Head's Page

New School

This has not been an easy process, but I, for one, never thought that it would be. The re-building of Dorothy Goodman is a major piece of work, of major interest to a wide range of people – and inevitably there are disagreements. It would be strange if several hundred people did agree on everything!

What is important is that views are aired, debate takes place, and people feel that they have been able to contribute to the discussion. At the end of that process of course a decision has to be taken, and at that point it seems to me that what we need to do is to get behind what is now going to happen and make it work. That is certainly what I intend to do! Planning for the 3-14 base is now well on its way, and I am involved in discussions with staff, architects and others to make sure that we get the best deal possible for the children of this area.

Final decisions about the 14-19 year-old students have not yet been taken, but they will be – when the best option becomes clear – and at that point we need to do exactly the same for this section of the school – get the best deal we can, and make it work! That, again, is what I will be doing.

The current situation is one in which:

1. we do not have sufficient space
2. some of our facilities are woefully inadequate (ask the staff about the toilets they have to use on a daily basis! or about our Cookery Room)
3. we can no longer accommodate all of the pupils who want and need to come here – which means rejection for some
4. key facilities such as the Hall are no longer able to meet pupils’ needs
5. we lack important specialist facilities (e.g. a hydrotherapy pool)
6. we lack play space, and therefore play equipment

We have brought the newsletter out after Christmas this year – we thought it was too much excitement all at once to send it out before! So –

Tony Smith