Scene Writing Competition – Years 9 & 10

Year 9 and 10 pupils are invited to take part in an exciting scene writing competition run by the publishing company Methuen.

This is a fantastic opportunity for students who enjoy creative writing and drama. The overall winners will receive some brilliant prizes, including a Q&A session with celebrated playwright Willy Russell.

Students can choose to enter individually or as part of a small group. Full information packs, including entry details and guidance, are available from Mrs Black.

We encourage all interested pupils to get involved and give it a go!

Options Evening

Thursday 5th February 2026 from 4.15pm – 6.15pm. 

The Main Presentation is in the Main Hall

• 4.15pm – Introduction to the Options Process
• 6.00pm – Repeat talk for parents unable to attend earlier

Subject Exhibition is in the Gym Hall

• 4.30pm – 6.00pm

There will be exhibition stands for all the courses we offer.

Subject teachers available to discuss:

• Course content
• Assessment
• Skills required
• Progression routes

This is an opportunity for students and parents to ask questions and explore which options best suit each student’s interests and strengths.

Who Should Attend?

• Year 9 students
• Parents and carers

We look forward to welcoming you.

Attendance Update

Current attendance at Endon High School.​

• Whole school = 93.91%​
• School attendance target is 96%​

Friday 16th January 2026 - 100% attendance winners for the week;

• KS3 - S Wood
• KS4 - M Lomax

Friday 23rd January 2026 - 100% attendance winners for the week;

• KS3 - E Bassett
• KS4 - H Pennington

All winners have received a £15 voucher.

We are also celebrating with pizza treats at lunch for winning forms with 100% attendance.

Dental/Medical Appointments

Can parents/carers please be aware that, if you book medical/dental after 2pm, then it will not affect your child's attendance. Thank you.

Holiday Requests

Under Department for Education (DfE) regulations, headteachers may not grant leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. “Exceptional circumstances” refers to rare, unavoidable situations that are outside the control of the family and make absence absolutely necessary. While we recognise that many family situations are important and meaningful, they do not usually meet this threshold.

Examples of requests that cannot be authorised include:

• Family holidays or travel opportunities
• Visiting relatives abroad
• Events, celebrations or family gatherings
• Work-related commitments affecting holiday availability
• Parental preference for off-peak travel

A common misconception is that the headteacher may use discretion based on goodwill, a family’s circumstances, or a child’s strong attendance record. In fact, that discretion is strictly limited by law. Authorising absences that do not meet the exceptional criteria would place the school in breach of statutory guidance, so decisions must be applied consistently and fairly for all families.

Regular attendance remains essential for learning, progress and wellbeing, and the expectations apply throughout the school year. By understanding the legal framework, families can make informed decisions about travel and activities during term time.

Year 11 Mentoring

A reminder that the Year 11 mentoring programme continues on every Tuesday morning up until the GCSE exams, including the Mock Exam period. All Year 11s meet their mentor at 8.30am on Tuesday mornings.

We look forward to seeing all of Year 11 at their next session and we'll do out very best to help then be ready for their mocks and GCSEs. Only 12 school weeks to go!

Year 11 Leavers Hoodies

The Year 11 Leavers Hoodies are available to order:

To place an order, please visit the following website: https://shop.fizz-group.co.uk/

Our School Unique ID is: 25395YR11

Year 11 Updates (MIss Hill)

Mock Exams

We gave out the Mock exam results from before Christmas on Tuesday 13^th January. This was their first attempt at the mocks and if they achieved better or worse than they thought they would, it was only a trial run. The final set of Mock exams begin on 23^rd February. It is really important that pupils see this as an opportunity to either consolidate or ladder up their achievements. In some subjects the focus of the exams is different, and so the outcome can be very different. This is particularly the case in English Language and Literature, Business Studies, Computer Science, History, RE and Science. Pupils need to be clear what to revise, and speak to staff about the best way to revise in each subject. A difference can be made for Mock 2 which can lead to a bigger difference in the Summer. Now is not the time for giving up or complacency. Get organised, and get revising.

