Information for Parents

Letter to Parents of all Students

Dec 16, 2014

12 December 2014


Dear Parents/Carers

I am writing to you at this time as we approach the end of our first full term in the academic year 2014-2015.

We continue to support the students to achieve the best that they can and were delighted to learn that our Sixth Form results this summer placed us in the top 10% of Sixth Form Colleges nationally for vocational qualifications, and the top 25% of the Sixth Form Colleges nationally for AS level qualifications. Students who completed their A levels last summer have now gone on to universities across the country as well as into apprenticeships, employment and the ever popular gap year. Our current Year 13 students are now well into their UCAS applications and are already receiving offers from universities across the country. As you may already know, the GCSE results this summer bucked the national trend and we were one of only six schools, out of 30 schools in the City, who continued to improve their GCSE results when others were going down. The last week of term will see our Year 11 students sitting their mock GCSE exams and we wish them every success with this. After Christmas, Year 10 will be sitting their GCSE mock exams and no doubt will be spending time over the Christmas period preparing for them.

Also, at the end of this term, Liverpool City Council will be submitting a detailed planning application for the building of a new school on our current site. A significant amount of time has gone into the planning of this new building. However, the design of the new school has been widely hailed across the City as the most impressive school to be built for many years. The school will consist of three pavilions joined by glass walk-ways on each level, and initial design images can be seen on our website.

We continue to look at ways to ensure that we keep our children safe and our focus this term has been on weekly PSHE lessons to engage the students with topics such as healthy relationships, e-safety, and personal safety to name but a few. I have also engaged with local area Police Inspectors, Councillors and City Safe to pursue improved street lighting along Speke Road, improved signage and CCTV. However, parents and carers can also do their part to keep children safe by not parking directly outside school on Speke Road, on the zigzag lines or on the zebra crossing, and by not driving into school in the mornings and evenings as children are entering or leaving the site. Please use Woolton Street as a pick up and drop off point which runs alongside the school and back out on to Speke Road.

Please find enclosed with this letter a copy of our latest Newsletter and Sixth Form Newsletter which outline some of the opportunities and events that have taken place in recent weeks. Just this week we have celebrated Advent services which culminated in students donating over 1,000 food items which Year 7 students then took to the Hope Plus Food Bank at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. Our Sixth Form students attended the Annual Achievement Awards evening for their exam certificates and prizes which were presented to them by former Notre Dame student, Ms Winifred Robinson, who is a successful journalist and presenter of BBC Radio 4 "You and Yours" programme.

As our students prepare to return to school after the Christmas break can I ask parents and carers to refer to the school’s uniform policy, particularly with regards to outdoor jackets, scarves and footwear, which should all be navy blue or black. As always, if children are anticipating receiving expensive items for Christmas we cannot be responsible for the safety of such items within school.

We look forward to receiving your daughters and sons back with us as school commences again on Monday 5 January 2015 at 8.40 am.

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a restful and peaceful break.

Yours faithfully

Mr T Alderman
Headteacher