FAMILY MATTERS

Holy Family Catholic School

A Catholic Secondary School

www.holyfamily.waltham.sch.uk
th

Friday 24 January 2014

Quotation of the week

Education, education, education, Tony Blairs three priorities for government,
1997.
Dear Parents/Carers,
Sixth Form Open Evening
We are very proud of our sixth form and of our sixth formers. There are around 280 of them
now which is great. This coming Thursday 30th January we have our Sixth Form Open
Evening for Yr 11 students from Holy Family and other schools. Please do come along and
see what the sixth form can offer. This week the students will be coming home with their
complimentary copy of the Waltham Forest Guardian newspaper which includes a special
insert detailing some of our sixth form achievements and activities. The Sixth Form Open
Evening is at 6.30pm on the Walthamstow site. We look forward to seeing you there.
School Performance Tables
This week the government has published the annual league tables for schools and
colleges. There is a wealth of data in these tables, but we are especially pleased to report
that, over the last three years, the proportion of students achieving 5A*-C grades including
English and maths at Holy Family is 66% - the 2nd highest in the borough, and the highest
in the Walthamstow area. Even more impressive is the fact that the proportion of students
from disadvantaged backgrounds achieving 5A*-C including English and maths is 59% the highest figure in the whole borough. This shows that students from all different
backgrounds achieve well at Holy Family and I hope you are proud that your children
attend an academic and high achieving school, but also a school which offers a wide range
of extra-curricular and other opportunities and a broad and balanced curriculum.
School catering update
We met with three catering companies in the last week and a panel of staff and students
heard their presentations, asked questions and sampled their delicious food. We have a
preferred option at this stage and are now in conversation with them about the details of
what they can offer to Holy Family. We are confident that there will be an improved food
offer for the students and the staff. We will also be able to bring in cashless catering which I
hope will be helpful to you as parents/carers and make life a bit easier. New arrangements
will commence in April and we will keep you fully informed in the lead up to them.
Yr 8 Parents Evening
Thank you to parents who came to the Yr 8 Parents Evening this week I hope you found
it a useful occasion and a good opportunity to meet with your childs teachers.

Update on our building works

I am pleased to report that the builders have now completed work on one of our science
labs and this will be back in use, completely refurbished, as of Monday 27 th January. This is
really good news as we will have a first class facility for the students and the science
department. A second lab will also be refurbished over the next few weeks.
Parents Surgery
Parents surgery is every Tuesday 4pm to 5pm on the Walthamstow site. If ever I am
unavailable a member of the senior team substitutes for me.
Please continue to remember us in your prayers.
Dr Andy Stone
Headteacher

Tickets are now available for the Caribbean night taking place on the 1st February. Tickets
are available from the school office on the Walthamstow Site or call Ms. Lazarus on 0208
520 0482 or Ms. Simpson on 0208 520 3587.

Unwanted Uniform
If your child has grown out of any of their school uniform and you have items that you no
longer need, please do pass them back to the school and we can sell them for a small
charge at our Parents Evenings - with all proceeds going back to the school through the
Friends Association.
PE kit, girls skirts, jerseys, ties and blazers in particular are always in demand and we are
very happy to offer a "Nearly New Uniform Sales Table" if we have stock to sell.
Unwanted uniform can be left with the reception team at either site and they will let the
Friends know to collect it.