longer need, and we will be collecting from next week. Importantly we will also be looking at how we can get these coats to those in our own community who are in need, before passing them on to Wrap-Up London.
We all know that mental health concerns affect us all. On Thursday all students in the school participated in workshops delivered by Mind of the Student. The sessions tackled stigma around mental health and introduced students to some mindfulness approaches.
We are now a Mind of the Student recognised school following our commitment to improving mental health understanding and support of our students.
Finally, I would like to inform you that for some students we are having a change of tie. This will mean that all students in a year group will have the same colour tie. Any students who need a different tie to match their year group colour will be given a new tie by the school at no charge, they will just need to hand in their old tie in return. Students will be informed of what they need to do next week. This is already in place for year 7s, and this will help us to manage students transition around site by making it easier to identify who is in which year groups. Another step in helping us improve Sunbury Manor for all students!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Top Sparx readers for the half term break were: Benedicta in year 7 and Louis in year 8!
Headteachers Bulletin - Friday 18th October 2024
I’m sure you have been as confused as me by the weather this week- summer seemed to have returned for some of the time, while at others I thought we were deep into winter. There are always challenges around school when this happens- rain at lunch and break mean a change to routine and more crowded indoor space; students feeling wet and a bit soggy in their lessons or when they arrive at school; the number of puddles and muddy fields around our large site. I must thank the students, who have been so mature when we have had to make last minute changes. Behaviour has typically been exemplary, and this means we can focus on our task at hand- learning!
Sunbury Manor Staff continue to be so dedicated to the students, including in subjects where part of the course goes far beyond the classroom. This week we had our sports study trip on Monday and Tuesday, a required part of the course. Students were taken to High Ashurst to take part in mountain biking and rock climbing. Unfortunately, the weather was not particularly kind to them on Monday, but nevertheless a great time was had by all, and another step towards their qualifications (and I think some of the staff had even more fun!)
The arts continue to be such a vital part of Sunbury Manor and this week the year 11 GCSE music group submitted the first version of their own compositions, demonstrating real creativity in an incredibly challenging part of the course. Year 10 also performed for the first time in their music lessons, putting aside their nerves to demonstrate their skill. The GCSE music evening is on December 5th where some of these pieces will be performed in what I know will be a spectacular display of talent- please do come along!
You may be aware that we recently had some filming in school to create a video showing who we are as a school. I was privileged enough to watch the first draft this week (and cringe at my own sections!). I became a little emotional when listening to how students and staff spoke about the school, the relationships we build and the supportive environment that we have in Sunbury. I will be sure to share the video with you once the final edit is complete, and I’ve no doubt you will agree with me.
As the penultimate week of the half term draws to a close, I am reflecting on how far we have come as a school in a short space of time. I’ve never shied away from the challenges we face at Sunbury Manor, and when I first started working with the school in February, followed by the Ofsted inspection in May, I knew there was plenty of work to do to ensure the school was providing for the young people in our charge. Well, we have worked hard (and there is more hard work to come) and now I can look out at our school and say that safeguarding is effective; that lessons are purposeful; that students are happy; that behaviour is good; that staffing is stable, and that students are flourishing, not least our year 7 students who joined us this year. We will continue to work for our community to ensure that Sunbury Manor is the best place to be for all of our students.
Headteachers Bulletin - Friday 11th October 2024
This week I took great pleasure in welcoming many of you into school for our meet the tutor evening. This is such an important event on the school calendar to ensure that we are all working together and the lines of communication are open. I do hope parents appreciate the information sheet that we gave you to help you keep in touch with us and reach the appropriate colleagues in school. Communication is incredibly important to us at Sunbury Manor, and we will continue to look at how we can develop communication with parents even further. The evening was also a great opportunity for us to invite a number of providers in for our careers fair, including the Royal Navy, NHS, several local colleges, Kingston University and many more. I really enjoyed watching our students speak to different providers and find out more about different options open to them when they leave Sunbury Manor and beyond!
