Last night we held our very first induction evening for the parents of our new Year 7 cohort, who are currently still in Year 6 at primary school.
The aim of the evening was to provide parents and students with a second chance to meet staff face-to-face, explore the school and get answers to any burning questions.
The event commenced with a presentation from staff covering most of the main issues that parents would want to be addressed.
Head Teacher, Mrs Disbrey, took the lead at the start, commenting, “We are a school that cares and we provide a great journey for your children - full of support and opportunities. Our children go on to the best universities in the country, because being a student at Malet Lambert gives them the edge.”
Mr Logan, Assistant Head Teacher, spoke next, focusing on the guidance and support we can offer students, our great ethos and the great activities we organise to ease students into their new school.
Following this, Mrs Asvadi and Miss Palmer went on to introduce themselves and explain their roles. As Progress and Pastoral Leaders, they will most likely have regular contact with parents of our new Year 7.
They touched on important issues such as behaviour expectations, attendance, uniform and extra-curricular activities.
Assistant Head Teacher, Dr Mills, then went through the Year 7 curriculum with parents, explaining the new offerings which are tailored to suit our students and provide them with a good grounding for their GCSE exams in Year 11.
The new curriculum has a heavy literacy focus and encourages children to be reading and writing regularly.
Finally, Yasmin and Tom from Year 7 addressed the audience and described what they like the most about being a student at Malet Lambert.
Parents found the evening very useful, and Year 6 students also found it reassuring to attend and be able to ask questions.
Nicola Sorrenson brought along her son Ryan, 11, who was worried about the size of the school, but now feels more relaxed.
She said, “Now he has seen it for a second time and chatted to some of the teaching staff, he feels much better. He was feeling a little anxiety about the move to big school but that has eased now so I think attending was definitely worth it.
“He’s looking forward to getting involved with sport here and has had a good talk to the PE department about what he can do.”
Alex, 11, who came along with her mum and grandma, said, “I’m glad I came tonight because now I feel really excited about starting secondary school. I can’t wait!”