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07 December 2017, edition 06 L

ord

Gre

y N

ews

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Dear Staff, Students, Governors, Parents and Friends of Lord Grey School,

I am writing to wish you a Merry Christmas. I hope that everyone has a restful, pleasant and family focused break over the Christmas holidays. We finish on Tuesday 19th December at 12.45pm for our Christmas break, after a very hectic term, and return on Wednesday 3rd January 2018, for students and staff.

We have had a very busy and exhausting first term of the academic year and I know that both staff and students feel ready for a break. It’s been an energetic term with a huge amount of hard work being done in order to reach our target of further raising academic achievement in the face of harder exams. One of the real highlights for the term for me has been the Headteacher’s Awards, which I give out on a Tuesday lunchtime, as this means that I get to meet lots of good students who are doing pleasing things around the school or within their lessons. I very much believe in the ethos of celebrating success and rewarding good students and so Tuesday lunchtimes are the highlight of my week. These are regular reminders to me that the vast majority of Lord Grey students are delightful young people who just want a stable and fulfilling educational experience. We must also say goodbye to the following staff and would like to thank them for all their hard work whilst at Lord Grey and wish them every success for the future. Dean Johnson, Director of Business; Adie Rubino, KS3 Computing Co-ordinator; Vicki Andrews, Classroom Teacher; Hannah-Jayne Horne, Lead Practitioner; Kayleigh Robinson, Head of EAL Department; Amanda Kitching, Learning Support Assistant; Jordan Taylor, IT Technician; Sam Rose, Wellbeing Faculty Technician. We welcome to the team in January 2018- Lidia Arpaia, Teacher of EAL; Leon Pennicooke, KS3 ICT/Computing Co-ordinator; Sarah Francis, Student Services Assistant; Joe Thompson, Cover Supervisor; Lynsey Pollard, Communication Support; Rashmita Shah, Teacher of Maths; Mary Tyler, Teacher of English. Once again, “Merry Christmas” 2017 and “Happy New Year” for 2018 to everyone who is part of the Lord Grey School community.

Tracey Jones, Headteacher

We received a letter from the DfE (Department of Education) on 24 November 2017 that our request to become an academy and join TOVE Learning Trust has been agreed by government and has proceeded to the next stage. At the moment we are all aiming for 1 April 2018 for the new status. We now move on to the legal bits of the process - staff contracts, land agreement, funding agreement and governance arrangements. We are all very excited by this and will keep you posted along the journey. Dr Tracey Jones, Headteacher.

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Paddington Jo joined us on Children in Need Day!

STOP PRESS… STOP PRESS… STOP PRESS… STOP PRESS… STOP PRESS… SO FAR WE HAVE RAISED A STAGGERING AMOUNT OF £1607… FOR CHILDREN IN NEED…

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO SUPPORTED, YOU ARE TRULY AMAZING!

TEENAGE CANCER TRUST VISIT On Wednesday 22 November 2017 , we had the pleasure of welcoming Michael Willis from the Teenage Cancer Trust into school to talk to Year 10 and Year 11 students. Both students and staff

learned facts and figures about the disease and a couple of acronyms to help us remember what to check… There was the ABCDE of moles, with regards to skin cancer, and LUMPS for any other part of the body. The students were extremely receptive to the information they received and were set the task of sharing the acronyms and their meanings with at least five people each - some went straight back to form to complete the challenge! Students also had the opportunity to ask questions and take away literature for themselves. There are spare copies available at Student Services, with Jess Britton our Health & Welfare Officer, Charlotte Carron our School Counsellor and in the SEN Department.

We will look to put on another event for other year groups in the next academic year.

Lord Grey School has again supported Operation Christmas Child and has surpassed the number of filled shoes boxes with a record 67 boxes. This is an absolutely brilliant result.

A big, big thank you to everyone who got involved.

