Our Ref: DK/ss/gltr/june 25    

Tuesday 3rd June 2025

Dear Parent/Carer

I hope you and your family are well. I’m writing to you with some key updates ahead of our final half-term of the year. In this month’s update letter you will find out more on:

• Eid-ul-Adha confirmed arrangements 
• Presentation Evening 2025 arrangements
• Year 6 Transition - New Intake Day arrangements in July
• Government update: Banning of single use vapes from 1st June 2025
• A reminder of the Preloved Uniform Shop and how you can support it if possible

Eid-ul-Adha: June 2025
We now have confirmation of the date when the majority of staff and students at Holyhead will be celebrating Eid-ul-Adha in June, and this will fall on Friday 6th June as we had communicated to you in the letter before May half-term.

The arrangements on Friday 6th June will be as follows:

• Year 11/13 students who are celebrating Eid must attend school as normal for the exams that (these are public examinations)
• Year 9 and Year 10 students work from home. Teachers will be setting work on Google Classrooms.
• Students who will be celebrating Eid-ul-Adha in other year groups are entitled to 1 day for religious observance, but this must be communicated to the Attendance Team at school using the email address…
• All other students in Year 7/8/12 must attend school as normal.

Full details of the arrangements were sent out in a separate letter on Monday 2nd June.

Presentation Evening 2025 - Thursday 26th June
We will be holding the annual Presentation Evening Awards at Birmingham Town Hall on Thursday 26th June from 7pm. The event is a key feature of the school year, an opportunity to celebrate the hard work and achievements of a number of students across a wide range of subjects as well as through a variety of enrichment activities. It is also the showcase for many of our talented performers to demonstrate their collaborative work in the performing arts. 

School will be closed to students on Friday 27th June as this is a Staff CPD day, and all students will be expected to be back in school for an 8.40am start on Monday 30th June.

Year 6 Transition Days in July
The final half-term of the school year will see Holyhead welcome our new Year 6 students joining in September for their Transition Days in July, a vital part of the transition programme to help our future students adjust to the change between primary and secondary school. On these days, to support the organisation and ensure the availability of key staff, we traditionally ask a different year group to work from home with remote learning provided by subject teachers. This will involve Year 7 students working from home on Wednesday 2nd July and Year 8 students working from home on Tuesday 8th July. 

Government update: Banning of single use vapes from 1st June 2025
During the half-term holidays the Government announced a national ban on the sale of single use vaping pens that came into effect on Sunday 1st June. The fact that the Government has introduced such a ban is a further indication of the serious concern around the issue of the risk to health of vaping, especially amongst young people.

At Holyhead we have consistently taken this issue extremely seriously with a range of measures used to help to educate our young people about the risks of vaping, as well as safety measures taken to prevent the possession of vaping pens in school. Curriculum lessons in PSHE help to raise awareness of the risks around the use of vaping pens, and students are aware that the possession of a vaping pen as a prohibited item will result in an internal suspension in the Refocus Room as a minimum sanction with a suspension for any student caught using a vaping pen on the school site. 

Given the Government’s increased measures to reduce the availability of vapes, we would really appreciate your support in helping to strengthen the messages around the risks of vaping.

Pre-loved Uniform: Can you help us to help others?
I will continue to provide a reminder about our Pre-loved Uniform shop in each of the upcoming monthly update letters.  This support comes from your generosity in donating items of uniform that are no longer needed and in good condition, which in turn is then washed and made available to families at very low prices. 

We continue to look for donations of blazers, ties, shirts, trousers and items of PE kit to help to provide supplies for families needing to use this service, and with Year 11 students finishing in the next couple of weeks this is a great opportunity to support each other as part of a wider school community.  Donations can be made at the school reception or students can hand any bags with items to Senior Leaders or Heads of Year on duty.

Key upcoming dates and events in June/July

• Year 10 Subject Parents’ Evening will be taking place in school on Thursday 19th June from 4-7pm.
• We are looking forward to celebrating the success and hard work of so many of our students at our annual Presentation Evening event at the Town Hall on Thursday 26th June from 6.30pm. 
• School will be closed to students on Friday 27th June as this is a Staff CPD day.
• Year 12 Work Experience week will take place from Monday 30th June to Friday 4th July.
• Year 11 Sixth Form Induction Days will take place on Tuesday 1st July and Wednesday 2nd July.
• Year 6 Transition Days will take place on Wednesday 2nd July and Tuesday 8th July.
• Year 10 Work Experience Week & Post-16 Preparation Days take place from Monday 7th to Friday 11th July.
• Year 8 Subject Parents’ Evening will be taking place in school on Thursday 10th July from 4-7pm.

I thank you again for your time in reading this letter and as ever, I wish you and your family well over the month ahead, and on behalf of the whole school community I would also like to wish Eid Mubarak to all who will be celebrating Eid-ul-Adha over the coming weekend. 

Yours faithfully,

Dave Knox
Principal