Dear all

I would like to send you all very best wishes from every one at the Bluecoat Meres Academies for the upcoming Easter weekend. These are challenging times. History is being made and in the future people will be learning all about what’s happening to us now and how we managed the changes to our daily life.

During the period of the Academy closures, on-line work for our children and students continues to be updated regularly. I would ask all parents/carers to encourage and monitor the completion of the on-line activities on a daily basis. This will ensure that when we re-open your child is well placed to resume their learning and to make the best possible progress in school. At the time of writing there has been no indication from the Department of Education of when schools will re-open and I am sure that we will all hear on the national news once a decision has been made by the government.

I asked our Academy Chaplain, Father Jonnie, to kindly provide a message about the importance of Easter Sunday to all Christians and it is a message that is particularly relevant to us all at this time. He writes that:

“On Easter Sunday we celebrate that Jesus rose from the dead and burst out of the tomb, that love and life and light are ultimately stronger than the grave. If Holy Week feels very real, then perhaps Easter Sunday feels very distant. It is at best a promise or a rumour, a whisper in the dark we don’t dare to believe. I shall be praying for you, and looking forward to the time we can be together again and celebrate the victory of life, hope, light and love, and give thanks for the many people who have shown love and courage.”

I was recently reading an article by an inspirational historian and TV presenter Lucy Worsley who explained that ‘Once you appreciate that everything changes all the time, there is hope that the world will be better again.’ We are living through a period when it is very important to remain positive, to be kind and hopeful, and to find joy in the world around us. We can’t be certain of exactly when, but what we do know is that we will overcome the Coronavirus and that normality will return.

I would like to offer my very best wishes for the Easter Weekend and please remember it is very important that we continue to follow government guidelines on social distancing and staying at home to support our NHS.

God bless and take care.

Mark Fowle

Interim Chief Executive Officer