HEADTEACHER LETTER - March 2026
Dear Parents and Carers,
As always, I hope that this letter finds you well. This letter contains important news from the school and key updates as we reach the end of the Spring Term.
Beyond the classroom
As always, we have packed a lot into school life but I would like to highlight the success of our Y9/Y10 Girl’s football team who beat Alleynes 3-1 to win the Staffordshire County Cup final. After many weeks of rehearsals our production of Guys and Dolls Jnr was a spectacular success. The 70 students involved showcased their talents to put on a show that was humorous, moving and simply joyous to watch. Our annual visit to Sir Graham Balfour Cambodia took place during February half term. As well as travelling to Angkor Wat, Phnom Penh and the island of Koh Rong, the students also spent time living in the village of Chi Phat where Sir Graham Balfour Cambodia is located. The 6th Form students who took part in the trip taught lessons in the school, experienced a local wildlife tour and immersed themselves in the Chi Phat community. The visit is a highlight of our 6th Form experience and a great adventure for the students involved. Over Easter we have 55 students flying to Iceland to experience the land of fire and ice and we also have over 50 students making their way to the Alps for a week of skiing. We have lots of activities going on beyond the classroom, so please do make sure that you check the What’s On guide (link - Enrichment - Sir Graham Balfour School) to see what wider opportunities exist for your child to experience.
Staffing Update
We have some good news about the staffing in our Maths and English faculties. Mrs Jones is returning to school following her maternity leave and will resume her teaching in the Maths Faculty and her role as Head of 6th Form. We are also welcoming Mr Kay back to Balfour as our new Lead Teacher for Key Stage 3 Maths. Mr Kay previously worked here from 2009-2015. I would also like to extend a warm welcome to Miss Cregg who is a new appointment to our English Faculty taking over from Mr Gilroy who is now the school’s Head of Alternative Provision.
Year 11 and Year 13 Exams
Our Year 11 and Year 13 students are in the final stages of preparing for their summer exams. The exam period for Year 11 students begins on May 6th and finishes on June 16th. The first A level exam for our Year 13 students is on May 11th, with the final A level exam taking place on June 18th. The Year 11 and Year 13 students will be working hard on their revision over the Easter break and we wish them all the very best as they embark on such a critically important period in their lives.
I would also like to emphasise that a critically important way to support children in all year groups with school and, ultimately, preparation for their exams is to ensure that their attendance is as high as possible. High levels of attendance support excellent exam results. We would all be happy if we got a mark of 90% in an exam, but 90% attendance means having a day off school once a fortnight and causes students to miss a significant amount of learning. This causes gaps in learning that are hard to make up and filters through into exam results. In the 2025 GCSEs, students whose attendance was above 97% achieved, on average, over 1.5 grades higher than students whose attendance was between 85-90%.
- In the 2025 exams students whose attendance was over 97% achieved an average GCSE grade of 5.3.
- In the 2025 exams students whose attendance was between 91-96% achieved an average GCSE grade of 4.7.
- In the 2025 exams students whose attendance was between 85-90% achieved an average GCSE grade of 3.7.
Message from Staffordshire Public Health regarding the Meningitis outbreak in Kent
We have received a letter from the Public Health team at Staffordshire County Council regarding the meningitis outbreak in Kent. They have asked me to send a message to parents containing information and advice in order to address any concerns that you may have. This message has been sent today - please do look out for it. The Public Health team say that the overall risk of Meningitis B (MenB) to people outside the Kent area remains low. If this advice changes then the NHS will issue updates. They add that the main thing that parents and carers can do to address any concerns is to check your child's vaccinations and contact your GP if they need to catch up on their routine vaccination schedule.
Mobile Phones and Social Media
During the Spring Term we have seen an increase in the number of students showing extreme defiance and refusing to hand their phone over for confiscation if they are caught using it inside the building. I do find this attachment to a mobile phone extremely worrying. We have been told by the Department for Education (Mobile phones in schools - GOV.UK) that all schools should be mobile phone free at all times. For Balfour this means that we are planning to tighten our rules around mobile phone use and that, in accordance with the government guidance, students will not be able to use their mobile phones outside the building at break and dinner. I will be in touch with you in due course to communicate how and when this will be introduced, but we do need your backing in confiscating phones if your child is caught using it in school so that we can keep the focus on your child’s learning in the classroom and, at break and lunch, socialising with their friends. We would also greatly appreciate it if you would block access to any social media apps that you allow your child to have during school hours. This NSPCC guidance is really useful in showing how to set these controls up - Use Parental Controls to Keep Your Child Safe | NSPCC.
The Government have launched a consultation on the use of digital technology by children. The consultation is considering the following:
- Setting a minimum age for children to access social media.
- Restricting functionalities on social media which encourage excessive use such as infinite scrolling and autoplay of videos.
- Whether the digital age of consent should be raised.
- How age verification technology can be used.
- Whether the guidance on mobile phone use in schools should be made into law.
- How to better support parents through clearer guidance and simpler parental controls on social media apps.
You can see more details about the consultation and give your opinions here - Growing up in the online world: a national consultation - GOV.UK. The government are also running a trial where 300 teenagers will take part in an experiment where some have their social media apps disabled entirely, some blocked overnight, some capped to one hour of daily use and some with no change at all in order to compare their experiences. The results of this trial will inform the final decisions made about access to digital technology by children. You can read more about the trial here - UK teenagers to trial social media bans and digital curfews - BBC News.
Finally
We want to provide the high-quality teaching, opportunities and care for our students to leave Balfour with the very best GCSE and A level grades possible. All of us here at Balfour are thankful and deeply appreciative for the great support that you provide to your children and to our school. All that leaves me to do is to wish your families a lovely Easter break. We look forward to welcoming your children back into school on Monday 13th April for the final term of the school year.
Yours faithfully
Mr M Mason
Headteacher