11^th April 2000

Dear Parents, Friends and Oldboys

I apologise for the lateness of this letter but the final week of term was even more hectic than usual. We had three days of teacher interviews, one day with five annual reviews and on Friday a full training day as well as visits from Avoca Lodge, Clive Firman our MD, two sets of prospective parents with children and an LEA representative to discuss a prospective pupil. Nevertheless the boys were on their best behaviour and enjoyed having so many captive adults to meet and interrogate!

The new teachers selected will be the first members of staff to be recruited for the expansion of the school. We shall also be seeking: care staff, classroom support assistants and ancillary staff next term. Miss Joanne Miller joined us as a classroom assistant at the end of January and Jackie Russell has been helping with us on a work experience placement.

We do not have a definite list of new boys starting next term but interviews and referrals continue apace with several more new authorities at present negotiating places. Gavin Hladkiy has left school after two terms at Shrewsbury College, he has returned home and feels he is ready to get a job and earn some money, best wishes Gavin.

Mrs Brookes left us at the end of half term. She has gone into business with her husband after finding the perfect property. We wish them both every success and happiness in their new venture. In the reorganisation, Miss Sue Davies will be taking over the staff management and purchasing duties with the new title of Care Manager. Mr Marshall takes over many of Miss Davies’ duties in becoming Team manager for the Houseparent teams. Miss Atkinson and Miss Cronin will be in charge of the health and medical care of the boys. Mrs Parker will be in charge of the book-keeping and Miss Sudlow managing the front office.

Our Social Services Inspector Janet Oxley has changed areas and moved to a new region. We shall miss her support and advice as she has been our inspector for the past three years. We look forward to a long and happy association with our new inspector Deborah Holland. Ms Holland is available at the same registration and inspection office.

Since my last letter there are several pages of news on the building and development front. The clock tower is now in pristine condition and

vertically aligned with the roof. The clock mechanism still needs repairing however and will read 2 o’clock until we can afford this. Planning permission has been granted for the new Senior Block to be built alongside the sports hall. A & M Builders began work on 8 March and the footings are in and we are up to ‘slab level’ or so Mr Brown informs me. Plans have also been submitted for the approval of a staff room and dining room extension between the back door of the main house and the Junior/Laundry block. Finally two new satellite properties are at present being sought for the accommodation of a group of vulnerable pupils who will attend the school on a daily basis.

I am quite excited by all of the new proposals and although we all have some trepidation as to the impact these changes will make to the school I have no doubt the school will have a bigger and better team of staff and much improved facilities and resources. The senior block will offer a new dimension in independent living and hopefully provide the boys with a more realistic transition into the responsibilities of adult life than we offer at present. The vulnerable child units will provide sanctuary and a variety of therapies for a small number of pupils who need 52 week help in a family home setting. If any of you have concerns over the development of the school please do not hesitate to contact me. I am also sure Mr Trevor Price and Mr Clive Firman would be only too pleased to chat if I can not provide you with the answers. Finally the school field behind the sports hall is looking better after the long dry spell. It will hopefully be ready for use in late September.

The teachers all managed a ‘training’ trip to the Education Show at the NEC. They returned in fine form having lost Mr Carless and I am sure new ideas gained will be appearing in the classrooms next term, hopefully without too many invoices for new equipment. Mr Corbett, Miss Davies, Mrs Evans and Miss Emily Miller completed the First Aid at Work course; Miss Davies acted so well as a drunken patient during the practical examination that she has been asked to return to test the next course. The remainder of the house parents completed an update of their basic first aid course on the last Friday of term. Mrs Meyer, Mrs Dixon, Mrs Martin, Mrs Rayner have all attended a variety of teaching courses during the term. The Open University studies continue with success; Mrs Evans passing her Social Sciences and History assignments, Miss Davies, Mr Marshall and Miss Emily Miller have all completed their first two assignments on the Care course and Mrs Meyer is continuing to punish herself with a Cognitive Psychology course.

The school dental inspection took place in March with all gaining excellent marks and Matthew Mertens being given exemplary status for his clean teeth. Please keep nagging them while at home during the holiday mum to keep their teeth clean. I am sorry we did not give you advance warning of the Meningitis inoculation but we mistakenly assumed the letters had gone out before half term as when they were sent before Christmas. However there were no problems and all but two of the boys have been inoculated following Year 11 from last term.

French Certificate of Achievement evening classes have continued with Mr Hacking. Robert Francom, Matthew Joyce, Matthew S, Gregory Taylor and Bryan Chermulas are making good progress.

The pantomime visit to Birmingham Hippodrome was again a huge success. Thanks to Mr Turner and the generosity of Shrewsbury Rotary Club, twenty boys and five staff watched Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Mr John Crosier the Shropshire Careers Officer has attended the majority of the senior boys annual reviews. The annual review reports have all been very positive to date and there are only a few remaining. It is nice to read about the efforts of both the boys and staff and their obvious partnership to improve and succeed.

