Please click below to download the
Governors’ Annual Report to Parents.

Govs’ Report to Parents 2018-2019

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 and in support of this, we have put in place 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. 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 Monday 18^th November. Should you have any questions in relation to this, please direct them via your child’s Head of Year

The praise and recognition structure allows pupils who meet and exceed our expectations to be recognised through a reward system (points), based on their attendance and engagement in learning.

Pupils are ranked Gold, Silver and Bronze over a half term period and receive amazing rewards celebrating their participation across the school.

It is an exciting system that has been developed with the student council, Heads of Year and Heads of Department. It is a whole school recognition system where positive attitudes are consistently rewarded.

Thank you to all of our supporters on Saturday 5^th October, in the proclamation event at Prestatyn High School, to welcome the Eisteddfod yr Urdd to Denbighshire. We managed to raise a fantastic £500 for the Urdd. Thank you to Dave from Prestatyn Lidl for providing us with food and drinks to sell on the day. Thank you also to Flip Out Chester and Voel coaches for donating a voucher for the raffle. We look forward to welcoming the Eisteddfod yr Urdd to Denbighshire in May 2020.

Two vacancies have arisen on the School’s Governing Body for a position as Parent Governor as a result of two of our existing parent governors’ term of office coming to an end.

Attached is a nomination paper for these positions and if you are interested in standing or inviting another parent to stand please ensure the nomination paper is fully completed and returned to Liz Thomas, the Clerk of Governors, by 1.00pm on Thursday 17^th  October, 2019.

The role of Governor can be both demanding and interesting and I would be happy to discuss this with anyone who would like further information.

Dear Parents and Carers

A very warm welcome back after a hopefully relaxed, rewarding and enjoyable summer break. I am writing to you today to inform you of some changes for this academic year and some very exciting developments that will take place in Prestatyn High School this year.

• Summer 2019 saw the school and our outgoing Year 11s achieve the best ever results. The percentage of our pupils achieving 5 higher grade passes of a C grade or above including English and Maths increased by 10%. These results were a testament to the hard work and dedication of the pupils and all of the staff here at PHS. This was all achieved in an environment of much tougher and demanding GCSE qualifications. We have even greater hopes and expectations of the current Year 11 group.
• Our A level results continued to rise and for the 3^rd year in a row we have improved on the year before. Our results in 2019 put us in the top 25% of schools in Wales and England. We are exceptionally proud of our Year 13s and the results they gained this year.

These amazing results in Y11 and Y13 reinforce our belief that what we are doing day to day is the right thing to do and that the high standards we hold are having an impact. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all members of staff and parents for their part in these excellent results.

• There has been major investment over the summer break in the school including the replacement/renewal of the all-weather pitch surface and additional pathways around the school. Over the next 6 months four of the science labs will be completely refurbished to the highest of industry standards.
• There are many other works on the way this year including additional fencing at the front of the school and an increase in the capacity of our car parks to reduce congestion on Princes Avenue. Please watch this space for further updates this year.
• We have developed a new Additional Learning Needs Hwb in the school so that we can improve and develop our ability to impact on the needs of pupils who need extra support in the school.
• With the support of the Local Authority we have created a new resource in the school called the Engagement Centre Prestatyn (ECP). This centre will be for pupils who need extra support in accessing mainstream education due to their behavioural needs. This facility will provide an enriching curriculum, teach selected young people how to behave socially in and around school and how to develop their skills in the classroom so that they and others can make maximum progress in lessons. If your child is referred to the ECP you will be given further information. The ECP is designed to help pupils that are struggling to access their lessons and therefore are falling behind in their education.
• The school has also started an internal inclusion support project with the aim that no pupils will be externally excluded from PHS. This inclusion support will allow our pastoral team to deliver training to pupils so that any negative behaviours that have arisen, are dealt with immediately and modified rather than the pupil being sent home.
• The school is launching a large initiative this year to reward all pupils and we will also have another Awards Evening early next year.

Our unswerving commitment to having the highest standards of attendance, punctuality and uniform remain the same. Our whole school attendance target is 97% and pupils on target to achieve/exceed this will be regularly rewarded. Any pupil failing to comply with our uniform policy will be challenged and parents contacted, in exceptional circumstances pupils will be sent home to dress correctly.

All staff and pupils are very proud of the way the new uniform looks in the community and I would like to thank all parents and carers for their support. I am sure the whole community are as delighted as we are with the improving outcomes this great school is achieving.

I look forward to your continued support this academic year. If you have any questions or require any further information please do not hesitate to contact the school.

Yours faithfully

Neil Foley – B.Sc. MA.
Pennaeth Headteacher

Prestatyn High has once again achieved excellent results this year at GCSE. Students, parents and staff shared in celebrating some exceptional performances and personal achievements.

There have been many outstanding individual performances this year with several pupils achieving the very top grades and overcoming many obstacles.

Headteacher Neil Foley said

“What a set of results from the class of 2019. These results demonstrate and recognise all the hard work and effort they have put in over the past two years. I would also like to thank all of the parents for their support and the staff for their tireless energy”.

Prestatyn High minimised the impact of the more challenging qualifications by improving the quality of teaching and learning in all areas of the school. There was also a clear plan for all pupils to help with revision sessions, ensuring all students were well prepared for the rigours of GCSEs/BTECs. The extra preparation has yielded superb results, particularly across the core subjects of English, Maths and Science.

We are delighted with their performances and look forward to welcoming our students back for 6th form sign-up Monday 2nd of September, 1pm.