Student Council News

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Careers Base

Lord Grey Careers Base offers information and runs events to stimulate our students into thinking about what they want to do when they leave school. Employment, apprenticeships, college or Sixth Form: there is a wide range of paths open to young people when they leave school. Mrs White, the Independent Careers Adviser, is always available for 1 to 1 careers advice and guidance chats.

RECENT EVENTS

Year 9 learned about different careers Students in Year 9 enjoyed a very different day on 10 November as they took part in a Careers Day. Employers from several Milton Keynes based companies came into the school to talk to the students about their work, and the different experiences they have. Network Rail ran a whole day workshop for some of the students, while others had visits from Managing Directors from Safari MK, Ashe Construction and the English Language House, as well as other entrepreneurs. A very popular session was learning about university life from Northampton University. The day ended with a fun time trying to make a budget stretch – text books or a PlayStation?! Feedback from the Year 9s shows that the day made the majority of them start to think about their future when they leave school.

Going on to more study after school On 23 November, students had the chance to talk to a number of universities and colleges about options for further study after school. We were pleased to see a steady stream of students and their parents/carers, attend the event. They went away with armfuls of literature and several new ideas. Feedback from the visitors included how impressed they were with our students’ ambitions and enthusiasm.

Problem solving with PwC On Wednesday 6 December, PricewaterhouseCoopers came in to the school to talk to students in our Sixth Form about career opportunities with them, solving problems for big businesses. PwC have offices here in Milton Keynes, and their staff work with large corporations across the world. They take on school leavers as well as graduates, and offer work experience days for young people interested in management consultancy.

What’s after Year 11? September 2018 isn’t that far away, and applications for college or Sixth Form should be well underway.

Local schools with Sixth Form places and colleges are holding Open Evenings for anyone interested in A-Levels or other further education. Times and dates are available from the Careers Base in room T17. Mrs White

Independent Careers Adviser

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The Science Club is coming…… in January! …………………………. Are you?

Experiment with

Ice Cubes.

A practical experiment every week… want to know more,

come along and join us.

Mr Bateman and Miss Clark, Science Faculty.

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POETRY COMPETITION - WINNING POEMS Congratulations to Mashkura Begum - Lorenz 02 for coming first.

Saima Bari - Colossus 08 for coming second in the Poetry Competition. Star Points are coming your way!

FREEDOM

Mashkura Begum - Lorenz 02 She absorbs it when in his arms, He feels it looking into her eyes,

Magic felt most when they’re together, And all they do is mesmerize.

Through the air, sun and clouds is where their soul freely flies. He calls it his escape and she wants to stay for the rest of their lives.

Loving is such sweet sorrow. Will this feeling be here tomorrow?

Nothing could every compare These feelings, so blindingly rare.

I call it my freedom, locked within my heart,

And strive to keep it safe, never broken apart.

A CAGE WITHIN MYSELF Saima Bari - Colossus 08

I am caught. Caged.

Captured. My twisted thoughts form a hurricane,

Within my merciless mind. The humane concept of fear

Simple fear – Is creating a cell within my brain.

I search, Eagerly,

For an escape, A route, hoping that it will lead to an exit.

I am unable To get out of this trap;

The trick of the human mind. I turn left.

Then right. Then left again.

The walls are closing in on me, Due to the mere fact,

That I,

Myself, Am losing my own grasp

Of my own freedom.

A practical experiment every week… want to know more,

come along and join us.

Mr Bateman and Miss Clark, Science Faculty.

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News from Colossus Kick Boxing Success (English Contact Karate Association –ECKA)

Nojus competed in an ECKA Competition recently at the Alan Higgs Centre in Coventry.

It was a hard fought competition as Nojus is just over 5 foot tall and he was competing against much taller and heavier opponents!

So, there was smiles all round when he came second in the Fighting category and second in the Continuous Fighting group.

Nojus commented, “I am going to work hard and try to do better in my next competition. Big thanks must go to my sensei (a teacher who is knowledgeable and proficient and experienced in martial arts) for all the things he has done for me.” Many congratulations Nojus, a great achievement.

