The first week of term has flown by, and the opportunity to welcome boys and girls back from their holidays is of course tempered by the need too for us all to be working hard to get the best out of our skills and talents for 2011.

 I have joined Society and Jubilee committee meetings this week and it is very clear that our various events for the Lent and Summer Terms are aiming high to celebrate the School’s Golden Jubilee in great style and more of these will be published anon.

 This week has also seen publication of the nation’s academic results in the press, including a new measure, the English Baccalaureate.  The Ebacc is to be awarded to any pupil who gains a C grade or better in English, Maths, Science, Geography or History and a Language.  Mr Gove’s measure is an interesting development, and I am sure the 37 boys and girls at Claires Court who achieved this last summer will be delighted to learn that they have a new certificate on its way.  You have to feel a bit sorry for those pupils here and elsewhere who never knew this qualification was on the way and made choices for GCSE that included philosophical and creative subjects like RS, Art and Drama instead.  It’s the first time in my experience a qualification has been invented after the examinations to which they apply have been completed, and that represents a gross injustice to those pupils in the country who made choices based on the rules of the day and have achieved well at GCSE, yet sit outside the Ebacc list of 5 good passes. 

 Looking forward, current Year 9 pupils will need to take a good hard look at fulfilling the Ebacc requirement; pupils within Claires Court Schools have always been able to make these choices, but it seems there really are plenty of schools that don’t offer this academic core, and Mr Gove has given their head teachers a real headache this week!