Charlton School

As we reach the end of another academic year, I am writing to remind you that students finish for the summer at our normal time on Thursday 17th July. School will be locked, and all students need to be offsite by 3.30pm on this day. Please ensure students are collected by this time, as there will be no supervision on site in case of an emergency.

It is with a very heavy heart that I write my last letter to you. As you know, I will be moving on to take over as Principal of a large school with a sixth form in Walsall. I have thoroughly enjoyed my little over nine years as Principal of Charlton School, having been part of the team that has moved the school forward from its Ofsted judgement of inadequate in 2015 to securely good in all areas in 2023.

The school continues to go from strength to strength and is becoming ever more popular. We were the only non-selective school in Telford this year that increased both the number of 1st choice preferences and overall applications to the school. Every year group is full or over capacity, with a waiting list to join, I regularly attend appeals from parents who want their children to transfer to Charlton from other schools.

As I have said in many letters, time never slows down, and the last nine years have been a bit of a blur, and I have so many fond memories of my time here. The ones that particularly stick out are our extra-curricular activities, remembrance assemblies, our school shows, dance events, Charltonbury, sports days, success in sport at county and district levels, our D of E programme, and our many trips. Alongside these, it is a joy to see our students being successful academically and, more importantly the responsible, respectful young adults they become through their time at Charlton.

It hasn’t all been plain sailing, I hadn’t expected to have to lead the school through a world pandemic, people still don’t believe me to this day when I tell them, like the rest of the country I had to wait to watch the briefings on the television and then put plans in place based on what was said. I know our school community was grateful for the guidance we gave through the most challenging of times.

My time in numbers; I have had the pleasure of being the principal for over 3000 students and to work with over 300 members of staff, including 16 different senior leaders. I have been blessed to have had the most amazing senior team colleagues, whilst they haven’t always agreed with the decisions I have made (it is healthy to have different opinions!), I have always had their unwavering support. Being a principal can be a lonely job at times, especially in the early days where you must earn the respect of everyone at the school, and we could not have achieved what we have without their full support and dedication to the school.

We are lucky to have such an amazing and committed staff body, teachers (some of the best I have ever seen in 27 years in education), teaching support staff, pastoral managers, admin team, lunch supervisors, the site team who all work tirelessly in the best interests of our students and school.

I am indebted to all my colleagues for their support. Next year we will again be fully staffed, with specialists in all areas, no mean feat considering the recruitment crisis in education. Again, testament to the strength and reputation of the school in the community.

Looking forward to next year, please find some updates below:

Staffing
As is always the case at this time of year, we have to say goodbye to several colleagues, in addition to myself! From the teaching staff we have leaving, Miss Hazir, Mr Chipping, Mr Dupree, Mrs Ghosh, Mr Antliff, Mr Simms, Mrs Perrott, Mrs Hamilton-Jahn, Mrs Gaston and Mrs Candlin. From the support staff, we have Mrs Wood (Reception), Miss Bishton (Teaching Assistant) and Mr Rooke, who is moving to work with the LCT, so will still be working with us but from a different building (IT/Programme Analyst).

Moving forward to next year Mrs Barton is joining as the new Principal, she has been in several times already, meeting staff and students. Joining her as teachers will be Miss Drew (Head of Geography), Mr Johnson (Head of Computer Science), Mrs Toulson (Maths), Miss Elrod (Science), Mr Lloyd (Science), Mr Sissons (History and RE), Miss Dubocquet (MFL). Support staff joining us are Miss McCormick (Reception), Miss Cox (Teaching Assistant), Mrs Bassett (Teaching Assistant) and Miss Hall (Teaching Assistant).

Return to School September 2025
In September Year 7 and Year 11 only will start back on Wednesday 3rd September, with the rest of the school returning on Thursday 4th September. This is to support the transition of our new cohort.
For one final time, please can I take this opportunity to thank you all for the support you have shown me in my nine years as Principal and thank you for the many positives messages I have received since my leaving was announced. It has been an honour and a privilege to be given the responsibility of leading such a great school with a brilliant cohort of staff and students. I will watch with pride as it continues to go from strength to strength.

Have a wonderful summer holiday and I wish you all the very best for the future.

Yours faithfully,
Mr A McNaughton
Principal