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    • Welcome

    Ofsted report November 2022 "The Kendrick Pledge emphasises friendship, kindness, respect, equality, tolerance and justice, and these values underpin all that the school achieves. Pupils flourish in this exceptionally caring and inclusive learning environment. Secure, trusting relationships between staff and pupils ensure pupils feel very well supported and safe here. In turn, pupils’ excellent behaviour and impeccable manners make Kendrick a very special place to be". 

    It is my great pleasure to welcome you to Kendrick School.

    Kendrick School is an 11-18 selective girls’ school with academy status. It has a local and national reputation as an outstanding school and has an impressive record of achievement as a centre of excellence for girls’ education.

    In its last five OFSTED inspections, Kendrick was judged an “outstanding” school. In our most recent inspection in November 2022, OFSTED stated "Pupils and sixth formers are justly proud of their school community. They delight in their learning and truly excel here. One parent spoke for many when reflecting, ‘The school does a great job of creating well-rounded, kind, human beings who will hopefully go on to make the world a better place. The academic results are important of course, but far from the only focus.’ Inspectors totally agree.” 

    Kendrick is a forward-looking school that grasps the opportunities that present themselves. A love of learning is at the heart of Kendrick with a strong emphasis on high quality teaching. The curriculum is organised to meet the needs of all students and is engaging, rich and ambitious. All staff are hardworking and dedicated; students are bright, enthusiastic and curious, they love being at their school.

    At Kendrick, students enjoy a rich and varied extracurricular education. The House System provides opportunities for healthy competition with numerous annual house events, which are key activities in the school year. Kendrick Student Leaders work energetically and collaboratively with staff to support this vital community element of the school. In addition, we have a School Council, which discusses and drives change for students.

    Safeguarding and students’ mental health and wellbeing are prioritised above all else. As stated by Ofsted in November 2022, ‘The arrangements for Safeguarding are effective at Kendrick’ and ‘there is a culture of vigilance’ where ‘staff care deeply about pupils’ wellbeing’. 

    As part of Kendrick’s Widening Horizons strategic initiative, we actively pursue partnerships with schools and businesses in our local area and beyond. These associations benefit the students of Kendrick, as well as those in neighbouring schools. We share our good practice and offer opportunities to work with primary and secondary schools in the Reading area.

    Kendrick has been expanding over the last three years, a process that started in September 2020 when an additional 32 students joined the school in Year 7. This year we welcomed the last of the expanded cohorts into Year 7, which completes the expansion, making Kendrick a four-form entry school for Years 7-11. In the admission process, priority is given to pupil premium students and students living in the Reading area, which is called Priority Area 1. Our Widening Horizons initiative commits us to achieving greater participation and access for students from local primary schools. In July 2024, we were awarded the Sutton Trust Fair School Admissions Award at Gold level. This is a great accolade for the school which we are very proud of. 

    As the Headteacher of Kendrick, it is my vision to lead, inspire and make a difference to the lives of girls and young women. I believe passionately in girls’ education and know that Kendrick School affords its students the very best education there is.

    Ms Christine Kattirtzi
    Headteacher

    September 2024 

    Weekly letter from ms kattirtzi, headteacher

    FRIDAY 4TH JULY 2025

    Another super week at Kendrick full of creativity and enrichment!

    The Creative Arts Week which I mentioned last week comprising activities including dance workshops and displays, drama performances, purse decorations, poetry anthology launch, ceramics produced in Art, culminated in two events this week - the Summer Concert on Tuesday evening and the Creative Arts Festival yesterday evening. Both events were a joy to attend and see the students embrace and demonstrate areas of the arts curriculum so enthusiastically. Before the showcase event last night, there was the equally impressive Performer Series this year focusing on Harp and Percussion which went very well too. Thank you and well done to the students for their eager and enthusiastic participation and many thanks to the staff in the creative arts subject areas who have given so much time to explore and develop these disciplines with the students outside of their lessons. A particular highlight of mine is our annual poetry anthology. This is our fifth Kendrick Poetry Anthology that has been produced, this year the process has been led and coordinated by Miss Waller in the English Department. I am always so impressed by the quality of the poems the students can write, as well as the thought and depth of feeling they show. The anthologies are on sale and can be purchased for £4 and I highly recommend you buy one. Please go to the Evolveshop to buy your copy and enjoy an hour or so reading this super poetry on the theme of Movement.

    On the website for you to read are articles about events that have taken place recently:

    A very important and impressive part of school life which I am extremely proud of and reflects the calibre of school we are, is the attention and value we give to our staff professional training and development. The government requirement is that schools should spend up to five days an academic year on training. For us at Kendrick, these days are spread over the year following a pattern of two days in September to start the new academic year, one day at the start of Term 3 in January and one day in early July, the fifth days is disaggregated into small chunks across the year. Today at our staff training day, we received excellent presentations on key areas of the school. Our focus today was on the Kendrick School Development Plan, our plan for what we want to do as a school next year. Using key areas for development all linked to students learning and outcomes and following the guidance and inspection framework set out by Ofsted, we focused on our priorities for next year. As I have said before, we are fortunate to have Mr Simmonds, Deputy Headteacher, who is an experienced Ofsted Inspector and is able to guide us in this work. Today Mr Simmonds gave us the outline of the new Ofsted framework and how what we will do next year dovetails into the expectations and standards of the new framework. In addition, other members of the senior leadership team spoke about the developments and plans in their area of responsibility: Dr Perry summarised the discussions there have been on curriculum development and review within the DfE; Ms Le Croissette gave an overview of the SEND provision and the developments nationally, locally and at Kendrick; Mrs Hearn spoke about the pastoral system and expertise and developments we have made in our pastoral work and pastoral leaders and assistants. Finally, Mrs Sandy, School Business Manager, gave some updates on the Budget, Finances and proposed premises projects for next year.

    Later in the morning colleagues who lead other key areas of the school gave other important updates. Mr Wilson explained the new changes to the UCAS application and process. Mr Curran reminded us of teaching and learning ideas we had focused on this year and Mr Duncan and Mrs Lace provided us with information about PSHCE topics we teach the students across the school with links to further training. It is important that I share this insight with you so that you know what else goes on in school that makes up the education of the students. What you might hear about from your child is the classroom experience, however behind all that is a huge body of work, personnel and training which results in what happens daily in the school life of our students.

    I hope the students had a good day today enjoying the sunshine and we look forward to seeing them on Monday.

    Wishing everyone a good weekend and don’t forget one week to go until the summer Fair! See details below as you read further in the update.

    Ms Christine Kattirtzi
    Headteacher 

    For the Weekly Update in full please click here

    Letter from Mr Charles Ramsden, Chair of the Board of Trustees 

    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