17/12/21 – Whole School, End of Term Letter

Dear Parents and Carers

I wanted to write to you at the end of this term to clarify arrangements for our return in January and to also share with you just a brief insight to some of the incredible opportunities our pupils have had since September.

It has been wonderful to see many pupils taking part in trips, fixtures and visits which all form a huge part of their cultural capital here at EPC.  Pupils have actively taken part in trips to museums, Universities and Art Galleries. Experienced STEM days, higher horizon workshops and taken part in numerous clubs after school.  All of these activities encourage our pupils to develop the virtues and skills which will lead to choice filled lives.

More recently they have developed their social skills by hosting visits by influential guests to our college including our local MP, Justin Madders, members of our academy trust and Bishop Sam from the Diocese. They have also contributed to our local community, which more recently included 6th form students delivering hampers to the local food bank and Year 7 pupils supporting a Christmas event at Hadlow Station. I could not be prouder of each and every one of our amazing children and staff here at EPC.

Looking forward to January and the uncertainty that that may bring, I wanted to reassure you that we will ensure that all pupils continue to experience a full curriculum regardless of what may happen with the pandemic. To this end I have listed below key dates and arrangements and also included other advice.

  • • All pupils return to school on Wednesday 5th January at the normal time.
  • • We will be offering one on site lateral flow test to all pupils who have consented.
  • • In case anyone needs to isolate we have ensured that all pupils have access to a laptop at home.
  • • There is guidance around accessing TEAMS on our school website.
  • • We encourage all pupils to complete their usual twice weekly lateral flow tests at home, especially before returning on the 5th January. If you test positive you must book a PCR and let us know the outcome of the test via the head@epcollege.org email.
  • • Pupil aged 12 – 15 will be offered a second dose of the vaccine in January and we will write to you to inform you of how you can consent to this.
  • • We also encourage anyone eligible for the booster (18 years +) to get this as soon as they can and for 16 – 17-year olds to book their second dose.

Please ensure you keep up to date with any government announcements over the holiday and if there are any significant changes to our January arrangements we will contact you via text and email.  We will also post notices on our website and via social media including Twitter and Facebook.

Finally, thank you as always for your continued support and I hope you all have a peaceful Christmas and remain well.

Yours sincerely

Mrs C Green

Principal