Following a warm and sunny summer break, the month of September is progressing at a rapid pace. The darker mornings and much needed rain certainly signify the start of autumn. It was wonderful to welcome our students back to school last week. Year 7 look extremely smart in their new uniform and they have continued to impress us with their commitment, resilience, and determination to manage all that is new. I know that they are going to become valued members of our school throughout their Piggott journey. I would also like to welcome our new Year 12 cohort. On the back of some fantastic GCSE results, we were delighted to enrol many internal and external applicants to our 6th form. We look forward to getting to know them all over the coming term.

It has been my privilege to lead our worship assemblies this week. All year groups have a formal assembly in the main hall every week, during which they are encouraged to pause, reflect and take some time to invest in their spiritual growth. As a Church of England School, our worship assemblies are based upon a passage from the bible, but the assemblies are invitational and inclusive in their nature. If a young person has a faith, they can use the time to grow their faith and pray. For students with other world views, it is a time to consider and reflect on their own values and beliefs, focusing on the moral message of the assembly. Whilst our school is wholly committed to academic excellence, our priority is to educate young people holistically and ensure that they have ‘deep roots’ and stability in order to weather the challenges that they will experience in life.

Our Christian Vision is based upon The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 25-37). I would encourage you to read the passage in full, but I would like to take this opportunity to remind our families as to why we chose the directive of ‘Go and do likewise’ for our school community. The passage begins by sharing the word that is written in the law. ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind. And love your neighbour as yourself’. We want the foundation of our school to be based upon love and compassion. A school where everyone actively seeks the opportunity to show empathy and deep understanding for each other, with no discrimination or prejudice. A community where acceptance and the celebration of diversity is at the heart of its practice. The story of The Good Samaritan is one of selfless charity for a neighbour in need. It is our hope that all members of our community will use the school values to offer charity to those in need but also be brave enough to seek help for themselves when they need it. We are extremely proud of the students in our school, and we know that they are the generation who will be positive advocates for change. It is the directive from Jesus to ‘Go and do likewise’ that will empower our students to model empathy, compassion and love whilst leading the world towards improved outcomes.

As the period of national mourning comes to an end on Monday, the world will join to offer thanks for the life and service of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. As the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, she would always refer to her strong, deep faith when addressing an assembly. Her faith gave her purpose, strength and clarity as a leader. Her kindness, empathy and warmth has been described by all who met her. She was a humble leader who accepted her destiny and described herself as ‘your servant’. Dutiful, faithful, and constant. The Queen dedicated her life, through her faith, to ‘Go and do likewise’. May she rest in peace.

Throughout the school week, there are many planned, and unplanned, opportunities for our students to experience personal growth and be still. Every morning, we will come together for a collective act of worship during tutor time at 8.40am. The school will be collectively silent for two minutes, allowing all its members to have time to pray, be mindful or reflect on the day ahead. Some silence and stillness can be very powerful in restoring positive mental health. During this time, students will be reminded to forgive themselves for mistakes that may have been made and to focus on celebrating success, noticing what is going well. Encouraging our students to notice, ponder on the bigger questions in life and share is a fundamental part of their development and wellbeing.

Over the past two years, we have been overwhelmed by the support of our parents and the wider community. There have been challenging times for us all, but we have been grateful for the faith and trust that you have had in us whilst we have navigated through unknown waters. We are extremely proud of the resilience shown by staff and students through this period, and we remain committed to you, our families, to provide the very best partnership and learning experience for the young people in our care.

As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us if we can be of any support. We look forward to welcoming you into school across the year at some of the exciting events we have planned.

Thank you for your on-going support of our school.

Yours faithfully

Rebecca Alexander

Deputy Headteacher