Year 11 work experience at the end of this term is traditionally organised by the boys with Mrs Martin overseeing their arrangements. However, several boys decided they wanted to remain in school to complete GCSE course work and do some extra revision. It proved quite useful as the boys having trouble putting the final touches to their coursework were generally the ones who stayed behind. Of the others Adam Dellicott worked at Russell's Hall Hospital, Dudley; Robert Francom got a prestigious week at Vauxhall Motors, with a good report; Shane Turner worked at the YMCA shop in Shrewsbury and James Wallace arranged for a week at Metcom Engineering in Brierley Hill where he was asked to stay on for a second week.

Mr Trevor Price the Executive Manager of our parent company organised a Sunday walk in early March. He and his wife invited a group of friends, both personal and of the school, to walk the local footpaths. We met at school, had a pleasant lunch at a local hostelry and all enjoyed a lovely day with good weather and beautiful countryside, I hope it will develop and become an annual event.

The Geography field trip for the year 10 boys to study river development and erosion set off for the Long Mynd in March with Mr Rayner, Mr Gilchrist and Mr Corbett. The boys managed to get all the information and data they required with some excellent digital photographs thanks to Mr Gilchrist. Getting good and wet was also part of the information gathering!

Llanymynech FC entertained our soccer team and we managed a 14-14 draw (with Mr Marshall refereeing) after 90 frantic minutes playing against their under 13 league team. This was a tremendous result for our boys and enjoyed by all concerned. We invited Shawbury Under 12’s back last week for an evening 5-a-side tournament. Our ‘A’ side won the tournament comfortably with the ‘B’ side in second place. A lovely evening was had with everyone coming back into school for refreshments and supper.

Mr McBride entered the some boys into the Shropshire County Cross- country championships at Bridgnorth and Madeley. Steven Powell, Chris Crabtree, Chris Rowe, Adam Cooke, Darren Griffiths and Liam Bennett all ran well and were a credit to the school.

On the charity front Justin Pritchard, Darren Griffiths, Matt Joyce, Thomas Hilton and Matt Mertens and Steven Powell all took part in the BT Swimathon Charity event. Thomas did very well raising the most money for the charity and the swimming was a spectacle to remember. Justin did 5000m in less than 1 hour 20 minutes with all the other boys completing 1500metres in less than 60 minutes an excellent effort. James Wallace and Carl Bowles cycled to Chester from Shrewsbury to raise money for Shrewsbury Town FC – yes I know they need a new team but we can only help in our own small way! The boys cycled 50 miles and completed the journey in 6 hours – another great effort.

The house swimming gala ended with Hill the winners with 26 points closely followed by Clive and Darwin both with 24 points. ASA Swimming badges have been gained by the following boys: Ben Bradley Bronze, Matt Joyce, Darren Griffiths, Matt Mertens, Steve Powell and Thomas Hilton – 1500 metres; Rob Francom and Chris Wright - 1000 metres; Shane Turner – 800 metres; Stefan Gordon, Gron Jones, Nick Pitt, James Fairbanks and Zak Powell – 400 metres; Henry Brittain and Paul Freear - 200 metres. Well done lads.

Out of school activities have again been varied but more boys are making a commitment to regular groups. Ju-Jitsu club has gone from strength to strength with a dedicated group of students led very carefully and ably by Sensei Ken Trehearne and Sempai Dave Bowen. The Yellow Belt gradings were held on 3 February after a busy week of practise and rehearsal of all the required moves and holds. Stephen Connolly, Paul Freear, Aaron Adamson, Henry Brittain, Liam Bennett, Nick Pitt, Thomas Hilton, Goronwy Jones, Chris Tedds, Matt Mertens, Steven Powell, Matthew Joyce, Matthew S, Chris Rowe, James Wallace all passed along with the ever suffering staff Miss Atkinson, Mrs Parker, Mr Paul Davies and myself. We have since been joined by Chris Crabtree and Stefan Gordon who are working for their yellow belt while we all progress onto the Orange Belt. Goronwy Jones has joined James Wallace and Adam Cooke at the Army Cadet Force at the Copthorne detachment. James and Adam went away on camp where James passed out with a half star award.

Ice Skating enthusiasts enjoyed regular trips to Telford. Footballers to Shrewsbury Town FC, town trips, Games Workshop, swimming, Park Lane (for senior boys), house games, torch tig, woods, Gym games, Telford town park, shopping, cooking, computers, skateboarding and Warhammer are some of the more popular and regular evening activities.

On behalf of the staff and boys have a happy and peaceful Easter. Remember next term begins on Tuesday 2^nd May 2000.

Yours sincerely

Paul Mayhew

Headmaster