Wednesday 30th August 2023
Welcome to the new school year 2023!
Dear Parents and Carers,
Here we are approaching the start of another school year. One minute we are heading into a six-week summer holiday and the next, we are gearing up for a new September start. We have expressed our heartfelt congratulations and said our fond farewells to our outgoing Year 11 students on GCSE results day and it is now time to wish a warm welcome to our new Year 7s and all returning students. We are looking forward to seeing you all next week.
Key information:
Monday 4th and Tuesday 5th September are staff INSET days.
All students will return to school on Wednesday 6th September at staggered times. The school day will finish at 3pm for all students. Please see below for details.
From Thursday 6th September, usual school timings will resume. Students must be on site and lined up by 8.30am and the school day will finish each day at 3pm.
Please note: school will no longer finish at 2.35pm on a Friday.
In order to comply with the government expectation that all schools operate a 32.5-hour school week, Friday timings are in line with the rest of the week. Although this requirement has now been deferred until September 2024, there are significant benefits to having each day the same and not having to then prepare for these changes later on.
To allow all students to start their new school year effectively we will be operating a staggered start on Wednesday therefore there will be no breakfast club on this day. Breakfast club will instead start on Thursday. Students should arrive on site no more than 10 minutes before their start time on Wednesday to support the effective supervision of students.
8.30am - Year 7 (who will meet staff at front of school and enter straight into the Drama Theatre) and Year 11 students (who will meet staff on the Amphitheatre)
10.00am - Year 9 and Year 10 students (line up on main yard with form tutors)
11.00am - Year 8 students (this will be after break; therefore, please ensure your child has had a good breakfast) they will meet on the Amphitheatre and then move to the main yard to line up with form tutors.
Our first day back will include a welcome back assembly, setting up lockers (free of charge for all students) and time with form tutors. All students will start timetabled lessons from period 4 onwards. As students will not know their timetable before arriving, could we ask that all students bring their full PE kit on Wednesday which they can then store in their locker if they wish. Students must bring basic equipment and a bag to store their personal belongings so that they are not carrying mobile phones or any other items of personal value in their hands.
We sent a letter to families at the end of last term regarding uniform standards and we also sent a reminder last Friday. If you did not receive the uniform reminder or if you have any concerns, please email your child’s Raising Standards Lead on the email addresses below:
Year 7 – Miss Sheridan jess.sheridan@sws.cheshire.sch.uk
Year 8 – Mr Mellor justin.mellor@sws.cheshire.sch.uk
Year 9 – Miss Phillips chloe.phillips@sws.cheshire.sch.uk
Year 10 – Mr Sanders Darren.sanders@sws.cheshire.sch.uk
Year 11 – Ms Froud Victoria.atkins@sws.cheshire.sch.uk
We very much look forward to a fantastic academic year with our SWS family.
Yours faithfully
Miss Gregg – Principal