School term dates 2023/2024

Dear all parents and carers
Download the letter/calendar - Letter to Parents - Term & INSET days 2023-24
School term dates 2023/2024
I do hope this letter finds you well. The key term dates and INSET days have now been planned out for the next academic year and are summarised below. You will also find the academic year calendar on the back of this letter. The dates of the holidays are the same for the whole Prestatyn cluster as fixed by Denbighshire CC, but due to the primary cluster training requirements only 3 of the 6 INSET days coincide.

Autumn term 1

INSET days (1&2) - Friday 1st and Monday 4th September 2023
Pupils return to school - Tuesday 5th September to Friday 27th October 2023
Half term30th October to 3rd November 2023

 

Autumn term 2

INSET day (3)Monday 6th November 2023
Pupils return to school - Tuesday 7th November to Friday 22nd December 2023
Christmas Holiday25th December to 5th January 2024

 

Spring term 1

INSET day (4)Monday 8th January 2024
Pupils return to school - Tuesday 9th January to Friday 9th February 2024
Half term12th February to 16th February 2024

 

Spring Term 2

Pupils return to schoolMonday 19th February to 22nd March 2024
Easter Holiday25th March to 5th April 2024

 

Summer term 1

INSET day (5)Monday 8th April 2024
Pupils return to schoolTuesday 9th April to 24th May 2024
Mayday bank holidayMonday 6th May 2024
Half term27th May to 31st May 2024

 

Summer term 2

Monday 3rd June to Thursday 18th July 2024
INSET day (6)Friday 19th July 2024

 

End of the academic year.
Please note that the calendar of events for the year will be published in September 2023. Please contact the school if you have any questions about the dates provided.
Yours faithfully
Neil Foley – BSc, MA
Pennaeth/Headteacher

ROA 2023

The traditional end of year school Record of Achievement award ceremony took place on Wednesday 10th May, 2023. For the first time, the event was held at the newly named 'Neuadd Mathew Williams', and we celebrated our amazing Year 11 cohort, recognising their achievements over the past five years.
This year has been a very successful one here at PHS, and we also marked another first after extensive consultation with the pupils in Year 11.
The pupils voted unanimously to adopt a 'prom' style event in favour of a gala style award ceremony. The prom will take place after the summer exams at the Faenol Fawr.
During the ROA, the formal presentations of the awards to all pupils were punctuated by amazing vocal performances from Ruby Brown and Josh Thomas Wills and also a virtuoso piano performance by the exceptionally talented Alex Williams.
"It is fantastic to see so many talented young people with great futures ahead of them."
Neil Foley - Headteacher
 
During the event, there were special individual awards for some of our extra special Year 11 students who have achieved something fantastic over their time with us.
 
Attendance Award – Sofia Jones
Community Achievement Award – Aimee Roberts & Alex Williams
PHS Sporting Achievement Award – Alfie Lewis, Euan Luke & Alex Young 
 
The Headteacher's Award was presented to Seth Morris. Ross Howcroft Jones, Head of Year 11 said:
“This award winner is someone who leaves a lasting impression on those he meets. He joined our school five years ago as an enthusiastic and inquisitive boy and it has been a pleasure to watch him develop this potential into the high achieving, well-rounded young man he has become. A very popular pupil, he approaches every part of life with motivation and determination, excelling in maths and the sciences. It is with pride and pleasure that we present this award to someone who truly embodies everything that is great about our school”.
 
 
The event was rounded off by a humorous and nostalgic Year 11 Ambassadors' speech. This was delivered by Grace Mullan and Daniel Hannah.

Estyn Inspection Report

Prestatyn High School is extremely proud of its recent Estyn report and the recognition by inspectors of the tireless work of so many teachers to ensure the best possible education for the young people of Prestatyn.
Headteacher, Mr Neil Foley, said “it is pleasing to see that the high standards achieved by pupils are recognised despite all the obstacles they have faced over the last few years, this is testament to the exceptional efforts and support of all staff.”

In the report, inspectors commented on how Prestatyn High School pupils were proud to belong to an inclusive school and described the school as being homely and wholesome. Pupils also commented on how they felt safe in school and enjoyed their learning.

In the report, Estyn described Prestatyn High School as being an:
“Inclusive learning community where pupils and staff work closely and effectively as a team and these relationships form the heartbeat of the school".
"The headteacher and his senior team have worked well to establish a culture of high expectations for all".
As part of the inspection process, the inspectors commented on the school’s effective practices and also identified a few areas to develop. The school is extremely pleased with the report and will use its findings to further enrich learners' experiences and outcomes.
The school would like to thank the pupils, parents, staff, governors, GwE and Denbighshire local authority for their support in ensuring such a positive inspection visit.

Read the report | Visit Estyn online

Emergency Alerts

I’m sure you are all aware that On Sunday 23 April 2023 at 3pm, there will be a national test of the UK Emergency Alerts service. Emergency Alerts is a UK government service that will warn you if there’s a danger to life nearby.   In an emergency, your mobile phone or tablet will receive an alert with advice about how to stay safe.

Emergency alerts will only be sent by the emergency services, government departments, agencies and public bodies that deal with emergencies.

The alert will say:

This is a test of Emergency Alerts, a new UK government service that will warn you if there’s a life-threatening emergency nearby.

