St. Anne's College Grammar School

03/09/2026

KCSIE was updated again 2 days ago, from the July 2026 version. Whole-school staff Safeguarding update at SACGS on Wednesday inset. Lots of important changes this year, but we’ll be ready and trained before our students return on Thursday! 💪🥰

KCSIE 2026 has been published, with the new statutory guidance coming into force on 1 September 2026.

From all staff reading Part One in full to updates on mobile phones, online harm, safeguarding records and volunteer checks, there is plenty for schools and education professionals to be aware of.

Our latest guide highlights 10 key changes, including:
• Part One reading expectations for all staff
• Mobile phone-free guidance
• Online harm, deepfakes and sextortion
• Misogyny and escalation risks
• Mental health warning signs
• Gender-questioning children
• Volunteer checks
• Family Help and joined-up support
• Stronger safeguarding records

It also flags wider updates around Operation Encompass, filtering and monitoring, cyber security and child protection files.

Read the guide here: https://vist.ly/5gxzz

20/08/2026

GCSE Results Day will fill social media today with photographs of top grades, smiling faces and impressive numbers. And those achievements deserve every bit of the celebration they get 🎉

But Results Day at St Annes College Grammar School has never looked quite like that, because we have never measured success in the same way.

We have pupils for whom a grade 4 in English or Maths represents something that once felt completely out of reach. We have pupils who are collecting Functional Skills qualifications or Entry Level certificates that are every bit as hard won and every bit as worthy of pride as any grade 9. We have pupils for whom walking into an examination room at all was an achievement that took months of quiet courage to make possible.

We have pupils who have lived through extraordinarily difficult years. Who have faced things at home that nobody looking at a results sheet would ever know about, and who still turned up, still tried, still made it here. We have pupils who experienced Emotionally Based School Avoidance and for whom simply being in school consistently has been the real story of this year, regardless of what any certificate says.

Of course we celebrate the 9s and 8s. We are delighted for every pupil who achieves them. But we celebrate the 4s and the 3s too. We celebrate the personal best. The qualification that required a different room or a different approach or simply someone who understood. The pupil who tried again after they had almost stopped trying. The pupil who came back.

Because what our pupils leave with is not only a set of results. It is resilience they have built through genuinely hard experiences. Confidence that was not always there when they arrived. Friendships, memories, and a belief in themselves that no grade can fully capture but that will carry them so much further.

To our Class of 2026, whatever is written on that piece of paper today, please hear this.

We are proud of your results. We are even more proud of who you have become.

Great oaks from little acorns grow 🌳

19/08/2026

AI-generated content, cloned voices, deepfake videos and fabricated screenshots are making it harder for young people to recognise what is genuine online.

Our latest guide supports parents, carers and educators in helping children build the confidence and critical thinking skills needed to question digital content.

The guide explores:
• How AI-generated content and deepfakes can appear convincing
• Why familiar voices, polished presentation and repeated claims should not automatically be trusted
• Risks linked to fake accounts, impersonation and misinformation
• The importance of source-checking and verifying messages through another route
• How adults can respond when harmful or deceptive content targets a child

With clear, practical advice, this resource helps adults strengthen digital literacy and support safer, more informed online experiences.

Access the guide: https://vist.ly/5fbwq

18/08/2026

☀️ We hope everyone is having a lovely summer! ☀️

A little reminder that our SACGS Uniform Shop will be open in the School Dining Room on:

Monday 7th & Tuesday 8th September
11.00am - 1.00pm

💙 A little more choice for September…

From September, our pupils can choose our new, more relaxed SACGS uniform:

🔹 Navy SACGS golf top and navy SACGS hoody
🔹 Plain navy combat trousers - generic, comfortable and available from any retailer
🔹 All-navy trainers

Our previous grey school trousers are being replaced by navy combats as part of the new uniform.

For pupils who love our traditional SACGS uniform, that isn’t going anywhere either. They are very welcome to continue wearing it.

And there are no particular days for either option. Pupils can mix and match the traditional and relaxed uniform in whatever combination works for them, any day of the week.

Why?

Because at SACGS, we think carefully about what actually matters.

A uniform should give children a sense of belonging and pride in their school. It shouldn’t be the thing that makes getting through the school door harder.

As a school committed to Preparation for Adulthood, we want our young people to develop independence, make appropriate choices and understand what it means to present themselves well - while recognising that comfort and sensory needs matter too.

