Newsletter from Mr. Gulley                                 July 2011

Dear Parents,

This is my final letter to you as Headteacher of Temple Sutton. It is a sad time for me but also a time for looking forward, both for me and for our school. I could not have worked in a better place these last nearly thirty years. I have had the privilege of knowing many hundreds of excellent parents who have worked with us to secure success for their children. I have known thousands of children, some of whom have been challenges in their time but the vast majority have been delightful and a real pleasure to teach. I have worked alongside hundreds of dedicated and, in many cases, quite brilliant staff members. I have worked also with a very supportive and enlightened group of people who are our Governing Body. Together we have all produced our outstanding school. I thank you all, very sincerely.

Mr. Barrett, who is taking over as Headteacher in September, is especially keen that everything stays as it is and, I know, he will be seeking to make things even better. There will be some other staff changes. Two teachers are retiring as well as me, Mrs. Wathen and Mrs. Whitelaw. Mrs. Wathen came to Temple Sutton to be our Nursery Teacher in 1995 . Her work subsequently in extending the Nursery and leading the Children’s Centre has been simply outstanding, as many of you well know. Mrs. Whitelaw has been our Literacy Co-ordinator for many years and another dedicated teacher. She too will be sorely missed. We are also losing the services of Miss Ross, another very popular teacher, who has taken a post at a school much nearer to where she lives. She has been travelling a great distance to and from school every day in all weathers. She has also been awarded a well-deserved promoted post. Finally, very recently, we have had the news that Miss Townend has been appointed as Head of Music in a British school in Rome. This is a very prestigious appointment and one which Miss Townend clearly deserves, given her outstanding work at this school. I wish all four a very happy and highly successful time in the future. We have already made four new appointments because we are also gaining more than forty children overall in our school next year. These are really exciting appointments, each of which will add much talent to our total. Mr. Barrett will be appointing a replacement for both Mrs. Wathen and Miss Townend as one of his first tasks in the Autumn term. There will be an interim period without a music specialist and we shall let all parents know what the arrangements are for the Autumn term as soon as we have made them.

Your children at the end of Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 have achieved quite significant results in their SATs tests and assessments this year. I am very proud of what they have achieved. In Key Stage 1 the children achieved 83% at Level 2 and above in Reading and 30% at the higher Level Three. In Writing it was 84% at Level 2 and 18% at Level 3. In Mathematics it was 94% at Level 2 and 22% at Level 3. These are brilliant results. At Key Stage 2 the children achieved 88.6% at Level 4 in English with 29.5% at the higher Level 5. In Mathematics it was also 88.6% at Level 4 and 50% at Level 5. Those who achieved Level 4 in both English and Maths, a key Government criterion, were 85.2% at Level 4 and 27.3% at Level 5. All these scores are well above national and local averages. All the children and all who taught them and all those who have been supporting them at home deserve huge congratulations.

I shall give you an update on sporting and other activities before the end of term as I know that there are some quite interesting events that are still to happen in the three weeks this term.

Thank you very much for all that you have done for me and for our school.

With my very best wishes.

Mr.G.