#lateralflowtesting

Well we’ve completed the first week back after the ending of lockdown. I hope your son or daughter has welcomed the return. I know some have found the early start has been a bit of a shock to the system. It is a scientific fact that teenagers do need more sleep than others. Even so, from those I have spoken to, almost all are pleased to return to us.

Monday will see the last day of our Lateral Flow Testing Centre. I know our PE department will be very happy to get back their facility. But it really has been an amazing achievement. Given almost no warning, our school nurse, Amanda Weatherall, and our Assistant Head, Helen Skilton, put together a facility which, at its peak, has tested over 300 people in a day. I am rather humbled by efforts of the team they gathered. A number of our support staff volunteered to forgo being on furlough in order to help. We’ve also had several volunteers who have given significant time to support the school. There have also been several former pupils who have only recently left the school who have been tireless in helping to run the centre. We are going to miss their teamwork, expertise and comradeship.

I had a virtual meeting with Heads of fellow independent schools on Wednesday. It is always interesting to comp-are notes with schools who are very similar to Bablake. It was reassuring to find that they too are facing the same issue as ourselves, particularly putting together the evidence required for Teacher Assessed Grades that will be used to determine GCSE and A level grades this summer. Our Heads of Department have been working hard to formulate our plan of what we hope to do and I will speak to parents of pupils in the Fifth and U6 in a video conference on Thursday. I hope both parents and pupils will feel greater reassurance once we have spoken.