It has been great to have the warm weather and sunshine over the weekend and into this week. To confirm, jumpers have been optional in school for students throughout this week and even with cooler weather upon us now will continue to be so for the forseeable future.

As parents and carers are aware, we have been particularly focusing on uniform since before half-term and the response of the students this week to ensuring that everyone looks smart has been fantastic. We have high expectations of uniform at Wallingford School and will not compromise on these – shirts should be tucked in, ties worn properly (both particularly noticeable without jumpers) and school shoes are non-negotiables. If families have any challenges with this then we will, and do, provide support and that lies at the heart of our inclusive ethos.

We are always open to views and feedback from our families and this feels like a good moment to take stock of where we are with uniform. We are not considering any radical changes but are interested in feedback and thoughts across a range of questions. We will launch a uniform survey next week and would appreciate parents and carers’ time to complete it – further information to follow. We will share the results of the survey before the end of term.

A reminder for next week that on Thursday 24th June, the school day ends early as per the school calendar. The day will end at 12.30pm. The day is traditionally a shorter school day to allow for our Founder’s Day event in the evening. Given the further government announcement on Monday, I am sure everyone understands why this event is not able to go ahead as planned this year but the time will be used to host an event in school for our Year 11 Leavers who are joining us for the afternoon.  As always, the school buses are aware and will pick up students at this earlier time.

As I wrote last week, with the concerns over the spread of the Delta variant, please do ensure that students do take Lateral Flow Tests two times each week and if there are any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch with the school. Thank you in anticipation for everyone’s support with this.