Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Our open events are now complete. Whilst they were designed to help parents and carers to decide whether Bohunt Horsham is the right school for their child, they have also been a great way for me to meet prospective parents and children and start to get a sense of the school community we are building.
It has been lovely to meet so many families who are as excited about the new school as I am and to meet so many children, all of whom have something unique to bring to our first year group. The first year group in a new school always have a particularly special place in the hearts of the staff members and I can already tell this cohort will be full of talent and diversity. I have been overwhelmed with the positive responses to our open mornings at Bohunt Worthing and so I am grateful to all the families who were willing to make the journey to see a Bohunt school in action.
Meeting the families who are considering joining us has been such a highlight for me on this first leg of our adventure; it’s the people that make a school a school, the students, parents and staff and it’s so exciting to see the school become a reality. Alongside the open events this term, I have been working on preparations for our temporary accommodation in Arun House and on the design and facilities for our permanent school on Rusper Road. We’ve made great progress with the preparations for Arun House this last week, with the support of the Department for Education and Horsham District Council, we have ensured we will have a high standard specialist learning spaces for the subjects that need them such as science and art, that we have an excellent standard of access to technology in all classrooms right from the first day of term. We also have a clear plan for ensuring the security of the site with fencing, CCTV and a secure access point at reception.
Transport to and from both the temporary and permanent sites has quite rightly been raised by prospective parents and carers at open events and through our consultation processes. This is one of my key priorities for the next few weeks. I am meeting with local community members and stakeholders local to Arun House to make a travel plan for our school in collaboration with Horsham District Council planning officers. We will work together to ensure we can deliver a travel plan that is safe and convenient for all local road users.
I am keen to work with our parent and carer community in making the decisions that will determine the kind of school we create; as such, I am pleased to be able to offer parents and carers bookable drop in slots for a one to one meeting with me over the next few weeks. The meeting room is in Park House, which is centrally located in Horsham, very close to the train station and to the site of the temporary school. There is parking nearby in the Pavilions Car Park. I have emailed all parents and carers who have made an application to Bohunt Horsham with information about how to book a drop-in meeting.
Our deadline for applications – January 31 – is approaching fast and so my focus will soon turn to staffing our new school. I can’t wait to meet the applicants and to find the right people to join our team. Both teaching and non-teaching posts will start to appear on the website, on the TES and on local job sites very soon so if you’re interested in joining us, keep your eyes peeled. As a member of staff, choosing the right school is almost as tough a decision as it is for parents so anyone interested in joining our team will also be given the chance to come and have a look around Bohunt Worthing and get a look at the Bohunt vision of ‘enjoy respect achieve’ in reality.
There is lots of exciting progress to come for Bohunt Horsham. I will continue to blog on the website and you can keep up to date by following us on social media, on Twitter: @BohuntH and on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bohuntH/
