Year 11, it has come to that time in your educational journey where we bid you farewell. No one could have anticipated the unprecedented situation in which we find ourselves.

As a year group, we commend you on the way you have conducted yourselves following the news that schools were closing in March 2020 and you would not be sitting your exams. You have shown understanding, resilience and have continued to demonstrate that you want to make the most of this difficult situation.

As a year group, you have gone beyond the curriculum and played a major part in the school’s extra-curricular activities, including Expressive Arts. Many of you had leading roles and were involved in the production of the best school musical - Grease - that I have had the privilege of watching over the 18 years I have been at Deer Park. I know the Expressive Arts Faculty would like to thank you all for your contribution to all their events.

As a year group, not only were you good on stage; many of you contributed to the school’s sports teams and clubs and represented the school in Rugby, Football, Hockey and Netball to name but a few. Some of you have gone further and represented at District and County level. In the final assembly I was pleased to announce the Sports Personality of the Year which was awarded to Tui and Ella for their continued commitment to sport over their years at Deer Park. We hope that during your time at Deer Park, whether you played for the school or not, you were able to find a sport you enjoyed and will continue with in the future.

There are many other examples across the curriculum where you got involved, whether in some of the Design Art and Textiles pieces you were creating for your exam or your involvement in the many Top Up clubs and activities you were attending prior to leaving. All of you have gone beyond the normal and we hope your experience at Deer Park has given you the inspiration to follow your ambitions and become successful in the future.

Normally at this time we would be planning your leavers' events and providing information prior to the usual study leave but things are obviously very different this year.

Many of you have ordered a Leavers' Hoodie as a reminder of your time at Deer Park and the order has been confirmed with Prints & Threads. The hoodies will be delivered to school and when it is safe to do so, we will invite you to come and collect your hoodie. Further information about how and when this will take place will be published on the school website and in the parents' newsletter.

As a souvenir of your time at Deer Park, we are planning to put together a special Leavers' Book, which will include photographs from Year 7 to Year 11. These books are published to order and we have a minimum requirement of 100 books. The cost of the Leavers' Book will be £15 (please note: in the event of an order less than 100 books, we will only be able to refund £14 due to the administration cost). If you wish to purchase a Leavers' Book, the order deadline is Monday 8 June and payment should be made via  WisePay. The books will be ready for collection at the Celebration of Achievement Evening in November, assuming this event can go ahead in accordance with government guidelines.

We appreciate your disappointment that we are unable to hold our usual Leavers' Ball at the end of June. As mentioned by Ms Henson in the final assembly before school closed in March, we will keep this under review and make a decision based on government guidance in September as to whether there is a possibility of this happening.

If you have a locker in school, we will be making arrangements over the upcoming term for these to be emptied and the keys returned to us. In addition, we remind you to collect together at home any school resources such as text books, or unwanted revision resources, which can be returned to school when safe to do so, subject to government guidance.

Many of you may now have unwanted items of uniform. We ask that you consider donating good quality, clean items of uniform, including PE kit, to the Friends of Deer Park, which can then be offered to other parents. If you bag it up and mark it FAO Friends of Deer Park, we will let you know when it is safe to drop these off at school.

Unfortunately, we are still waiting for guidance from government in relation to Results Day on Thursday 20 August. As yet it is still unclear how the grades are to be disseminated to pupils and parents. As soon as we have clarification information will be signposted on the school website.

We can confirm all Year 11s will have access to SMHW, MS Teams, their school email and Office 365 until the end of the academic year. From this point pupils will be removed from the school system, but we encourage pupils to keep in contact with us and let us know what they are up to.

As part of your educational development and to ensure that you maintain some levels of academic study between now and the time you start on the next phase of your education, we strongly recommend you look at the Key Stage 4 Learning Conference Presentation that Miss Lillington has put together regarding Study Skills and Scaling Up. There are some great resources. Read more... 

Please make sure that you regularly check the website of the college or sixth form you are planning to join in September. Certainly on some of the websites there is specific information, which may include work to be completed over the summer in preparation for September.

Please note that Mr Bellamy will be the point of contact for the Class of 2020 from 1 June. This allows Senior Year Leader Mrs Burfoot to focus on the cohort of pupils she will be taking on after half term. Our thanks to Mrs Burfoot for all her hard work and continued support of the Class of 2020.

Please make sure you check the school website - www.deerparkschool.net - regularly for further information and confirmation of the items listed above.

All the very best and stay safe.

Mr Bellamy, Associate Assistant Head Teacher