Letter to all parents

9 October 2025 

Dear Parent/carer

I am sure that you have noticed the increased focus on attendance communications from the academy. I wanted to write so that you are aware of why we are trying every possible means to maximise our pupils’ attendance.

This year 71% of our pupils achieved a Grade 4 in GCSE English Language and 58.5% achieved a Grade 4 in maths. 

80% achieved a Grade 4+ in English &  68% achieved a Grade 4+ in maths.

84% achieved a Grade 4+ in English and 74% achieved a Grade 4+ in maths

In contrast pupils who attended below 85% of the time:

44% achieved a Grade 4+ in English and 32% achieved a Grade 4+ in maths

There is a huge difference between the outcomes for our good attenders and our poor attenders. As a school we care deeply that pupils leave with the best possible chances of going on to the college, training or employment that they want and attendance is key to that. In short, if they are here, they do well.

As a school, we struggle to keep our attendance above 90%. This sounds high but in fact, pupils who are attending 90% are having 20 days off per year. This equates to a huge amount of lost learning and we are striving to reduce these absences where possible whilst recognising that of course sometimes pupils are too ill to come to school.

The increased communication about the different ways we can work together to support good attendance is because we really do care about making sure that all our pupils can be successful and get into good habits for life where attendance and punctuality at work are core requirements.

Yours faithfully

J Norman

Principal