Friday 19th May 2023

We began our merger site tours for parents on Friday 12^th May. There are five site tour dates and two “Meet Mrs Buckman” events this term. These have been well attended so far, and have enabled us to talk to parents directly about their questions and queries ahead of September. For those unable to make the dates, the questions we have been asked the most so far have been answered below. We will update this further once the other tours take place and will have two further co-ed updates for parents on Monday 5^th June and Friday 2^nd July. Monday 5^th June will contain details of the timetable and school day, as well as uniform reminders, drop off and parking details etc. We hope to cover all the questions parents would like answered in this time. For our boarding families only, tours are available from 3pm on Friday 26^th May before the end of the school day/collection. Please email the co-ed email if you haven’t yet booked a place. If you have missed the tour dates, or have other questions, please do email stamfordcoed@ses.lincs.sch.uk and we will contact you to discuss.

Heads of Year from September 2023

We are pleased to confirm our Heads of Year from September 2023 will be:

Year 7 – Mrs Ditchburn and Mrs Colley

Year 8 – Mrs Farr and Mr Regis

Year 9 – Mr Bigley and Mr Mitchell

Year 10 – Mrs Washbrooke and Mr Colley

Year 11 – Mrs Steven and Mr Howells

Year 12 – Mrs Charles

Year 13 – Miss Halliday

St Paul’s Site Plan:

LMS building (Lower Middle School)

• The LMS building will be home to the Year 7 and Year 8 Pastoral Hubs (common rooms in old money), Heads of Year Offices and Student Support Managers.
• LMS will also be home to the humanities subjects.

School House

• The School House building will the pastoral hub for all Year 9 students as well as the Heads of Year 9 offices, Student Support Manager and Pastoral Space.

Brazenose House

• Brazenose House will be the pastoral home for Year 10 and Year 11 as well as the offices for the Deputy Head, Assistant Head Co-Curricular, Assistant Head of Conduct and Learning Development Teams offices as well as Heads of Year 10 and 11 and their Student Support Managers.

Updating Students

Tutor time focus

• After half term, tutors will spend form time (tutor time) focusing on the merger and move. They will spend one tutor session a week (five sessions in total) on each of the following areas: pastoral care, academic matters and the school day, co-curricular and house information, behaviour and ethos and culture.
• This will give students the chance to ask questions in their form groups, as well as obtain more information about where they will be located, what the site looks like, where they go for help etc. All our tutors will work with students to ensure they are reassured and confident about where they are going in September.
• Student council representatives from both Stamford School and Stamford High School have been asked to feed into the programme above by ensuring that each year groups’ questions are answered within the programme.

Transition Day – 29^th June 2023

Our next whole school transition day will be 29^th June. This is the usual transition day that happens every year to ensure a smooth change from one year to the next.

• Morning sessions – students will have the chance to meet their new Heads of Year, their new tutors and new tutor groups. The students will also take part in some fun, team building activities that will give them all a chance to get to know each other in an informal way.
• Afternoon sessions – all students will then take part in a house sports event for everyone to enjoy.

Frequently Asked Questions from the co-ed parent tours:

Will the school day change from September?

• Yes, there are going to be changes to the timetable for September 2023. All the details of the school day and timetable changes will be sent to parents on Monday 5^th June.

Will the Year 7 children be with the Year 11 children in the same building?

• No, each year group have their own pastoral hub and space. Please see the St Paul’s site plan above with locations of staff offices, Pastoral Hubs and Heads of Year offices. The Sixth Form site plan will be circulated in the next update.

How will lunchtimes work?

• Lunchtimes will be staggered by year groups (7 and 8 together and 9, 10 and 11 together). The changes to the timetable will allow lunchtime to be spread out over a longer period of time. More information will be circulated in the 5^th June update with the timetable changes, but please rest assured that students will still have lunches by year groups as they do now and not in house groups.

How will groups for tutor/form time work vs other lessons?

• Our small tutor groups from September 2023 will be set in Houses. This will enable tutors to offer strong pastoral care and dedicated time each day for each student. Setting tutor groups by house will enable each student the opportunity to add breadth in their friendship groups, as well as building a strong house community. Academic lessons will not be set in tutor groups, but in the same way as they are now either in consistent groups for lessons in the lower years, then in ability or option choices as they move through key stages.

What building work is happening from Easter/over the summer?

• - At the end of next week our Year 11 and Year 13 students will have all begun their study leave. This allows us some room and space to carry out further work around the schools, whilst still having plenty of space to carry on lessons for the rest of term. Decoration works will begin at the St Martin’s site after the May half term, then refurbishments will start at the St Paul’s Site once we break for the summer.

Can you remind us why we are making the changes to co-education?

The world is changing, and we want our schools to be inclusive. The demand for single sex education is reducing all the time – there are now 39% fewer boys’ schools and 25% fewer girls’ schools than there were 25 years ago, whilst the percentage of co-educational independent schools stands at a record 80%. Similarly, the scoping exercise showed us that a large majority are in favour of the change to co-education, and for those parents considering us for the future, that proportion is even higher.

Co-education makes it far easier to ensure equality of opportunity, regardless of biological sex: indeed, there is now some question whether the diamond model can be legally compliant with the Equality Act.

Our purpose is to support every student, and to provide them with the environment, challenges and opportunities that will prepare them to go on to lead happy and fulfilling lives. Our core aim at Stamford has always been to produce rounded and grounded young people in a community which builds character and individuality. Moving to co-ed will allow us to:

• Take our academic ambition for our students to the next level, without compromising on the breadth of education we offer
• Create additional pastoral spaces for students and the space to be fully supported
• Offer better length lessons, with up to 10% greater teaching time for the senior school
• Separate out our Sixth Form to a standalone offering, restructuring our timetable with benefits for all students. One to one tutoring at Sixth Form will start to prepare our young people for life beyond school.
• Collapse afternoons at Sixth Form to enhance the enrichment activities favoured by universities, with optimal class sizes in minority subjects to enhance debate and discussion
• Review and manage our estates and facilities so that they work harder for us and enhance the student experience
• Support every student, and provide them with the environment, challenges and opportunities that will prepare them to go on to lead happy and fulfilling lives

Life is co-ed and there is so much that students can learn from each other when they learn together. Our co-educational merger will retain all of the things people love and value about Stamford and allow us to evolve into a stronger school, building on our existing foundations for a bright future.

There is no question, too, that the diamond model, which requires us to duplicate facilities, teaching and activities across two sites, is inefficient and, in the long term, unsustainable. From a financial perspective, we have a duty to operate as efficiently as possible meaning that we can make every pound we invest work harder for our students.