Newsletter from the Head
Dear Parents and Guardians
Welcome to the Michaelmas Term 2024; the Summer holidays have now passed and we look forward to welcoming all new children and boarders back to school on Sunday and all returning day pupils back to school on Monday. I particularly welcome the nearly 150 new families who join us for the very first time - I do hope the beginning of your Denstone journey is a successful one. In addition to the new pupils joining us this term, we also welcome the following members of staff:
Jenni Turrill as Assistant Head of PE
Amanda Peers as Teacher of Chemistry
Phil Jankovskis as Assistant Head of the Prep
William Bowden as MFL Teacher at the Prep
George Fletcher as Sports Intern
Kate Goldberg as Learning Support Teacher
The purpose of this newsletter is to highlight a few key issues ahead of the new term and to ensure that all children are ready and prepared for the start of term. It also serves as a short update, as promised, on the issue of VAT on school fees.
As we transition to the new school year I ask that children use the coming days to prepare for a school schedule and get some good rest and routine. School has no 'warm up' period and any efforts to build good habits now will make a difference to the success of next week.
Pupil Welfare
The Summer holidays are a long stretch of time and the ups and downs of life can take place during this time. If you have any information which may be helpful to our team to best support your child, please do ensure to get in touch with the Head of House or Tutor. A problem shared often really is a problem halved and great communication between home and school can ensure we offer the very best pastoral care and support from the very first day.
SchoolBlazer
I am aware of a few families who are still experiencing a delayed delivery time for uniform from SchoolBlazer. There are several back orders which will be fulfilled on 30th August or shortly thereafter. If your child does not have the perfect uniform at the very start of term, please do not worry! Any combination of old and new uniform, or neat sports kit will be absolutely fine. Some children may only have a jumper and no blazer and this will be fine too. There is very much a grace period as we make the move to the new uniform and children should be reassured that this will not impact them in any way. I have been personally liaising with SchoolBlazer frequently and I know many orders are being processed this week.
Academic Preparation
Please do ensure your child is fully equipped with the necessary school essentials to get the term underway positively. A mindset of organisation and thoroughness in September goes a long way to ensuring this long term is a meaningful one. The academic guide (available on the website) highlights our expectation for positive classroom engagement and our wishes for independent study so please do go through this with your child to reiterate the same messages at home and at school.
VAT on School Fees
At the time of writing, there has been no further update from the government regarding the practicalities of the implementation of VAT on fees. The consultation process remains ongoing and is open until 15th September. The legal challenges behind the scenes are underway and our many and varied umbrella organisations are working hard on our behalf to pose the complex questions which arise from this policy. The key work in the consultation period is to highlight the serious issues surrounding mid-year implementation and there is a strong campaign to delay this until at least September 2025. I am working with our umbrella organisations and particularly with Woodard to try to provide further news ahead of the budget of October, but the reality is that there are still significant unknowns; this is the same position for all schools. We have modelled every possible scenario, but until we have greater detail of the precise details, there is little we can do. I am sorry to continue this trend of uncertainty and wish there was more positive news. I will write as soon as any significant update is available.
Home to School Transport
At the time of writing all parents should have now received an email from our Transport Team introducing you to Vectare and our new transport booking system. Going forward, Vectare will manage all our transport needs and so far, the feedback from parents on their customer service is all very positive. I ask parents with pre bookings to please ensure they have checked their booking, set up payment as requested and ensure that their son/daughter has the QR code ready to scan on and off our transport. As with all new systems it will no doubt take us all a little time to get used to the new set up and I ask parents to please bear with us during the first few weeks whilst our drivers and pupils get used to the scanning on and off the bus. If there are any issues whatsoever, please do contact our dedicated customer service team at Vectare [email protected].
Please can I also take this opportunity to remind parents that no pupil should turn up for one of our buses if they are not already booked on via the booking system. Many of our routes are already full on certain journeys and we would not wish any child to not have a seat on our buses. We also ask that you tell your son/daughter that bags should not be on seats and that they must use the overhead storage area.
The Denstonian Magazine 2023-2024
The Denstonian Magazine celebrates the successes of the previous academic year, including academic highlights, sports team season reviews and much more. It is a memento for pupils and their families to treasure. If you would like to order your copy for £14, please complete The Denstonian Order Form on the Parent Portal by Friday 20 September. The magazine will be published in December for your child(ren) to take home before the end of Michaelmas term, and the cost will be added to Michaelmas bills.
Communications Available on the Parent Portal
The following letters can be found on the Parent Portal by visiting https://denstonecollege.parents.isamshosting.cloud
- Return to Play Head Injury and Concussion Cover
- Denstonian Magazine Order Form
- Senior, Middle and Lower School Sports Letters
- Titan Mouthguards
- 1st, 2nd and 3rd Form Early Finish on Mondays: Michaelmas Term
I very much look forward to catching up with as many parents as possible over the coming days and welcoming the new families to this very special community. The team here at Denstone are ready and excited - we now just need the children in place to bring the campus to life!
With kindest regards,
Lotte
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