Parents' Evening

We had a very well attended Parents' Evening on Thursday 15^th January, with lots of positive and productive conversations. Some parents were not able to make it and the pastoral team will be reaching out to ensure that everyone has the guidance and help that they need. If you feel that you need any support getting your child ready for Mock 2 please contact the subject teacher, form tutor or Miss Forester on katie.forester@endon.set.org

Following Mock 2 there will be a final Y11 Parents' Evening on Thursday 26^th March. Please add the date to your diaries!

Intervention

We have concluded our afterschool Core subjects revision and instead our attentions turn to Non-Core. Please see the attachment to see what is available each session. While it is obvious that there will be clashes on the timetable, staff will often be able to share resources used in sessions that can't be attended if you speak to them. We will be running some Physics support before school each Thursday because there were not as many Science sessions and form times will have a Maths/English focus for 3 days each week for the 2 weeks before half term.

While revision is obviously very important at this stage, if you are completing a course with a coursework element, then this should be a big priority over the next 6 weeks so that a line can be drawn under it and revision alone can be the focus ready for the Summer exams.

Year 7-10 Updates (Miss Hill)

Gradesheets

We distributed our gradesheets for Y7-10 on Wednesday 21^st January. Thank you to everyone who has already been in touch regarding these to check specific scores or to gain a greater understanding as to what they mean.

If you have a question about an individual subject then it is best to contact the subject teacher, if it is over a range of subjects then perhaps the form tutor or progress manager instead.

In Y7-9 the English team put together an assessment with two parts, a multiple choice, knowledge task and an extended writing task. We fully intended to communicate a score which took both disciplines into account, however we have mistakenly communicated just the multiple choice score. This will be resolved on Monday and all Y7-9 gradesheets will be reissued. Please accept our apologies for this.

Assessment Period 2

We are currently in Curriculum Period 2 which will result in assessments starting on Monday 9^th March. We will be working to try to fill some of the gaps identified in assessment period 1 along with testing the work being completed in this current series of lessons. There will be some intervention offered to pupils in some subjects moving forward and I will email parents individually about that. It is important that I underline that the single most effective thing that pupils can do to achieve more is to attend school as much as possible and try to engage in the work to the best of their ability. We have lots of strong evidence here at Endon and of course nationally that this is the best way of making the biggest difference to achievement.

Parents' Evenings

Following our second assessment period there will be a round of Parents' Evenings in all year groups with the option to speak to subject teachers. Miss Hill will be in touch in April about how to book appointments around a week before each of these are due to take place.

Endzone

• The current timetable:

Year 9 World of Work Day  

• Year 9 World of Work — Endon High School

In the coming months we will be continuing our focus in school on careers and pupils’ futures. In Year 9, pupils are beginning to consider their future options and specifically their GCSE studies. The decisions of what to study is not easy for most, and while we know that you will support them as much as you can outside school, in school it is important that we continue to help mould their immediate future.

During the assessment period in March, we have an excellent opportunity as the Year 9 team to do some work that we hope will have a big impact in getting pupils to think about their futures, by giving them experience of a workplace. This will take place on Thursday 19th March 2026.

Parents are asked to complete the Firefly form above ASAP

School Show - Les Miserables

Tickets for our musical theatre production "Les Miserables: School Edition" are now on sale on Parent Pay. 

A massive twelve percent of our students are involved on- or off-stage in this epic production and we would love to have a full auditorium for all four performances.

 There are three evening performances, all starting at 6pm, on:

• Tuesday 10th, 
• Wednesday 11th
• Thursday 12th February 

There is also a matinee performance 

•  Tuesday 10th February, at 1.30pm.

Please invite all your family and friends to come and enjoy our students' fantastic performances. Tickets are likely to sell out, so please book your tickets on Parent Pay early to avoid disappointment!

Severe Weather Plan

NHS Mental Health Support

We have attached a poster and a guide to finding the referral form:

How to access the support. Follow the link above and then follow th path highlighted below:

Mental Health Resources

Click below to download our mental health support guides for 2025-26:

Safeguarding

Please see the reminder of who is in our safeguarding team:

Thank you!

Thank you once again for your support of the school. We look forward to seeing many of you at the School Show. We can't wait!

Please remember to use the school website, Arbor, Firefly and follow our Facebook to keep updated.

• www.endonhighschool.org.uk
• facebook.com/endonhighschool