6 September 2018
Dear Parents
I hope all our families had an enjoyable and restful summer. It has been great to welcome pupils back to school this week and I’ve enjoyed hearing their stories of the holidays. Many boys have been involved in school trips and I have heard nothing but positive reports about their conduct and attitude. I’ve been delighted to see so many pupils involved in pre-season training too and I am grateful to parents who have made travel arrangements to ensure that they could take part.
I would like to extend a particular welcome to parents who are new to the School. I hope you will soon feel part of the Abingdon community and that you will be able to take advantage of the opportunities to support your son, be it at concerts, drama productions or sports fixtures. I would also recommend strongly the activities of our Parents’ Association, as well as the Music Society, Touchliners, the Friends of the Boat Club, and the other organisations which exist to strengthen the bonds of community here at Abingdon.
We have welcomed a number of new teachers to the School and I wish them every happiness and success in their new posts. I am sure you will enjoy meeting them during the course of the year.
It has been a particularly busy summer on the school site and we have completed some significant projects. We were delighted to be able to show first year boys and their parents round Beech Court on their induction day, and we are looking forward to showing all of you this wonderful building soon. It’s been great to see the boys settling into the new accommodation this week, and this building, which houses the Art department, the Library and the Sixth Form, is proving to be a fantastic addition to our site. There are some lovely photos of the boys enjoying the new facilities on the website.
We are equally excited about the significant refurbishment that has taken place in Big School and Mercers’ Court, with over 40 classrooms being upgraded into light, airy spaces with improved acoustics. I believe this will have a palpable effect on the quality of learning and I hope the pupils enjoy the feel of these spaces. A number of departments have moved their location around the School and my office has moved too, and can now be found next to the Chapel on the first floor of Big School. Work is ongoing round the Amey Theatre as Music and Drama expand into the space left vacant since Art moved into Beech Court.
The latter stages of the summer break also saw results days for GCSE and A Level candidates. I would like to extend my congratulations to our lower sixth students on their fine achievements at GCSE. Abingdon pupils were taking on a number of new specifications for the first time, which included a number of subjects based on the new 9-1 grading scheme. They responded to these challenges impressively, and it was encouraging to see that nearly 40% of our results in numerical subjects came in at 9, effectively an A**. Our leavers celebrated some outstanding outcomes at A Level, with just under two-thirds of all results coming in at either A* or A and well over a quarter of all results A*. This has enabled the leavers to move on to a very exciting range of options, including 21 who have places at Oxford or Cambridge. Full details of GCSE and A Level results are available at www.abingdon.org.uk/academic_results and university destinations at www.abingdon.org.uk/university_destinations.
When I addressed pupils at the very start of term, I spoke to them about the importance of establishing a strong routine for themselves, one that allows a healthy balance between their studies, the Other Half and family and social life. I know only too well the challenge of getting going again after the summer break but I hope that the pupils will find plenty of support and advice available to them in school as they strive for that balance. Their tutors have a key role to play in this process and I would also remind parents that tutors are available as the first point of contact if there is anything that you would like to talk over with the School. Our recommended method of communication is email but please do be aware that teachers will often be teaching during the day and therefore will not be able to reply immediately. Our staff work very hard but also need to achieve a healthy balance between work and home life, so emails sent in the evening are unlikely to receive a response till the next day. You can be confident though that we will take any concerns seriously and act swiftly to resolve them.
There is much to look forward to in the year ahead and I am confident that your sons will quickly settle into the rhythms and routines of the academic year. I look forward to catching up with you over the coming months and I wish you all the best for 2018-19.
Best wishes
Michael Windsor
Headmaster
News from the summer:
Trips
Madagascar Biology Field Trip
Moldova – volunteering
Sailing in Greece
Second years try zorbing
Costa Rica – trekking and conservation
Sport
Football – Gothia Cup
Sailing – pre-season training
National swimming success
