Carre's Grammar School Parent Portal - July 2025

Our musicians joined with others from several schools and the RAF College Band in the impressive Giant Orchestra Day, while on the sports field, students shone with determination and team spirit—especially on Sports Day and throughout a strong season in golf. For our Year 7 students, PGL offered a chance to test their limits, develop independence, and forge new friendships. In addition to this, the Student Council has been a strong and thoughtful voice for their peers, helping to shape our school community.

At the end of the term, we say goodbye to Mr Wilkinson. He is leaving school after 39 years here; 7 as a student and 32 as a member of staff. He joined the staff in 1993, and during that time he has been Head of Year, Head of PE, Director of Sport, Assistant Headteacher and, of course, a teacher who has inspired countless students. He has helped guide the school through many changes in his time, most notably in directing the school’s sports specialism status, which has benefited thousands of young people and community members. We all have him to thank for the 3G pitch and the fitness suite.

We also say a fond farewell to Mrs Teresa Harland in our site team, who retired after 22 years with us. She leaves with our heartfelt thanks and very best wishes.

Mr Jones is stepping down from his leadership role after 10 years as an Assistant Headteacher but will remain with us in the DT department. He came to us as a temporary teacher in January 1998, rose through the ranks, becoming second in department, Head of Department and Advanced Skills Teacher. He took a role elsewhere for 3 years and returned as Director of Faculty (Technology and Business) and then became an Assistant Headteacher. His dedication, leadership, and commitment to the school over the past 26 years have made a lasting impact, and we are delighted that he will continue to share his expertise with students and colleagues.

I also wish two colleagues well and good health as they depart temporarily. Mrs Tierney and Miss McCarthy are both taking maternity leave in September, and their roles will be covered by Mrs Thomas (English) and Miss Wood (Art), respectively.

As always, the success of our school rests on the strength of our community. I would like to thank our students for their hard work and enthusiasm, our staff for their dedication and professionalism, and our parents and carers for their continued support.

For those parents of Year 11 and Year 13 students, I hope that your sons and daughters achieve the results they have aspired to and diligently worked towards when the results are released on 14 and 21 August. Your support and encouragement have played a crucial role in their journey.

I wish you all a restful and enjoyable summer break and look forward to welcoming students back in September, refreshed and ready for the opportunities ahead.

Mr Law
Headteacher

From13 - 16 June 2025, 74 of our Year 9 students (together with Mr Quinton, Mrs Millband, Mrs Wilson, Mrs Albuixech, Mrs Jarvis, Mrs Horstwood, Mr Rooney, and Mr Toledo) went on their annual trip to the World War One battlefields in France and Belgium. Over the four days we were able to visit several sites of significance and remembrance.

On the first day, we went to the Trench of Death, which is a recreated trench originally manned by the allies, and the small museum next to it, which was very interesting. After a very early start, we were relieved to finally be able to relax and have dinner at the hostel.

On day two we had the opportunity to visit Thiepval, where we laid a wreath and had a minute’s silence in memory of the ex-pupils of Carre’s who lost their lives and are commemorated at the monument there. We also visited Newfoundland Park and the memorial at Vimy Ridge.

The third day of the tour involved a visit to the ‘In Flanders Fields Museum’ in Ypres, which brought to life the experiences of many people (not just soldiers) in the First World War, which many found very interesting.

We then got back onto the coach and set off for the Hooge Crater, where there is a museum with many items and pictures from the First World War. It gave us a good idea of what the trenches looked like and how difficult the conditions for the soldiers were. Afterwards, we went on to a German cemetery in Langemark, which was a huge contrast to the previous cemetery since it had graves which each commemorated around eight people. However, the most sobering thing of all was the mass grave in the centre, which had 44,061 soldiers buried there. From there we went on to Tyne Cot, which is the largest Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery from the First World War.

Later that afternoon, we went on to the Passchendaele Museum. This looks like an ordinary château, but inside there is a small museum, and there are, within the grounds, some of the best-preserved trenches that can be found in the area.

After that, we went to a nearby restaurant where we had dinner just before the Menin Gate ceremony, which happens each evening to commemorate the loss of life in the war. A wreath was laid there by four of our students, Max, Matthew, Ethan and Luke. The final part of our trip to Ypres was Peter de Groote’s chocolate shop, which was a great place to try delicious Belgian chocolate - and it tasted as good as it looked!

On the fourth and final day, we went to Bruges for the day and had a boat trip which was very interesting, after which we sat down and had our packed lunches and ice cream. We left Bruges and came back to Carre’s after a great trip away.

My very grateful thanks, as always, go to the accompanying staff, without whom these visits would not be possible, and to our students, who were a real credit to themselves and to the school.

Mr Quinton, Head of History