2 Sep 2022

WEEKLY MAILING

Message from the Headmaster

Dear Parents

I hope that you and your family have had the chance for a restful and happy break over the summer. I am very much looking forward to welcoming students back to Abingdon next week and hope that they are equally excited!

I would like to congratulate last year’s Leavers on a superb set of A Level results which has allowed them to go on to an exciting range of options. Our new Lower Sixth are also to be congratulated on their excellent GCSE results which will provide them with a strong platform for success at A Level. Both year groups displayed great tenacity and commitment through the twists and turns of the pandemic and I am also grateful to my colleagues for the support and guidance they gave them. You can read more about our public exam results here.

Of course, life at Abingdon is about much more than just exams and it’s been exciting to see the Other Half programme get underway recently with preseason training camps and courses. Congratulations are due to the students from SHSK and Abingdon who had a successful week at the Fringe in Edinburgh, performing a play written by one of our Leavers and garnering enthusiastic reviews.

Work has continued here at school on the development of our boarding facilities and we have also made a start on the new dining space between the Amey Theatre and the cafe. We hope these facilities will be ready for September 2023 and I will keep you updated about progress.

The success of our students rests upon a positive and constructive relationship between the students, the school, and you, the parents. I am therefore keen to ensure that there are open lines of communication between home and school. The first port of contact for parents should be your child’s tutor, who may refer you to the Housemaster. We will pass on school news via the Weekly Mailing which from now on will come out on Thursday afternoon. This will mean we can respond to any questions that the mailing raises before the weekend. I hope too that you will continue to find the website a useful source of information and you might like to follow the School on social media. If Twitter is your thing, perhaps you could give Abingdon_Head a follow…

I want all our parents to feel connected to the school community. You are always welcome to join us for school fixtures, concerts and productions and I also hope you will enjoy the social activities organised by ASPA (Abingdon School Parents’ Association). There are also a number of parental groups which support different activities in the school, such as Touchliners, the Music Society, FASBC (Friends of Abingdon School Boat Club), the Hockey Griffens, and so on.

I hope to meet many of you during the course of the term and wish everyone a happy and enjoyable start to the school year.

Kind regards, Mike Windsor

 

 

MIDDLE SCHOOL

  • For Parents of 5th Year Pupils: Morrisby Profile Programme – IMPORTANT INFORMATION. In July, you will have received an email about the 5th Year Career Guidance Programme, including details about the Morrisby Profile Programme. This Programme is operated by Abingdon at a cost to parents of £88 with the choice to opt-out. Should you wish to opt your child out of the Programme, email Michael Triff at [email protected] no later than midnight on Monday 12 September 2022; otherwise, your child will be enrolled in the Programme and the £88 charge will be made. We regret that refunds will not be possible after this date. To read more about the Morrisby Profile Programme, go to bottom of this web page: https://www.abingdon.org.uk/academic/career-guidance/

 

