Parent Bulletin 7th September

I hope you and your child have had a fantastic summer holiday and are looking forward to the start of the academic year.  I am delighted that we have appointed 25 new staff to join the Soane team who started with us last Monday – please do make them welcome.  We have also welcomed our new intake of Year 7 pupils who started on Thursday and are rapidly settling into the community.

Start of term:  School will return for all Y8-11 pupils on Tuesday.  Gates will open at 8.10 so please ensure that your child is at school before 8.25.  School will finish at 3.30 as normal.

Entry/exit outside of normal hours:  The pupil entrance on Woodlands Avenue is in operation from 8.10-8.40.  Pupils who arrive between 8.25 and 8.40 should enter through the pupil entrance; they will be marked as late and serve a 15 minute late reflection.  Pupils who arrive after 8.40 must enter through the visitors’ reception on Gunnersbury Lane and will serve a 45 minute reflection.  Please support your child to be punctual to school and be aware that there are significant road works in the area in addition to a tube strike scheduled for next week.  Dismissal from 3.30-3.45 is through the pupil entrance: any pupil with a reflection or staying for an after-school activity will leave through the Gunnersbury Lane entrance.

Preparation for the start of the school year - uniform:  Please ensure that uniform still fits and follows the uniform policy – please remember that shoes must be formal black leather (or leather-like) shoes, coats must be unbranded black or navy, socks must be black or navy and trousers should be formal school trousers rather than flares. Hair below the neck should be tied up with a simple navy or black hair-tie and a simple stud in the earlobe is the only jewellery allowed.

Please label all items of clothing to avoid them getting lost.

If you require any replacement items of uniform then please go to our new uniform provider https://www.juniperuniform.com/juniper-west-london-uniform-shop/.

Preparation for the start of the school year - equipment:  Please work with your child to ensure that their pencil case is fully re-stocked with the necessary items (30cm ruler, rubber, black or blue pens (x2), green pen, pencil (x2), whiteboard pen, whiteboard rubber, Scientific calculator (Casio Fx-83 or Fx-85)).  If your child needs to purchase any items from the school shop then please ensure there is money on their Ipay account and they arrive promptly at 8.10 on Tuesday.  Please ensure that your child’s bag is cleared out of any unnecessary items.

Preparation for the start of the year – summer work:  All pupils going in to Year 10 and Year 11 have been set summer work to complete.  This should be brought with them on Tuesday.  This is accessible here https://arksoane.org/students.  Pupils starting in other year groups should also review their 100% books from last year (saved in the same link) as preparation for the year ahead.

Preparation for the start of the year – Ipay:  Please ensure that your Ipay account is topped up with funds for school lunches and equipment.  Please set up a standing order for school lunch payments to avoid the administrative team needing to chase for payment.  The cost of school lunches is still heavily subsidised by the school and will be £3 per day for those not eligible for Free School Meals.

Year 11 Academic Review Day:  A reminder that Y11 Academic Review Day is on Monday 8th September.  You should attend with your Y11 child.  If you have not yet booked an appointment please come to the school reception on Monday between 8am and 5pm and we will try to see you as quickly as possible.

Travelling to and from school:  In the interests of pupils’ safety and wellbeing please be aware that pupils must not enter a shop or other public building in uniform before or after school without accompaniment by a parent/guardian and they must make their way directly home after their dismissal from school.  Pupils are welcome to remain in the library after school if travelling home with a sibling or friend who has after school commitments.  For further details please review the school’s behaviour policy here https://arksoane.org/sites/default/files/2025-09/Behaviour%20Policy%2025-26.pdf.

Term dates:  Full details are available in the Parent Handbook https://arksoane.org/sites/default/files/2025-03/Parent%20Handbook%202526_1.pdf.  Please be aware that there are two INSET days this half term: Friday 19th September and Friday 18th October.  The last day of the half-term is Friday 24th October.

Attendance:  The curriculum at Soane is incredibly challenging and missed days make it very hard for children to keep up academically with their peers.  Additionally, children who are absent find it more difficult to build relationships with their peers and enjoy school less than those who are here every day.

The first weeks of the school year are hugely important in setting routines for your child so please ensure that they are in school every day even if they feel “under the weather”.  We would always prefer you to send your child in and contact us so that we can monitor them through the day – sending them home if necessary.

If you are having difficulty getting your child into school then please contact us on info@arksoane.org and we will support you.

Results:  We were absolutely delighted with the end of year exam results last year.  In every year group pupils averaged over 1 GCSE grade higher than national expectations leading to Soane pupils in each year group making the highest progress of 23 Ark Secondary schools.  In our founding cohort 84% of pupils are on track to achieve a pass (4+) in their English and maths GCSEs compared to 67% nationally and 69% on track to achieve a strong pass (5+) compared to 55% nationally.  Many of our pupils took their first “Home Language” GCSEs – congratulations to the 24 pupils who achieved grades 8 and 9.

Homework:  Homework will be set from Monday 15th September. Homework is always set (and due) according to the homework timetable below. You can use this to see what homework your child will be set each day. 

All homework is also logged on Satchel by teachers. This means that your child can always log in and check their homework online. You can set up a parent account by following the steps set out on the following web page: https://help.satchelone.com/en/articles/2912165-logging-in-as-a-parent

Homework is absolutely crucial to your child's progress at Soane. You can support your child in completing their homework by:

• Encouraging them to complete all homework on the day that it is set
• Checking that they have completed each homework task
• Ensuring that they have a regular time to study
• Ensuring that they do not have access to a smartphone whilst they are completing their homework

PE kit: Pupils will be starting PE lessons from Tuesday afternoon. This means that students must bring the following kit for their first timetabled lesson of PE:

•            PE bag: Ark Soane branded

•            PE t-shirt: Ark Soane branded

•            Shorts: Plain unbranded navy

•            Trainers: Must be appropriate for sports. No converse trainers

•            Plain Socks

•            Plain unbranded navy fleece or jumper for colder weather. No hoodies. No logos

The day your child has PE is indicated below:

After-school clubs: After-school clubs will begin from Mon 22nd Sep. The full timetable will be sent in next week’s bulletin. If your child would like to attend a club, you will be able to express interest in the MCAS app from Fri 12th Sep. Please note that not all clubs will be shown in MCAS, as some are invite-only e.g. certain music ensembles.  

Musical instrument Lessons - Years 8-11:  We are now timetabling musical instrument lesson for the Autumn term.  Lessons will start on 18 September.  Charges for lessons were added to ipay on 29 August.  These are due by Friday 12 September.  If charges are not paid by this date pupils will not be timetabled for lessons this term.  If families are facing any difficulties paying for musical instrument lessons or would like to enrol in instrumental lessons then they should contact the school office.

Flu vaccine webinar:  Later in the term we will be offering flu vaccines to all pupils.  Vaccination UK are our providers of all immunisations and are offering an online webinar to explain what is in the vaccine and how it benefits your child.  It also explains the nasal vs injection vaccine and the option of a gelatine free vaccine.  Please scan the QR codes below to join.

Contact Us:  If you need face-to-face assistance then the school office is open during term-time from 8am-4pm. So that we can deal with email enquiries promptly please see the school email addresses below:

• General Enquiries – info@arksoane.org
• Attendance - absence@arksoane.org
• Free School Meals - fsm@arksoane.org

I’m very much looking forward to seeing your child for the start of the new school year.

Kind regards,

Mr Neuberger

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