Headteacher’s Update
Dear Parents
The weeks seem to be passing very quickly at the moment. Our Year 7 students are settling well into school and are now that we have been through a cycle of our two week timetable are becoming settled. I welcomed them into assembly this morning and it was great to see them smiling and happy.
We have had some real positives over the last couple of weeks. Before writing this email I checked how many reward points have been issued this year so far. At the time of writing this, 12441 reward points have been issued so far this term! The balance of positive to negative is high as well, with over 95% being positive points. This reflects exactly what I have seen in lessons this week, high levels of engagement in learning and a lovely energy in our learning spaces.
There is one element that is letting a small number of students down though, and this is morning punctuality. Each morning, I observe students jumping out of cars outside the school, rushing into school having arrived with insufficient time to reach their tutor room on time, often citing traffic as a reason. This is not preparing these students for a day at school. They are rushing, and immediately faced with a negative interaction and indeed a sanction. Please help your child to have a good day by getting them to school in ample time.
Key Considerations:
- We understand morning traffic challenges, but we have to allow time for these- peak hours in a busy city result in traffic- please plan time in to your routines.
- Our school doors open at 8.05am to support early arrival- if you have to do multiple drop offs you can drop here first and utilise our study centre for your child, it is supervised from 8.05am and also is available after school until 5.30pm
- Sometimes there are accidents on the roads and sometimes there are emergencies at home. These are understood and accommodated on the rare occasion that they occur, we know things don’t always go to plan.
- If you ring school to state that there is traffic en route, this does not automatically mean your child will not be sanctioned.
Request to Parents:
- Please review your morning routes
- Plan to arrive with adequate time to spare
- Utilise our early access facilities from 8.05am
- Help your child start their day calmly and punctually.
We appreciate your partnership in supporting our students’ success and maintaining our high standards.
With best wishes
Mr S Greiff
Welcome Year 7!
You have made a great start to life at Manor High School.
We have decided to extend our adapted Year 7 timings for one more week at least (a slightly earlier break, slightly earlier lunch and a slightly earlier end to the day). This will help Year 7 continue to adjust to life at a new school.
- Year 7 break time will start at 10:35am (5 minutes earlier than everyone else)
- Year 7 lunchtime will start at 12:30pm (10 minutes earlier than everyone else)
- Year 7 will finish the school day at 3pm (5 minutes earlier than everyone else)
At all points teaching staff will walk out with Year 7 and stay with them until duty staff arrive for break / lunch. At the end of the school day, teaching staff will walk Year 7 to the front of school.
Year 8 Take Your Teenager to Work Day
We have emailed all parents / carers about an exciting opportunity called Take Your Teenager to Work day. This will be on Friday 19th September and only involves Year 8 . Please see the email that should have come directly to you. We will talk to the students about this next week.
Thank you to all who have completed forms and returned them. Please could we ask for any more forms to arrive with us by Wednesday 17th September at the latest so we can see the numbers of students who will be going to a placement as well as the number of students who will be coming into school.
There will be another opportunity for another year group later in the year and we then hope to make this an annual event so all students can benefit from it as they move through the school.
All Years – October Rugby Skills Camp
Please see the flyer attached at the bottom of the newsletter. Harry Ellis (former Tigers, England and Lions scrum half) is running this rugby skills camp over half term at Leicester Grammar School. It is open to girls and boys aged between 8 and 16.
Bikes
Please ensure students ride to and from school safely. We advise that students should be wearing a helmet.
Students must not ride across the car park. They should dismount their bikes at the front of school and walk the bikes onto site via the pedestrian gate at the front of school (right side as you look at school). Many thanks for reinforcing this with students.
Achievement Points
It has been another hugely positive week. Since the start of term 95% of points have been positive. There have been far less detentions so far this academic year. For example, this time last year there had been 84 S2 detentions for disruption. This year we are at 32. We have always prided ourselves on having calm and purposeful classrooms full of engaged pupils. However, we believe that this is getting even better. This has been down to high standards and engaging lessons set by staff and the efforts of our students who continue to amaze us.
Next week is an exciting week, where will build upon this fantastic start. Some of the priorities are:
- Sharing our character curriculum focus for the week. Next week it will be resilience, where we will discuss why we believe it is imperative that mobile phones remain switched off and in bags during the school day. We believe that both academic achievement and wellbeing depend on us enforcing this and we would be letting your children down if we allowed transgressions on this. The research and data on this topic is growing by the day and we believe as a school that we must take a stand, and appreciate your support. As such we will be having a real drive on this and if phones are seen, they will be confiscated and they will receive an RTL after school detention as per our behaviour policy.
- Electing form reps in each form and meeting up with them to discuss what rewards they would like to see as incentives. It is really important to us that we work with students on matters of school life.
- We are starting the election process for our year 10 and 11 form reps. By Friday, all those interested have to submit an application.
Thank you for your continued support of the school. If you would like to be more involved in pastoral matters and help shape the school’s direction, please contact Mr. Cross at across@manorhigh.leics.sch.uk. He is keen to arrange a number of meet-ups and Teams meetings throughout the year.
School Production – Matilda the Musical
Rehearsals have started for our School Show 2025 – Matilda the Musical. The full read through on Wednesday was absolutely magical.
The performance dates are Monday 15th and Tuesday 16th December 2025.
Rehearsals are on Wednesdays and Fridays after school. Students wishing to perform need to attend on both days.
📣 Become a Study Centre Ambassador! 📣
Are you enthusiastic, friendly, and keen to make a difference at school?
We are looking for Study Centre Ambassadors from Years 7–10 (2 from each year) to join our team!
✨ What you’ll do:
• Help welcome students into the Study Centre.
• Support students with finding books, resources, and homework.
• Promote reading, learning, and positive behaviour.
• Share ideas to make the Study Centre even better.
• Support important library and reading events.
• Model and maintain a calm and purposeful reading and learning environment.
• Support during allocated days on a rota basis.
🛠 What you’ll need for the role:
• A positive attitude and enthusiasm for reading and learning.
• Good communication skills and friendliness towards others.
• Reliability and willingness to commit to your allocated times.
• Respect for the Study Centre rules and the ability to set a good example.
• Teamwork skills and an openness to share and listen to ideas.
🌟 What you’ll gain:
• Leadership skills and confidence.
• The chance to make new friends and work as part of a team.
• Contribute to decisions on how the Study Centre is run.
• Recognition for your contribution.
📅 How to apply:
Please apply by writing a formal letter of application to Miss Wale and Mrs Osman. Your letter should be a maximum of 1 A4 side answering the following questions:
Safeguarding Update
Please find attached a great presentation put together by one of our safeguarding partners. It gives you great advice and support as parents about online safety and supporting you in keeping your child safe in online. Please take the time to look at this and develop your knowledge and understanding about online safety.
