Open Evening has come and gone for 2007. Three hundred minutes of intensive "showing and selling". As our principal says, open evening is our "bread and butter". As such, bums on seats is vital.
Over six hundred people visited our little Academy this evening, a huge number. The visitors came in all shapes and sizes: from the Somalian family of 9 people, to the strange same sex couple with a little baby (strange because one woman had very short arms whilst the other made barking type noises), to the decidedly middle class family who wanted little Oliver to spend time in the ghetto to prove they really were left wing.
I spent thousands of words promoting the maths department, the exam results, the new building, the facilities, the resources, the workshops, the extra-curriculars, the pastoral side....the opportunities. It's strange how an evening like this can on the one hand fill you with pride at how much you genuinely care about the school and its kids, and on the other make you feel so cynical about the power of marketing and the way that people rejected us in the past and now that we have all this money they come back running.
The thing that really stood out for me today was our kids. They were just awesome. From little A and D in my Y7 top maths group, both of whom were absolute stars, all the way up to T from Vietnam in my Y12 sociology group, the kids were just awesome. Really did us proud with how they were and who they were. A number of parents remarked on how happy and confident the children were, and it's testament to their own dedication that so many of them came along to help out. A nice warm glow from that.
I guess we'll hear all about the success of the evening in briefing tomorrow. And while it was lovely to wander around the school and see all the exciting things going on, the true test will be whether we finally have a full year 7 in 2008. My money's on over-subscription. Judging by what some of the parents were telling me, it seems many are now desperate to get their kids in, so maybe the dream of a full year will finally come true. But will these new kids get what they deserve?
In other news I have a lurgy and spent Tuesday in bed. This sounds fun, but despite the perfectness of my bed, the lurgy is not a good companion. Lots of wild things happened in school in my absence, particularly my Y10s going a bit mad, and also my tutor group. Crazy "H" has been excluded again, this time for threatening a teacher with a bamboo stick, amongst various other interesting activities. I have a meeting to sort out references for next year. And tomorrow night we have a TF event, and since it's Eid on Friday, we have no school, yay! One day to get through, with a meeting with scary parents at the end of the day of which to look forward. Roll on drinks tomorrow (yeah clearly it will help with the lurgy!)
Over six hundred people visited our little Academy this evening, a huge number. The visitors came in all shapes and sizes: from the Somalian family of 9 people, to the strange same sex couple with a little baby (strange because one woman had very short arms whilst the other made barking type noises), to the decidedly middle class family who wanted little Oliver to spend time in the ghetto to prove they really were left wing.
I spent thousands of words promoting the maths department, the exam results, the new building, the facilities, the resources, the workshops, the extra-curriculars, the pastoral side....the opportunities. It's strange how an evening like this can on the one hand fill you with pride at how much you genuinely care about the school and its kids, and on the other make you feel so cynical about the power of marketing and the way that people rejected us in the past and now that we have all this money they come back running.
The thing that really stood out for me today was our kids. They were just awesome. From little A and D in my Y7 top maths group, both of whom were absolute stars, all the way up to T from Vietnam in my Y12 sociology group, the kids were just awesome. Really did us proud with how they were and who they were. A number of parents remarked on how happy and confident the children were, and it's testament to their own dedication that so many of them came along to help out. A nice warm glow from that.
I guess we'll hear all about the success of the evening in briefing tomorrow. And while it was lovely to wander around the school and see all the exciting things going on, the true test will be whether we finally have a full year 7 in 2008. My money's on over-subscription. Judging by what some of the parents were telling me, it seems many are now desperate to get their kids in, so maybe the dream of a full year will finally come true. But will these new kids get what they deserve?
In other news I have a lurgy and spent Tuesday in bed. This sounds fun, but despite the perfectness of my bed, the lurgy is not a good companion. Lots of wild things happened in school in my absence, particularly my Y10s going a bit mad, and also my tutor group. Crazy "H" has been excluded again, this time for threatening a teacher with a bamboo stick, amongst various other interesting activities. I have a meeting to sort out references for next year. And tomorrow night we have a TF event, and since it's Eid on Friday, we have no school, yay! One day to get through, with a meeting with scary parents at the end of the day of which to look forward. Roll on drinks tomorrow (yeah clearly it will help with the lurgy!)
