Apologies for the delay of this newsletter, but, as you know, we are currently hosting an ISI team who are conducting a routine Educational Quality with Focused Compliance Inspection of the School. If you would like to know more about inspection and how it works, please go to ISI.net. Today (Tuesday) the inspectors are inspecting our statutory compliance with the Independent Schools Standards as set by the Department for Education. On Wednesday and Thursday, the inspectors will turn their attention to the Quality of Education, which looks at the quality of education we provide and checks a targeted section of policies and practices. Thank you for your (so far overwhelmingly supportive) feedback that you have given through the parental surveys. Your children and the staff have given superb feedback through their questionnaires and the inspectors will now drill down into some of the details to explore future areas of improvement. I am a firm believer in the value of inspections which are a part of everyday life for many of you in your own lives and I will share the results with you in about a month’s time when we have agreed the final wording of the report. Thank you again for your support so far in completing so many questionnaires so that the team have as representative a sample of responses as possible.
I have known for many years that Edge Grove’s Got Talent, but I did not quite know how much! Wow! EGGT on the Friday evening before half term, was an amazing, fantabulous, spectacular, demonstrating some extraordinary talent from some extremely brave souls who got through to the inter-house finals. What a treat to see pupils perform with such unique character in front of a wonderful audience. The video of the event is here if you missed it. Many congratulations to Bella in Year 2 (yes, Year 2!!!) who won the competition outright for Gills. Thank you to my fellow panellists, Miss Saville and Mr Aitchison and the rest of the Performing Arts staff for their support of the event.
Thanks you also to our outstanding Year 7 and 8 pupils for touring a huge number of Open Morning guests on the last Friday of half term. Parents, you would have been very proud of your sons and daughters as they maturely expounded upon their lives at Edge Grove with such pride and care. They could not have been better ambassadors for you and the School.
We are now back into the swing of term and after a quiet start on Monday morning, as the pupils adjusted to their new wake-up routines, we are all fizzing and effervescing. Mr G is running an exciting Year 3 Magnets science workshop today and we look forward to welcoming Year 7 Parents to the School for the Year 7 Parents' Evening including feedback on their recent examinations. Please do support your children’s rugby, mixed-hockey, and netball and fixtures v Beechwood Park on Wednesday afternoon and join us for a delicious tea afterwards.
Good luck to Year 2 on their visit to St Albans Abbey in search of Romans on Thursday and to the Year 6 girls as they head off to my old stomping grounds in leafy West Berkshire as they enjoy a musical theatre day at Downe House on Thursday. We have over 90 parents signed up for the Year 3 and 4 Future Schools Evening for parents on Thursday and we look forward to answering your questions.
..and finally, thank you to the Friends of Edge Grove (FoEG) for their energies and enthusiasms in inviting you all to hunt down chocolate treats and a cream tea at the Lionesses & Cubs Easter Scavenger Hunt & Cream Tea event on Saturday 11th March and to enjoy an overnight camp in the Edge Grove savannah on Saturday 10th June. I hope that lots of you will take up the opportunity to go the whole Bear Grylls!
With best wishes,Yours,
Ed BalfourHead