As Principal of Merrin School I am proud to be the leader of a school that is passionate, caring and committed to making a difference to the learning of the members of our community.

Year 7 and 8 are special years in every child’s life and I am confident that we provide a programme that reflects this key stage. We aim to inspire our children and this is reflected in a curriculum which has strong values, is future focused and emphasises the skills of a successful lifelong learner. It has been very pleasing to know that when our students progress onto High School they are complimented on their preparedness.

At Merrin we are embracing the aspects of a Modern Learning Environment (MLE) for our students. Self-regulated learning results in our pupils being able to go forward into high school education with confidence that they can deal with any obstacle or difficulty that may come their way. Innovation has become a byword for the planning and implementing of the current curriculum. With the advent of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) we are seeing more engagement from our reluctant learners and a soaring in knowledge and involvement at all learner levels. Within the Senior area our young people are allowed challenge and choice. They are expected to think critically and challenge. At the same time, they learn within an environment based on reciprocal respect.

The Merrin School Values give students a good grounding in who they are and who they want to be. The creation of opportunities to build character and successful opportunities abound in the Year 7 and 8 area. Our Senior students take seriously their roles of responsibility within the school through mentoring, coaching and supporting our younger students.

I have a fabulous Senior Stars Teaching Team that are motivated, energetic and inspiring leaders and role models for our emerging teenagers. They work as one and like any true team give our learners access to the strengths that each individually brings to the team. There is a strong sense of pastoral care, across Merrin School as the teachers really know their students, many of them since they were 5. Having smaller class numbers leads to greater interaction between teachers and students again enhancing the learning experience.