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International Education Week Students have brought the world into the classroom recently with a series of activities to celebrate International Education Week 2017. The British Council celebrates this International Education Week every year, promoting the benefits of international and intercultural experience to a huge community of teachers, school leaders and their students in the UK and across the world. This year the British Council is focusing on the importance of international skills – particularly language learning - and why they are more important than ever as the UK prepares to leave the European Union. Students at Lord Grey completed a series of activities to encourage them to think globally. Fatema Raheem said, “I discovered that we use French words in the English language; for example the word ‘chauffeur’. I also had the opportunity to make a caramel pudding for Miss Reynolds.” “I made croissants which was really good fun.” Neitonas Stakenas “I learnt that lots of other countries speak French, such as Switzerland, Canada, Belgium, Chad and Madagascar.” Kacey Crawford “I made choux buns and put the French flag on top with icing.” Mo Wajid “I learnt that twenty nine other countries speak French as their first Language.” Connor Ireland Fletcher Ballarin commented, “France has many famous designers such as Coco Chanel and Louis Vuitton. I also taught my parents some French phrases.” Lastly, Miss Reynolds added, “It has been wonderful seeing the students experiment with French cookery at home and listening to French music. Year 7 students have shown enthusiasm and positivity towards their Language studies at Lord Grey which is brilliant! I believe that Languages are invaluable for a generation growing up in an increasingly connected world. If the United Kingdom is to be truly global post-Brexit, languages must become a priority in schools.”

Vicky Gough, Schools Adviser at the British Council, said: “Understanding other cultures and languages has always been important for the UK’s place in the world but now, as Britain repositions itself on the world stage, it is absolutely vital. If we are to ensure that our young people – and the country as whole – keep ahead in the global race, we need to champion language and other international skills as invaluable for a generation growing up in an increasingly connected world.”

NEWS NEWS NEWS fromfromfrom LanguagesLanguagesLanguages

For Kacey’s outstanding international themed homework and extensive research about the French language, she won a fabulous book, ‘My First Thousand Words in French.’ Congratulations Kacey!

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On Tuesday 28 November, we held our very first FREE CPD opportunity for our colleagues in our feeder schools. This was the opportunity to introduce them to the learning journey their current Year 6 students will take as they embark on their next step to secondary education. We had a one hour session giving the staff from our primary schools the opportunity to: Talk to teaching staff from all department areas who

explained the Lower and Upper school curriculum, giving them copies of the overview of schemes of learning to take away.

An overview of the similarities and differences in the delivery of content from primary to secondary.

The opportunity to look at student work from Years 7-11.

The chance to look at a range of GCSE papers, discussing the demands of the questions and how primary knowledge plays its part.

The chance to increase the knowledge and understanding of recent changes in assessment, looking closely at Target Pathways and how students are assessed.

We had great presence from our local schools and it was a very successful evening, and we are all looking forward to meeting up again and working together.

Beyond Key Stage 2:

The Journey to GCSE

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The Lord Grey PE (G)irls (L)eadership (A)nd (M)arketing team known as the GLAM Squad were selected to participate in the Girls Active Festival on Tuesday 21 November at Stoke Mandeville Stadium. The twelve girls took part in numerous practical workshops throughout the day including Zumba, HIIT, Kettlecise, Team Building, Rugby, Taekwondo and Boxercise sessions. They then spent the afternoon planning what activities they are going to introduce back at Lord Grey School to increase enjoyment and participation in girls’ PE. The students demonstrated exemplary behaviour throughout the day and have already made an impact. The squad decided they would be introducing a UV Clubbercise session afterschool. It will be just for girls with glow sticks, UV paint, balloons and lots of dancing in darkness! Look out for further details after Christmas. The GLAM Squad YEAR 9: Dannii Warren Abigail Carter Rosiane Mavuela Ruth Raposo YEAR 10: Ellie Shaw Eden Reeve Maisie Rolfe YEAR 11: Tamia Adjedje Tia Antoine Charles Lauren Hirst Molly Thomas-Conlon Katie Mallaghan Well done to all involved! Miss Webb, Teacher of PE

Active Festival

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On Friday 1 December, the

Lord Grey Knights were

asked to perform at the

Annual Bucks and MK

Sports Awards Evening. This

prestigious event took

place at the Waterside

Theatre in Aylesbury.

