Our Ref: DK/jh/gltr/Sept 25    

2nd September 2025

Dear Parent/Carer

I hope you and your family are well and that it has been a good summer break for all. I’m very pleased to write to you at the start of this school year, and in this slightly longer letter than normal I’ll provide some key reminders on the start of term along with other important details for the month ahead.

In this letter we will cover the following in more detail:

• Update on the 2025 GCSE/A Level results 
• Reminder: Arrangements for the start of term - Wednesday 3rd / Thursday 4th September
• Reminder: Changes to Catering prices for 2025-26
• Reminder: Community support - Preloved uniform
• Key dates for the Autumn term: Meet the Tutor Afternoon and Y6/Sixth Form Open Evenings
• Head of Year updates 2025-26
• Appendix = Key dates for Parents/Carers 2025-26

There have once again been some very pleasing results for students and the school as a whole over the summer with the A Level/Level 3 qualifications and GCSE. Whilst DfE Performance Measure information isn’t available until later in the Autumn term for GCSE exams and the Spring Term for A Levels/Level 3 exams, we’re pleased to report that there have been a number of improvements on results from 2024 and again in comparison with the last set of exam results before the pandemic in 2019. 

Most importantly, there were lots of happy students with the grades they needed to secure places on courses or with employers. You may have seen information about the results in the local media, but we’re delighted to confirm that two of our Year 13 leavers will also be reading Medicine at the University of Birmingham and Aston University. This is a major achievement, the latest in a line of Holyhead students to gain a place on a Medicine degree and something that all of us in the school community should take great pride in!

Arrangements for the start of term: A staggered return on Wed 3rd / Thurs 4th Sept

A reminder that following on from the Staff CPD days we will be bringing students back to school using a staggered approach from Wednesday 3rd September to Thursday 4th September. This will ensure all year groups have an extended Tutor period before they begin normal lessons on Thursday 4th September.

Wednesday 3rd September: Y7/12 only from 11:30am
Students in Years 7 and Year 12 will arrive at 11:30am for an induction day with their Form Tutors.

Thursday 4th September: All students will arrive for 8.40am

• Years 8-11 and Year 13 students arrive for an 8:40am start with Tutor time and a return assembly.
• Students in Year 7/12 will also arrive for an 8.40am start with an extended Tutor period.
• All students will have normal timetabled lessons from Period 2 at 10:40am after break time.

Reminder: Changes to catering prices from September 2025
As was reported in the news over the summer, food costs unfortunately continue to rise, impacting inflation. As in previous years, we’ve carefully reviewed the situation to minimise the impact on meal prices.

Due to supplier costs and inflation, we’re unable to freeze all prices for next year. From 3rd September 2025, the meal deal will increase from £2.65 to £2.75 per day. However, many other items will remain unchanged. We’re taking a targeted approach, avoiding increases on healthier options where possible.

Our prices remain lower than other schools in the Trust and are benchmarked locally. If costs fall, we’ll reflect this in future pricing. Our Breakfast Club provision remains free and available to all from 8:15am, so please encourage your child to arrive early and make use of the option for a positive start to the day!

Preloved uniform - can you help by donating?
As we get ready to return after the summer holidays, it’s a good time to remind about our Preloved Uniform system which is designed to support families in the school community. If your child has any items of school uniform that they have outgrown or you are going to replace, please could you donate it to the school and it can be dry cleaned ready for a new owner. The generosity of our families continues to help us to support others so if you do have any donations to make, these can be handed in to the School Reception or students can give them to their Form Tutor. 

The items that can be donated are blazers, ties, black jumpers, black trousers, black skirts, white school shirts or blouses and PE kit items. Thank you again for your continued generosity and support towards others!

Parental Engagement: Meet the Tutor Afternoon - Wednesday 22nd October
Following on from last year, we will be increasing opportunities for parents and carers to have a more active involvement in the life of the school. Having reviewed feedback from parents and staff alike, we have taken the decision to move away from the individual year group Parental Information evenings that we have run for the last 3 years to an afternoon where all parents are able to have an appointment with their child’s Form Tutor in October.

The ‘Meet the Tutor’ afternoon will involve an opportunity to meet your child’s Form Tutor for a 5 minute appointment to discuss how they have settled in at the start of the year as well as to continue to build this important relationship.

Key dates for September/October: Early finishes for Y6 and Sixth Form Open Evenings

On Thursday 25th September we will be having our Y6 Open Evening from 5.30 - 7.30pm, a vitally important event for the community with many families deciding where to send their children to secondary school. 

As in previous years we have finished earlier in the day to enable staff to set up for the evening, and we will be doing so again this year.  Students will leave at 2:30pm on Thursday 25th September, with additional homework set by Period 4 lesson teachers. With a large number of students and staff involved late into the evening we will be having a delayed start to school on Friday 26th September, with students arriving by 10.25am ready for a Period 2 start.

We will follow the exact same arrangements on Thursday 2nd October which is our Sixth Form Open Evening with a delayed start again at 10:25am on Friday 3rd October.

Head of Year updates 2025-26
With Ms Jeffers returning from maternity leave, we have made some changes to Heads of Year for the upcoming year. Ms Jeffers will return to working with Year 10 who she was Head of Year for in Y7/8, and this in turn means that Mr Cain will be moving back to work with Year 11 (who he worked with in Y9) and will be supported by Miss Garawal who stepped up as maternity cover to look after the year group in 2024-25. The Meet The Tutor afternoon will be a great opportunity for parents to get to know your child’s new Head of Year, and you can be assured that they are in excellent hands!

A reminder of the Heads of Year and Year Group Vice Principals is below:

As ever I am extremely grateful for your time and support in reading this letter, and look forward to the return of the students later this week.  May I wish you and your family good health and fortune over the coming days and weeks.

Yours faithfully,

Dave Knox
Principal