On Wednesday a group of Year 10s were provided with a careers afternoon, NextGen, a workshop organised by Mr Afriyie, our Excellence coordinator. The session provided the students the opportunity to find out about a wide range of different career routes into our NHS in professionals such as nursing. We also celebrated all of our Jack Petchey award winners at the Croydon Borough awards’ evening. A special congratulations goes to our governor, Emma Ayton, who was presented with a leader’s award for all of her work as a volunteer here at Orchard Park.

Over the weekend, artist Chris Shea from State of the Art installed a mural designed in collaboration with our Equality Club. It holds lots of meaning for us: we are a diverse community which we are proud to proclaim. Chris previously attended this school so we are particularly pleased that he has supported our work. Thank you Equality Club and to Ms Ongley for your constant focus on inclusivity.

Every other Tuesday, Year 11 English complete a 'Big Write', an exam-style question in exam-style conditions. The purpose is to help students revisit past topics and build confidence for their upcoming exam. Every piece is marked and students receive invaluable feedback from their teachers. Revision resources are posted by staff on Google Classroom. Please do reiterate this message at home. Well done to Liam S and Abi for excellent work last week!

You may well have already seen in the news, teaching members of the National Education Union (NEU) have voted to take industrial action in the form of strike days. We would like you to be aware that we will not know the full impact of such action until nearer the published dates, and therefore will be unable to finalise plans until then. We will do everything possible to remain fully open for all pupils. If this is not possible then we will be required to give priority to certain groups of students to be on site, for instance those in examination years.

As ever we will continue providing the very best education for your child, and keep any disruption to their education to a minimum. May I thank you for your continued support, as well as taking this opportunity to thank all our staff at Orchard Park for their commitment and hard work.

Have a lovely weekend.

Ms Carly Moran, Headteacher