FRIDAY 2ND MAY 2025

It was a pleasure and delight to attend the Lower School Chamber Concert last night, a super event which enables the younger students to showcase the music they wish to play and sing. Made up of solos, duets, small groups and bands, the programme was an eclectic collection of music pieces to suit all. The enjoyment that the students showed performing to their families and friends made the event very personal to each student. A super occasion, well done to the students and to Mrs Cooper, Miss Rodrigues and Mr Dilley, plus KPS who provided the refreshments.

It has been an extremely busy week as yesterday, 1^st May, our online application form for entry into Year 7 in September 2026, went live which meant the two days before were Open Days for prospective parents and students. The beautiful sunny weather enabled our visitors to see Kendrick at its best as they were guided by enthusiastic Years 9 and 10 students eager to tell them about our school. A tour of Kendrick does not take very long as we are a small site, but as I said to the parents, on this small site we have everything we need to deliver a high-quality education to our students at all levels. After the tours the visitors came to the Hall to hear me, members of KSL and two Year 7 students talk in more depth about the school and student life. My key message to the parents about our school was to emphasise our key characteristics, which I believe are:

1. Learning – our focus is on learning and there is a love learning. Students are curious, they ask questions, they are focused and ambitious. Staff are expert in their field, hardworking, love what they do, work well with the students and together we have a common purpose
2. Relationships – there are very good and supportive relationships between us built on the values outlined in the Kendrick Pledge of kindness, respect, fairness, tolerance and understanding
3. Safeguarding and wellbeing – our commitment and priority is to keep students safe and well so that they can grow and thrive
4. The Kenrick Community which embraces all the above and is an inclusive, diverse, fun and vibrant community with numerous clubs and activities that go on every day.

My talk was echoed by the students, and it was touching to hear them speak so affectionally about their school.

This week, the Kendrick Parents’ Society launched the Spring Raffle, the big fund raiser that we hope the whole community will respond to. Emails were sent earlier in the week to everyone, and we are asking all parents to buy some tickets. If every family bought just 5 tickets for £5, we would raise just under £5k, if every family bought 10 tickets for £10, we would raise just under £10k. Our aim is to raise £8k to buy some better equipment for the Music Department so the Music and Drama departments and the concerts and events we put on can be made even better and more professional. Please support us this year. The links to the fund raising and prizes are below.

2025 KPS Spring Raffle Poster with QR Code.pdf - Google Drive

https://www.trybooking.com/uk/ETOV

2025 Spring Raffle Prize List (Version 2).pdf - Google Drive

As well as fund raising, KPS support the networking of parents and students and at the recent Discos for students in the Lower School, parents were able to meet and socialise during the event while their children were having fun at the disco. This week, KSP also hosted the Headteacher/Parent Drop-in, this time for Sixth Form parents. With me on the video call was Mrs Hearn, Head of Sixth Form and Assistant Head. Speaking to around 40 parents, Mrs Hearn was able to give parents of Year 13 reassurances about how the A Level results process happens in August and how university offers and places are managed. For Year 12 parents, questions about how the university application process works were answered and again reassurance to parents that this information will be explained to them at an Information Evening in July. Also related to Year 12 we talked about their forthcoming Work Experience Week, and I am hearing that many students have their placements organised, which is fantastic. We are still short of 30 places so if any parents have work experience placements they can offer, please let us know by emailing Mrs McManus, our Careers Coordinator cmcmanus@kendrick.reading.sch.uk.  Thank you to parents who have supported us so far. 

Working with the librarians who are now taking the responsibility of organising our Word of the Week, we are choosing words that have a meaning or can be reflected in what is going on in the wider community both in and outside of Kendrick. For next week the word of the week is Legacy, this is partly to reflect the passing of Pope Frances last month and his funeral last Saturday and the many words and speeches made about his contribution to the world in the 12 years of his pontificate. However, the word can resonate with many of us at certain times. In the definition given, ‘a legacy is something that is handed down or left behind from one generation to another, often referring to money, property, or cultural traditions.’ As two of our year groups will be leaving us to begin their exam leave next week, I have been thinking about what they have done in their time at school and what they are passing on to us and leaving as their legacy. More on this theme next week.

To finish, I would like to share with you a few comments from the Year 12 student speeches to prospective parents and students at the Open Days this week.

‘At Kendrick, education is about more than just exam results and homework- it's about shaping you into someone who treats others with kindness and respect, who speaks out against injustice, who takes action into shaping the world around you. We are empowered into living out our ethos: lead, inspire and make a difference.’ 

‘… Kendrick is not purely a place to learn – it’s a place to grow as a person, to lead, inspire, and make a difference.’

‘Kendrick’s community is something truly special. You will find friends who lift you up, staff who believe in you, and an environment where kindness matters just as much as achievement. We celebrate each other’s successes, and we support each other through challenges. It is a place where you are encouraged to be yourself and where your differences are seen as strengths.’

‘Kendrick is so much more than a place to ace exams; it is a force for good in our society, not only empowering students with the skills necessary to succeed in life, but giving them the conscience and emotional intelligence to lift others along the way.’

Wishing everyone a great weekend.

Please read further into the Weekly Update.

Ms Christine Kattirtzi
Headteacher 

For the Weekly Update in full please click here

On behalf of the trustee body, I would like to welcome everyone to the 2024-2025 academic year. I particularly welcome students joining us for the first time who will get the support they need to settle in quickly and make a positive contribution to the school.

I have recently taken over as Chair of the trustee board (formerly the governing body) and would like to thank my predecessor, Keith Miller, for the support he has given to Kendrick.

As trustees, we are responsible for working with Ms Kattirtzi, Headteacher and the Senior Leadership Team to agree on the strategic direction of Kendrick. We assist with setting the school's vision, aims and objectives. To do this, we are organised into three committees - Learning & Teaching, Performance and Review, and Resources. Each of these committees meets regularly, and we meet as a full board three times a year. All the trustees are committed to supporting the ethos of the school, and many have direct experience of the school – as a student, the parent of a student or as a staff member.

We want to ensure that every student at Kendrick has the opportunity to thrive - academically, as a member of the school community, and in their personal development. Kendrick has something for everyone: a huge range of extracurricular activities including music, sports, and drama; opportunities to show leadership, as part of the School Council or the Student Leadership Team; and, of course, the chance to help others.

I do hope that you will take advantage of the opportunities to engage with the school. We are always keen to get your feedback, and as Chair of the Board of Trustees, I am always happy to hear from any of you. Please feel free to contact Jackie Gray, Clerk to the Trustee Board jgray@kendrick.reading.sch.uk if you would like to get in touch.

On behalf of the trustees, I wish everyone a successful year ahead.

With best wishes

Charles Ramsden
Chairman of the Board of Trustees

September 2024