Pemberton Aces The House Shout
What a wonderful way to bring the first half term of the year to an end with an outstanding evening of entertainment and fun at the House Shout. All four houses performed with great credit, skill, and talent, but it was Pemberton that were the clear winners for 2024.
With an energetic and dynamic solo from Cassie, a vibrant and pulsating ensemble performance by Grace, Tia, Rima , Charlotte, Kuziwa and George, and a beautifully choreographed House Shout, they set the bar high and our excellent judge, Charlotte Hartley (Old Felician and professional producer of Opera and Musical Theatre), praised them for their skill, passion, and creativity. Well done to Pemberton and all the houses for such an excellent evening. A huge thanks to Miss Wong, the supremo without whom there would be no House Shout, along with Mr and Mrs Boyd, for their help across all aspects of the production. It was also wonderful to see the Staff version of the Queen classic Don’t Stop Me Now, making sure that it felt like a whole Saint Felix Community event. And of course, Ms Hardcastle and Mr Grigg took on the roles of comperes with such ease, professionalism and verve, making it a night to remember.
It has been an incredibly busy first half term of the academic year for all of our students and staff, with so much having been already achieved; in the classroom, there has been a real sense of urgency and purpose with the new curriculum, and students engaged in a wide array of subjects, topics and activities to broaden their minds, whilst outside of the classroom, they have had the opportunity to develop increased mastery and expertise in areas of passion whilst also experiencing new and exciting opportunities. The new co-curricular programme is taking shape, with more activities to be added in due course; the service projects with the local community are going to escalate after half term; the Saint Felix Diploma is enriching and advancing their academic curiosity; and the mentoring system is giving them an extra level of support to ensure that their educational journey is as smooth as possible. With these changes, it has meant that their day has become more intense, and in order to make sure that every day and week has the right balance of academia, sport, co-curricular and pastoral guidance whilst also enabling them the chance to socialise, embed friendships and have fun, we have already made some subtle changes to the shape of the day with one less mentoring session for each year group. In addition, we are aware that Year 11, due to their legacy timetable, have some additional pinch points which we will be looking to alleviate; please do read the letter from Ms Hardcastle on this. There are some additional areas that we will be looking at for September 2025, to make sure that our new offering can become first-rate across the board; continued feedback is always welcome and will help inform future thinking.
I am thrilled that we will be taking part in the new East Suffolk Youth Council where we have been allocated two spaces. This is a genuine opportunity for our students to have a voice in their own local community with the Council agreeing to fully and properly debate any motions that get passed at Youth level. It is so pleasing to see that so many of our students put themselves forward for this and having given their hustings speech, the vote will take place today. The chosen students will then be able to take forward issues of prominence in the local area for their generation and begin to have a real impact on change. We wish them the very best!
One of the major benefits of a two-week half term is that it allows time for the students to fully rest and recuperate for the challenges ahead whilst also allowing the space for some academic study. Whilst for the non-exam year groups, this will be less onerous, for those in Years 11 and 13, it is an excellent opportunity to ensure that they start the second half in the strongest possible shape. I would recommend that all students in these exam year groups spend at least five days (in what is a sixteen-day break) on academic study; this can take many forms and should be shaped by their own individual needs and requirements. It could be consolidating work from this first half term, revisiting Year 10 or 12 work to ensure that there is a more complete understanding and revision notes are in place, working on portfolio based subject work or coursework to ensure that they are at the right place or focusing on one or two subjects that need improvement due to weaknesses in subject knowledge or technique. Whichever of these areas is necessary, it will be time well spent and will alleviate pressure as the exams loom larger.
It has been a real pleasure to visit Beijing and Shijiazhuang this past week as part of our continued determination to take an international and global outlook in all that we do, in addition to recruitment for our boarding provision. Our International Student Programme continues to welcome groups from China, India, Spain and Italy on shorter programmes which will be relocated to Bronte as soon as work has commenced and been completed to turn this into a bespoke space of learning for these groups, whilst also providing additional resources and facilities for our own students. We live in a global society, and it is therefore of paramount importance that our students are able to have an informed and balanced view of the world and how they can best embrace and understand different nationalities.
In other news, it was wonderful to hear about the Reception Class visiting DOH Pizzeria in Southwold where they learnt how to stretch and shape the dough, choose ingredients and then make their own pizza. What a feast it was that followed and just another example of the co-curricular programme offering up some new opportunities for our students. If there are any such activities that your workplace might be able to offer, please do contact our Assistant Head (Co-Curricular), Mr Mark Grigg on mgrigg@stfelix.co.uk
After half term, the extension to the Sports Hall in the form of the brand-new changing rooms will be ready for usage, with extra car parking which will be available to the side and back. A new traffic management system is being worked and will come into effect once this has been completed. The ongoing upgrade of the facilities continues with the Chapel and Sports Hall corridors, having been repainted and, in the second half of this term, work will continue on upgrading some of the classroom facilities in the Senior Department. My continued thanks go to the operations, works and maintenance teams that are making these changes possible.
I do hope that many of you will join us on Friday 8th November for our Fireworks Evening by booking at https://www.trybooking.com/uk/DZBP
I hope that every student can have an enjoyable and refreshing break; it is well-deserved.
Yours sincerely,
Matthew Oakman
Head