Kirsty Ingham the

Marketing and

Communications

Manager

at Leap, approached me

personally to ask if the

school Cheerleaders would

perform as the opening

entertainment. Kirsty had

heard about the team through word of mouth from previous successful public performances.

The girls thoroughly enjoyed being part of the evening and especially the very large personalised dressing

room with lighted mirrors for their make up! The performance itself went extremely well and I have since

received numerous compliments from esteemed guests of the evening; including several local mayors and

one of the special guests, Greg Rutherford - gold medal winner at the 2012 London Olympics.

Unfortunately, I was not able to take the entire twenty two Lord Grey Knights due to travel restrictions.

However, the eight girls who represented Lord Grey School were exemplary in representing their school and

community and I couldn't be more proud of them.

The team on the night - Maisie Rolfe, Eden Reeve, Kacey Cummins, Tasim Mohamed, Rahema Hussain,

Aimee Hendey, Erin Rolfe, Alessia Allen.

Miss McNiff, Teacher of PE and Science.

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Girls Rugby After school, every Tuesday All Years Welcome!

An external qualified coach from the Rugby Football Union (RFU) Bob Hardman will be taking the sessions.

Equipment required: boots and a gum

shield. (Gum shields can be purchased from Sports Direct, Decathlon Sports and any online sports retailer for less than £5).

HOCKEY Year 7 and Year 8 Girls

After school, every Wednesday 3.20pm-4pm

Interested? If yes, please speak with Miss Hussey

in the PE Office or Club Captain, Georgia Potter, Year 7 Enigma and let us know you are

coming!

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Well done to the Year 7 and Year 8 cross country runners who

took part in the Campbell Park Cross Country Event on

Wednesday 22 November.

YEAR 8 GIRLS

Darcy Guy @ 16:03

Remi Martin @ 16:04

Hermione Hilton

Keah Pateman

YEAR 8 BOYS

Nathan Kaye @ 12:57

Mohammed Mahbub

Adam Whitefoot

Tiernan Quinn

YEAR 7 BOYS

Anwar Shepherd

Logan Mead @ 5:54

Jacob Dwight @ 5:53

YEAR 7 GIRLS

Jessica Lawrence

Ceryis Mugford @ 7:01

Blessing Iyamu

Taylor Page

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Tickets are available on the door or from 21 November at Student Services.

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Many congratulations to all the students who have received a Headteacher’s Award.

Very well done and keep up the good work!!

Forename Surname Form Awards

Katie Adams L14 2

Lauren Bebbington E15 1

Ruby Bloomfield E13 1

Ella Bundy C05 1

Kacey Crawford L15 1

Lucy Crouch T03 1

Ebenezer Dua E15 1

Madison Feegan T03 1

Molly Garrard T07 1

Keyleigh Grace L16 1

Ayla Gursoy L04 1

Kelsie Jackson-King L04 1

Hayden James E07 2

Elliott Joseph L09 1

Michael Kyei E03 2

Michael Kyei E16 1

Emilia Moss E07 1

Harmony Osei-O'Connor L09 1

Drew Parson T08 1

Charlie Sellars T13 1

Chloe Smith L08 1

George Southwell-Mckenzie L09 3

Charlotte Steens C14 1

Katelyn-Anne Thomas-Stock T08 1

Blake Tibble C01 1

Kayraba Tourey L02 1

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Year 7 YEAR 7 Chanelle is a hard working student who thrives in the practical environment. Chanelle is well organised and is willing to help others who are struggling within the kitchen. She produces some excellent work which is detailed and shows a clear understanding of all topics in Food Technology. Well done, Chanelle!

