Dear Parents and Carers
School Open as Normal on Monday 6 July, Despite England’s 1am Kick-Off
As I am sure many of you are already aware, England play Mexico in the World Cup Round of 16 in the early hours of Monday morning, with kick-off at 1am UK time. I am writing simply to confirm that school will be open as normal on Monday, with the usual start time, registration and absence procedure and full timetable in place. We have made this decision to ensure the school is available for everyone following a consistent routine and not to create extra pressure on already busy parents and carers.
We understand that excitement will be high, and that some pupils (and staff!) may be tempted to stay up and watch the match live. However, a very late night before a school day is likely to affect concentration, mood, and performance in lessons, so we would ask for your support in making sure your child gets a proper night’s sleep.
A few suggestions that may help:
- Record the match or catch up with highlights on Monday morning rather than watching live.
- If your child does want to watch, consider having them go to bed at the normal time and catch the score and highlights with us in school.
- Alternatively, they could go to bed early in the evening and set an alarm to wake up for kick-off, so they still get some solid sleep either side of the match.
- Ensure mobile phones and devices are put away well before bedtime to avoid the temptation of following updates through the night.
We know this is an exciting time to be an England fan, and staff will be keeping an eye on the score too. If your child is unusually tired on Monday, please do let their form tutor know so we can be mindful of this during the day.
There is also real value in pupils being together at school on a day like this. Whatever the result, sharing the excitement, the nerves, or even the disappointment with friends and staff is part of what makes our school community feel like a community. We would much rather see pupils celebrating a win, or commiserating a loss, together in school than missing out on that shared experience at home.
To help build that sense of togetherness, we have a few things planned on Monday:
- For anyone who missed the match, highlights will be shown during tutor time.
- For anyone who missed breakfast, we have made sure there are plenty of extra free bagels to grab on the way into school.
- Pupils are welcome to come to school in red and white, sports kit, or their football kit for the day.
- A staff vs pupils penalty shoot-out will be held during social times.
- Flag face painting will be available during social times.
- There will also be rewards planned for the year group and tutor group with the highest attendance
- And a golden lunch ticket for one lucky student from each year group present on Monday
Thank you, as ever, for your continued support, and let’s hope for a good result for England!
Yours sincerely
Barry Simpson
Head of School