End of Year Letter

Dear Parents / Carers,
I do hope this letter finds you well and that you are looking forward to a nice summer with your families.
It has been another successful and immensely rewarding year for everyone associated with Prestatyn High School. So many good and exciting events have occurred during the year, reflecting our vision of achievement for all through positivity and responsibility. I am exceptionally proud of the staff; they have worked tirelessly to ensure all our pupils and students are supported academically and that their wellbeing is a priority for us all. I was also incredibly proud that our hard work was validated by our inspection in February; please do take the time to read our report on the Estyn webpage.
As in previous years, and in recognition for the hard work our pupils have put in over the year, I am pleased to announce that the school will be closing early at 12.20pm on Wednesday 19th July. This day will also be a non-uniform day. Pupils wearing their own clothes are encouraged to make a £1 donation which will be donated to a local food bank.
Pupils are expected to attend school and lessons as normal. The school has made all the necessary arrangements for school buses/taxis to be at school early to transport pupils home.
I understand that many of you may currently be facing much bigger challenges than education, which is why we will look to provide wider support to you, and your family, wherever possible. If you do require additional support, please do not hesitate in contacting the school.
In the last few weeks, we have allowed pupils to not wear their blazers due to the very hot weather. Please remind your son / daughter that we expect all pupils in full uniform when they return in September.
School re-opens for new term:
The school re-opens for students on Tuesday 5th September. The 1st (Friday) and 4th (Monday) of September are staff training days.
I look forward to seeing our Years 13, 12 and 11 during the summer holidays as they collect their examination results; more information will be available on our website.
I would like to wish everyone a lovely and safe break, and I look forward to welcoming our students back in September in full uniform, refreshed, and ready to achieve.
Many thanks for your support, as always, this year.

 

Yours faithfully,
Neil Foley - B.Sc. MA
Pennaeth/Headteacher

Information regarding school lockdown procedures

Dear Parents and carers,

All schools are advised to put in place emergency arrangements in the unlikely event of an incident requiring a school to use a lockdown procedure to ensure the safety of the pupils and staff. We have done many things to reduce risk to our pupils in school including putting up additional fencing, a new back gate and changing our procedures. We update our Emergency Plan each year, part of this emergency plan involves lockdown procedures. The lockdown procedure is a response to any incident that has the potential to pose a threat to the safety of pupils, staff and visitors in the school. The procedure may be used in situations such as an incident or civil disturbance in the local community, terrorist action or threat of terrorist action or an intruder on the school site.

 

When the school is in lockdown, all those on site will be required to follow the procedures. Staff and pupils will be required to go to or stay in the nearest classroom where the door will be locked or blocked to prevent access. Windows will be closed and phones need to be placed on silent. Senior members of staff in school will coordinate the lockdown procedures to ensure the safety of all areas of the school. We will establish contact with emergency services and the local authority until such time as it is appropriate to end the lockdown procedures.

 

The school will communicate to parents that lockdown procedures are in place via the school website and other social media platforms. We would request that in such circumstances, parents do not use the phones to contact the school as we would need to keep phone lines clear for communication with emergency services. There will be no access to the school other than to emergency services. During a lockdown, the school retains loco parentis and pupils will not be released to parents until the lockdown has ceased.

 

These procedures are a precaution and are nothing to be alarmed about. In order to support this process, we are going to undertake a lockdown rehearsal with all pupils, staff and visitors in school. This rehearsal will allow pupils to become familiar with the procedures as they are different to our fire evacuation procedures. This is an annual rehearsal and should take no longer than ten minutes. We will discuss this with pupils to prepare them for this rehearsal but we would be grateful if you could reinforce the message that this is nothing to be concerned about but allows additional safety arrangements to be made in school should we need to use the lockdown procedures. The rehearsal will take place on Thursday 6th July in the afternoon. Should you have any questions in relation to this, please direct them via your child’s Head of Year.

 

Yours faithfully
Mrs C Turner - Deputy Headteacher

Windrush 75

It is vital that we provide our learners with a curriculum that is inclusive and celebratory. The 75th anniversary of the Windrush is an opportunity to recognise the communities that sacrificed life as they knew it to help us build ours. 

This week we will be learning about the Windrush and how it has affected the lives of many in the UK.
We have included a report for you to discuss with your families if you wish. 

Why-the-Windrush-matters-today.Report.Final_

 

School term dates 2023/2024

Dear all parents and carers
Download the letter/calendar - Letter to Parents - Term & INSET days 2023-24
School term dates 2023/2024
I do hope this letter finds you well. The key term dates and INSET days have now been planned out for the next academic year and are summarised below. You will also find the academic year calendar on the back of this letter. The dates of the holidays are the same for the whole Prestatyn cluster as fixed by Denbighshire CC, but due to the primary cluster training requirements only 3 of the 6 INSET days coincide.