Creative Technologies Faculty Student of the Month,

November.

YEAR 8 Miss Palmer has nominated Emmie for her commitment to improving her DT work resulting in a great practical outcome. Well done, Emmie!

YEAR 9 Ms Harper has nominated Phoebe for Year 9 Student of the Month because she has made an excellent start to her GCSE course. She is producing work of an excellent quality and her work ethic is brilliant! Well done, Phoebe!

YEAR 10 Mr Layden has nominated Lauren for Student of the Month because of her excellent work ethic, her conceptual ideas and the great progress she is making with her skills. Well done, Lauren!

YEAR 11 Grace has worked exceptionally hard in Art Textiles since starting back in Year 11 and is producing some unique and stunning experiments. I am really proud of how well she is progressing! Well done, Grace!

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Dear Parents/Guardians

Re: Year 12 and 13 Parents’ Evening – Thursday 14th

December 2017

As a school we are committed to the principle of parent participation. We are keen to work with you to ensure that your child achieves their potential and, in particular, with Year 12 and Year 13 students we are keen to discuss your child’s progress with you at this stage.

In view of this we would like to cordially invite you to a ‘Year 12 and Year 13 Parents’ Evening’ on Thursday 14th December 2017. The event will be held in the Main Hall from 4.30pm to 7.30pm.

You will need to make all appointments to see individual subject teachers online, via Insight (our Parents’ Evening booking system). From Thursday 7th December please log on to our website www.lordgrey.org.uk and click on ‘Insight – For Parents’ which is on the right hand side, top corner. Enter your Username, Password and click on the ‘Log In’ button. If you cannot remember your password, please enter your e-mail OR username at the bottom section and hit the ‘Submit’ button. Your password will be emailed to you instantly. If both methods fail, please contact Student Services via e-mail student.services@lordgrey.org.uk or telephone no. 01908 626157/176.

Please sign in when you arrive. There will be an online questionnaire to enable you to give your views on the evening.

Thank you for your support. We look forward to seeing you. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact your son or daughter’s Academic Mentor.

Yours sincerely

Mr D Smith Director of Sixth Form

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Please return to Academic Mentor by Friday 8th December 2017

Year 12 and 13 Parents’ Evening Thursday 14th December 2017

Student Name: _____________________________ Tutor Group: _________________

I/We* shall/shall not* be attending the Year 12 and Year 13 Parents’ Evening.

*please delete as appropriate

Signature of Parent/Carer: ______________________________ Date: _____________

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YEAR 11 TRIAL EXAMINATIONS

MONDAY 4 DECEMBER 2017 TO

MONDAY 18 DECEMBER 2017

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Follow us on Instagram to see some of the great work LG students are do-

ing in Art, Textiles and DT!

IG: lgartdept

IG: lgdtdept

IG: sketchbookswap1

ART AND TEXTILE STUDENTS

Stuck for an artist? Need some inspiration?

Follow: Lord Grey School Art Department (lgartdept) on

Pinterest!

To all parents and students/ex students of Lord Grey that I have taught

I started here in July 2005 as a new teacher and have enjoyed every minute of being at Lord Grey School, conveying my passion for English. I’ve had the privilege to teach thousands of different local students over the years and have been proud of so many of you. I have seen lots go

through to university which is wonderful.

I am leaving in December for a promotion to go to be an Associate Assistant Vice Principal leading on Teaching and Learning at another school. I would like to thank all the parents and students who I have worked with over the years and wish you all happy and successful futures. I will very much miss Lord Grey. Always remember: work hard,

be kind and achieve the very best you can.

Ms H-J Horne

Lead Practitioner, Assistant Head of English

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We are always looking at ways to help you achieve

your full potential. Lord Grey has subscribed to SAM

Learning which is an online learning package which

has materials for SATS, GCSEs and A Levels. The

resources available on the system are very good, and

have the advantage that they can be accessed

anywhere where there is an INTERNET connection, at

home, in the LRC, public libraries as well as in lessons.

