Dear Parents/Carers, Welcome back to 2016- 2017 and an especially warm welcome to our new Year 7s, sixth formers and their families. Here at the Sydney Russell School, the summer has been very busy. The sites and buildings team have not stopped! Our Primary school has had major refurbishment making it a wonderful, spacious and welcoming learning environment. My apologies for the inconvenience caused by the work not being completed for the start of term but I hope you will agree with me that the end result will be worth it. There has also been significant cleaning and repair work completed across the school and coupled with the introduction of the new House System, the school buzzes with a sense of excitement. I am delighted to say that we have had another successful year of results and I would like to update you on our achievement data from our EYFS class, through to KS1, GCSE and finally A’ level. I am proud to be able to congratulate our primary children. The ‘Good Level of Development’ achieved by our first ever EYFS class was above the national average. Likewise at Key Stage 1, the percentage of our students working at the Expected Standard or above was above the national average in every indicator: Phonics; Reading; Writing and Mathematics. Of course, August brought the GCSE and A’ Level results. It was an anxious moment as the envelopes were opened but tears of joy prevailed! At GCSE 46% of our Year 11 students achieved the English Baccalaureate, the highest in the borough. The proportion of students achieving at least a C for GCSE Maths and English went up a percentage point to 59%. Our data shows the academic progress we enable our students to make. The success continues into A’ level where 63% of our A’ level grades were A*-B and 88% A*-C. Almost every Year 13 student has got a university place, with many going to the top (Russell Group) universities. This is a wonderful example to all our students – if you work hard you can achieve great things. These results are a reflection of students’ hard work and positive attitude, support from home and good teaching, all monitored and tracked by the pastoral care and guidance of which we are proud. We celebrate with those students and their families. Over the next year we will continue to work hard to improve outcomes for our young people. We will expect all of our students to do their best, no matter how difficult the work may be, and make progress. We make no apology for our impatience with anything less than the very best from everyone involved. In return, our students can expect talented and driven teachers who will work hard to ensure they reach their potential. Please note that Monday 26th September is our Recruitment Evening, for parents whose children will be transferring to senior school in September 2017. Students will be dismissed at 1:30, to enable staff to prepare their displays. On Tuesday 27th there will be a late start for students, with registration at 9:45, to enable staff to clear away. Two other dates worth noting are the KS3 Prize-Giving at 6:30 on Thursday 22nd September and the Senior Prize-Giving on Thursday 6th October. I am excited by the prospect of working with you over the next academic year. The combination of home, school, and student is unbeatable. Being successful is, of course, a difficult undertaking for anybody but settling for second best will never be an option for this school or for our students. Yours faithfully, Janis Davies Principal