I believe that pupils should have more say in how the funds raised on non-uniform days are used, therefore all proceeds from this Friday will be devolved to the recently-elected student council to be used in supporting both charities and other projects selected by our pupils.

At the end of each term it is unfortunate that we have to say goodbye to a few of our staff as they move on to new challenges or the promoted positions they have been able to secure and rightly deserve. This term Mr Ball, Mrs Bichener, Mr Bradshaw, Mrs Freeman and Mr Gadsby will be leaving the Kingswood community after having dedicated a significant number of years between them to improving the life chances of our pupils. Their contribution to the development of Kingswood cannot be overstated and we sincerely thank them for everything they have done for the Academy during their time here. It is very difficult to replace such high-quality staff but I am pleased to say that we have for January.

In January the Academy embarks on the next stage of its development. Mr Burton, the permanent principal, will be joining our community and will be welcoming pupils back on 4 January 2016; there is no training day for staff straight after Christmas. I wish Mr Burton and everyone at Kingswood all the best for the exciting journey they are about to take.

As my time at Kingswood draws to an end, I would like to state how very proud I am to have played a small part in the Academy’s development and finish by thanking the Kingswood staff, pupils and parents for their trust and support during this interim period.

I wish everyone in our extended community a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Yours faithfully

Tony Meneaugh

Acting Principal