To download a copy of this letter, click here.
Please note: If your child is due to start school in September and you do not already have a child on roll at our school you currently will not be able to create a Satchel One parent account. Codes to create parent accounts will be issued once your child starts at FLHS in September.
- July 16, 2024
Dear Parents and Carers,
I write to you at the end of what has been a very positive year for the school. I know this letter is quite lengthy but please take the time to read it carefully. It contains key updates and useful information as well as the arrangements for the start of next term.
End of term arrangements
As a reminder, the summer term ends on Friday 19th July at 12:15pm. The preceding day (Thursday 18th July) is activities day and this day, along with the final day, will be a non-uniform day. We would ask students on the last day of term to donate £1:00 which will be given to the Claire House Children’s Hospice which is very close to the school’s heart at present. Please could all students and parents be aware that our expectations regarding personal appearance and make-up/jewellery are the same as any ‘normal’ day.
Site Updates and Catering
We are now well established into the new school building; however, it is important to keep parents updated about the development of the rest of the school site which still remains a work in progress. Unfortunately, a significant amount of asbestos has to be removed from the old school building and in order to do this safely, it means the demolition of the building will take much longer than expected. Whilst this is frustrating, the safety of the school community must remain the priority. This does mean that it will be some time before our new football pitch and additional sports areas can be formed on the site of the old school buildings. The contractors are not yet able to provide us with an accurate time scale for completion of this work. I will keep you updated as a soon a clear timeframe emerges. As you may be aware, we also had some issues with trespassers and damage to the school grounds last term. We need to ensure that this does not happen again over the holiday period, especially given the added Health and Safety risks.
On a more positive note, we are very excited about our new caterers – Miquill Catering LTD – who take over the running of the canteen from September 2024. They are investing heavily in our facilities and will develop the menus to hopefully provide a choice of tasty food to tempt our students at break and lunchtime.
Uniform Updates
I made parents aware earlier this year that from September 2025, the expectation is that all students will wear trousers for school. This means that the academic year starting in September 2024 will be the last year for the pinafore dresses. You may wish to factor this in when purchasing uniform for your child for this September. It is important that I re-iterate the reasons why we have decided to introduce trousers for all in September 2025.
Student council feedback has told us that our girls do not like the dresses and that students would like jumpers back in the winter months. We are aware that the pressure to wear skirts and dresses incorrectly (rolled up) has been difficult for many of our girls to navigate. The short length of dresses also poses a modesty problem which in turn can present safeguarding concerns both inside and outside of school. In addition, we have also had to deal with a recent spate of students deliberately ripping their school tights which is proving costly for parents to replace them. As a result, we are going to remove all of these barriers from September 2025.
We are also in the process of working with our suppliers to source an appropriate school jumper to launch at the same time. Until this new jumper is available, we will re-instate the plain black V-neck jumper from October 2024 as the weather turns cold. Again, this is in response to student and parent feedback.
In preparation for the winter months, I would also like to draw your attention to what we deem appropriate and sensible coats for the winter. Many students wear coats that are more of a fashion item as opposed to being a sensible coat for school. To provide clarity, we have uploaded on to our website what is deemed an appropriate coat and what is not. This can be found here.
We make no apologies for our high expectations because excellent standards in a secondary school start with high standards of uniform. Please also remember that our school serves a diverse socio-economic community and clear guidelines about uniform helps all our families by acting as a leveller. We appreciate the full support of all parents on this.
Recycling Uniform
If you have old items of uniform or school shoes which are in good condition, please could you consider donating this to school so that we can help other families. Please contact your child’s Head of Year if you are able to assist with this, or alternatively bring it in and leave it with our reception staff.
Mental Health support over the summer holidays
If you have any urgent concerns around a student’s mental health or risk to themselves, please contact the CAMHS duty worker for advice and to consider whether urgent assessment is indicated on 01942 764473. Out of hours, parents/students should contact Wigan mental health urgent response team – 0800 051 3253 (24/7 mental health crisis line for people of all ages in Wigan).
We have also attached to this letter a leaflet containing useful contact details of organisations that can provide support during the holiday.
Support during the summer holidays
For any students eligible for free school meals, information about Wigan Council’s Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme and vouchers can be found here. This programme supports families by providing healthy meals and enrichment activities for thousands of young people across the borough during the Summer, Christmas and Easter holidays.
We would also like to make parents aware of various offers available from a variety of retailers over the summer holidays. Further information can be found at the Money Saving Central website.
Year 11 2025 – Summer Homework
Thank you to our parents of students currently at the end of Year 10 for your ongoing support at this critical time of your child’s education. We do need to remind our parents/carers that there are no changes or concessions being made to the exams or exam specifications to compensate for lost learning due to Covid. Your child will be sitting the full GCSEs and Vocational courses without any adjustments to content or exam papers. As a school, we are working tirelessly to support our students with a comprehensive package to help them through their examination year but ultimately, what we see year on year is that the key to success in Year 11 is a student’s attitude to learning, hard work, effort and commitment. To this end, we want to support the Year 10 transition into Year 11 by setting summer homework for the students to complete over the holidays. This is not intended to be onerous, but to help students recall key information and key concepts in each subject area. If you can please encourage your child to engage with this. Details of this work will be explained to each class and will be posted on either Satchel One or within Office 365 platforms. We will be reporting to you in autumn on how effectively your child has engaged with this work. We are talking to students about the important balance between achievement and rest and look forward to welcoming them back energised and ready for their final eight months at FLHS.
Encouraging your child to read
GCSE examinations have an average reading age of 15 years and 7 months. Sadly, we have some students in school with reading ages significantly lower than this. If your child cannot read well, they will struggle to access course content from Year 10 onwards. As parents and carers, one of the key things that you can do to help your child succeed in school is to encourage them to read. If you are struggling with ideas for books, this link takes you to suggested reading lists for students in both Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4.
Satchel One
A reminder to parents and carers that if you have not yet signed up to Satchel One and downloaded the parent app, please do so. The system continues to improve. As well as homework, it allows parents to track attendance, behaviour points and rewards. Details of how to log-in can be found here. New Year 7 parents will be able to sign up from September.
Start of the New School Year, September 2024
These are the arrangements for the start of the new term in September.
- Tuesday 3rd September – Year 7 only attend school.
- Wednesday 4th September – All other year groups return to school.
Here’s a very brief reminder on how your child can be best prepared for success at the start of the new term:
- Arrive at school for 8:30 am for a prompt arrival into the Line Ups. Students are marked late for school if they arrive to the Line Up after the second bell has rung at 8:35.
- Bring a suitable school bag which allows room for the key items that will be needed during the school day such as books and PE kit.
- Bring the correct basic equipment – black pen, green pen, pencil, ruler, highlighter, calculator and headphones (not Air Pod type headphones)
- Wear school shoes (no trainers).
- Wear full school uniform including blazer and tie.
- No make up and no jewellery as per school policy. False eyelashes and/or false nails to be removed.
- No extreme hairstyles as per policy. Hair bands, bobbles or bows must be plain, black and a sensible size.
- Mobile phones should be switched off and out of sight on the school site. No Air Pods or similar type headphones allowed.
Thank-you for your continued support. I wish you and your families an enjoyable and safe summer.
Yours sincerely,
Mr P Davies
Headteacher
