Headteacher's Bulletin

Headteachers Bulletin - Friday 11th July 2025

As the penultimate week of term draws to a close, it has been non-stop at Sunbury Manor, trying to squeeze everything in before the end of term.

Year 10 have been completing their speaking and listening endorsement- a required part of their GCSE English course. They approached it maturely and really pushed themselves to learn and present their speeches with confidence. The English team were overwhelmed with the range of topics and interests presented. It is especially brilliant to hear so many of them speak about aspirations for themselves, their communities and society.

The Science department held our wildlife photography competition, and there were some truly spectacular entries. All winners will receive a genuine signed book by Sir David Attenborough, along with house points. In addition, our first-place winner is set to receive a personalised letter from Sir David Attenborough in the coming weeks, as well as an extra science prize. Well done to everyone who took part.

Our year 9 boys took part in the district cricket final against Thamesmead School, and the boys were victorious! Well done to the whole team, but special mention to Yuvraj, who scored 26 runs and Adayhan who scored 22, putting us on track to take the win.

On Thursday I had the pleasure of attending our summer music concert. There were performances from our year group bands, the choirs and solo performances. Music was very important to me when I was at school, so I know the impact it can have, and our students did us proud. It’s also incredible to see the progress students are making as they progress up the school, even in just the year I have been here. It was also wonderful to see one of our year 11 students returning to perform at Sunbury manor for the final time. The range of music was amazing, even including some original songs. Thank you to all of our musicians, and of course all of our incredible staff who put everything together, with special thanks to Miss Bishop!

Through this week we had our year 10 geography students out on their required field trip- a big undertaking for the department to co-ordinate. The weather stayed fine for them, although in the heat I think some would have been grateful for a shower of rain or two.

Finally, today, we had one of my favourite and most pleasurable events of the year, which was to interview students for the roles of Head Students and Deputy Head Students. We interviewed 11 students, and truly I would have been proud to appoint any one of them to represent our school. They did themselves proud and talked so passionately about how they would represent the school, some of the incredible leadership and other achievements they have had in the past and what they would like to see change for the school going forward. All of them spoke about how important they feel it is to improve the school further, not for their own benefit but for the benefit of younger students to come. I was so impressed that I decided to create a new council of student leaders and invited them all to be part of it- responsible for leading the student voice, events, initiatives and improvements. I am looking forward to developing this further as we go into next year. The final choices for Head Students and Deputy Head Students will be announces formally next week once we have had a chance to speak to all of the students.

Finally, please do watch out for our new ‘Sunbury Spotlight’ newsletter, launching next week. If you haven't already, please do complete our parent survey, sent in my end of term letter earlier in the week, and available here. Student timetables are now available on Arbor for next year, so please do feel free to have a look, and we will also give paper copies to all students next week so they can be ready to learn when we return in September.

Have a great weekend!

Headteachers Bulletin - Friday 4th July 2025

Another week draws to a close and we get ever closer to the summer break. It has been a challenging week in school due to the heat at the start of the week, but I would like to sincerely thank parents for your support in communicating to your children our messages regarding the uniform. Students were incredibly sensible in wearing PE kit for Monday and Tuesday and then returning to our normal standards for the rest of the week. I am aware there are some more hot days approaching, and I will send out communication next week if we are moving back to PE kit on any of these days. I will also be working with SLT to review whether we need a more formal ‘summer uniform’ ready for next year. I am keen for students (and staff!) to be comfortable and able to learn, but it is also essential that we maintain our standards at this crucial time for the school.

It has been another packed week this week. We had our wonderful new cohort of students with us on Tuesday and Wednesday, and what a fantastic couple of days it was. I managed to visit all of the tutor rooms on the second day to check in with the students and they were without exception so excited to be joining us. They got a real “big school” experience, with lessons in subjects from art to science, DT to RE, history to music. We finished with a mini sports day, and the excitement was overwhelming- possibly even more so from our year 9 helpers; the competitive spirit is alive and well at Sunbury Manor!

This week we also had 20 students from years 9 and 10 take part in Jamie Oliver’s world record attempt to get as many students as possible from around the world making the same pasta dish at the same time. The current record stands at 7000... we are waiting to hear if we broke the record. It was particularly impressive from our students considering the kitchen was 35 degrees on the hottest day of the year!

Some special mentions for a few students this week:

Two year 8 students, Timmy and Antonia, have had their creative writing entries chosen for publication by the Cheltenham Literature Festival. Their writing was based on the book ‘Coram Boy’ which they read outside of school time. This was part of the ‘Reading Teachers=Reading Pupils’ programme, brought to us by Miss Benson. What an amazing achievement for these students to have published work.

