May Half Term Goodbyes
Yesterday, staff at Glyn School had the bittersweet privilege of saying goodbye to our Year 11 and Year 13 students at their respective Leavers’ Celebration Assembly. This marks the culmination of two, five, and in some cases a full complement of seven years, as students here at Glyn, as members of this community. For my part, it has been a genuine honour and an absolute pleasure to share that journey with them. I am certain that for each of these students, whether they are returning in September, or setting off on the next steps of their educational journey, the time that they will have spent at Glyn will have equipped them with the qualities that will allow them to forge amazing futures for themselves.
One such quality which has been in abundance in the past 15 months has of course been resilience. In speaking with our students today, I also made it clear that it is crucial that they go on to genuinely appreciate and nurture the truly important things in life - their relationships. Whether it is their relationships with those around them, for whom they care, relationships with those who they might not know particularly well, or at all, but whose lives they will impact nonetheless, or their relationship with themselves - these are the things that really matter.
To that end, all students who are leaving us this summer are strongly encouraged to either register with our electronic alumni, Future First, or ensure that we have their correct personal contact details. Please visit the Future First website to explore the many ways in which students can continue to be a part of our community: http://futurefirst.org.uk
We also ask Parents and Carers to encourage their child to stay in touch with us via the contact details on our website and to keep us updated about their child’s progress. Glyn School is a unique and brilliant community, and we hope that all those who have been a part of school life here will continue to feel that they belong to something very special. Some of our departing students may be considering a future career in teaching (a wise choice, in my view), and we would be especially delighted to support their initial steps in what is undoubtedly the most rewarding of vocations.
On a similarly bittersweet note, I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute and offer best wishes to two colleagues who leave us at the end of this half term, Ben Clancy and Mr Holloway. Ben Clancy is a former student who has been working with us in support of the Art and Design department, as part of a gap year, and we are indebted to him for his fantastic support of staff and students alike. Ben joined us as a student in September 2013, however, this association is eclipsed in length slightly by that of Mr Holloway, who joined us in September 2011. Whilst Mr Holloway may have fallen at the final hurdle in reaching his full decade at Glyn, his impact has been undoubtedly significant during his tenure. During his time with us, Mr Holloway has been a teacher of PE, a teacher of Maths, a Head of House and, for the past three years, an Assistant Headteacher, most recently leading on supporting our Key Stage 4 students. Mr Holloway has been an exceptional colleague who has always put the students at Glyn School at the heart of all that he has done, and he leaves us to take up a post as Deputy Headteacher at one of our partner GLF schools, Merstham Park School. I am certain that he will continue to provide the same outstanding support for the students, staff and entire community at Merstham Park School as he has at Glyn.
We wish all our departing students and colleagues the very best for the future.
Matt Duffield, Executive Headteacher
