As the year draws to a close, I look back on another year on the Headteacher’s Blog. Over 100,000 views, over 20,000 visitors to the blog – it’s been a busy year!

January

January began with a welcome back assembly thinking about resolutions, and an update on the work going on in the Sports Centre to get it ready for our use. The old swimming pool had been drained, and work was underway to get a floor laid as part of the Pool Hall conversion.

January is also the time of year when Year 9 are making choices as part of their options process, which is very nearly upon us once again! And I concluded the month with a blog on the influence of social media, and how we are working with our students to help them manage the online space.

February

February began with a focus on attendance as part of the government’s moments matter: attendance counts campaign. The month was dominated, however, by the preparation for and four barnstorming performances of High School Musical: On Stage at the Playhouse in Weston-super-Mare!

This fantastic production produced memories for life for the casts, crew, band, and everyone in the audiences. I will never forget it!

March and April

In March I wrote three blogs based on assemblies and ideas we had been discussing in school. I wrote about the Academy’s value of curiosity, the theme of my assembly that month, followed by a discussion of neurodiversity which was the theme of Miss O’Malley’s assembly. This was followed by a reflection on the nature of equality, and how we balance the differences between us with the need for equal opportunities. It was a very thoughtful month!

This was followed, in April, by a celebration of our successful Challenge Partners review which emphasised the huge progress we had made over the preceding year.

May

Inevitably, as the summer begins, schools turn their focus onto exams. It was no surprise, therefore, that May began with a reflection on top tips for exam technique. The sunshine also made me think about how, in the end, we make the weather as we set the climate for learning in our school. There was then the opportunity to celebrate the work of our students finding real audiences, in their artwork on display as part of an exhibition celebrating Ukrainian artist Maria Prymachenko and creating podcasts as part of North Somerset’s violence reduction partnership. The month of May ended with the traditional farewells to the Class of 2024.

June and July

The summer term began with the 80th Anniversary of D-Day, before we were into the political upheaval of the general election campaign. The summer solstice came and went and, before we knew it, we were into transition days as we welcomed our newest students to the Academy.

The final month of the academic year was spent celebrating the success of our students at their prom and ball, and in our Academy events. We also had a wonderful activities week, abroad and at home.

Then we were into the final stretch of the year, with a hard-fought Sports Day (congratulations Hanover!) and an even harder-fought House Cup (congratulations Tudor!)

September and October

And so, after a well-deserved summer break, we were back! September’s blogs celebrated our exam results and prize winners, and focused on making a positive difference, before our successful open evening and sixth form open evenings.

Later in term 1, I was reflecting on continuity through change as I looked back on the history of the school, what has changed and what remains the same. I also gave information about the Votes for Schools programme we are using, and backed up my Headteacher’s update letter with a post giving information about our curriculum – including the wider personal development programme beyond the curriculum.

November and December

November began with a moving remembrance day, before we moved into our anti-bullying week with a focus on the theme of respect. I also gave an insight into what happens on an inset day, before explaining more about careers education at Churchill around our successful careers convention at the end of the month.

And so we come right up to date, with last week’s blog post: my annual summary of books I have read this year! We are all looking forward to Christmas, and next week’s final blog post of the year will be a look inside our end of term celebrations with the traditional sixth form fancy dress parade, the eagerly-anticipated Headteacher’s quiz, and much, much more as we see the year out in style!

Thank you for visiting and reading the Headteacher’s blog this year – here’s to another bumper year in 2025!