We’re far more interested in whether a young person is kind, respectful, comfortable, engaged and ready to learn than whether every item they are wearing is identical to everybody else’s.

Individuality has always had a place at SACGS.
High expectations do too.

The two sit very happily together. 💙

Every child known. Every child valued. Every child belongs. 🥰

More information about our uniform and life at SACGS is available on our website: https://www.sacgs.co.uk

🌳 Great Oaks from Little Acorns Grow

12/08/2026

Results day can feel like a defining moment for young people, particularly when expectations are high or outcomes do not match what they had hoped for.

Our latest guide supports parents, carers and educators in helping young people approach results day with perspective, reassurance and confidence.

The guide explores:
• Setting the tone early and reducing pressure before the day
• Normalising different outcomes and preparing for next steps
• Staying calm, present and supportive when results arrive
• Exploring options and alternative pathways together
• Encouraging reflection without rumination
• Celebrating strengths, qualities and achievements beyond grades

With clear, practical advice, this resource helps adults support young people before, during and after results day, whatever their outcomes.

Access the guide: https://vist.ly/5egba

31/07/2026

✨ Once upon a time… ✨

…one of our incredible Special Support Assistants gave our Nursery children a gift they will treasure for years to come.

Over the first few weeks of the summer holiday, Amy Tomlinson has transformed an ordinary wall into this enchanting storybook mural, creating a magical space where imaginations can soar and every story begins with wonder.

Many people won’t realise that Amy is also a nationally recognised artist, whose work has featured in public art trails across the UK, including Elmer sculptures, Scotties in the City, the Dartford Bear Hunt and the Aberdeen BookBench Trail, helping to raise thousands of pounds for charity.

Yet despite all of those amazing achievements, she chose to spend part of her summer creating something especially for our youngest students. With her own little niece attending SACGS Nursery, this mural has been a real labour of love. And love it, we certainly do - it’s beautiful! ❤️

Amy, thank you for sharing your extraordinary talent with our school. Your kindness, creativity and generosity have created something that will inspire the imaginations of our youngest Acorns every single day.

We feel incredibly lucky to have you as part of the SACGS family. 💙🏰🛻🎨👏

31/07/2026

And that is July done.

From everyone at St Annes College Grammar School, we hope the rest of your summer is everything it should be. Rest, sunshine, time with the people you love, and a rejuvenating break from the everyday routine.

We will be back in September with so much to look forward to and so many fresh initiatives! Our newly-revamped Sixth Form opening its doors for the very first time. New families joining our community. All the familiar faces coming back after a well-deserved summer, ready for the new academic year.

Until then, please take care of yourselves. We are thinking of all our families and wishing you the very best.

See you in September. 💙

Any urgent questions over summer? Feel free to message us through our page and we’ll respond as soon as we are able to - that’s probably the best method for now, as our site team working in school over the summer holiday may not be able to pick up the phone. Many thanks! 🥰

29/07/2026

If anxiety could speak, it would not shout.

It would whisper. Quietly, persistently, from the moment the alarm goes off in the morning. And for some children, the summer brings its own version of it, the worry about September building gradually over the holidays, the dread of a new year and whether things will feel any different from before.

By the time some children reach the school gates in September, they will have already lived through a hundred versions of that first morning in their own minds during the summer. Every possible difficulty rehearsed and worried over before the day has even arrived.

If you have a child like this, we see them. We understand the enormous effort it takes for a child to hold everything together and continue to look okay when they are not. What makes a difference is not pressure to simply try harder or be braver. It is a place where they feel genuinely safe, where the routine is predictable, and where there are adults who notice without making a fuss about it.

If you are spending part of the summer wondering whether a different school environment might help your child, we would really love to talk.

Reach us at sacgs.co.uk or on 01253 725815. We are here over summer - feel free to message us through our page and we’ll respond as soon as we are able to. 🥰

27/07/2026

There is a question we get asked quite often by families who are exploring their options, and it is this: does being a small school mean missing out on things?

We understand why people ask it, and we want to answer it honestly.

Being small means our children do not get lost. It means every teacher knows every child, not just in their own class but across the whole school. It means that when something is not quite right for a child, someone notices quickly rather than weeks later when a small difficulty has had time to grow into something much bigger.

It means the relationships here are real. Between children and staff, between staff and families, between the school and the community around it. Those relationships are not a nice extra on top of everything else. They are the thing that makes everything else possible.

Yes, we are small. And we think that is one of the most important things about us.

Find out more at sacgs.co.uk or arrange a visit for September.