13 October 2023

Headmaster's Letter 13th October 2023

Dear Parents

“In diversity, there is beauty, and there is strength” Maya Angelou

Our theme of the week was Equality, Diversity and Inclusion – and at Dumpton we are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment for each of our pupils, all of whom are unique, and each of whom is special in their own way. In my assembly on Monday morning, I used a visual metaphor: our school is a beautiful mosaic. Each member of the school community plays their part in this beautiful piece of art – but each of us is entirely unique, a different colour, a different shape. The beauty of the mosaic comes not from what we have in common, but from our differences, and from our ability to work together and complement each other. This is one reason why promoting EDI is so important: we are greater than the sum of our parts, and the more we ensure we celebrate our differences and create a sense of belonging for all, the better for all. “When everyone’s included, everyone wins.”

We only have to glance at the news at the moment to realise how important it is that future generations can fight for a more equal, a more inclusive, and kinder world. 7O’s brilliant Black History Month assembly on Tuesday was inspirational, but also a stark reminder how many people have had to – and still have to – fight prejudice and discrimination.

Here at Dumpton, it does all come back to those simple words we use on a daily basis with the pupils: be kind. I do that believe that our focus on kindness at Dumpton, the high standards the staff have for the way pupils treat one another, as well as our work using RULER to promote empathy and emotional literacy, is making a difference. It will not only benefit us here and now, but also be a tool our pupils can take with them into their futures to hopefully be the architects of their own brighter, and kinder, future.

Charity Fun Run

A huge thank you to Mrs Shaw and all the staff team for putting on such a brilliant fun run yesterday afternoon. Not only are we raising money for an incredibly worthy charity in Great Ormond Street Hospital, but we all had terrific fun. Thank you to all the parents who supported the event, and, to their great surprise I think, were good enough sports to take part in a mass ‘macarena’ with the pupils and staff!

Y1 Space Day
What an amazing day for our Y1s, who undertook a range of space related exercises as part of their ‘astronaut training’. Perhaps the highlight was a trip to the Science Lab with Mrs Catton, where they explored the science of comets. Year 1 felt some of the materials comets are made from and then helped make a comet from dry ice, and fired a dry ice rocket up into the sky!

Y8 Music Scholars

Best wishes to our Y8 Music Scholars Evie, James, Freddie and Austin who have their various pre-auditions at Canford and Bryanston coming up. They performed in our Thursday assembly – it was brilliant for the younger pupils to see them perform with such skill, and hugely inspirational too.

Sports Reports

Please see the weekly sports reports attached. Another brilliant week of sport with so many pupils taking part. Special mentions to our U13A girls hockey team who drew with Millfield in the Regional Finals, losing at the Quarter Final Stage to eventual winners Taunton, and to our U11A Girls hockey team who agonisingly lost in the Plate Final of their own Regional Finals. It’s been amazing to see Dumpton compete so strongly against some of the best and biggest schools across the South West.

Canford Geography Quiz

Our undefeated run in the Canford Geography Quiz continues – well done to the ‘Tectonic Gigachads’ who showed amazing geographical knowledge to win the trophy, and thanks to Mrs Cox for organising as ever.

Sports Scholarship News

We are absolutely delighted to announce that Zac W in Y7 has been awarded a Sports Scholarship to Millfield for Football. Well done Zac – we're incredibly proud of you for getting this prestigious offer from one of the finest sporting schools in the country!

Standardised Testing Report

Parents of Y3 to Y7 pupils should have received information from Mr Morgan about this report which has now been published on the parent portal. The data collected from these annual computerised tests in English, Maths and Reasoning only forms part of the picture of your child’s progress, but we hope it’s useful information that helps you better understand your child’s academic progress and ability against national standards. We are very proud that progress across the school is improving, with the average Dumpton child sitting at the 75th percentile nationally.

Elevate Education - Study Skills Workshop – From Mr Morgan

We are delighted to welcome back Elevate Education who will be delivering a study skills workshop for our Year 8 pupils on Monday 16 October. The session is aimed at helping our pupils with their revision for the upcoming November exams.

Parents’ Evenings

It was good to see so many parents at the Y1 and Y4 Parents’ Evenings this week – next week it is Reception, Y2, Y3, and Y5’s turn. Do ensure you have booked in your appointment on the Parent Booking website.

All the best for a lovely weekend,