Preparing for a Safe and Inspiring Term

Dear Parents and Families,

We are delighted to welcome your children back on Thursday for another exceptional school year. Before our corridors fill with energy and activity, our entire school team is coming together for two dedicated INSET days to refine our practice and ensure every child returns to an inspiring, secure, and nurturing environment.

Here is a window into the professional preparation taking place across our campus before term begins:

• Safeguarding & Pupil Wellbeing: Our full staff team is completing updated training in the statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 and Prevent Awareness, alongside an in-person briefing led by Mrs Collins. Beyond overall safety, staff are conducting detailed handovers covering SEND, EAL, individual medical needs, and Year 7 transition profiles, ensuring every child’s unique strengths and requirements are understood from day one.

• Health, Safety & Medical Care: Maintaining a safe environment is a shared responsibility across every department. Staff are undertaking practical anaphylaxis drill training and allergy awareness, in response to Benedict’s Law, to ensure swift, effective medical responses. This provision is strengthened by clinical oversight from our Chair of Governors, Professor Darren Walter, alongside thorough operational health and safety reviews across the estate.

  Academic Innovation & Pedagogy: Led by Mr Morris and Mr Oakes, our teaching staff are advancing our focus on metacognition—embedding explicit strategies that help pupils learn how to think, reflect, and build lifelong study habits. Concurrently, Mrs Caporn is leading our development of safe, creative Artificial Intelligence tools to personalise learning journeys. Academic departments are also reviewing our recent strong GCSE results to further enrich our curricula.

• Digital Security & Data Protection: Protecting family data and maintaining secure online learning spaces remain top priorities. Overseen by Mrs Cosgrove, staff are completing refreshed modules in digital technology security, cyber threat prevention, and GDPR protocols across all school systems.

Our team will spend the remaining time finalising classroom environments and fine-tuning learning plans so that everything is in place for an outstanding first week back.

It is vitally important that you all read the revised Senior and Junior School handbooks sent by the School Office last Thursday, even if your child has been at Cransley for a while.

Thank you for your ongoing partnership, trust, and support. We look forward to welcoming all of our pupils back very soon!

Yours, as ever,

Mr Richard Pollock

Headteacher

A Tribute to Our Year 11: Class of 2026 (Part 2)

I hope you have had the chance to read and celebrate the achievements of our Year 11s in their GCSE results last week.

As an inclusive school, we rarely single out individual pupils for academic accolades, as our culture is firmly rooted in celebrating the collective progress and character of our entire community.

However, the exceptional academic milestones reached by six of our Year 11 pupils this year warrant a meaningful exception, moreso because are not a school which selects only the most academic pupils on admission.

These six individuals have achieved truly extraordinary GCSE results, setting a benchmark for academic rigour, discipline, and scholarly dedication that deserves our explicit recognition. In sharing these specific academic accomplishments, we do not overshadow the hard work and success of the wider year group; rather, we shine a light on the high standards of achievement made possible within a supportive, ambitious cohort.

Here, we celebrate their remarkable academic success, while remaining immensely proud of every single member of the Class of 2026.

(In random order and with our privacy policy in practice, and their permission taken into account)

• Frances passed an astonishing eleven GCSEs and with ALL passed at the top grade of 9. This outstanding feat is achieved by a mere 0.02% of all UK students collecting GCSE results and she is to be highly congratulated. Of her achievement, Frances said 'I am overwhelmed in the best way possible. I worked really hard and I am relieved and really proud'.

  Francis will study A Levels at Sir John Deane's College and hopes to apply to the Oxford/Cambridge Programme.

• Matthew passed ten GCSEs, achieving five grade 9s and three grade 8s. Matthew will go on to study A Levels at Sir John Deane's College.

• Katelyn achieved all the top 7-9 grades in eight GCSEs, including three grade 9s. She will be studying Film and TV production at UTC Media City

• Florence also passed ten GCSEs, all of which were graded in the top 7-9 category, with four 9s. Florence will study A Levels at Sir John Deane's College.

• Charlie achieved all the top 7-9 grades in his nine GCSEs, including four grade 9s. He will be studying A Levels at The Grange School in Hartford next year.

• George also achieved the top 7-9 grades in all of his nine GCSEs, with four grade 9s, three 8s and two 7s. He will be studying A Levels at Sir John Deane's College.

A Tribute to Our Year 11: Class of 2026 (Part 1)

Dear Parents and Families,

Congratulations to our 32 wonderful Year 11 pupils for the outstanding dedication, resilience, and growth demonstrated throughout their GCSEs.

Academic Achievement & Growth

• 95% of all exam results were graded 4 to 9, significantly outpacing the national average of 67%.

• 39% of results achieved top grades (7 to 9), compared to 22% nationally.

• 100% of pupils secured five or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 4.

• Exceptional Value-Added Progress: A great number of pupils achieved well above their baseline entry predictions, with many outperforming expectations by three to four grades per subject.

Behind these figures are individual stories of hard work, courage, and perseverance. Whether securing top-tier grade 8s and 9s or making remarkable personal strides across every subject, our pupils rose to the occasion. These accomplishments are a true testament to their active engagement, strong attendance, and the caring, dedicated partnership between our pupils, families, and teaching staff.

Celebrating Character & Humanity As our pupils prepare to take their next steps into sixth forms and colleges to study a diverse array of academic and vocational courses, we reflect on the vibrant community they built here.

This cohort has been deeply cherished for the breadth of their individual characters and extraordinary talents. Look across the room and you see the future in all its multi-faceted brilliance: actors, racing drivers, acrobats, entrepreneurs, sports stars, philosophers, artists, musicians, filmmakers, and passionate advocates for diversity, equity, and sustainability.

Yet their true distinction lies far beyond their qualifications. It is found in their authentic humanity—in the beautiful, honest balance of adolescent growth that displays immense strength alongside vulnerability, and resilience paired with quiet self-doubt. Within our walls, they have learned both to speak with bold, commanding public voices and to master the graceful art of listening.

Every single one of these young people is capable of remarkable success. They leave an immense gap in the daily character and life of our school, but depart having left an indelible mark on our hearts. We will miss them dearly and wish them every happiness and success in the chapters ahead.

We hope to share some astonishing individual successes and photographs over the coming days (see Part 2), but for now, today, our pupils should be collectively celebrating. They are a credit to their families and a fondly-loved part of Cransley School.

Richard Pollock

Headteacher