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Entry: October 2008I have enjoyed every minute of my first weeks at Polesworth, a school that can be rightly proud of very high levels of success based on super relationships and excellent teaching and learning. Being Head at this special place is a real privilege. I have been telling this story in assemblies: As the old man walked the beach at dawn, he noticed a young man ahead of him picking up starfish and flinging them into the sea. As he caught up with the youth, he asked him why he was doing this. The answer was that the stranded starfish would die if left until the morning sun. The old man said that there were millions of starfish, and how could he possibly make a difference. The young man looked at the starfish in his hand, and threw it into the waves to safety “it makes a difference to this one” he said. I use this story often as an illustration of my commitment to high expectations, ambition, care and welfare for every individual at Polesworth and I try to apply the ‘starfish principle’ in all that I do. What has become clear to me over these first weeks is that all staff at the school bring the highest levels of commitment and passion to their daily work, ensuring that each and every one of our students achieve more than they ever thought possible. In the summer, Polesworth’s academic tradition continued with our highest ever proportion of students gaining 5A*-C (66%). The proportion gaining this threshold including English and mathematics (51%) also significantly exceeded national averages. For our A Level students, their average points score (830) exceeded the national average by over 100 points – a super achievement. The significant majority of Year 13 went on to University. These achievements are complemented by those seen week to week at the school. In these first few weeks alone so many students have achieved something outside the examination success. These are vast and varied including the highest level of sports success across all year groups (our Y9 football team remain a class apart, and Aimee Wilson in Y8 continues to dominate her age group in golf), Y 11 students achieving personally and socially in a recent HSBC sponsored outdoor education programme and Tom in Year 8 who can remember pi to 72 decimal places and in different languages. I describe these examples to illustrate my regard for all our students’ day to day achievements. I believe we should celebrate and recognize individual achievements in whatever form they occur. I look forward to meeting more and more students who have achieved something of which they are proud. These achievements and super relationships across the school are the foundation upon which we will take Polesworth forward. There is no complacency here and the year ahead is an exciting one. I am working with the undoubted talent that is evident across the staff, in the Governing body, in our parental and community partnerships and in our students to take the school from newly ’Outstanding’ (OFSTED 2008) to enduringly great. The bar is set high. Education for all our young people can give them a ‘crucial sense of possibility’ - vital for success in life. My first impression of the Polesworth learning community is that this is achieved on a daily basis by making the school a happy place to be in and also a place where there are clear boundaries and high expectations of politeness and respect. I have been made to feel very welcome, and I thank everyone for that. I look forward very much to working with you over the coming years. Philip Hamilton
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