Headteacher's update 14 February 2025
Dear Parents and Carers
We come to the end of the first half of the Spring term and the end of the first half of the academic year. While it has been short it has certainly contained a lot. The snow days of January feel a long way away. Our young people have participated in so much this term, and I have very much enjoyed learning of their success. At the start of next term, I will share information about our ongoing work around attendance and how we are encouraging students to create a 'streak' of attendance. We are starting next term with a focus on aspiration and ambition in our assemblies to support students in their work and this is especially important for Year 9 who begin to make their option choices. Year 11 will begin their final half term before exams start and we will continue to encourage them to work hard and strive for the very best. We hope you and all of our young people have a well-earned break and we look forward to welcoming them back on Tuesday 25 February.
Uniform
Please take this opportunity to ensure that your young person has the correct uniform every day of the week and that is clean and in good repair.
Drop-offs and pick-ups at the front of school
Can I please remind all parents and carers that students arriving between 8.30-9.15am should be dropped off in the car park to assist with safety around the buses. Students being collected between 2.45 and 3.30pm should be collected from the car park. Thank you for your support in this.
What’s going on in school:
- On Friday last week, we welcomed Jon Pearce MP to school. After an informative assembly with our Y7 and Y8 students, our Student Council met with Jon for a Q and A session. We were very proud of how our students conducted themselves and asked interesting and prominent questions.
- There was excitement today as the hoodies for our upcoming choir trip to Disney Land Paris arrived. Miss Starbuck and Mrs Machan couldn't wait to try them on! We will be giving all students on the trip their hoodies after half term. We want to take this moment to praise the Disney Choir for their hard work and dedication to rehearsals. We will be sharing soon how you can come and watch before their performance at Disney, so watch this space!
- In PE last week, students took part in cross country running. Congratulations to Jasper In Y7, Thomas and Alex in Y8, Joe and Felix in Y9, James in Y10 and Isaac in Y11 who all completed the longest distance in their year groups in the time available.
- Well done to Oscar Y7 who recently took part in the Derbyshire County championships for swimming, qualifying for 8 races and achieving 6 personal best times!
PE Next Half Term
Boys PE - Hockey Boys 1st of the week, Basketball 2nd lesson of the week
Girls PE - Basketball 1st lesson of the week, Hockey 2nd lesson of the week
Kit needed for these lessons:
Basketball:
White HVC polo shirt with logo
Plain black top or HVC Outdoor top
Plain black tracksuit bottoms, sports leggings or shorts (mid length - no short tight shorts)
Indoor trainers
Hockey:
White HVC polo shirt with logo
Plain black top or HVC outdoor top
Plain black tracksuit bottoms, sports leggings or shorts (mid length - no short tight shorts)
Outdoor trainers
Thin gloves if it is cold
Shin pads - this is essential for hockey to ensure the safety of our students. You can find an affordable pair of shinpads on Amazon, an example is here:
New Hope Valley College website to be launched
We are pleased to announce that, shortly after the half term break, we will be launching the new Hope Valley College website. When it is launched, the website will still be available at www.hopevalley.chorustrust.org and will provide up-to-date information, organised in a simplified structure to make it easier to find the information you are looking for. The new site will continue to contain the information most valued by parents and carers, including term dates and calendar items as well as curriculum and extracurricular information.
Bus Fares
Could we ask you to ensure that students have enough money with them for their bus fares each day (if needed). Our reception does not hold much petty cash, and we are frequently asked to loan money for bus fares to students.
Y10/11 English Literature and Computer Science Revision Guides
The following exam revisions guides and resources are now available to purchase on ParentPay until 24 February - Macbeth text, revision guide and work book - £3.25 each
GCSE OCR Computer Science - Complete Revision Guide & Practice Workbook £6.00
GCSE Computer Science Exam Practice Workbook £3.25
Open Evening – Thursday 25 September
Our Open Evening for children currently in Year 5 who wish to join us in September 2026 will take place on Thursday 25 September. Tickets will soon be available via the school website. Please share this date with anyone you know who may be interested.
Road Closure
Derbyshire County Council have shared information regarding a road closure with us: The B6001 Grindleford to Hathersage road will be closed to all traffic, pedestrians and cyclists from Monday, 3 March for a major four week repair programme. The repairs are part of a three year project, which started last spring, to rebuild 100 metres of the 100 year old retaining wall to prevent the road collapsing down the steep bank. A signed diversion route will be in place using the B6001, B6521 and A6187.
Job Vacancies
We are currently recruiting for a Senior Science Technician. Please see our website for more information: Vacancies - Hope Valley College
Dates for Your Diary
- Monday 24 February – INSET day – school closed to students
- Thursday 6 March – Y9 Options Evening
- Tuesday 11 March – Disney Choir Trip meeting for parents and carers (4.30pm)
- Wednesday 19 March – CRY screening for Y11 and Y10
- Monday 31 March – Thursday 3 April – Music Trip to Paris
- Friday 4 April – break for Easter
Thank you for reading our communication. Here are some helpful email addresses, should you need to contact us:
- attendance@hopevalley.chorustrust.org to report a child’s absence
- enquiries@hopevalley.chorustrust.org for general enquiries
- pastoral@hopevalley.chorustrust.org for any issue with a child’s wellbeing
- headteacher@hopevalley.chorustrust.org to contact the Headteacher
- safeguarding@hopevalley.chorustrust.org to report safeguarding concerns. If a child or any young person is in imminent danger, then please report this to the police.
- ptfahv@hopevalley.chorustrust.org to contact the PTFA
Kind regards
Debbie Petts
Headteacher, Hope Valley College
