A warm welcome to King Edward VI Aston and Brandon House. Earning a place at Aston is testament to your hard work and is something to be proud of, in this brief letter I wanted to offer some insight into what school life will look like.

My name is Mr Hodgkinson and I will be your form tutor next year. I’m sorry that I’m not there to meet you in person on July 5th but I’ll be in Belgium with our Year 9/10 students at the European Space Centre – just one of the amazing opportunities you will be able to get involved in during your time here!

As form tutor you will see me each morning and part of my job is to help you make the step up from primary school to secondary. There are two things that you can do to make this change as smooth as possible:
1. Get organised! Make sure you’re ready for each day with the equipment you need, plan how you will use your time, know where to be and when. Aston is bursting with activities to get involved in, being organised will help you make the most of these.

2. Take responsibility! Secondary school is all about being independent and making your own choices. Hold yourself accountable but, when things get tough, don’t be afraid to make the choice to ask for some help! Everyone at Aston wants the absolute best for you so if there’s something we can help with, just ask.

You are now part of the Brandon family, Brandon is a competitive, proud House and from day one you will be a welcomed and valued member. The school Houses compete all year to earn the right to lift the Hawksford trophy (for sporting excellence) and the Tuck trophy (for academic and extra-curricular excellence). Brandon has a hugely successful past and we all need you to step and get involved to help maintain this formidable reputation!

King Edward VI Aston is an academic institution but we are also renowned for our sporting achievements. There are lots of chances to represent the school and I look forward to seeing many of you at school fixtures for rugby, football, athletics, cricket, ultimate frisbee, chess and more! The opportunity to represent the school is a real privilege and I hope you will all strive to earn this merit.

Aston is a very special place and, as our Old Astonians will tell you, will have a huge impact on the rest of your life. I hope you are excited to join us and take the next big step!

With best wishes,

Mr M Hodgkinson

m.hodgkinson@keaston.bham.sch.uk