A big thank you to everyone who took the time to complete our recent survey regarding the format of our Parents’ Evenings. We value your feedback, and it was good to see such a high level of engagement from our school community.

As anticipated, the results were quite polarising. After a detailed analysis of the data, including a breakdown by year group, it is clear that there is no single “perfect” fit for everyone.

• A larger percentage of parents expressed a preference for the online format, citing its efficiency and flexibility.
• A significant minority of parents continue to prefer in-person meetings, valuing the face-to-face connection.

The split in preference remains consistent across all year groups, and as such we will remain with the current online arrangement for the upcoming academic year. We will consult with parents again next year to ensure we continue to meet the needs of our community.

We were also grateful for the free-text feedback provided and every comment has been read and discussed by our Senior Leadership Team.

In response to your suggestions, we are implementing the following:

• We are looking at ways to increase the visibility and role of our Character Development Coaches
• We will continue to develop our existing menu of on-site opportunities for parents to engage with the school. An example of this is our forthcoming parent assemblies during the week of 11 May.
• We are extending 6th Form appointment slots to 10 minutes. This is possible due to smaller class sizes and the fact that staff usually only teach one group in these years.

The most common issue raised was the length of time slots. We understand the desire for longer conversations; however, due to the high volume of students our staff teach, it is simply not possible to extend slots in the lower school years. This constraint exists regardless of the format indeed, “appointments running over”, was one of the major objections to in-person evenings.

If you have urgent concerns regarding your child’s progress in a particular subject, please don’t wait for a formal evening. You can find the relevant staff contact details on our website to get in touch directly, or email reception: Staff contact details.