The end of the summer term brings with it the fantastic news that Lady Manners School has been awarded the Eco-Schools Bronze Award, under the guidance of our student led Environmental Council. Their work is benefitting us all: Lady Manners School now has the start of a new woodland area, a reduction in the idling of buses on the bus bay, new water bottle filling stations, and an improved environmental awareness across the curriculum. Very well done to all of the students who have helped us to achieve this. Plans for next year include work towards the Silver Award so we await the start of this next phase in September. We'd like to wish all of our students, staff, parents and carers a relaxing and enjoyable summer.

There are more than 230 Year 6 students looking forward to joining Lady Manners School in September – and we are really looking forward to meeting them! While the traditional visits to school in preparation for their move are not possible this year, we are involving them in a host of online activities and one to one contacts where necessary. We have taken the opportunity to make best use of a wide range of technology to help our newest students feel a part of our school before they even set foot on the school site. Each Year 6 student has been sent a workbook containing activities to keep them busy and to give them a taste of the subjects they will study from September. Activities range from word searches to drawing projects, and from number puzzles to science investigations. A special page on our school virtual learning environment, Myvle, have been created to which only our new Year 7 students have access so that they can see school maps, read about life at Lady Manners School and ask questions of the Head of Year 7. Videos are being added to this page to introduce them to our Senior Leadership Team, and the Year 7 Form Tutors. There are even 360 degree interactive school tours to help familiarise them with our school before they arrive. There is more being added to the Myvle page for Year 6 eyes only, and further information is always available to those who are not part of that select group, at www.ladymanners.net

We were delighted to welcome our new Year 12 students to Lady Manners School today, from the comfort of their own homes, in an online induction event. Current circumstances may have led to a change in the manner in which we are able to introduce our new Year 12 students to Lady Manners School Sixth Form, but we were still able to deliver this very important welcome event. Students were able to join online meetings with the Headteacher, Head of Sixth Form and Pastoral Leaders in which they learned about life in Sixth Form. The students, who are due to join us as Sixth Formers in September 2020, also had access to video introductions for the subjects they have chosen to study at A Level. Today's event concluded with a virtual school tour, and an additional session for those students who are joining us from other schools. During the next two weeks, students will join a timetabled live online session for each of their subjects. This will give them the opportunity to meet their subject teachers and find out more about the subjects they have chosen to study. It was lovely to see so many students today. We are looking forward to welcoming them to Sixth Form in September.

We are aware that many of our students have been using the last couple of months as an opportunity to keep up their fitness levels while supporting worthwhile causes. For instance, youngsters in Grindleford came up with the idea of running the distance from John O'Groats to Lands' End (that's 1407km) in a week to raise money for Matlock Food Bank and Eyam Pump Track Club. They completed their challenge with great determination and even featured on Chris Evan's breakfast show. Inspired by their success, their neighbours in Eyam then took up the baton (or the yellow jersey) and put on their own event. They chose to cycle the distance of the Tour de France (3470km) in just ten days to raise funds for Derbyshire's Blend Youth Project and Eyam Pump Track Club. Over 40 cyclists from Eyam and surrounding areas took part, some of them as young as four years old. Several Lady Manners School students joined in, cycling the full distance of the Tour de France a full day before the ten day deadline. They even added a few extra kilometres, to bring them all the way from Paris back to Eyam! Well done to all who organised, supported and participated in these local events, including Lady Manners School students, Daniel, Grace and Stefan who showed willingness, strength and determination throughout the event. They have raised over £3000 between the two events.

This week, we are delighted to be welcoming back students from Year 10 and Year 12. Returning students are coming back in smaller groups, as government guidelines require. Much preparation has gone into creating a school day that enables students to see their teachers for face-to-face learning in a safe environment. Each day will see a quarter of the two year groups in school, to enable us to accommodate individual classes of no more than 15 students. One way systems around the school, plentiful hand sanitising and washing facilities and processes to maintain social distancing are all in place. All areas in use are deep cleaned every day. The intention is that the time in school supports the myriad of resources that are – and continue to be – available to all of our students online. In addition to the extensive resources already available on school systems, students from all year groups are using online forums to seek help and accessing recorded webinars at a time convenient to them. Increasingly, students are also joining online live teaching and question and answer sessions. We await further guidance from the Government about any wider reopening of school. In the meantime, it's great to see our Year 10 and 12 students face-to-face, and all of our students virtually.

Our Ofsted report has now been published following a full inspection of Lady Manners School on 10 and 11 March. We are delighted that Lady Manners School is judged to be a Good School, with 'Personal Development' being graded as outstanding. Full details and a downloadable copy of the report are available at www.ladymanners.net/ofsted