Dear parents/carers

We are fast approaching the end of the summer term. This year the school will be closing early at 1.30pm on Friday 21st July. This is an opportunity to reward our students for all their hard work.

However, I am keen to stress that I do not expect to see a dip in attendance just because it is a shortened day. Students are expected to attend school and attend lessons as normal. The school has made all the necessary arrangements for school buses/taxis to be at school early to transport pupils home.

School re-opens for new academic year: The school re-opens for students on Wednesday 6th September. The 4th and 5th of September are training days for all staff.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the students and parents of Prestatyn High School for all their support this year. My first year as headteacher at Prestatyn High School has been hugely successful and we, as a school, are making good progress to achieve the best outcomes for all our young people. Indeed, during the recent Estyn visit they praised the school for the rapid progress we are making in achieving our goals.

I look forward to seeing our years 13, 12, 11 and 10 during the summer holidays as they collect their examination results; more information will be available on our website. I’d like to wish everyone a lovely and safe break, and I look forward to welcoming our students back in September.

Yours faithfully,

Neil Foley – B.Sc. MA

Pennaeth/Headteacher

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Closing early in Sept

Dear Parent/ Carer, 

It has been a busy year for staff and pupils at Prestatyn High School. The changes that have been implemented since September are making a real difference and as a school we are making good progress to achieve the best outcomes for all our young people. Indeed, during the recent Estyn visit they praised the school for the rapid progress we are making in achieving our goals. Working together we will ensure Prestatyn High School becomes an outstanding school and that all pupils fulfil their potential.

As part of this continued progress, there are going to be some changes to our school pastoral system which will be coming into effect from September 2017. The pastoral care within the school will be based around a Head of Year. The new Head of Year team are the pre-existing Heads of Houses. Each Head of Year will be supported by a Deputy Head of Year and an Assistant to the Head of Year who were previously known as Student Support Assistants.

There will be no change to the form groups and these will remain as houses. Pupils will remain in their houses for events and enrichment activities. However, each group will be overseen by a Head of Year and this will mean that for some pupils, they will have a change in the member of staff who oversees their pastoral care.

The year 7 pupils will now have the transition coordinator as their Head of Year to maintain the fantastic induction process they have received on their transfer to the school.

The year 11 pupils will engage in bespoke and personalised interventions each morning during their form time with a focus on excellence and academic achievement on their return to school in September. There will be a member of the student support team who will assist in coordinating these academic interventions and another member of the support team who will assist with the pastoral care both working alongside the Head of Year 11.

Thank you for your support during this academic year and I would like to wish you all a pleasant and safe summer.

Yours faithfully

Mr Neil Foley

Ms Claire Austin

Mrs Lindsay Davenport

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Parental letter June 17 v3 NF CLA LD

Dear Parent/Carer,

I write in accordance with the Changing of School Session Times (Wales) Regulations 2009 No 572 (W.54) and on behalf of the Governing Body of Prestatyn High School to inform you of proposed changes to the timing of the school day with effect from September 2017.
Prestatyn High School is committed to improving the outcomes and life chances for all young people no matter their starting point or background. A fundamental part of raising standards is having a modern and fit for purpose timetable and school day. The proposed new school day will allow the school to achieve its aims and accelerate the progress for all of our learners.

• The proposed changes are summarised at the end of this letter but the main points are listed below:
• The students will continue to have 5 one-hour lessons each day over a fortnightly timetable
• The time at which the day begins will be 8.40am
• The school day will end at 3pm
• Registration will be at the start of the day
• Lunch is now split – KS3 have early lunch and KS4 pupils have late lunch
• No year 11s will be allowed off site during lunch
• KS4 pupils will only have 1 lesson after lunch
• The advantages of the proposed system are:
• Registration is now at the start of the day so that tutors can check that all pupils are ready and equipped to learn
• It is statistically proven that pupils learn and engage better earlier in the day
• Reducing the number of lessons after lunch will improve behaviour and engagement
• Having an earlier end of the day will encourage more pupils to attend extra-curricular events or interventions after school. The school will invest in far more enriching activities after school for our pupils
• A split lunch time will allow our pupils to be more relaxed and less rushed in the diner leading to a calm environment
• The school will now take responsibility for Year 11s over lunch time ensuring that their focus is maintained right until the end of the academic day

There will be a meeting open to all parents/carers and staff to discuss the proposal at 6.00pm on Tuesday 25th April in the main hall. If you are unable to attend, you may submit written comments to me for consideration before the meeting. Any written comments will be discussed during the meeting on the 25th April.
I look forward to receiving your comments by 7th April 2017.

Yours faithfully
Neil Foley – B.Sc. MA.
Pennaeth Headteacher

An early morning start for us 40 GCSE and A-Level Geography students off to Iceland for a few days. We were all very excited, even though we didn’t have much sleep, because we knew in a few hours we would be sat in the Blue Lagoon relaxing in a 38 degree C mineral-rich lagoon which was formed from geo-thermally heated water. The first stop when we got to Iceland was the bridge between two continents, where we stood between the Eurasian Plate and the North-American Plate, which move about one inch per year. The gap between them now is quite big and you can see how they once fitted together. The last stop for the first day was the much anticipated Blue Lagoon, which lived up to it’s expectations. We arrived at the hotel that night tired but very relaxed after a great day.

Day two was another early start as we wanted to get on the road because we had lots of activities planned. The first stop was Thingvellir Rift Valley where we learnt about how the plates moved apart and how the layers of the rocks were layers of lava from all the previous eruptions. I also learnt that lava stops plant growth and most of the land is covered in moss because of the this. We visited the Geysirs, which is a geo-thermal area of steam vents and hot springs. Strokkur Geysir, the very active star, erupts every 6-8 minutes, we were lucky and managed to see it erupt a few times. We also visited the Gullfoss waterfall and the Hellisheidi Power Plant, which provides electricity to the city of Reykjavik. That night we went into Reykjavik centre where we explored some of the shops.

On the final day we visited Seljalandsfoss Waterfall, where you can walk behind the waterfall but you get quite wet. We visited the Eyjafjallajökull Visitor Centre, which is where we learnt about a family who lived through the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull. We learnt about the story of their farm and how the ash helped the crops grow but caused a lot of harm to the animals. The next stop was the Skógafoss Waterfall. This was a beautiful waterfall and you could climb over 400 steps to reach the top of it. The view from the top was magnificent. The Sólheimajökull Glacier was 8km long and 1-2km wide, which will be larger in winter and will shrink in summer because the sun will melt the ice. You could see where some ice remained after the glacier retreated. The final stop of the trip was Reynisdranger black basalt beach. The beach was rocky and very windy, the tide was also very strong. The last morning, we got up extremely early to come home and had to wait a while on the plane while it defrosted. Overall it was an amazing trip with an amazing group of people.

by Erin Shanks Y11