I’d also like to congratulate Ewan in year 10, who I have mentioned before as representing Sunbury Manor as a Ball Boy at Wimbledon this year. He has been selected for show court training and will hopefully be working on Courts 1, 2 or even Centre Court. An amazing achievement and we will be watching out for him!

Tiara in year 9 had the opportunity to support at the Spelthorne Business Plan Competition 2025, a yearly ‘Dragons Den’ style event for local entrepreneurs to pitch their business ideas. Tiara was amazing in supporting the event, which was attended by the Local MP and Global businesses. Thank you to Mrs Howard, our MCR Pathways co-ordinator for making this happen!

In the last week of term we will be having a science fair. Year 7 and 8 students have been working on their projects over the last couple of weeks and have come up with some amazing ideas to investigate. Most are now analysing their data- who knows, may be the next big scientific breakthrough will come from Sunbury Manor! Particular thanks goes to our science technician Miss Anita, who has drawn on her extensive science background to organise this fantastic event.

Finally this week, I must draw your attention to our summer concert, taking place on 10^th July. Students can collect tickets for themselves and parents from the music department, and they are free. Don’t miss out!

Have a great weekend!

Headteachers Bulletin - Friday 27th June 2025

Another week closer to the end of term, but there is no slowing down at Sunbury Manor. We have been trying to squeeze as much as possible into the last few weeks to give students as many opportunities as possible, as well as getting ready for September.

This week we have had some fantastic events. On Thursday evening I had the great pleasure of attending my first Sunbury Manor Prom, and I must say that the year 11s didn’t disappoint. There was dancing (strangely enough to songs from my youth- is that what is popular these days?!), gowns galore, celebration, awards, and the entrances had to be seen to be believed- a truck, a party bus, a motorbike, and if you can believe it, even a ghostbuster!! Fun was had by all, and it was lovely to see year 11 let their hair down and enjoy themselves.

We have had a number of trips this week. On Monday students headed to Brooklands Museum for their event Celebrating Women in STEM Day. The objective of the day is to attract more women into the fields of science, technology, engineering and Maths- areas typically underrepresented. Students were impeccable throughout, and a big thankyou to Reverend Wood for organising the trip.

Today it was the turn of the year 7s, when the whole year group went to Hampton Court Palace for a special day of culture. There was a tour of the grounds, jousting, archery and even a chance to sample some of the traditional foods. Well done to all- a wonderful opportunity. While there are too many people to thank here, a special thank you goes to Mrs Riley who organised the trip.

Meanwhile there has also been plenty going on in school. We had the wonderful year 5 class from Hawkedale Primary School in on Wednesday to experience our DT department, making biscuits and packaging. It’s fantastic to be able to invite in local primary children to make use of our facilities, as well as getting a little taste of secondary life.

Congratulations to year 10 who had their second week of mock exams this week. The year group has done really well in their first real exam experience, and we have made sure they have had the chance to really practice what it will be like in 11 months' time when they sit the real exams- this is so important to ensure they are fully prepared going into next year. I have no doubt that they will hit the ground running and secure some fantastic results.

Year 8 have been showing creativity and passion in music, composing their own protest songs, using music to express their feelings towards certain issues in our world, tackling discrimination, climate change and knife crime- inspired by the visit from Charlie’s Promise earlier in the term. Just one example of how we intertwine our curriculum to build students’ understanding of the world around them.

Year 7 have also been tackling a very topical issue, delivering presentations on sun safety, showcasing the presentation projects they have been working on in life skills. This provided students with an opportunity to integrate classroom learning with independent research, demonstrating understanding of sun safety while practising communication skills.

Finally this week, a big congratulations to Mylo in year 9, who has been selected to join the Developing Player Programme at Harlequins ruby next season- a fantastic achievement!!

Have a lovely weekend!

Headteachers Bulletin - Friday 20th June 2025

It has been an incredible week at Sunbury Manor, with more going on than I will be able to fit in this bulletin.

This week we held one of our flagship events, with our Celebration of Achievement evenings taking place for key stage 3 on Wednesday, and key stage 4 on Thursday. This is a favourite event of the year for all at Sunbury Manor, and it was a true joy seeing students so proud to be recognised for their successes this year. Whether they were in year 7, receiving an award in their first year of Sunbury Manor, or year 11, awarded for their achievements as they leave us and move on to the next stage of their journey, everyone was thrilled to be there and celebrating together. It wasn’t only parents of award winners who attended, but we had many of our governors; headteachers of local primary schools, coming to see their pupils from previous years receive awards; and even Lincoln Jopp, local MP was there to help our community celebrate. They truly were wonderful evenings.

