The Thomas Alleyne’s Governing Body held their final meeting of the Autumn Term this week. It has been a busy term and this meeting was no exception with curriculum, finance and building issues dominating the agenda.

Governors discussed the analysis of the summer examinations results and how staff have been working on adjustments to the curriculum to fill any gaps that may have occurred following COVID19. We were pleased to hear that Talaxy is being well used by staff and students and we hope that the system will also help parents track the homework requirements for individual students.

As a school we are always looking to provide ‘opportunity, progress and individuality’ so we did spend a long time discussing the GCSE curriculum provision for Y9 students for 2023-24.

As I am sure you will be aware from the national press, funding continues to be a difficult problem for all schools, and we were pleased to hear an update from the Chair of Finance Peter Taylor on the latest budget situation and how this will impact the school in the coming years. TAHS is a big site and we are constantly dealing with complex issues regarding maintenance and building development.

Part of our Governor Development Plan highlights the need for the school to address environmental issues. Mike Osborne-Town leads on this and we were all pleased to note the work of the ECO Team in the Headteacher’s Report and their focus on recycling.

I would just like to take the opportunity of thanking all the staff for their efforts throughout the year in making TAHS such a brilliant centre for outstanding teaching and learning. It has been a difficult few years but the school continues to build and grow through the hard work, creativity and enthusiasm of the students at the school.

Have a happy Christmas and New Year break and I hope you find the chance to rest and relax with family and friends.