WHOLE SCHOOL

  • Start of Term.  We look forward to welcoming new pupils and those returning.  Extract from Key Dates:
    • Monday 5 September – First and third year induction
    • Tuesday 6 September – Term begins (first day back for Lower Sixth)
  • Term Dates and Key Dates. Students will be given a hard copy of the calendar at the start of term if they wish, but, for information for new parents, there is an online calendar which is kept regularly up to date.  It is available from the front page of the website under ‘What’s On’ then ‘Calendar’. In addition, there is a Term and Key dates page. This page highlights events such as social evenings and parents’ evenings.
  • Relationships & Sex Education (RSE) and the PSHCE Programme of Study for students 2022-23
  • Covid arrangements:
    • Students who are unwell and have a high temperature should stay at home (or in the Health Centre in the case of boarders) and avoid contact with other people. They can go back to school when they no longer have a high temperature, and they are well enough to attend.
    • If a student has a positive Covid test result they should try to stay at home (or in the Health Centre in the case of boarders) and avoid contact with other people for 3 days after the day they took the test, if they can.
    • Absences from school for Covid should continue to be reported to the attendance secretary by email: [email protected] and complete this form.
    • Please see this link to the School’s Covid-19 information.
  • Second Hand Uniform Shop (SUS).  SUS will be open on Monday 5 September (induction day) between 9am and 4pm.  Thereafter it will be open every Wednesday (12.30-1.30pm) and Saturday (11am-12pm) during term time.  Dates and times are available here.  When visiting the shop, please park at Faringdon Lodge Reception.  The postcode for this is OX14 1BQ.
  • Requests for Absence. Extract from 2022/23 Parents’ Handbook: Requests involving the absence of any pupil for more than a day of School time should be made in writing to the Headmaster.  Their Housemaster may deal with requests involving absence of a day or less.  Parents are strongly requested not to take their children out of School for any but the most pressing reasons.  It must be said that we object strongly to applications for leave that have the effect of extending the already generous School holidays.
  • Tutor Groups.  Please see the  attached document for details of the tutor groups in each house.
  • Medical Matters:
    • Asthma:  All pupils who require an inhaler must carry it with them at all times whilst at school. It must be clearly labelled with their name. The Health Centre will hold a spare generic inhaler for use in an emergency only.
    • Epipens: All pupils who have an Epipen or other adrenaline-auto injector (AAI) must keep 2 devices with them at all times (including School trips). They must be clearly labelled with their name and expiry date. There will be generic AAIs kept in specific areas around the school for use in an emergency only.
  • Inter School Fixtures:  Abingdon has a strong tradition of participating in inter school fixtures across the age ranges. In recent years we have strengthened our fixture list, and been more ambitious in the schools we have been playing. Pupils are expected to be available for matches against other schools unless specific permission has been sought from, and granted, by the Headmaster. Please avoid asking for leave of absence. Any request should be made well in advance, at least one week before the fixture. The Director of Sport and PE, Pete Bignell should be copied in on any such leave of absence request. To assist parental planning, please view the Sport and Physical Education Department’s dedicated website (abingdonsport.org.uk) where all fixture and teamsheets can be found.  Teamsheets are published on the website 48 hours in advance i.e. on a Thursday for Saturday or a Monday for Wednesday. It is vitally important that parents contact the appropriate member of staff in cases of illness on a Saturday morning so that replacements can be sought, and we do not end up in the embarrassing situation by being short of players to fulfil our fixtures. Sanctions will be applied to those pupils who fail to comply with this request. Parents may also use the Abingdon Sport emergency number 01235 422858 in case of any problems arising.
  • Off-Games Procedure:  Pupils who are unable to participate, because they are ‘off games’, must excuse themselves in advance. Pupils must present an ‘off games’ note/letter from parents or the Health Centre to the member of staff i/c their activity, by lunchtime on the day of the activity. Alternatively, the pupil should report to the member of staff at the start of the activity to excuse themselves in person. Sending a message via other pupils is not acceptable. Team players, who are able to do so, should attend the training session in order to pick up coaching points and so that the coach has an opportunity to talk to the pupils about likely availability for the next match. If the pupil has a medical note or advice from a medical professional regarding the rehabilitation process, please send in a copy of this note so that the School can play an active role through use of the Fitness Suite or by maintaining fitness through participation in an alternative activity. If you have any queries in this regard please contact the Director of Sport & PE, Pete Bignell.
  • Rugby Concussion:  Concussion is something that we are all very sensitive about and we want to ensure we follow the best possible practice. Please follow the link to RFU website so that you can familiarise yourself with the suggested protocol and perhaps take the online parent course in support of your child. We do need to highlight one very important point, especially for day pupils.  In case of a head injury please ensure the following steps are undertaken:
    • If a pupil sustains a head injury during a rugby match on a Saturday on either of our 3 sites – Cox’s, Tilsley Park or Abingdon School we will have a doctor on the school site who can see them on the same day.  If a concussion has occurred, the pupil will be off games for a minimum of 23 days. During this period they will follow a graduated return to play programme and this will include being reviewed by the school nurses during that time.  Before being allowed to return to full contact sport, they need to be reviewed by a doctor to confirm they are fit to play – this can either be with your own GP or the Sports Doctor in the school Health Centre on a Saturday. Please note, if the pupil is to be reviewed by their own GP, please ensure the GP is happy to provide this service; occasionally the GP surgery may charge you for this service.
    • If they are playing away they should be seen by the medic covering the match; they may be advised to go to the Emergency department.  This information then needs to be shared with their coach, Pete Bignell (Director of Sport) and Matt Gold (Director of Rugby) and the Health Centre must also be copied in. The Health Centre can then get them reviewed with the nurses in the first two weeks and then by a doctor at week 3. Again, the advice is clear that no pupil can play competitively until a medical professional signs them as fit. Any queries to Pete Bignell or Matt Gold please.
  • Mouthguard Fittings – Reminder:  Opro dentists will be coming in to do mouth guard fittings on Tuesday 6 September between 1.30pm and 4.30pm and Thursday 8 September between 1pm and 3pm in the Sports Centre.  First, Second and Fourth Years will have their fittings during their sports lesson on Tuesday and Third Years during theirs on Thursday.  Fifth Years, Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth should attend when available on either day. An email with a link to an order form has been previously sent by Andy Broadbent.
  • Coach Park and Faringdon Road.  Parents are reminded that cars waiting by the coach park impede prompt departure of the buses as well as causing traffic problems.  The pick up point is Park Crescent.
  • Bus Safety.  Parents are asked to remind their children that they should wait to cross the road until well after the coach has departed from a stop, to ensure pupils have full sight of other traffic.
  • Music in the Michaelmas Term 2022: 
    • We have a very busy and exciting line-up of musical events for the coming Michaelmas Term. Please use this link to access the music calendar and  this one to gain a little more information about each one. As always we will be delighted to see you at our concerts, competitions and masterclasses and we would be delighted if you were to pencil one or two into your diaries.
    • See other upcoming Music events.
  • OX14 Learning Partnership Upcoming Events.
  • News from the week
  • Food menu for the following week – Week 1
  • School calendar
  • Weekly mailing archive.
  • Box Office:
    • 10% Promotion. We are so excited to announce that we are offering a 10% discount on any live screening ticket bought before Monday 31 October 2022! Just enter code SCREENING10 at checkout to apply the discount. Please visit our website to see a full list of our live screenings.
    • NT Live: Much Ado About Nothing – Thursday 8 September at 7:00pm. Katherine Parkinson  (The IT Crowd) and John Heffernan (Dracula) lead the cast in Shakespeare’s romcom of sun, sea and mistaken identity.  The legendary family-run Hotel Messina on the Italian Riveria has been visited by artists, celebrities and royalty.  But when the owner’s daughter weds a dashing young soldier, not all guests are in the mood for love.
    • Glyndebourne: La bohème – Tuesday 13 September at 7:00pm. In La bohème Puccini elevates ordinary people to the level of the extraordinary, the tragic, the timeless – transformed by a score that has seduced generations of audiences. With a ‘megawatt Mimì’, director Floris Visser delivers a ‘fresh take’ on one of the greatest operas of all time (The Times). When seamstress Mimì meets the struggling writer Rodolfo they are instantly drawn together. But Paris is a city of hardship as well as love, as the two young Bohemians and their friends soon discover.
    • See other upcoming Box Office events