During Harvest Dr Thomlinson CofE Middle School has always supported Alnwick District Food Bank through donations of tinned food from our Parents/Carers.  This year – due to the Coronavirus Pandemic – we ask our parents/carers to continue to support Alnwick District Food Bank through a monetary donation  that can be made via this link.

Dear Parent/Carer

Dr Thomlinson CofE Middle School – Virtual Open Evening

As your child is now in Year 4 and will be moving on to the next phase of their education in September 2021 we wanted to share some information with you about our school and how to apply for a place.

It is of great disappointment that due to the current situation regarding COVID-19 we are unable to offer the opportunity for you to come and visit the school in person. However, in order to help you make an informed decision about which school to apply to, we have produced a set of resources and information about the school.

• Open Evening Presentation
• Prospectus
• Tour of the School

You can also view our school website here.  We really hope you get a flavour of our school through these resources.

The portal for applying for Middle School places in Northumberland is now open and closes at midnight on Wednesday 31 October 2020.  Further information about the admissions process can be found by following the link here. Final confirmation regarding the allocation of places is made on Monday 1 March 2021.

If you have any questions or queries relating to any of this information please do not hesitate to contact us on 01669620287 or via email at [email protected].

Yours faithfully,

Liam Murtagh – Headteacher

8 October 2020

An individual in school has received a positive coronavirus test on 7 October 2020 and the students and staff who have been in close contact in the past 48 hours are isolating for 14 days.  The school contacted DFE/PHE immediately and they are providing the school and Trust with advice and guidance on both the isolating group and the continuing safety of staff and students attending school.

DFE/PHE have confirmed that they are happy that our existing arrangements continue to provide a safe environment for the remaining staff and students in school and that the school’s rapid reaction to the positive test has helped to prevent further transmission of the infection.

Please be assured that the school is taking every precaution to prevent transmission of the virus for the safety of our staff and students

It has been confirmed to us today that there has been a positive case of COVID-19 within the school.

We have been in contact with Public Health England and have followed all their advice in relation to the case.  We are continuing to monitor the situation and will communicate any further information we receive.

The small number of students who have been in direct prolonged contact with the confirmed case have been contacted and have also received an individual letter. They will be staying at home for 14 days.

The school remains open and your child should continue to attend if they remain well.

Please be assured that the school continues to take all advised precautions to prevent transmission of the virus for the safety of our staff and students.

The letter sent to all parents/carers this afternoon can be found here.

The NHS have produced a guide for parents to help them decide whether or not they should send their child(ren) to school. It covers a multitude of symptoms/ailments, as well as COVID-19 symptoms.

You can find the guide here.

Public Health England have produced a letter for schools to distribute to parents which explains when a person requires a coronavirus test and what the symptoms of coronavirus are.

The intention of the letter is to help prevent children being taken out of school unnecessarily and answer some of the questions parents may have around testing.

The letter, issued to parents/carers, can be read here

The news of recent national and local restrictions following the rise of positive Covid 19 tests has added further uncertainty to these very difficult times. It is the intention of the government to keep schools open and as you are aware we have put a wide range of measures in place to ensure our schools are as safe as they can be. You can read the specific school plan and risk assessment for your child’s school by visiting the school website. We keep these plans under constant review, and we have tweaked some aspects of the measures since the start of term.

The letter from Mr Simon Taylor, can be read in full here