Services

We provide, at the moment, two ongoing services to pupils, the school and parents. We are always looking for new ways to help make a stronger community or to provide unique skills training to the girls – if you have an idea please contact one of the committee members.

Class Reps

With the school’s support we have established a system of Class “Reps” in place across both the Senior and Junior School. A Class Rep is a parent willing to help support communication to and from school for certain activities as well as between parents. The key way this happens is to create and distribute a class list of parents contact details.

In addition, any social activity the Class Reps can organise for the parents helps build your network and allows you a chance to compare notes.

If you volunteer to be a Class Rep we will give support, provide advice and contact information of other Class Reps in your year and beyond. We may ask for your help from time to time in canvassing parent opinion on issues we are addressing with the school or to help ask for volunteers for events.

We know that life and its demands changes and we appreciate that you may only feel you can be a class rep for one year. That’s okay with us – we can work with any “retiring” class rep to find a suitable replacement.

 Cycle Training

This course helps ensure our girls' safety on the roads by assisting them to cycle safely by improving their skills, knowledge, attitude, behaviour and hazard awareness on the roads.

• Who can take the training? Any girl in Lower III and, if there enough spaces available, girls from Upper III
• When? It is run during Summer term.
• What does it involve? There are 5 lessons of 2 hours on Saturday mornings run by a team of parent volunteers. The girls take 2 tests at the end - a written Highway Code test and a cycling test (assessed by an external examiner). The cycling test takes place on one of our approved road sites, during school time. Girls that reach the required standard will receive a certificate and a badge.
• Exactly what will the girls learn?

1. How to ride their bicycle under full control, at all times.
2. How to maintain their bikes in a roadworthy condition and to identify faults that can affect safety.
3. The Highway Code - learning and practising the relevant parts and how road users should communicate
4. The correct procedures for the most common manoeuvres.
5. The ability to recognise hazards and to make appropriate action to avoid them.
6. Understand the need for being visible while cycling and the benefit of wearing a helmet.

• How can your child apply? Easy! Just respond to the letter sent to LIII parents in the Autumn term.

 Requirements: Each girl must have a cycle and helmet that is the correct size for her; when seated on the cycle the balls of both feet must be able to touch the ground, the helmet must be adjusted to fit very closely see the attached advice notes. All sessions will start in Cintra Avenue at 10am.

The course is conducted under the authority of Reading Borough Council; hence all our volunteers have been fully trained and passed the required security checks.

If you have any questions or if any parents are interested in helping or co-ordinating the course please contact: cycling@aspa.org.uk

Cycle Training 2010 Dates Watch this space!