It’s Christmas time… there’s no need to be afraid – or is there? A lot of school kids would have received a mid year report, so I thought it would be fitting to do one for the Blues.

Yes I know we are not QUITE at half way, but close enough!

Class Report 2009/10 Half Way Point

Teacher, Sorry Manager

Alex has really blossomed in the last few months and continues to improve. He has showed good promise of achieving even greater things.

He has helped the class to gel and to start performing as a, well, a team actually. He is often quietly spoken, however he usually is very supportive of the class – although particularly earlier in the year – he didn’t always appear to know where they were supposed to sit! He insisted having most of the class in the middle with only one seat at the front.

I’m pleased to say that he has now sorted that, and the class regularly sit in the same place – with two class members at the front bringing more balance to the class – causing them to achieve a lot more than they were before.

Alex has also expressed his willingness to integrate some new class members with the hope that they may inspire the existing class to even greater things. This is to be commended and encouraged.

Alex is also willing to talk to people who can be critical of the class. He is always gracious and courteous, and this is also to be commended.

We have high hopes that Alex can achieve great things, and this is made even better by the apparent support from the Governing Body.

Class Member Performances

There have been some notable achievements this year from class members. Firstly, the two new boys Dann and Johnson, who joined the class in the summer, and who sit at the back of the class, have really galvanised that part of the class. Prior to them joining, there were a number of class members who moved around causing disruption and to be honest affecting the over all performance of the class. I’m pleased to say that the new boys have caused this to stop and the overall performance of those sat at the back is probably the most pleasing and notable improvement of the whole class.

Added to Dann and Johnson’s efforts, Hart who is on a class swop for this academic year, has also helped. It should be noted though, that Hart does need to work on his communication, and his occasional insistence of running from the back of the class without letting the row in front of him know – is a cause for concern. It would be churlish however to just dwell on this minor negative, when the rest of the term his work has been excellent.

Other class members worthy of a mention, are the experienced lads Bowyer and Ferguson. They are experienced working in the centre of the class from other establishments, although both have had their problems – we have been willing to allow them to start with a clean sheet and they have not let us down.

Their willingness to work hard with the rest of the class has been an inspiration and has clearly motivated others to up their performance. Well done lads.

The other 2 lads who tend to sit either side of the class haven’t always appeared to have performed at their best. However I would like to say their recent willingness to pull their socks up and rise to the challenge laid to them by Bowyer and Ferguson, is noted. Well done Seb and Mac. If you continue with the same grit, determination and effort you have shown recently, your end of year report will be a good one. Well done and keep it going.

Before I give a general class report, I would like to mention the two lads who sit at the front. This can be a difficult role, especially if all the class action is happening behind you! Earlier in the year when there was just one place at the front, this was particularly noticeable with that person often being out of position and young Hart obviously feeling sorry for them and insisting that he bye-passed the rest of the class and only working with the one lad up front.

This has all changed, thanks to Alex spotting this problem and moving the class around and the two lads Jerome and Chucho, (where do class members get their nicknames from these days!), working together REALLY well. I would say that their willingness to work hard has had just as an important impact on the class as the two middle of the class lads. I know that Chucho is still learning the language, however he puts in lots of effort regardless of this barrier and the rest of the class really respect him for it.

General Class Report

So over all, your results in the first half of the year – are well above your predicted grades and you should all be really proud of yourselves. Doesn’t it feel better than having a “could try harder” that you got in the summer?

The thing is, you must not get complacent. You haven’t finished the year yet and you are bound to get some difficult times. From experience, I can say that you are bound to get illness in the class resulting in others coming into the class in their place. You MUST welcome them and continue to work hard even if your normal mates aren’t there. You will fail to achieve the results you expect to do well in, but don’t allow this to knock you – use it to spur you on to do better next time.

Class you are achieving over and above what is expected of you, please keep it going and I hope that we can be giving out awards in the summer.

Board of Governors

I want to give the new board of governors a mention. They have come in and given the place a real lift. The previous administrators had lost contact with the community and this did appear to affect overall performances. The new guys and provided real encouragement from the top to the bottom, including some social interaction which is to be commended.

Their willingness to build links with the community allowing people like myself to go in and assess and ask difficult questions, is a credit to their obvious desire to do well.

Kev Ball

Class Inspector