Our sporting success continued this week with Year 9 boys winning the district rugby 7s tournament without losing a game! I would also like to congratulate Huy in Year 7 and Simonas in Year 8, who are our top Sparx Readers for this week- what a fantastic achievement for these young people.
Something that was raised by a parent at the meet the tutor evening was a question about how we are developing our curriculum. It struck me that I have spoken a great deal in this bulletin about so many of the wonderful events, sports and competitions that take place at Sunbury Manor, but haven’t taken the opportunity to tell you about some of the amazing work we are doing in the classroom to make our students education the best it can be.
We have launched a number of initiatives this year, some of which students will have seen already, some of which will be rolled out throughout the year. We now have mini-white boards in every classroom. These are a simple but effective tool teachers use to check understanding instantly and adapt their lessons as needed. We are also working on a centralised curriculum- this means that teachers work together to plan the best lessons possible that all teachers will then use, ensuring that all students receive first class lessons. We have spent time developing the structure of our lessons, for example with the use of a ‘do now’ activity at the start of every lesson, to help students get straight to work when they come into the classroom, maximising learning time, and to help them recall prior learning that they need for the lesson ahead.
These are just a few of the steps we have taken to develop a world-class curriculum for the students at Sunbury Manor and ensure that every child can achieve their very best. We want all students to be safe, happy and ready to learn when they enter the classroom, and we then need to make sure that the lesson ahead is purposeful, engaging and challenging, meeting the needs of all students in the class.
Finally, as we go into the last two weeks of the half term, before a well-deserved rest for students and staff, I would like to ask once again for your support. In the long half terms we know that students can start feeling fatigued, and standards can start to slip. Please do continue to ensure that your child is coming to school (no days off!), ready to learn (uniform correct, full equipment, a good night’s sleep). Our expectations will remain high, and so must theirs of themselves!
Headteachers Bulletin - Friday 4th October 2024
It’s hard to believe we’re already over halfway through this half term. The academic year really is fully underway! Across the school we are seeing students really embracing the new year, with year 11s focused, year 10 enjoying the new GCSE courses, and year 7 really settled into life in secondary school. Although the skies are blue as I write this, this morning reminded me that we are headed into much colder weather and shorter days. Please do make sure all children have a warm coat. While we have great dining facilities here, there simply isn’t the space to have everyone inside in the cold weather, and so everyone needs to be dressed appropriately to be outside at lunch and break, as well as for the journey to and from school.
We have seen a great increase in our attendance to school this year, however we would still like to see this improve further. Mr Cottle delivered assemblies this week with an attendance focus. Remember, it is absolutely essential that every child is in every lesson in order to make the most progress. Please do ensure that your child is attending school every day.
At Sunbury Manor we try to give our students opportunities beyond their normal curricular lessons as often as possible. This week we had two incredible workshops in school. One was Think Maths, exploring the hidden sides of maths, for key stage 3, and the other was Frontline History for year 9 and year 11 students exploring World War 1, including some student dress up, very much looking the part! Extra-curricular activities continue across the school. I often talk about some of our sporting achievements, but there are so many other areas for students to explore. This week at science club students constructed LED lighting systems and made bath bombs! There really is something for everyone, so please do encourage your child to find an activity that interests them!
I’d also like to celebrate the start of an important part of our school. The training for Wimbledon ball girls and ball boys has started. 12 of our students will be heading to the training centre to help support their skills and experience what it would be like to be selected. We hope to be sending students to the championships once again this year!
There are a few things coming up that I would like to draw your attention to. On Thursday it is mental health awareness day, and to show support we are asking students, if they would like to, to wear a yellow accessory, such as socks, scarves or headbands (while wearing full school uniform); and just a reminder that on the same day, 10th October is meet the tutor evening, and I hope to see all parents there.
Finally, I have a bit of an appeal from Mrs Lebihan, our careers lead. On 14th November between 11.20am and 1.20pm we are hosting our year 10 mock interviews. This is an incredible opportunity for young people to develop their interview skills ready for college and the job market. We would like to ask if there are any parents who feel they could offer a couple of hours to come and interview some of the students. All information, questions, etc. will be provided. If you are interested in this, then please email lpacey@sunburymanor.surrey.sch.uk, we would be thrilled to get you involved!
