Annwyl pawb
You may have seen coverage of the updated budget proposal from Monmouthshire County Council for 2024-25, which removes the previously stated intent for Monmouthshire schools collectively to find cuts of £835,000 next financial year. This is undoubtedly a much improved situation for schools, although, of course, wider and long-term funding pressures remain in education. I am very grateful indeed to every person who responded to the consultation, who started social media groups, who highlighted the issue to others and who amplified our collective voice in other ways. The strength of feeling has certainly made a difference, as the response from the Leader of the Council made clear. A particular note of thanks to our Student Council, superbly led by our Head Students, who attended budget consultation meetings and wrote an impassioned letter advocating for future generations. The future of political discourse is safe in their hands, I think.
We are aware of the significant traffic issues around Monmouth at the moment, which are causing widespread delays to the start of the school day here, as well as affecting other local schools and businesses. We are working with other agencies to try and ameliorate the situation, and we are hopeful that there will be improvements as soon as possible, and before the end of the planned works. We are trying to take the traffic problems into account when discussing punctuality with students at the start of the school day, as we recognise that many of these current issues are out of your control.
All the best for the weekend to come.
Hugo Hutchison
Headteacher
