1st February 2024

Dear Parents and Carers,

Changes to End of Summer Term 2024

As you know, the Summer term of the 2023-24 academic year is scheduled to end for
students on Tuesday 23rd July 2024 and for staff on Wednesday 24th July 2024.

Since these dates were set, however, we have been successful in a DfE bid to upgrade
our electrical supply, which involves the installation of a new electrical substation. This
new substation will enable us to install air conditioning in seventeen South facing
classrooms (which are increasingly prone to overheating) as well as solar panels (which
will be used to generate electricity for the school). As part of this work, we are obliged to
completely switch off the school’s electricity supply for between one and two weeks.

In addition to this, our analysis of attendance data demonstrates that student

attendance declines significantly during incomplete weeks which “hang over” at the end
of term. Our analysis shows that introducing a “hard stop” at the end of a full week at
the end of the term improves student engagement: our attendance in the last full week
of the Autumn term was 95.4%, compared to the national average of 86.5%. This
improved engagement results in a more complete and satisfying finish for our students
and the school community generally.

The combination of the scheduled electrical switch off and the implications of our
attendance analysis means that we are now rescheduling the end of the summer term
for Friday 19th July.

We are also moving the calendared Professional Learning Day for staff from Wednesday
24th July to Friday 5th July 2024.

Thank you for your support with these necessary changes.

Yours sincerely,

Niall Smith

Headteacher