Headteachers Bulletin - Friday 27th September 2024
While the sun has not been shining in Sunbury very much this week, we continue to have a positive term at Sunbury Manor as many of our improvements take hold and become the norm in our school. I’m so pleased that feedback from parents of our year 7 students has been overwhelmingly positive. It reassures me that the changes that we have made to support students, such as the Yondr phone pouches to lock their phones away and a trousers only uniform, as well as the larger scale changes around the school have meant that students are arriving safe, happy and ready to learn.
As the term moves forward and we all get into the swing of things, the opportunities for students to experience wider enrichment are coming thick and fast. This week we had our language ambassadors visit a local primary school to teach the students Spanish- a great experience from them, and very well received from their students! Our careers programme is an essential part of our curriculum, and this week year 10 and 11 students had the opportunity to attend a trip at Expo Technologies, and on Friday representatives from Strodes College came in to deliver an assembly to year 11 about some of the opportunities there will be once they leave Sunbury Manor. Our sporting success was also added to this week, with our year 11 girls winning the district 6 a side tournament on Wednesday, unbeaten and without conceding a goal in the whole tournament!
Our first tour for year 6 parents took place this week, following on from our successful open evening last week. We were fully booked, as is our next tour on Monday. I am thrilled that so many parents want to see our school.
I’m very much looking forward to inviting all parents into school on 10th October, when we will be holding our meet the tutor evening, with careers fair and GCSE information evening (letter with full details and how to book appointments has gone out today). Parent involvement in the school is incredibly important to us and is key to our success and the success of our students. This is just one opportunity that parents have to discuss your child’s education and meet key members of staff, and I encourage all parents to join us.
Coming up this week we will be having a big focus on line-up. We have line-up 3 times a day, and it is an essential tool in ensuring that students are ready to learn going into their lessons, leaving their social time in the playground, with a calm, safe and orderly entry into the building. While line-up has made a big difference since we introduced them in February, I know that they can be better so we can maximise learning time and start each lesson with the right mindset. Please can I ask you to discuss this with your children, so we can support them in appreciating the importance of us working together to make sure we are the best that we can be each day. Have a wonderful weekend and here’s hoping for a drier week next week!
Headteachers Bulletin - Friday 20th September 2024
It was a real pleasure this week to welcome families into school for our open evening, my first as headteacher. We had packed halls where prospective parents and students had the chance to hear about our journey from me, but more importantly about the experiences of our students, who spoke so passionately about our school. They were then able to tour the school and see some of the incredible work being done by our departments across the school. I also want to take this opportunity to thank and congratulate all of our student helpers, whether they were tour guides for our visitors, or helping in departments, they were all a credit to our community.
It was busy across the school throughout the week. It was photo day on Wednesday, and students were proud to be photographed in their uniforms, looking so smart. Many of our students had their first opportunity to prepare food as part of our food and nutrition curriculum, such an important part of their learning! Now that we have completed a full two weeks, students have attended all of their lessons, and met all of their new teachers. Please do encourage your children to check timetables, know where they should be going, and make sure they are there on time and ready to learn.
I would like to take this opportunity to address an area which is causing me some concern in school. We currently have a high number of students asking to go to the toilet during lessons. This means that not only do they miss learning, but it is also disruptive to the lesson for other learners. I am aware that there are some students with genuine medical conditions, and adjustments will always be made for these students. I would also like to assure all parents that we will always enable students to use the toilets where there is a genuine emergency, however I would ask you to speak to your children to make sure they are using toilets at break and lunch, and between lessons, to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum.
I was very much encouraged by how students spoke at open evening about their experiences of extracurricular activities, and how much they valued these. As clubs, teams and various events begin in school, I would really encourage all students to get involved. We are currently working on collating all of the information on these activities across the school to make it easier for students and parents to see what's on offer, and I'm sure there is something for everyone!