In an actual emergency, follow the instructions in the alert to keep yourself and others safe.

Visit gov.uk/alerts for more information.

This is a test. You do not need to take any action.

We are sharing this information as you may wish to discuss it with pupils so that they don’t worry as all mobile phones and tablets will sound the alert even if on silent.

To avoid being put at risk, people experiencing domestic abuse, who for their safety have a secret or secondary mobile phone, are being advised to turn off Emergency Alerts.   Refuge has made this video explaining how to turn off the emergency alerts on both Android and iPhone.

Further information is available on the Denbighshire website.

Festival of Culture and Diversity

Dear Parents and Carers,

Download the letter - Festival letter 22-3-23

Last academic year, we provided you with information about the school’s anti-discrimination campaign: Discrimination: It stops with me. Since then, the campaign has been growing and building momentum. We have an inspirational group of young people supporting the school’s progress with the campaign. We have enhanced our procedures to address discrimination and we now have a bespoke curriculum called ‘Social Responsibility’ which allows us to educate our young people about being responsible and respectful citizens, as well as tackling many relevant issues and topics. We have had many opportunities to celebrate our success, ranging from our young people receiving a Police and Crime Commissioner’s Award, sharing good practice with other schools in the area, and we are awaiting a visit from the Education Minister of Wales, Jeremy Miles. As always, we are working with local partners and external agencies to support effective delivery and to ensure that our young people are receiving the very best in personal and social education at Prestatyn High School. Further information about the campaign can be found on our website.

 

We wanted to let you know that next week we have some exciting plans to celebrate diversity and culture, starting with a visit from the Police and Crime Commissioner on 27th March. During the week, students will take part in activities to celebrate cultures from around the world and they will positively focus on diversity with a variety of workshops and activities. These workshops will range from Jamaican cooking, Mandarin lessons, Irish dancing and African drumming. The week is going to be an exciting week of celebration which will also include our PHS Awards’ Evening. Students can also enjoy the new diversity mural that has been painted in school by a local artist. This signifies our student voice in a stand against discrimination and is a joyful representation of the celebration of our school community and the amazing people that make this community great.

 

At the end of the festival, on Friday 31st March, students are invited to come to school in their own clothes, as it will be a non-school uniform day. Students are encouraged to wear dress that represents their culture or character in a visual celebration of diversity that all of the school community can get involved in. Students are asked to donate £1 or bring in a can of food for this non-school uniform day. This will help the school support the local food bank and local charities.

 

We know that discrimination and hate are present at times in our community, Wales, and around the world. If we all work together, we can take a stand and drive out discrimination wherever we find it, step by step and lesson by lesson. It stops with us! Many thanks for your continued support.

 

Yours faithfully,

Mrs C Turner
Deputy Headteacher

Mrs K Garside
Head of Social Studies

Free school meals extended to April and May holidays

The WLGA has welcomed the Welsh Government’s announcement that Free School Meal provision will continue to be available to children from lower income families for the Easter and Whitsun school holidays.
£9m has been invested to help councils offer nutritious meals to eligible pupils up until the end of May half term holiday, including all bank holidays during this period.

Councillor Ian Roberts (Flintshire), WLGA Education Spokesperson said:

“So many families hit hard by the current cost of living will be benefited by the extension of free school meals.

“I am so proud of the work our councils have done, and will continue to do, to ensure those eligible get this vital support.

“This is another example of how communities benefit from close co-operation between local and Welsh governments.

LLS – Women Who Lead

Female students from LLS Online Prestatyn and prospective students from Prestatyn High School were invited to Calderstones Park in Liverpool to attend the second annual Women Who Lead event.
This was an opportunity for the girls to hear the stories of some inspirational women from the world of sport, begin to develop a professional network and have some fun with other like minded girls from the nationwide LLS group.
They also got to watch Bianca Cook, British Taekwondo athlete and 3 time world champion, lead a practical demonstration and then meet with her afterwards.
It was a great occasion celebrating International Women's Day 2023.

School term dates 2022/2023

Dear all parents and carers - Download the letter Letter to parents changes to term dates & INSET days 2022-23

I do hope this letter finds you well.

There have been two changes to the calendar for the remaining academic year.

The first is the addition of an extra bank holiday day on the 8th May to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III.

 

The second change is the addition of an extra INSET day on the 23rd June. This has been allocated to all schools by Welsh Government for the planning and delivery of the new curriculum. We have chosen this date for the additional INSET day as it falls after the exams are over. You will also find the amended academic year calendar on the back of this letter.

 

Spring Term 2

Easter Holiday – 3rd April to 14th April 2023

 

Summer term 1

INSET day (4) – Monday 17th April 2023

Pupils return to school – Tuesday 18th April to 26th May 2023

Mayday bank holiday – Monday 1st May 2023

Coronation bank holiday – Monday 8th May 2023

Half term – 29th May to 2nd June 2023

 

Summer term 2

Monday 5th June to Wednesday 19th July 2023

INSET day (5) – Friday 23rd June 2023

INSET day (6) – Thursday 20th July 2023

End of the academic year.

 

 

Please contact the school if you have any questions about the dates provided.

Yours faithfully

 

Neil Foley – BSc, MA
Pennaeth/Headteacher