Latest News:

Kyle Baker

For members of our community who are unaware Kyle Baker, who is a past student at Wyedean, was shot whilst serving with the 3rd Battalion The Rifles in Afganistan on his first tour of duty. Kyle is just 18 and he has many close friends throughout the school and especially in the upper sixth.

Mr Wagland and myself had an opportunity on Wednesday 2nd December to visit Kyle at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham.

Kyle is certainly moving in the right direction but is still very seriously ill and we only managed to speak to him for about 15 minutes. We sent our best wishes from everyone at Wyedean, including those people who worked particularly close with Kyle from his year group.

The next stage for Kyle is to build up his strength and his next move is to a hospital in Surrey.

We both stressed that we are all thinking about Kyle and his family at this time and we are planning to produce a video for him with messages from staff and students.

Kyle also received a VIP visit from Prince Charles yesterday. He spent some time talking to Kyle about his injuries and experiences in Afganistan.

Kyle is now on Facebook but his mum is concerned that he will be bombarded with messages. However, please make contact at some stage.

Martin Jenkins
Assistant Headteacher
9th December 2009

Swine Flu

I am writing to let you know that a student at Wyedean has been diagnosed with swine flu. The student is being treated at home and is expected to recover well.

Following advice from NHS Gloucestershire and the Health Protection Agency, the school will remain open and operating as usual. This is in line with updated national guidance, which also recommends that preventative antiviral drugs are no longer routinely offered to large groups of school students.

This approach has been adopted because as swine flu starts to circulate more freely in the local community, people may be exposed the virus outside school, or as soon as they have finished a course of drugs.

The most important advice we have been given is that children who have symptoms of flu-like illness should stay away from school until they have recovered and are free of symptoms. This is to avoid spreading the infection as much as possible.

You can check any symptoms online at www.nhs.uk or call the Swine Flu Information Line on 0800 1 513 513. If you are still concerned, stay at home and call your GP, who may suggest a course of anti-viral drug treatment. This is designed to reduce the symptoms and help a quicker recovery.

If your doctor does advise anti-viral treatment for a child, please let the school know as soon as possible. 

It’s important to point out that the vast majority of people who have swine flu make a quick recovery at home. However, you should do what you can to prevent the infection from being spread to others by ensuring your family take some simple precautions:

• Covering your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, using a tissue when possible.
• Disposing of dirty tissues promptly and carefully.
• Washing your hands frequently with soap and water to reduce the spread of the virus from your hands to your face or to other people.
• Cleaning hard surfaces (such as door handles) frequently using a normal cleaning product.
• Making sure your children follow this advice.

We will reinforce to all our students the need for good hygiene at all times.