The summer holiday has flown by and we are now back into the new school year. I hope everyone had a good summer although the weather could have been better.

At the end of August the GCSE results were announced and they were excellent, crowning a brilliant year for the school and community. The pass rate for 5 A*-C was over 76%. This is the highest the school has ever achieved, and the students deserve full praise (along with staff and parents) for their efforts to produce such a high success rate. Several students were named in the local press for passing every subject taken at A* or A. There were also a number of students who did extremely well but did not quite make a full set of the higher grades. We are also very proud of the fact that every child left with at least three GCSE passes.

The results added to the success of the outstanding Ofsted report, copies of which parents should have now received. It has taken a lot of hard work by everyone connected with the school to achieve the level of performance needed to achieve this judgement. Well done and thanks to everyone who contributed to the school’s success.

There are congratulations to three staff who were married over the holidays. Ms Vernon (who was very discerning in choosing a husband who supports Carlisle United); Mr Wood; and Mr Meredith.

The new term has started well, and we have some new staff joining the school. Mrs Bill is our Business Manager, and will be developing a project with our family of primary schools to try to help Headteachers spend more time in classrooms, and also to help schools make budgets go further.

Several new staff have started at the beginning of term. Miss Kettle is our new design teacher. Mr Pope is teaching Geography and covering for Mrs Eades, who is on maternity leave. Mrs Hawthorn will be joining the school in a few weeks to cover Mrs Bird’s maternity leave. We also have a new network manager for the school ICT system. Mr Price is an ex-pupil of the school and we are glad to welcome him back in this very important role.

This weekend sees the annual Bike Show. The PTA has already sent home a newsletter about this at the beginning of the week. Please try to visit the school to support them with this venture as it is our main fund raiser for the school. Even better would be offers of help with some of the jobs which have to be done to make sure the show is a success. If you can do this please contact Sally Howman (PTA Chairperson, 01299270462). The PTA is also supporting us with the ‘Bags2School’ fund raiser (see children’s logbooks).

At 11am on Sunday morning (September 13^th) there will be a service at St Mary’s Church, Cleobury Mortimer, to celebrate the life of schools in the community. The support of any parents at this would be welcome.

Can I remind you that the school does provide a range of after school activities in the L@fter Club programme. There is transport provided from Monday to Thursday evening so all children have the opportunity to take part. The programme begins on Monday 14^th September.

Finally, the new academic year has started well. The appearance of pupils has been excellent with a special effort to maintain a high standard. Thank you for parents who have supported the school with this. We are now looking forward to the challenge of building on the successes of last year. I am confident that, with the pupils and staff here at Lacon, and with your support, we can do this!

Allan Gilhooley

Headteacher