Autumn term 1

INSET days (1&2) - Friday 1st and Monday 4th September 2023
Pupils return to school - Tuesday 5th September to Friday 27th October 2023
Half term30th October to 3rd November 2023

 

Autumn term 2

INSET day (3)Monday 6th November 2023
Pupils return to school - Tuesday 7th November to Friday 22nd December 2023
Christmas Holiday25th December to 5th January 2024

 

Spring term 1

INSET day (4)Monday 8th January 2024
Pupils return to school - Tuesday 9th January to Friday 9th February 2024
Half term12th February to 16th February 2024

 

Spring Term 2

Pupils return to schoolMonday 19th February to 22nd March 2024
Easter Holiday25th March to 5th April 2024

 

Summer term 1

INSET day (5)Monday 8th April 2024
Pupils return to schoolTuesday 9th April to 24th May 2024
Mayday bank holidayMonday 6th May 2024
Half term27th May to 31st May 2024

 

Summer term 2

Monday 3rd June to Thursday 18th July 2024
INSET day (6)Friday 19th July 2024

 

End of the academic year.
Please note that the calendar of events for the year will be published in September 2023. Please contact the school if you have any questions about the dates provided.
Yours faithfully
Neil Foley – BSc, MA
Pennaeth/Headteacher

ROA 2023

The traditional end of year school Record of Achievement award ceremony took place on Wednesday 10th May, 2023. For the first time, the event was held at the newly named 'Neuadd Mathew Williams', and we celebrated our amazing Year 11 cohort, recognising their achievements over the past five years.
This year has been a very successful one here at PHS, and we also marked another first after extensive consultation with the pupils in Year 11.
The pupils voted unanimously to adopt a 'prom' style event in favour of a gala style award ceremony. The prom will take place after the summer exams at the Faenol Fawr.
During the ROA, the formal presentations of the awards to all pupils were punctuated by amazing vocal performances from Ruby Brown and Josh Thomas Wills and also a virtuoso piano performance by the exceptionally talented Alex Williams.
"It is fantastic to see so many talented young people with great futures ahead of them."
Neil Foley - Headteacher
 
During the event, there were special individual awards for some of our extra special Year 11 students who have achieved something fantastic over their time with us.
 
Attendance Award – Sofia Jones
Community Achievement Award – Aimee Roberts & Alex Williams
PHS Sporting Achievement Award – Alfie Lewis, Euan Luke & Alex Young 
 
The Headteacher's Award was presented to Seth Morris. Ross Howcroft Jones, Head of Year 11 said:
“This award winner is someone who leaves a lasting impression on those he meets. He joined our school five years ago as an enthusiastic and inquisitive boy and it has been a pleasure to watch him develop this potential into the high achieving, well-rounded young man he has become. A very popular pupil, he approaches every part of life with motivation and determination, excelling in maths and the sciences. It is with pride and pleasure that we present this award to someone who truly embodies everything that is great about our school”.
 
 
The event was rounded off by a humorous and nostalgic Year 11 Ambassadors' speech. This was delivered by Grace Mullan and Daniel Hannah.

Estyn Inspection Report

Prestatyn High School is extremely proud of its recent Estyn report and the recognition by inspectors of the tireless work of so many teachers to ensure the best possible education for the young people of Prestatyn.
Headteacher, Mr Neil Foley, said “it is pleasing to see that the high standards achieved by pupils are recognised despite all the obstacles they have faced over the last few years, this is testament to the exceptional efforts and support of all staff.”

In the report, inspectors commented on how Prestatyn High School pupils were proud to belong to an inclusive school and described the school as being homely and wholesome. Pupils also commented on how they felt safe in school and enjoyed their learning.

In the report, Estyn described Prestatyn High School as being an:
“Inclusive learning community where pupils and staff work closely and effectively as a team and these relationships form the heartbeat of the school".
"The headteacher and his senior team have worked well to establish a culture of high expectations for all".
As part of the inspection process, the inspectors commented on the school’s effective practices and also identified a few areas to develop. The school is extremely pleased with the report and will use its findings to further enrich learners' experiences and outcomes.
The school would like to thank the pupils, parents, staff, governors, GwE and Denbighshire local authority for their support in ensuring such a positive inspection visit.

Read the report | Visit Estyn online

Emergency Alerts

I’m sure you are all aware that On Sunday 23 April 2023 at 3pm, there will be a national test of the UK Emergency Alerts service. Emergency Alerts is a UK government service that will warn you if there’s a danger to life nearby.   In an emergency, your mobile phone or tablet will receive an alert with advice about how to stay safe.

Emergency alerts will only be sent by the emergency services, government departments, agencies and public bodies that deal with emergencies.

The alert will say:

This is a test of Emergency Alerts, a new UK government service that will warn you if there’s a life-threatening emergency nearby.

In an actual emergency, follow the instructions in the alert to keep yourself and others safe.

Visit gov.uk/alerts for more information.

This is a test. You do not need to take any action.

We are sharing this information as you may wish to discuss it with pupils so that they don’t worry as all mobile phones and tablets will sound the alert even if on silent.

To avoid being put at risk, people experiencing domestic abuse, who for their safety have a secret or secondary mobile phone, are being advised to turn off Emergency Alerts.   Refuge has made this video explaining how to turn off the emergency alerts on both Android and iPhone.

Further information is available on the Denbighshire website.