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Welcome back
Our pupils returned to Deer Park on Tuesday 4 September 2018 after the summer break and we were as delighted to see them all again as they were to see each other. School started promptly and purposefully as usual.
To help our pupils prepare for the week ahead, they could access their revised timetables through iDeer, our virtual learning environment, or check any work set on Show My Homework. Although we roll our curriculum forward and move everyone up a year group in June and pupils are already familiar with their timetables, we had to make some adjustments to accommodate our new Year 7 pupils and deploy our new teachers so that we can optimise their expertise! This year we welcome 10 new teachers who bring with them a wealth of experience across the curriculum.
During our in-service training day on Monday 3 September, staff reflected on the new GCSEs across the curriculum and the achievements of our Class of 2018. We are particularly proud that over 30 pupils attained 5 or more top grades (7-9s and/or A*-As) with 6 of these pupils securing 9 of the top grades each across the curriculum. We are also pleased for many other pupils who, given their individual starting points, made tremendous progress and they should feel equally pleased with the outcomes of their GCSE examinations. We are delighted that so many of our pupils did themselves, their parents and the school proud and they leave Deer Park equipped with the skills required to be successful independent life-long learners. Read about Results Day...
Last term we were pleased to be able to move into our new flagship building and this will be officially opened at a special event on Friday 14 September 2018. This extension to our main building, which provides eight light and airy classrooms, has also enabled us to create a new suite of Pastoral Offices at the heart of the school and move our Inclusion Centre into newly refurbished accommodation ready for this term. Other areas of the school have been refreshed with a new coat of paint.
We are committed to improving our facilities and ensuring our pupils’ safety. Over the summer we have replaced the school’s fire alarm system (with funding from the Department of Education). As a result of this, pupils and staff will need to adjust to the new sounds for lesson change-overs and other audible warnings. We will be carrying out practices this term to ensure everyone is familiar with the sound of the new alarms.
Throughout June and July we were pleased to welcome Year 5 pupils and parents from Cirencester, the locale and 'out of area' schools. One parent commented: ‘Thank you for a really insightful and enjoyable Year 5 Open Morning. The warm welcome of your staff and pupils, and the view we were able to take of the school during a normal working day, meant my son was able to get a real feel for secondary education. He was hooked by the buzz around the school and loved the pace and challenge of the taster lesson. Your pupils are impressive and obviously have a great love of learning and a passion for the school. The guides were amazing! Even in Year 5 he cannot wait for his secondary education experience to start. Thank you!’
On Monday 17 and Tuesday 18 September 2018 we will be opening our doors to prospective pupils and their parents as a part of our two Open Mornings from 9.15-11.15. These open events are complemented by our annual Open Evening on Wednesday 26 September and together they form a part of our ‘Festival of Learning’ which also includes our programme of Learning Conferences for pupils in each year group and their parents, which begins with Year 7 on Thursday 13 September, followed by Years 10 and 11 on Wednesday 19 September.
This year, as a member of The Corinium Education Trust, our pupils and staff will be contributing to World Peace Day on Friday 21 September 2018. In an event that brings the four member schools (Cirencester Deer Park School, Kemble Primary School, Siddington CofE Primary School and Chesterton Primary School) together, we will be reflecting on world events and, in an attempt to break a world record, the tying together of school jumpers will model the spirit of working together and harmony we should all aspire to achieve across the globe. Look out for more details coming soon!