It is always wonderful to hear positive feedback from parents about the improvement we are making, but I would also like to reassure all parents that any feedback is very welcome, and that everyone is welcome to raise any concerns at any time. By working together and ensuring lines of communication are open we can all drive improvement and do our best for every child, so they are safe, happy and ready to learn.
Headteachers Bulletin - Friday 13th September 2024
It has been such a positive first full week back at Sunbury Manor. I’ve really enjoyed watching our new year 7 students find their way around, embracing new friendships, and really becoming part of our school community. Likewise, seeing year 8 grow from being the youngest students, to realising that they are now role models, year 9 taking more responsibility for their learning, knowing that they will be choosing their GCSE options soon enough; year 10 begin the oh so important GCSE courses, and of course year 11 getting down to some real focus in their most important year of school so far. This really is what Sunbury Manor is all about- enabling students to grow through their time with us, all the while being supported along the way. It has been such a pleasure seeing students in their lessons getting to know their new teachers. Sunbury Manor is now fully staffed with specialist teachers in all departments, so students really are receiving outstanding lessons from the experts in their fields.
Although it’s only our first week, we have already hit the ground running with so much going on around the school. Our year 10 and 11 GCSE drama students enjoyed an amazing evening at the New Wimbledon Theatre to see Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse. We had our auditions for our school production of Matilda, with a turnout of over 40 students- what an exciting event that will be, and I expect to see plenty of year 7s taking part as they have already demonstrated a love for singing in their music lessons this week. Our year 7 students have started their enrolment on the Sparx Reader programme. This programme will support with their reading throughout their time at Sunbury Manor, and we are already seeing results from year 8 who enrolled on the programme last year. We know that reading is one of the most important things that takes place in school, and vital for students’ achievement in all of their subjects and also in their lives beyond school. Sparx is just one way in which we support students to develop their reading. I’m delighted to announce that one of our students won the national Sparx Reader Challenge for being one of the top young people in the country on Sparx over summer. What an accolade!
We have plenty to look forward to next week in school, not least our school open evening. Some of you may have younger children, in years 6 or 5 and will be coming along to see what we offer for your children as they transition to secondary school, but I also invite any parent to come and see what we are doing in school. A flier is attached with further details. I can’t wait for the community to see the school and hear more about what we are doing. Also do note that students finish slightly earlier on Thursday and start slightly later on Friday.
Finally from me, I am aware that as we transitioned to the new Arbor payment system there were a few teething problems, unfortunately these were out of our control. Please see a link here for more information about Arbor including the new payment system. I would like to reassure all parents that we will never let a child go hungry, even when there are issues with payment! We’re hopeful that these issues are all now being resolved. I wish all of our students a wonderful weekend, and a well-deserved rest so they can return to us on Monday safe, happy and ready to learn.
Headteachers Bulletin (GCSE Results) - Thursday 22nd July 2024
Students at Sunbury Manor received their GCSE results this morning, and for the majority of students this was a time of celebration and a time to smile. It was so pleasing to see so many happy students who had worked so hard for their results.
The improvement they made from their January Mocks was remarkable. The changes, challenges and capacity we put in place from February really had impact and we are so pleased to see this materialise in results and smiles. Most important are their efforts, their resilience and their commitment to success. Well done Year 11 and thank you to our parents that were absolutely significant in their child’s outcomes.
Excitingly and bucking the national trend, a number of our students achieved top grades, with 234 grades at grade 7, 8 or 9. One of our top achieving students achieved 9 top grades, including 6 grade 9s; this is truly a success. Another student achieved grade 9s in both English and English literature. Again, this is against national trends, and we were happy to hear that they are feeling “great” about going on to study this at college.
Some of our students described how proud they were of their achievements, particularly where their hard work had led to grades they had thought out of reach. This will be the theme of next year and a common state moving forward; this we promise:
We also recognise and celebrate the achievements of students whose hard work led to significant progress and resulted in grades which seemed out of reach only months ago. We couldn’t be more thrilled as they head off to start a wide variety of courses at college and sixth form; we know they will show the calibre and quality of a Sunbury Manor student.
