End of Term Newsletter – December 2023

Welcome to our End of Term Newsletter for December 2023. You can read below, a letter from Mrs Jackson, and see all our news highlights of the year so far.

There are also some important dates below for Year 11 and Year 13 students who begin their mock exams after the Christmas break.

Letter from Mrs Jackson:

Dear Parents and Carers

As we approach the end of another successful term here at St Benedict’s, I would like to thank you for your continued support.  It was lovely to finally return to face-to-face parents’ evenings and meet you all again.

We started the year as usual with a large intake of both Year 7 and Year 12 students.  I am pleased to say that most settled quickly into school life.  We are aware of St Benedict’s high standing in the community and are extremely proud when we see our new students joining our school family.

We have had much to celebrate over the term.  As always, at St Benedict’s our sports teams have excelled both locally and beyond.  Football, netball and rugby squads, alongside our cross-country team, have all been successful.  We also have a number of individual successes in sports such as swimming and cricket.

In September, we relaunched our instrumental lessons for a number of students.  We now have an active school band, the first time in a few years.  Our talented musicians and performing arts students have performed at a variety of events, including our amazing carol service last week.

We know how important it is for our students to access the curriculum in many ways.  I have been so impressed by the number of trips, visits and guests our students have experienced this term.  These have included opportunities in History, Geography, Maths, Art and Business as well as many others, far too numerous to mention.  We have also welcomed many visitors to school to discuss everything from mental health to maths.

We continue to teach many things beyond the academic curriculum in our personal health and social education programme.  This has included healthy living, on-line safety and careers guidance to name but a few.

We are most proud of our Catholic ethos and character.  Our students impress me every day with the way they live out our virtues.  They engage whole heartedly in the many opportunities to work diligently, help others, and demonstrate care for our environment.  Our students engage in our prayer and liturgy each day and appreciate that Christ is at the centre of all we do.

As we move into 2024, I know that our dedicated and hardworking staff will ensure we continue to thrive as a school, and I look forward to seeing the many things that our students will achieve.

Finally, it is with sadness that we are saying farewell to some staff at the end of this term.  Mr Humphries and Mrs Bishop are both moving on to pastures new.  We wish them well in their new endeavours and thank them for their service.

Once again, thank you for all your support.

Have a happy and Peaceful Christmas.

God bless

Emma Jackson

Head Teacher