Head's Letter 27 January 2012

Dear Parents

The first snow has fallen and sadly disrupted our U9 Netball Festival, what a shame! However, all teams did play one game before the heavens opened.

We congratulated our Lower Sixth students and their teachers in assembly this morning as it was their excellent GCSE examination results of 2011 that secured our top position in yesterday’s Department for Education Performance Tables. With our 100% of students achieving 5 A* - C grades, Gateways is the top performing school in Leeds and the joint top performing school in North Yorkshire, Bradford and York. A fantastic achievement!

On the theme of examinations, last week we welcomed external candidates for our Upper 3 Entrance Examination. I also had the pleasure of interviewing both external and internal Scholarship candidates. As always, I thoroughly enjoyed talking with them to explore further their interests and strengths.

I was very proud to be invited to attend The Rotary Club of Leeds ‘Service Above Self’ awards, 2011-2012 ceremony at which Chloe Burnley received an award, from the Lord Mayor of Leeds for her charitable fundraising. Congratulations, Chloe!

I am delighted to report that all our Upper Sixth UCAS applications are returning successful offers; in fact, we have achieved a 91% success rate. The offers are from leading Russell Group universities such as King’s College, London, Durham, Warwick, The London School of Economics, York and Manchester to read a diverse range of subjects such as Astrophysics, Social Anthropology, American Studies, Economics, English Literature, Mathematics and Modern Foreign Languages. Well done girls!

Thank you to parents who joined us for our Upper 5 Parents’ Evening this week, it is good to have the opportunity to discuss the approach to the final stages of GCSE courses following ‘mock’ examination results. There is good reason for optimism as the significant majority were either in line with, or very close to, the YELLIS predicted grades for the summer examinations.

We are looking forward to next Tuesday, 31st January when we are holding the Upper 4 parents consultation and GCSE Information Evening. The Sixth Form Information Evening follows on Thursday 9th February – I warmly invite pupils and parents of Upper 5 and Lower 5 girls to this event.

There have been some excellent netball results over the last few weeks; the U13 team won against Moorlands 21-7, the U12 and U14 teams both won against Ashville 17-15 and 15-11 respectively, the U12 and U13 teams drew with Royds School with both teams fielding debutants. I would remind pupils that karate takes place on Thursdays at 4.00pm and that hockey continues on Tuesdays at 4.00pm. All pupils are welcome to attend any of the clubs.

The recruitment process to find my successor continues apace with the advertisement’s first publication, in the national press, appearing next Friday 3rd February; the advertisement will appear for 3 weeks. I am pleased to advise you that you see a copy of this advertisement by clicking here.

Yo, Ho, Ho. Rehearsals are underway for the Prep production of ‘Pearl and the Pirates of the Curry Bean’! I am very much looking forward to the performances on 14th and 15th February – it promises to be a fun filled play. In rehearsals yesterday the parrot presented a few challenges!

Mr Keeton has informed us this week that he has still not recovered sufficiently to return to work; we continue to wish him a speedy return to good health and I know that pupils and staff have sent him an enormous card letting him know how much he is missed. We have, in these circumstances, engaged Mrs Widera on a more permanent basis until the end of the spring term to ensure that there is continuity in the teaching of art.

We have been updating our School Improvement Plan over the last few weeks which has given a picture of just how far we have developed and improved over the last couple of years. The School continues to move forwards at a steady and busy pace, due in no small part to the enthusiasm of pupils and the commitment of our staff.

This mornings’ whole school assembly was a poignant reflection on Holocaust Memorial Day, sensitively and effectively conveyed by High School girls and Mrs Finan.

We are delighted that Tuneet Bahi, Upper Sixth, has secured a prestigious apprenticeship at PriceWaterhouseCooper having endured a rigorous interview and selection process since October 2011. We are very proud of you Tuneet!

Yours sincerely
Mrs Y Wilkinson
Headmistress

Head's Blot 13th January 2012

13th January 2012

Dear Parents

I hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas break and I wish you every good fortune for 2012.

The process to select and appoint my successor is well underway. I spent most of yesterday, along with other colleagues, briefing TES Prime Recruitment Consultant Mike Abraham who is assisting us in our search for my successor. Advertisements for the post will appear in the national press in the very near future. I have been very touched by all the support I have received from parents and thank you for your kind words. Of course, I will ensure that the School is in very good order for my successor and will work tirelessly to ensure a very smooth transition.

As ever, the term has got off to a flying start; Sixth Form students are focussed on their A level modules and Upper 5 are sitting their mock GCSE examinations. I wish them well today with the ‘real’ GCSE ICT examination. I know the girls have been working hard over the Christmas break. We were inspected, unexpectedly, yesterday by a representative from JCQ, the Joint Council for Qualifications who monitor the conduct of all examinations boards, and we passed with flying colours! I am grateful to Mrs Brennan for her meticulous leadership of this aspect of school life.

I am delighted to welcome Miss Sarah Lavery to the Prep School as one of our Learning Assistants. I know she will enjoy every minute of work with us.

Congratulations to girls who were entered for the recent ABRSM music examination and LAMDA examinations – most impressive results that we will celebrate in assembly soon.

Our Entrance Examination Seminar was held on Tuesday evening and we had a very full attendance. The evening informs prospective families about the imminent Entrance Examination and how best to prepare. We had very positive feedback and look forward to the Entrance Examination on Wednesday 18th January.

May I remind you that all School policies are available for parents on our School Website, or alternatively you may obtain a hard copy from the School Office.

Yours sincerely

Mrs Y Wilkinson
Headmistress