Independent research shows that provided students

use the materials for more than 10 hours in total then

it will boost SAT and GCSE grades.

So how do you get started?

The Web address is: www.samlearning.com

Every student has a unique user ID.

To discover yours follow these simple instructions!

CENTRE ID: MK3LG

USER ID: your date of birth followed by your two initials

e.g. the user ID for DAVID JONES, born on the 1 August

1985 would be 010885DJ

PASSWORD: This is the same as your USER ID but you

can change this once you have logged on for the first

time.

The system is not meant to substitute the work that you

do in class with your teacher, or homework that has

been set by your teachers. It is meant to complement

and enhance your learning and revision skills—by

completing exam style questions you will get better at

exams and having to mark your own work will help you

understand exactly what the examiners want in an

answer.

Screen

sho

t of th

e web

site sho

win

g so

me o

f the

activities you

can access.

If you do not know your login or password or are having any problems accessing SAM Learning please go to the SAM Learning Clinic with Dr Nourshargh on Tuesday at Tutor Time in the Science Office next to S04.

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SCHOOL YEAR 2017/2018 Open to students on the morning of:

Closed at the end of afternoon on:

Term 1 2017 Wed 6 September Fri 20 October

Half Term Holiday Mon 23 October Fri 27 October

Term 2 2017 Mon 30 October Tue 19 December

Christmas Holiday Wed 20 December Tues 2 January

Term 3 2018 Wed 3 January Fri 9 February

Half Term Holiday Mon 12 February Fri 16 February

Term 4 2018 Mon 19 February Fri 23 March

Easter Holiday Mon 26 March Friday 6 April

Term 5 2018 Mon 9 April Fri 25 May

Half Term Holiday Mon 28 May Fri 1 June

Term 6 2018 Mon 4 June Fri 20 July

Teacher Training Days: the school will be closed to students. 04 September 2017, 05 September 2017, 24 November 2017, 04 July 2018, 23 July 2018.

Bank Holidays: the school will be closed. 25 December 2017, 26 December 2017, 01 January 2018, 30 March 2018, 02 April 2018, 07 May 2018, 27 August 2018.

2017/2018

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News from the Community

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Dates for your diary

4 December 2017 - 18 December 2017 Year 11 Trial Exams.

13 December 2017

Christmas Lunch in the Canteen

Lunch tickets available to purchase at Student Services -

£3

14 December 2017 Year 12 & Year 13 Parents’ Evening

18 December 2017 Royal Academy Arts Trip

20 December 2017 - 2 January 2018

Christmas Holidays

3 January 2018 Students & staff return

to school.

KEEPING IN TOUCH WE MAY NEED TO

CONTACT YOU. In the ever changing world of mobile phones it is important to have good communication between home and school. Could you please ensure that you keep us up to date with regards to any changes to your mobile and home phone numbers as well as address and email detai ls , plus any updates on medical information. You are able to do this by using your son or daughter’s Student Planner or by contacting Student Services on 01908 626176/01908 626167 or emailing them:

student.services@lordgrey.org.uk

Get all our latest news instantly on Twitter

Join us now – Lord Grey School is on Twitter! We are very excited about this and hope it will provide an additional network for the school to communicate to the wider school community. We are slowly incorporating social networking platforms within school to give instant information and many tweets

will be just simple reminders and diary dates. Our account is strictly monitored and our Social Media Policy is in place and will be posted on the website in due course. If you have any concerns or indeed suggestions of what you would like to see on our Twitter feed, please email us: enquiries@lordgrey.org.uk We do hope you find this a very useful addition to our communication channels.

Happy Tweeting.

Twitter: @lordgreyschool

Lord Grey School, Rickley Lane, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, MK3 6EW

Telephone: 01908-626110 ● Website: www.lordgrey.org.uk ● Email: enquiries@lordgrey.org.uk ● Twitter: @lordgreyschool

Our Core Values: Ambitious Determined Respectful Successful