Dear members of the Earlscliffe community,
To both new and older members of the community, I send my best wishes.
I will be writing to you regularly with thoughts and updates from the Earlscliffe community. This is my first letter of this academic year.
I had the pleasure of spending the better part of the day on Friday 8th September running group interviews, getting to know those of our new students who had arrived. We found out about each other, chatted and laughed. We broke some of the ice that exists on meeting new people and started to form those bonds that will help us through the challenges of this school year. We had fun.
On Saturday we began the first iteration of what will be four weekly Saturday trips for new students: two trips to the local towns of Deal and Dover, one trip to London and a walk on the North Downs. I will be taking part, as I did last week, on the North Downs walk – seeing some of the sights, enjoying an ice cream and overcoming the challenge of walking up a reasonably steep path after we have passed through Folkestone Harbour and along the beach. The idea of each trip is, as well as a chance to see the sights and make some friends, to focus on pastoral concepts such as challenge; the sublime; the importance of history and the importance of a connection with the natural world. We hope that each student, after four such trips, has a taste of what opportunities there are on offer during their time with us, and is used to engaging in some meaningful and enjoyable activities, alongside their studies, on a regular basis.
You will have heard that this is my last year at Earlscliffe. I have had a wonderful time here and continue to enjoy my role, but it is time for a new challenge so I will be going to run a day school in Fulham in west London. Please accept my absolute reassurance that I will remain dedicated to the success of our students and my colleagues throughout my time here. As ever, if there is anything I can do to help you or your children, please do get in touch.
With my best wishes,
Joss Williams
Head Teacher