As a school our favourite successes are those students that are resilient against adversity and make progress beyond what the government metrics say. We have so many of those and we are so very proud of the pace of their progress.
Our new Headteacher, Mr Lee, said “we couldn’t be prouder of Sunbury students today. They have shown resilience in the face of a number of challenges, and I am thrilled at the achievements of our students”.
As a school we are proud of our students. We recognise the challenges we have faced in recent years also. However, the energy, support and leadership in recent months make us confident that this message this time next year will be filled with even more joy, progress and stories of success for our young people.
Headteachers Bulletin - Friday 19th July 2024
As we see our students off for the summer holidays, I have had a chance to reflect this week on some of the changes we have already made to Sunbury Manor School in the short time I have been headteacher. Lessons are more productive; students are happier; and the school is a calm and purposeful place. I am fully aware that there is a lot to do, but with the support of parents, students and staff I have no doubt we will continue on this upwards trajectory.
There are a number of changes happening in school over summer, including some work on classrooms, a new student reception area and other improvements around the school. This is the start of a programme that will bring the school up to date and ensure we have the environment and facilities conducive to a first-class education. I am truly grateful to all parents for accommodating our change in dates at the end of term so we could close early and ensure we could get the school ready for the work over summer and also for the new year. I am looking forward to inviting parents into school, where you will be able to see some of the changes. We have said goodbye to a small number of staff who leave us to go on to new endeavours, and we welcome some new staff starting in September. This includes a new deputy headteacher in charge of safeguarding, and a new assistant headteacher who will be our SENDCo. These are vital roles in the school, and I know that these new colleagues will be instrumental in our improvement journey.
Our final week included our final events for this year, including our fantastic sports day (thankfully the weather held out for us) and our end of year music concert. It was truly lovely seeing such a mix of talent and performances, and this included some students who were incredibly nervous but overcame these nerves and got on stage and were truly amazing. We are so proud of them for putting themselves out there, and I can’t wait to give students more opportunities to be part of concerts, productions and events.
I would like to make you aware that last week I commissioned a safeguarding review of the school, from a local trust, Every Child Every day, who run several good and outstanding schools. This was so that I could be reassured that the work that we have done over the past few weeks is having the impact that we need to see, and I can be confident that we are keeping students safe. The review was extremely positive about the changes we have made.
Finally, I would like to wish everyone, students, parents and staff a great summer, whatever it holds for you. I would like all our students to have a well-earned break, but most importantly to stay safe, and we are looking forward to seeing them back school in September.
Headteachers Bulletin - Friday 12th July 2024
It was an absolute privilege to be part of the Sunbury Manor celebration evenings this week. The hall was packed on both evenings as key stage 4 (including our year 11 leavers) and key stage 3 students received their various awards for academic achievement, contributions to the community and sporting excellence. It was a wonderful reminder that even in challenging times we have so much to be proud of and to celebrate. My heartfelt congratulations to all students who received an award, and my thanks to all staff the involved in putting on these events.
These last few weeks remain very busy as we approach the end of term, and we have had so many different events and trips this week I won’t be able to mention them all. On Thursday our year 7s headed to Henfold Lakes to enjoy some time in the outdoors (and get very muddy!). Students represented the school very well, and it’s great for students to get to spend time in a very different setting and make some memories. Our year 10 students experienced another taster of college life this week on the Strodes trip- high engagement and enthusiasm from all, and a wonderful opportunity to explore ideas for when they leave year 11. We had a DT workshop in school this week run by Spelthorne Council to give year 9 students who have opted for DT as one of their options a head start on their course for next year. Our Key stage three athletes did us proud at the district athletics on Monday, with several champions crowned (too many to mention here!)- a great team feeling with students supporting each other. This week we had an Olympics theme running through lessons, with departments putting an Olympics twist on learning in class. We have had Olympics pizza and biscuits in food, playing some unusual Olympics sports in PE and designing a sustainable Olympic park in geography. Today we also held our final transition event of the term, with Springfield School students coming in to visit. We were pleased to be able to offer this to our new students as they weren’t able to attend the main transition day.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank and congratulate our year 10 mentors. They are now finishing the last week of paired reading where they support year 7 students with their reading. This is such an important role in school, and will make a huge difference to the year 7 students who took part, who are so positive about the experience, and have been given a real boost in their learning.
