Parents can read the government guidelines for school in the instance of a positive case and close contacts here

The key information is listed below:
Minimise contact with individuals who are required to self-isolate by ensuring they do not attend the school.

When an individual develops COVID-19 symptoms or has a positive test.

Pupils, staff and other adults must not come into the school if:

• they have one or more COVID-19 symptoms
• a member of their household (including someone in their support bubble or childcare bubble if they have one) has COVID-19 symptoms
• they are legally required to quarantine, having recently visited countries outside the Common Travel Area
• they have had a positive test
• have been in close contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19

They must immediately cease to attend and not attend for at least 10 days from the day after:

• the start of their symptoms
• the test date if they did not have any symptoms but have had a positive LFD or PCR test
  (if an LFD test is taken first, and a PCR test is then taken within 2 days of the positive lateral flow test, and is negative, it overrides the LFD test and the pupil can return to school)

You must follow this process and ensure everyone onsite or visiting is aware of it.

Anyone told to isolate by NHS Test and Trace or by their public health protection team has a legal obligation to self-isolate, but you may leave home to avoid injury or illness or to escape the risk of harm. More information can be found on NHS Test and Trace: how it works.

Details on Rapid Testing for Students at Home can be found here.

Please report your results to the school on this form.

We are delighted to share with you our Senior Prefect Team for the coming year.

We began this process when we returned to school in March. We asked students to submit letters of applications to indicate their interest in leading our school. Over half the year group had applied! During the interview process, we were utterly enchanted by the calibre of students’ answers and thoughtful arguments. We had some very difficult decisions to make. Read more…

Former Harrow Way head boy Mark Todd returned to the school this week having successfully completing his Masters degree at the University of Oxford. Mark, who studied physics at the UK’s top university, visited the school to meet Headteacher Michael Serridge and current students.

Commenting about his time at Harrow Way and how it helped him forge a successful path to Oxford he said: “One thing I really liked about Harrow Way was the amount of subject choice we were given. I was able to choose subjects I really enjoyed, and ultimately this meant I found myself studying not just for exams but because I liked what I was studying. At Oxford this was vital as I often found a direct correlation between my enjoyment of a topic, and my success in it!” Read more…

This May we mark 4 years since Alice Razza passed away. Alice was a Year 11 student who sadly died of cancer in her last year at Harrow Way. Every year we raise money for the Amazing Alice charity – this year we raised an amazing £780.

Dear Parent/Carer

Thank you to all of you who took the time to provide responses to our annual parent questionnaires this year. They are an invaluable way for the school to find out what is important to you and how we can continue to develop and improve the school for the benefit of your children.  We are delighted that we had 270 responses and that the outcome was very positive. I shared the headlines and individual comments with governors last night at the full board meeting. Attached are the:

• Headline results
• Common threads what we do well
• Area to improve – You said, we will now do…

As you may be aware, the Government has announced that, from Monday 17 May 2021, students are no longer required to wear masks around school, either in class or in communal areas. All other protective measures will remain in place and regular rapid testing will continue to help find and isolate asymptomatic cases when they do occur.

The Government has advised that staff should wear masks in communal areas, when social distancing cannot be maintained but they are no longer recommended in classrooms.

We will insist that all visitors to the school wear masks and, where staff are meeting visitors, they will also be required to wear them. If your child decides that they still wish to wear a mask, of course that is their prerogative. However, we feel it is essential that students start to return to normality as quickly as possible.

The reintroduction of face coverings for students and staff may be advised for a temporary period in response to particular localised outbreaks, including variants of concern.

We are aware, however, that some students have been hiding nose studs under their masks. As of 17 May, these need to be removed. Retainers are not acceptable and neither are plasters used to cover nose studs. The school uniform policy is very clear that no piercings other than one small ear stud per ear lobe are allowed. The rules are clear and have been clear for over ten years, so should not be a barrier to your child from learning.

Thank you for your continued support.

M J Serridge

Following on from the successful launch of a number of extra-curricular PE activities last term we are very pleased to be able to add a number of other activities to the programme that all students can attend. These extra activities will start from Tuesday 18th May.