On Thursday we also had our annual year 6 tea party. This is a very special event that we run to support any students who are joining us in September but who may not know anyone else coming- perhaps because they are the only child joining us from their primary school, or they have just moved to the area. It was lovely to be able to speak to some of the parents of our incoming year 7s and have some of their questions answered, and to meet some of our new students. The children were put into groups to make some new friends, supported by some of our existing year 7s, and were challenged to make a tower out of lolly sticks to see which could hold the most weight. One of the entries was able to support Mr Cottle’s entire body weight- don't worry Mr C. I won’t say how much that is, but needless to say it was very impressive!

This week was the year 9 and 10 district athletics competition, and our students did us proud representing the school, with the year 10 boys finishing district champions- Incredible! Particular mentions go to Sam in year 10, winning the 1500m (by 100m!); Alice in year 10 won javelin and Discus, continuing her streak having won every year since joining us; and Oscar in year 10 won the boys 100m and 200m race. This was a particular achievement as Oscar won the races in year 7, but suffered an ACL tear, so was particularly keen to get back on top! Other winners include Lara in year 9, for both long jump and high jump; Ronnie in year 10 for 800m; Emmanual in year 10 for Discus, Landon in year 9 for javelin, Lukas in year 10 for shot put and Will in year 9 for 300m. All absolutely amazing achievements, well done!

With year 11 exams finished we began the year 10 end of year exams, and these will continue for 2 more weeks. This is our first set of mock exams, and the grades from these will help to inform us of the priorities going into year 11 for all the year 10 students. Students have already shown commitment and responsibility, taking the exams very seriously, and it’s great to see groups of students working together with their flashcards, revising and preparing for these exams. I’m very much looking forward to seeing their results. Our departments are already putting in place levels of support to help students achieve their best, for example in science Mr Abukar has been running ‘project inspire’ for selected students to help reinforce knowledge and develop scientific skills.

Finally, this week, well done to prize winners in the science model cell competition, where pupils were challenged to make a 3D model cell from materials of their choice. 1st prize went to Millie in year 7, well done.

A big thank you from me to all parents for your support in the warm weather. The heat is challenging for us all, but students have shown resilience and made sure that their learning has not suffered as a consequence. We made some minor adjustments to uniform expectations today, but return to our normal standards on Monday when it is expected to cool down. We will keep this under ongoing review.

Have a lovely sunny weekend!

Headteachers Bulletin - Friday 13th June 2025

It is a rather warm afternoon at Sunbury Manor as I write to you today, and I’m sure that there will be more warm days to come over the next few weeks. Well done to all students for managing themselves in the heat. Please do remind your children to bring water bottles, stay hydrated and also to manage their time to make sure they have enough time to refill bottles when needed throughout the day.

After focusing on year 9 for their options process (final subject allocations will be sent out soon) and of course year 11 who are now coming to the end of their exams, it is now time to shift our focus to year 10, who not only will be heading into their final GCSE year in September, but who will have the difficult task of deciding where they will progress to once their time at Sunbury Manor comes to an end. This week we had a guest from Logic Studio School speak to the students about what their options are, how they might make their decisions, and the importance of choosing subjects and courses in which they will succeed. It is so important that students make informed choices at this essential point in their education. We will have more visits later in the term from various colleges and providers as well as many other events in the autumn term, so that students have all the information they need to start their applications.

Ten of our year 9 students were privileged to take part in the Cop Cup 2025, a rounders competition run by Spelthorne neighbourhood police team. The students played enthusiastically, but unfortunately didn’t quite take the win on this occasion. Lara, in year 9, was, however, awarded the Tom Lovell prize for sportsmanship, selected from all the students there. This is an incredible achievement, and a huge well done to her as well as all the students who took part.

Our science department continues to lead the way in the celebration of students’ engagement with the subject, rewarding students who complete the most questions on the Educake platform. Winners receive prizes as well as house points. Please do encourage your children to bring out their competitive spirit to see if they can win a prize. I will include names of winners in future bulletins.

I have spoken before about the incredible partnership we have with MCR pathways in school. This week our pathways co-ordinator, Mrs Howard, and Mrs Sheppard took 4 year 10 students on a trip to CVC Capital Parners, based in St James Square in London. They learnt about business investment, and were absolutely amazing, winning the warmup activity against 20 other schools and were outstanding representatives of our school.

I would also like to take the opportunity to celebrate Jayden in year 9, who won the Barbara May Cup in darts at the Sunbury Royal British Legion. This was a charity event held in memory of one of the former members who passed away, and is open to all, so an incredible achievement for this young man, and for a wonderful cause.

