​Welcome back to what promises to be another great year at Hever Primary School. After the long summer break, which I hope were filled with fun and exciting memories for you all, we are thrilled to open our doors again to a new school year of learning and growing.

 

Personally, I am grateful and elated to have the opportunity to lead the school this year, while Miss Stratton is on maternity leave, and continue to work with our fantastic staff in building strong relationships, growth mind-sets and offering stimulating learning opportunities to all of our pupils.  It has been a real pleasure to see everyone come back, some literally skipping, with such enthusiasm and belief​that they can rise above the educational challenges before them and come out stronger on the other side.

 

So much has happened since the end of last term, therefore let me give you a recap in case you missed anything...

 

Firstly, at the end of the summer term our substantive Head Teacher - Miss Stratton - gave birth to a baby girl. I am delighted to report that mother and baby are both well and flourishing as they discover the new world around them, and am sure that you will join me, on behalf of everyone at Hever Primary School, in wishing them both health and happiness in the coming months and years.

 

As always, it was a busy end to the Summer Term at Hever. We were overjoyed to see our Year Six class, and the rest of Key Stage Two, perform so well in their end of year production "The Pirates of the Curry Bean" and further euphoric that years-worth of hard work has paid off for our top year as they returned a highly successful set of SATs results that were over 20% higher than the national average. in additional to these events, the children practiced their language skills and looked resplendent dressed in red, white and blue for our French Day as all classes enjoyed a French food tasting session - food ranging from mussels in garlic and cream sauce to French bread with pate - and sang a number of traditional French songs. Finally, we were also lucky enough to have renowned children's author D.D. Everest come in to take an assembly and work with our Key Stage Two classes in order to improve their writing skills and enthuse them about the world of children's literature.

 

As for this term, we have already been amazingly busy: We've welcomed our new Acorn Reception class into the school and have been amazed by their good behaviour and eagerness to learn and try new things - we already know that each and every one of them is going to be a fantastic asset to the school! This week (w/b 5th September) some of our new Year Six class have undertaken a particularly tricky Kent 11+ test and made us all proud by trying their best (we're keeping our fingers crossed for their results)​. And, next week, many of our Key Stage Two children are taking part in the Hever Castle Schools' Triathlon which will give them a magnificent insight into this demanding sport; we hope they all enjoy the experience! With so much more to look forward to as the year progresses, we'll be sure to keep you informed of all our achievements in The Link but if you would prefer an even sneakier peek at what we're up to, please log on to our website at www.hever.kent.sch.uk

 

Wishing you a peaceful, productive and happy September,

 

Rob Gallagher

 

Acting Head Teacher