Dear Parents,
One of the unique selling points of GES is our small size. We know your children. We know when they are having a good day and can tell when they may have a bad one. This strong student-focused pastoral care is central to who we are as a school. In classrooms students are happy and learning, smiling as they do so. Our size, great pastoral care and happy atmosphere mean that the children can be children. They don’t need to worry about not being themselves, they can love sport, love drama or music, make up their own stories in English, draw in art or start programming their own piece of software in computer science. It is so lovely that at GES children can discover their own talents and be children (or teenagers) without the pressure to ‘grow up’ too early.
Having said this, we are acutely aware that children and adolescent mental health is a pressing issue globally and so we have introduced wellbeing days at Secondary where the students are off timetable for a day and complete some physical activity, team building, art and listen to a motivational speaker. So far Year 8 and, this week, Year 7 have taken part and enjoyed these experiences. We will look to expand them across the school as and when needed.
Next Wednesday we have our monthly Virtual Open day events. These are a great way for prospective families to hear more about GES and what we offer. There are three sessions covering Early Years, Primary and Secondary. Please do encourage anyone in your network to attend and please pass on the details to your HR or recruitment department at work.
Have a wonderful weekend and remember that half term starts on Wednesday 12 May at 12.00 midday at Secondary and 12.20 at Primary.
Matt Williams
