A warm welcome to our new students. I hope that you’ve had a great first week. Your behaviour and uniform have been immaculate!
So let’s talk about results.
The first day of term for years 7 and 11 is Tuesday, September 2, 2014 at the usual time of 08.45. Year 11 should go to form at the start of lesson 1. Year 7 should go to the main hall.
The first day of term for years 8-10 is Wednesday, September 3, 2014 at the usual time of 08.45. All year groups should go to form at the start of lesson 1.
Looking back at 2013-14, I am proud to say that we’ve lived up to our Carpe Diem school motto. We’ve certainly seized the day and made the most of the exciting opportunities which have come our way.
Look at what we’ve achieved: record breaking GCSE results, great OFSTED report and the increasing support of prospective parents. Remarkably, we’ve admitted 60 students by mid term transfer since September so the good word about us is definitely getting round. It’s great to know that parents and carers from all over North Tyneside and south Northumberland are seeing us as their first choice of secondary school, even though they don’t live in our immediate locality.
And to top it all, it is thrilling to know that we have secured government funding for an entirely new school building. So in September 2016 we will open the doors to a brand new Marden High School, containing far superior opportunities for academic study and fully integrated provision for technology, sport and the arts so that the extracurricular life of the school will flourish even more.
You might know from press reports that the above named public service trade unions are planning a one day strike next Thursday.
Despite making every effort to arrange to open as usual, we regret to inform you that Marden High School will be closed to pupils for one day on Thursday 10 July 2014.
From Monday 2 June 2014, Year 11 students should attend school for exams and all lessons in those subjects for which they still have an exam. However, year 11 students are welcome to attend at all times to use our private study facilities and to ask staff for advice. Our invaluable special pre-exam coaching sessions will be available at breakfast and lunchtimes. A signing in/out system will operate in reception.
A big event happened this week.
We saw the first designs of our new school building.
In an exciting two hour meeting, the architects talked us through their initial ideas for a compact, state of the art, 21st century school for 900 pupils with suites of subjects strategically positioned around the campus. But the most important feature was that they had listened to our “design drivers”. We told them that we wanted a modern environment but that the essential components of the Marden DNA were not for sale: Carpe Diem, teaching and learning come first, everyone matters…you know the kind of thing. And it was thrilling to see that they were all there, but even better than they are now. So in September 2016 we will open the doors to brand new facilities, containing far superior opportunities for academic study and ( here’s the big point) fully integrated provision for technology, sport and the arts so that the extracurricular life of the school will flourish even more.
You might have seen press reports about a national one day strike called by the National Union of Teachers on Wednesday March 26,2014.
Marden High School will be open to pupils as usual on this day.
Marden High School has joined the ranks of the top north east state secondary schools in the performance league tables just published by the Department for Education. The tables are based on GCSE results for 2013 when 80% of Marden’s pupils gained 5 A*- C grades, including English and maths. This places Marden as the top performing school north of the Tyne, fourth on Tyneside and eighth in the whole of the north east region including as far south as Teesside.
Happy 2014 to all friends of Marden High.
Our first day of the spring term of 2014 is as above at the usual time.
Well, it’s happened.
The phone call came at 12.05 on Tuesday and by 16.30 on Thursday it was all over.
OFSTED
The single most intense and dramatic event in the life of a modern school had come and gone.
Now before I go any further, I’m not allowed to tell you the inspectors’ verdict before the publication of the final report in a couple of weeks time. Let’s just say that the staff and I are looking forward to reading it.
I must also say that we were overwhelmed by the massive support from parents and carers we received in person and on Parent View. The inspectors were amazed by the positivity of the responses and I hope that this is fairly represented in their judgements. You can find the Parent View findings very easily on the Internet where you’ll read that 96% would recommend Marden to other parents.
So what was it like to be “ Ofstedded”?