Finally, from me, as we are coming towards the last few exams for year 11, I wanted to take the opportunity to thank all of our incredible staff for the support and work they have put in for our students over recent months and indeed for the last 5 years; but I would like to particularly thank Miss Page and Mrs Sheppard for their commitment to the students and everything they have done for the class of 2025!

Headteachers Bulletin - Friday 6th June 2025

The first week of our final half term has been a busy one at Sunbury Manor. This half term is always an exciting time as with year 11 now on study leave, we have a little more time to really start thinking about our priorities for next year and what we need to do to get ready for September. We are really, now, thinking about the future of Sunbury Manor.

In a few weeks’ time we welcome our future year 7s into school for two induction days, so they have plenty of opportunity to get to know our routines, standards and what to expect when they arrive in September. Over the next weeks we will also welcome year 5s into school for a number of events to give them some experiences of secondary school before parents are making their choices in just a few months’ time. Speaking of which I will take this opportunity to advertise our year 6 open evening. We are the first local school to host their open evening, with it taking place on September 17th, starting at 5.30pm. If you have children in year 5 we look forward to seeing you then, but also please do let friends and family know. I would also extend the invitation to all of our parents- you can come and see the school, speak to staff, and hear what I have to say. While the evening is aimed at those selecting secondary schools next year, all are very welcome.

Meanwhile, we continue to support our year 11s, who are coming in for their exams for the next couple of weeks before the excitement of the prom on 26th June- I hope students are focusing on their revision and not what they are going to wear! We have continued to support students, with an English revision session this week between their many exams.

I am always very proud of the work we do to help educate students where we identify a need. We had two workshops this week, one for year 10 and one for year 9. For year 10s we identified that there was a need to do some work around healthy relationships, and so we invited Surrey Adolescent Services to speak to the year group. This was well received by students, and I know that this input will help support many of our students. We are always aware that online safety has to be a top priority, and we selected year 9 to receive a talk on this topic. With technology moving so quickly we must always stay vigilant. Please do contact us if you have any concerns around either of these issues.

Another important event this half term are our Celebration of Achievement evenings, taking place on Wednesday 18th June for key stage 3 and Thursday 19th June for key stage 4. Students were given their invites just before half term, and invites have been emailed to parents. Do check if you have received them as we would love to see you there if your child has been lucky enough to receive an award this year!

Finally, I’d like to wish Eid Mubarak to all those celebrating this weekend.

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Headteachers Bulletin - Friday 23rd May 2025

Well, we’ve reached the end of another half term, with only one to go before the summer holidays. We normally would send out a newsletter on the last day, however, we are going to have some exciting developments with our newsletter before the end of the year to support our communication with parents and help further share all the wonderful things that happen at Sunbury Manor. Watch this space.

I have had the pleasure of showing a number of people around the school this week, including other headteachers. Without exception they have commented on how positive the school feels and how far we have come in the last year. I am pleased they are seeing the positivity; however, I want to really emphasise that it is our ambition to become a beacon of excellence for schools in this area, and we won’t stop until we achieve this.

We said a temporary goodbye to our year 11s today, who start study leave and will only return for their exams and a few planned revision sessions. It was an emotional goodbye for a year group who have faces so many barriers to their secondary education, with the pandemic taking hold in year 6 meaning missing out on transition to secondary school, a year 7 taught in bubbles, national staffing shortages in teaching to name a few. I have been extremely proud of how they have coped going into their exams, and I’ve no doubt we will see some fantastic results come August. Well done class of 2025! A huge thank you from me to the year team and tutors who have looked after them and helped get them this far!

I must give a mention to our science team who have really been going the extra mile to support year 11. With 6 science exams to prepare for it is a huge challenge to get students ready. The science team have hosted a number of final exam preparation sessions, which students have said made a huge difference, and this included a 2-hour revision session on Sunday run online, taking advantage of modern technology to get that final prep in! I know that students were enormously grateful.

While we often focus on written work in school, we also have some amazing practical work going on. This week, Year 7 enjoyed learning cricket in PE, with everyone playing along and students so excited to cheer each other on. In food there was lots of wonderful work, with year 10 doing food science experiments in preparation for the GCSE work next year; year 9 making healthy chimichangas as an alternative to take-away; and year 8 making low fat, low sugar banana scones.

You may recall that a few weeks ago I wrote to you regarding a change to the length of the school day. This consultation has now closed. Please see the link here with the outcome of this consultation and decision.

As you will be aware, we continue to have a big push on attendance. Students should be in school every day that school is open. I ask that all parents are familiar with the information here.

Finally, if you haven’t already, please do follow us on our newly launched social media platforms, where we will be sharing news, celebrations and dates of upcoming events: