Dear Parents/Carers,

  Our first term has gone remarkably quickly. Classes have settled well and the lovely weather has meant we have been able to make good use of the field. Parents consultation evenings went well but if you have not managed to meet your child’s teacher yet do contact us after the autumn break.

  Sadly we are saying goodbye to two members of our staff this week. Miss White is leaving us to go to another job. She has worked with us a TA and midday supervisor for a number of years and I know the children will all miss her as will the staff. Mrs Coetsee is moving away from the area and will also be missed.

St. Leonard's Church of England School was founded in 1830 by Mrs. Elizabeth Bur-ton, the wife of James Burton, the architect of St Leonards on Sea. The School opened in the crypt of the St Leonards Assembly Rooms, now the Masonic Hall.

In 1834 the School moved to new buildings in Mercatoria and remained there until 1977, when it was transferred to purpose built premises at Collinswood Drive. The new School was first used on January 11^th 1978 and officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother on 14^th June 1978.

It was at this time that the School entered into partnership with the East Sussex Council and was established as a Church of England Voluntary Controlled School, maintaining its close links with St. Leonards Parish Church and the Diosecan Board of Education.

The buildings were substantially extended in 1987 by the addition of a second assembly hall, five classrooms and an additional library. Since that time there have been three further phases of building works, two small extensions in 1992, two classrooms in January 1994 and a further two classrooms, additional storage space and an office extension in September 1995. Further work took place in the Spring term, 2001, including extending two classroom areas plus a refurbished Key Stage 2 library to replace the existing one, plus an ICT suite. One further area is to be extended, hopefully, in 2004 to increase the size of the Year 3 bases.

There are extensive School grounds which provide two large playgrounds, a playing field and a large grass area. A separate and small outside play area, specifically for the youngest children, is part of the Foundation Stage. The whole site is pleasantly surrounded by trees and shrubs. These provide a background to an environmental area which has undergone extensive development by the School, including the nature area adjacent to the path.

A Trim Trail' area also exists on the main playing field for supervised use by all children.  There are ongoing consultations with staff on how to develop the outdoor areas further.