As we approach the final week of school, I’d like to add a couple of reminders for all. As per the letter sent home this week, we will be finishing school on Thursday 18th July at 12.20pm. This is a day earlier than originally planned so please do take note of this. This will be a normal morning of school for all, and students are expected to be in full school uniform.
We have seen some incredible improvements in the school over the last few weeks, including improvements in behaviour, punctuality and focus in lessons. This was acknowledged by our school governors, a number of whom were in school this week to meet students and visit lessons. We have much work to do to ensure that all at Sunbury Manor achieve, but I would like to thank all of the students and parents for your commitment to our improvement, and I am excited by our next steps.
Headteachers Bulletin - Friday 5th July 2024
As we are getting closer to the end of term things only seem to get busier at Sunbury Manor as we try to squeeze in as much as we can before we break up. It’s been lovely this week to see students get so excited by things outside their normal lessons that so many of our dedicated staff put on for them to support their learning and enjoyment beyond the normal curriculum.
This week we had our mock election, with all students having the opportunity to vote, and some of our year 10 citizenship students facilitating. Students were genuinely excited, having spent the last week reading manifestos, rating political broadcast videos and debating policies. Sunbury Manor tutor groups voted unanimously for Labour, with a 49% share of the votes! We have also seen many students embracing their competitive streaks over the past week. Our Science department has been running a wildlife photography competition and we have had some amazing pictures submitted so far. There is still time to enter, with a final closing date of Monday 8th of July. With a more sporting focus, on Tuesday we held our house rounders competition, with lots of students taking part, and Mozart finally taking the win! Students have been signing up in droves for some of our IT after school clubs, such as, coding to learn some valuable skills, with full classrooms for all of the clubs. Sticking with sports, we are incredibly proud at Sunbury Manor to have the tradition of sending some of our students each year to be ball boys and ball girls at Wimbledon, and this continues in 2024. Three of our students headed off this week for the start of the championships- we'll be watching out for them on the TV!
I am pleased to have seen standards in uniform and punctuality improve since I started at Sunbury Manor, and students are taking responsibility by keeping their mobile phones off and out of site so they aren’t distracted. This week I will be asking all students to reflect on their focus in lessons and how this impacts their learning. I will be reminding all teachers to challenge students whenever they are not fully attentive. By raising our expectations, avoiding distractions and staying focused we can all ensure that every child reaches their potential.
Finally for this week, I spend a great deal of time thinking about the future of Sunbury Manor, never more so than this week. Tuesday was our transition day with our new year 7 students who will be joining us in September. The young people had a great time exploring their new school, learning some of our routines, and meeting classmates and teachers; it was a truly special event for all! As we continue on our improvement journey as a school, I find myself considering what these new students will say about Sunbury Manor throughout their time here. I have no doubt that they will be proud of their school, provided we all work together.
I will be writing to you next week with arrangements for the end of term and for September- please look out for this.
Headteachers Bulletin - Friday 28th June 2024
It’s been another busy and productive week at Sunbury Manor and I have been incredibly impressed by the
resilience of our students working so well despite the heat over recent days.
As we approach the end of term things only seem to get busier. This week we had our tea party for students who
are coming as the only young person from their primary school. It was so lovely to meet some of our new year 7s,
and help them to make some friends before they join the rest of the cohort for the main transition day next
week. At the other end of the school, our year 10 students headed off to Brooklands College to get a taster of
some of the different courses they may study after they leave us next year- what a wonderful opportunity to try
out some activities they normally wouldn’t get to do in school! I’ve been incredibly impressed seeing students
practising ready for our summer concert on 16th July, and I can’t wait to see their hard work pay off in what I
know will be some incredible performances. I am continually impressed by how adaptable our students are to
their learning. In life skills, year 7 and 8 students have shown incredible maturity in tackling some challenging
topics. In music, year 8 have been singing their hearts out to Eye of the Tiger (and sounding amazing), and in DT
students have been making falafels- trying something new, healthy and good for the environment.
