Good afternoon,
It has been one of those weeks when the sheer breadth of what happens across WeST really hits you. Exams are underway, governance is being strengthened, and in the middle of all that, a group of primary children brought the Pride Lands to life on stage. Let me try to do justice to it all.
Exams, Trust and Stewardship
The main public examinations began this week, and I want to acknowledge the quiet professionalism with which our schools have managed that process. What strikes me most in exam season is not the logistics, though those matter enormously, but the relationships underneath them. When a nervous Year 11 walks into a hall laid out with papers, what carries them is the trust built up over years between that young person and the adults around them. Staff across our secondary schools have ensured barriers are minimised and confidence is high. At Eggbuckland, students even came in on Saturday for a final walking talking mock before Monday's English Literature paper, which says something real about the culture there. Good luck messages from Hele's for their GCSE pupils and from Morley Meadow for their SATs children carried genuine warmth too. These moments of encouragement, however small, matter more than we sometimes recognise.
Coombe Dean's Ofsted Outcome
I am delighted that Coombe Dean has shared the fantastic outcomes of its recent Ofsted report this week. This reflects sustained hard work from the whole school community, staff, pupils and families, and I know it will be a source of real pride. Congratulations to everyone involved.
Governance and Community Voice
The highlight of my week was sitting with the eleven chairs of our newly re-established WeST Community Councils. Hearing the depth of experience they bring, both in governance and in their local communities, was genuinely energising. I have been a chair of governors myself, so I know what that role asks of people. Having this level of community voice and constructive challenge back at the top table feels like an important step for the Trust. It is one thing to say we value our communities; it is another to create the structures that prove it.
The Lion King at Oreston
At the other end of the week, Performance Club pupils at Oreston took to the stage for The Lion King, and by all accounts it was something special. Children from Years 3 to 6 performed with confidence and joy, some for the very first time on stage, delivering solo songs that genuinely moved the audience. What I particularly loved was a message from Les Allen, one of our WCC chairs, who attended with his wife. He described friends from around Oreston still turning out to watch the school show long after their own children have left for university. That kind of thing tells you something profound about a school's place in its community. Les noted that Pumba was especially good, which I am happy to put on the record.
Outdoor Learning, Sport and Enrichment
Ten Tors weekend saw teams from Ivybridge, Callington and South Dartmoor complete the challenge, with SDCC's 55-mile team crossing the finish line in a college record time of 14:10 on Sunday afternoon. Across our primaries, Buckfastleigh's Year 5 were out in the woods building shelters, while their KS1 children joined a games event at SDCC, a nice example of cross-phase connection. At Chaddlewood, Year 2 are developing their tennis skills week by week with a PSSP coach, and St Breward's Turtles Class have been exploring rockets and space through science experiments and shape work. Wembury pupils took part in the Future Musicians concert and were, by Mrs Booth's account, outstanding.
Curriculum, Careers and Wider Horizons
At Callington, ex-student Charlotte Tait returned to teach British Sign Language for Deaf Awareness Week, and Year 12 physicists took part in a STEM workshop on offshore wind with marine engineer Plymstock welcomed students from Collège Jean Monnet in Brittany for a morning of language exchange, and their Year 10s explored military ration packs with real analytical focus. At Hele's, Year 10 art students are carving responses to Barbara Hepworth after visiting her studio in St Ives, and Coombe Dean's Year 8s completed CPR training with Jay's Aim. These experiences, from sign language to sculpture, from wind turbines to Dartmoor, are what make an education feel genuinely broad.
Looking Ahead
This week I also joined a meeting with the DfE, local authority colleagues and other trust leaders focused on the NEET challenge in Devon, that is, the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training after they leave school. The factors are complex, including rurality, transport and gaps in Level 1 and 2 provision at post-16, and there are no quick answers. But the willingness around the table to understand the problem properly before reaching for solutions felt right. Our Diversity Reference Group also met again, arriving at a clear shared focus: making sure every person in WeST, young people and staff alike, feels listened to and respected, and has a means of raising it when things are not quite right. That connects directly to our value of respect and to the everyday quality of relationships in our schools. We invite you to share your examples of exemplary work within your schools on Equality and Diversity.
Next week I will be paying particular attention to how our exam cohorts are settling into the rhythm of the season, and to the continued work of our WCC chairs as they begin to shape their local priorities. Thank you, as always, for everything you do.
Warm regards,
Nat Parnell
CEO
