Our first year at Orange Tree
It gives me great pleasure to write this at what feels like a seminal moment in the Orange Tree story. We have just come to the end of what was the first academic year of the Orange Tree's existence. While it wasn't quite a 'full' academic year (that accolade will have to go to the upcoming 2022/23 year), this only makes me more astounded by our achievements as a school community. I thought I would take this moment to reflect upon the year that has passed and also look forward to the year ahead.
Where to begin? This time last year, the Orange Tree School was little more than a name and an empty church building. Since then, the building has (almost) been completed, a whole team of staff have joined, we received an "Outstanding" rating from Ofsted, and we already have a small number of students on roll - with many more to come!
Some personal highlights for me have to be our whole school events days in which students get taken off timetable for a themed days centred around an important subject, idea or event. The first of these was the day in celebration of the Queen's platinum jubilee (which you can read more about here), but there was also Pride Day, Stem Day, and the End of year reward's trip. All of these emphasised not only the power of combining different subjects in a common theme, but also the special coming together of the whole community and sharing in a common goal.
Setting aside these bigger events equally rewarding has been the many moments that I have seen and experienced in the day to day life of the school - a student understanding a concept for the first time, another smiling with pride at the work they have produced, the look of respect between students and the teacher. I have always felt that there is a special feeling in the air when students are happy and engaged with their education - a feeling that seems to permeate throughout the whole of the school, energising students and teachers alike.
To be sure, the road has not always been smooth and I would be lying if I said that there weren't times that I was frustrated. But despite the growing pains of delayed building works, waiting on planning and regulations, and slowly building our profile amongst the community, I can safely say that our path is a good one. All this is helped by the fact that I am surrounded by a group of people that care for the school and for one another deeply.
I speak here, of course, about the wonderful staff that - much like our student cohort - have slowly grown in number and ability over the course of the past few months. A school, or any organisation for that matter, is only ever as good as the people who make it function and this is the area where I feel our greatest strength lies. From teachers to support staff, everyone believes deeply in the importance of what they do and this demonstrates itself clearly in not only the way that they interact with students, but how they interact with one another.
Some of the most invaluable discussions have come from our staff meetings in which we collectively voice our observations, opinions, and actions and see where we can continually improve, driven by the understanding that this is what is best for the students. I have already learnt so much from my peers and look forward to learning even more as we continue to grow our team.
Looking ahead to the weeks, months, and years ahead, the main milestone in the near future will be the grand opening of the main building which we expect to happen very shortly. This move will enable OTS to grow our community, allow teachers to enhance their lessons even further, and give students a far greater range of opportunities both academically and socially.
Though we will continue to grow both in numbers and in our capabilities, moving from strength to strength in what we can offer OTS students, I firmly believe that we will never lose our character that is already so evident. OTS will be a school that is large enough to enable our students to thrive, yet small enough to care for their needs.
I want to thank you everyone who is already a part of the Orange Tree journey so far. It may not seem like it, but each and every one of you has helped to give shape to the school that the Orange Tree is and will become. I also want to reach out to any potential students, families, and local authorities and mention that If any of you wish to speak with me personally, whether by phone, email, or in person, please do not hesitate.
I hope you all have a wonderful summer and very much look forward to seeing you when the next year begins.