Induction Morning or Afternoon for students: Wednesday 19th June 2024

Students will spend time in school getting to know their tutor and new classmates.

Information Evening for Parents/Carers:  Wednesday 26th June 2024            

An important event for parents and carers to find out more about joining Kendrick School

Kendrick Summer Event (organised by the Kendrick Parents' Society): Saturday 1st July 2023, 11am to 3pm

To be held in the school grounds for the Kendrick School community

Summer School : Thursday 25th and Friday 26th July 2024       

This is an opportunity for students to spend 3 days at Kendrick School, getting to know new friends and the layout of the school.  As this is not funded by the government, there will be a charge associated with this event. More details will follow in mid to late June. The event will be free of charge to those students in receipt of pupil premium, service premium or a child in care or previously in care.

All Year 7 students will need access to a Curriculum Pack which you can buy through the school.  This pack consists of essential items for mathematics, science, languages and art. Each item is recommended by the subject leaders and is of good quality

Students in receipt of Free School Meals (FSM) or at any point in the last 6 years (referred to as Ever6 FSM) will be provided with a Curriculum Pack free of charge.

The School Curriculum Pack costs £55.00 and contains:

• Mini whiteboard
• Drywipe pen
• Drywipe eraser
• German dictionary
• French dictionary
• GCSE Calculator
• Sketchbooks (to be handed out in the first Art lesson)
• White nylon polar wallet mix
• Faber -Castell graphite sketch set
• Staedtler Norris Colouring pencils
• Premium Clip Folder A3
• Watercolour tablets set of 25 assorted
• Earphones
• Padlock
• Goggles (to be handed out at the first Science lesson)

Please refer to your email for information on how to order and pay for the pack.

Joining Year 7 in September 2024 - Information for Parents and Carers

Welcome from the KPS

Students enter and exit Kendrick School through the school gates in East Street. Students are reminded to take care crossing the busy roads that surround the school and always follow the pedestrian instructions at traffic lights. Students should be aware of their surroundings at all times, particularly when wearing earphones. 

Students cannot leave the school site during the school day unless they have a pre-arranged appointment. A responsible adult must always collect the child from school. Students will need to sign out at Reception.  

By bus: Please see the information from Reading Buses here. 

By cycle: Students that wish to cycle to school should collect a Cycle Permit form from Reception. Students must wear a cycle helmer and there are a number of conditions that the student must agree to when signing the form. 

By car: Please do not park or stop anywhere on East Street when dropping off or picking up your child. You must not park in any part of the private residential car park opposite the school (including the driveway). Please consider our neighbours at all times and other people travelling in the area. You should find somewhere safe and legal to park your car and your child can then walk to school from there.  The area around Kendrick School and the surrounding streets are monitored by traffic enforcement officers at the beginning and end of every school day. 

Please read the information via the link below from Brighter Futures for Children regarding absence during term time. Please refer to our term dates on our website when making your holiday plans to ensure that all holidays are booked during the school holidays and not during term time.

If you have exceptional reasons for removing your child from school during term time, please email admin@kendrick.reading.sch.uk and provide a full explanation of the reason for the absence. This will be passed to the Headteacher for consideration. Please do not write to Form Tutors, Year Heads or any other members of staff with your request. 

Unless there are exceptional extenuating circumstances, time taken off in term time will be recorded on your child’s attendance record as unauthorised and the Education Welfare Officer (EWO) will be informed.  You may be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice as outlined in the attached information. 

I meet regularly with the Educational Welfare Officer (EWO) to discuss attendance and every student with less than 95% attendance (whether through holidays or sickness) is discussed at length, and if deemed suitable, the EWO will send a letter to you. Please ensure that your child’s attendance is not compromised in this way.

Please read the following important information:

Achievement and Attendance (information from Brighter Futures for Children):

• Research has shown that achievement is directly linked to attendance.
• Students with high attendance invariably perform better in class and in exams.
• Across the school year of 38 weeks, 90% attendance means that a student missed four weeks of school (100 hours of teaching and learning).
• If a student continued to attend at 90% over three years they would miss the equivalent of 12 weeks of school (two terms).
• It is proven that attendance is directly linked with academic achievement. A student with 90% attendance is likely to achieve a whole GCSE grade lower than they are capable of because they have missed 10% of their lessons.

I look forward to your cooperation and support in this matter.

Yours sincerely

Ms C Kattirtzi                                   
Headteacher                                                    

BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR CHILDREN - HOLIDAYS IN TERM TIME

Kendrick School Music Department

What happens in Years 7-9?

• All students in Years 7 – 9 receive one 60 minute music lesson per week
• Students will learn a variety of skills including:
  • How to read music notation
  • How to sing as part of a choir
  • How to play the piano/keyboard
  • How to play the ukulele
  • How to work as part of a team and communicate effectively
  • How to create their own compositions (vocal, blues, jazz, pop, reggae, samba and more)
  • How to arrange music
  • How to analyse and evaluate pieces of music and group performances

What if I want to take Music beyond Year 9?

• We currently offer Edexcel GCSE Music in Years 10-11, and Edexcel A Level Music in Years 12-13

Can I learn a musical instrument at school?

• Yes you can! Kendrick School has a number of visiting peripatetic teachers who attend on a weekly basis. We offer lessons on the following instruments:
  • flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and saxophone
  • trumpet, cornet, horn, trombone and tuba
  • violin, viola, cello, double bass and harp
  • classical guitar, electric & bass guitar, drum kit and orchestral percussion
  • classical & jazz keyboard & piano
  • classical & pp voice
  • We also offer theory lessons both in small groups and individually

What ensembles can I be a part of?

• At Kendrick School, students can be involved in a range of ensembles, including:
  • Sinfonia - grades 2 – 5
  • Symphony Orchestra - grade 6 +
  • Wind Orchestra - grade 1+
  • Flute Choir – grade 1+
  • Jazz Band – grade 3+
  • Brass Ensemble – grade 1+ brass players
  • Guitar Ensemble – pen to all
  • Harp Ensemble – grade 1+ harp players
  • Vox Choir - Years 7-8
  • Senior Choir - Years 9+
  • Chamber Choir - by audition only (Years 9+)

• Should students wish to create their own ensembles, they are more than welcome to
• Each of these ensembles are involved in our Winter (term two), Spring (term four) and Summer Gala (term six) concerts
• We also hold an Upper School/Sixth Form Chamber Concert in the first term of the year; an annual House Music Competition in term two; a Performer Series concert in term three, focusing on a different instrument each year, and a Lower School Chamber Concert in term five
• Furthermore, we also host practical and theory ABRSM sessions once per year (subject to minimum numbers)