Dear parents and carers,
I write to you this afternoon with our end of Term 1 Pillars of Excellence Newsletter attached. I hope you may find some time in the coming days to read about some of the incredible achievements of our Trust’s young people.
It has been a very positive start to the school year across our schools, divisions and settings; and with all that we are able to offer it feels like we are now back at ‘full speed’ as we continue to recover, collectively, from the difficulties that the past two and a half years have caused.
The term started, of course, with the very sad passing of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, and we navigated our way through those challenging times together. Since then, and as we continue to look forward as a Trust community, we remain hugely excited about the future. Our City View Pre-Schools and Nurseries remain very popular, with considerable waiting lists in each setting. Of our two Nurseries, our Canterbury Campus one was recently inspected by Ofsted and we shall look forward to sharing the result of that inspection as soon as we are able. The Canterbury Primary School is full and oversubscribed in all years, as is The Canterbury Academy. The Canterbury Academy Sixth Form remains the largest in Kent and one of the largest in the country.
Alongside this, we remain absolutely committed to investing in the very best facilities for the young people of our Trust and the families of our community. Over the last seven years, there has been approximately £15 million of capital investment in learning spaces and facilities across our campus. The most recent of these developments is a brand new library, classrooms, student reception and a provision for young people who are hearing impaired at The Canterbury Academy; these facilities will be ready for January 2023. The Multi-Use Games Area will be renovated with a brand new, 3G surface; and a new, multi-sport, hardcourt area (with floodlights) will be built and ready to use by May 2023. All of which, of course, will be used by the young people of our Trust and, outside of school hours, available to the community which we proudly serve.
We conclude this term having had a very successful series of Open Events at The Canterbury Academy, with nearly 2,500 people visiting our campus during that period. As part of that, it was fantastic to see so many of our students at The Canterbury Primary School visiting; many of whom knew their way around brilliantly already! When asked by many prospective Year 7 parents, over the last ten days, what makes the ethos of our Trust so special, my answer is always the same….it is you, your children and your absolute commitment to our belief that we all walk with genius; that each of our gifts, abilities, talents, skills and aptitudes are recognised, appreciated and celebrated across a fully comprehensive and absolutely inclusive Trust community; working together, as one, to help our young people realise their dreams for their futures. I remain grateful to you for your support, and for making our vision a reality.
I wish you all a restful half-term and, as Heads of Schools will have already said, we look forward to seeing our students back with us for the start of Term 2 on 31 October.
My best regards,
Jon Watson
Executive Principal