Reading is one of our priorities at Sunbury Manor as we know how vital this is to students’ success in all their
subjects and once they leave school. Students have been helping to select new books for the LRC ready for
September so that we can ensure we have books available that all students will enjoy.
When I wrote to you last week I identified punctuality as a priority for this week and essential in securing the
success of the school, and I have been impressed by the improvement over this week. I have been at the school
entrance every day this week, and we have reduced from a significant number of students being late, to only a
few in the course of a few days. It is so impressive to see students taking responsibility for themselves and their
learning, and making adjustments to get here on time (in spite of the roadworks holding things up!).
Next week our priority is on mobile phones. I am fully supportive of students having a mobile phone with them,
as I know that many parents rely on this to ensure children are safe on the way to and from school. However, I
am also concerned about how distracting phones can be during school. Our policy is that we shouldn’t see or
hear mobile phones from students at any point throughout the school day, and we have in place reasonable
sanctions if we do- the phone is confiscated, and a 15-minute correction is issued. Phones will always be returned
on the same day. I ask for your support by asking you to remind your children of the expectation, and also to
avoid contacting them during the day (if you do need to get in touch urgently, you can do this through main
reception).
Spending time outside during break and lunch times and seeing students really enjoy their free time with friends
reminds me of how happy a place Sunbury Manor is, and while we work hard to ensure that we are supporting
every young person in our community effectively, seeing our students each day I am sure that the vast majority
feel happy in school. I am looking forward to opportunities over the next couple of weeks to get students’ and
parents’ views as we will be sending out surveys- please look out for these opportunities as we move into the last
3 weeks of term.
Headteachers Bulletin - Friday 21st June 2024
I am excited to share with you my very first headteacher’s bulletin as the new headteacher at Sunbury Manor. On Monday I delivered assemblies to all year groups with the theme of responsibility. I talked to students about my responsibility to them as their headteacher: to keep them safe, and to provide them with a high-quality education. I also talked about them taking responsibility for themselves; to ensure they are doing the right thing, even when sometimes this isn’t the easiest choice. I have spent much of my time this week going into lessons and speaking to students around the school. It fills me with joy to see productive lessons and to see students excited about this new chapter at their school.
There are so many amazing things happening at Sunbury Manor each week that it will be hard for me to celebrate them all here, but I will fit in as many as I can. This week we have some incredible champions at the district athletics championship, with winners in the year 9 1500m, javelin, discus, shot putt and year 10 shot putt and 300m. Our year 10 cricketers have also made the final of the district cup, winning by 3 runs! Our year 10 sports leaders have been passing on their experience to younger students by teaching year 7s. Year 10 end of year exams started this week, and students have really stepped up - seeing them preparing with their revision cards and after school sessions fills me with confidence that moving into year 11 they will be ready to take on their GCSEs. Leadership opportunities are very important at Sunbury Manor and this week we announced our house captains and sports captains. They received their badges in their house assemblies, and join our head student team who we appointed earlier in the term.
This week we have had a focus on uniform and making sure students wear their uniform with pride, showing us they are ready to learn. I want to thank parents for supporting us with this by making sure your children have all the required items for their uniform. We have seen a real improvement in just one week.
Next week our focus will be on punctuality. As a reminder students should be on site no later than 8.25, when the doors will close and students arriving after this will be issued with a late correction. It is absolutely essential to our success that students are here on time and are ready to learn. Punctuality to lessons is also key so students don’t miss the start of lessons. We will really be pushing to make sure everyone arrives to lessons quickly during lesson changeover and following break and lunch.
Finally, as we say goodbye to our year 11s at their prom this week, we make room for our new year 7 cohort. Miss Batten and Mrs Virdee have been out visiting the year 6 students in their primary schools and they are so excited to be visiting us at the upcoming induction day and being here full time in September. We can’t wait to welcome them into our family!