Dear Parents, Students and Colleagues
 
We have come to the end of the first term this year and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone associated with the Academy for their help and support over the previous months. Every week sees progress being made in some aspect of Academy life.
 
Inevitably there will be challenges along the way and times when we need to work together to solve problems. There is one issue that is causing me great concern and I would be very grateful if you could speak to your son or daughter on this matter.  Over the past few weeks, we have had two instances where a student, when crossing the road, has been hit by a car. I am relieved to say, that in both cases, the students concerned were not seriously injured but clearly the outcome could have been much more distressing.
 
Above all, we want our students to be safe, so Base Group Tutors have raised this issue in tutor time and have asked all students to think carefully about road safety and getting home safely. With dark evenings and mornings, it is also the time of year where planning a safe route to the Academy and travelling to school with a friend can eliminate risk. We have asked students to be aware of this as well.
 
We will continue to have staff on duty outside the Academy at the end of the day but this patrol cannot extend away from the immediate vicinity.  Both accidents mentioned above happened a short distance away from the Academy. It is also important that students follow the direction given by staff on duty and I would be grateful if you could reinforce this message. A small minority of students feel that, when they are outside the Academy site, they no longer have to conform to requests made by teaching and other staff. This is not the case, and I would like to make you aware that we have authority over students outside the Academy day, especially where the health, safety and welfare of students is concerned. This authority is clearly stated in guidance from the Department for Education.
 
I would like to close by thanking you again for all for your support over the course of this academic year. We have so many wonderful, talented students and members of staff who contribute greatly to making Twickenham Academy a rewarding and enjoyable place to be. Together they have enabled the Academy to move forward over the last few months and I believe that we are building a powerful learning community. I hope that everyone has a relaxing and enjoyable Christmas break and I am sure that we will go from strength to strength in 2012.
 
Nick Jones, Principal