Wednesday August 19th, 2026
When we return to school it will be week: A
Wednesday August 19th, 2026
When we return to school it will be week: A
At Gosford Hill School, we will endeavour to provide an environment where all students feel valued and welcome; empowering them to grow, learn and succeed.
Our school, whilst acknowledging that each family’s circumstances are different, is dedicated to the education of all of our students and believe that excellent attendance is essential for every child’s educational success. We recognise the clear links between attendance and progress and will consistently work towards a goal of 96% attendance for all children.
Every opportunity will be used to convey to students and their parents or carers the importance of regular and punctual attendance.
GHS expects all students to have excellent punctuality and a minimum attendance of 96%
Our school day starts at 8.30am every morning. Students are required to attend registration on time to avoid receiving a late or absent mark for the morning session.
Our register closes at 9am. Lateness after this time, will be considered unauthorised. Students must sign in at reception on their arrival, where they will be collected and taken to lessons.
The school day finishes at 3:15pm Monday-Thursday and 2:00pm on a Friday.
If you need to report a child absent, please use the report a child absent form.
Use of this form is strongly encouraged but if this is not accessible, please report the child’s absence on 01865 885378. When reporting the absence, please avoid using general terms such as “unwell”.
You will need to report the child’s absence for each day that they are absent.
If a student does not arrive for school and an absence has not been reported we will follow up to ensure that we know the child is safe and well as part of our safeguarding duties. This may include an unannounced visit to your home.
We expect all appointments to take place outside of school hours. On the rare occasion, this is unavoidable, requests for leave of absence must be made in advance using the Report a child absent form (same link from above) . Use of this form is strongly encouraged but if this is not accessible, please leave a message on the absence line 01865 885378.
Please note, authorised absence for such appointments, will usually only be limited to one session (AM or PM) and documentation may be requested if frequent.
Provided notification has been given, and the appropriate permission granted, a student may leave school during school hours but must sign out and back in via reception, so that in an emergency, they can be accounted for.
In line with Department for Education statutory guidance, the default policy at Gosford Hill School is to decline all requests for absences during term-time. While advance permission can be given in exceptional circumstances, this is rare, and may only be granted by the Headteacher.
Exceptional circumstances are deemed to be rare, significant and often unavoidable major life events, such as the death of a close family member.
A need or desire for a holiday or other absence for the purpose of leisure and recreation does not constitute an exceptional circumstance.
Taking your child out of school during term time could be detrimental to their educational progress. If the absence is not authorised and leave is taken, it may be referred to the Local Authority for legal action. Please refer to penalty notice document below for more information.
In an exceptional circumstance, please complete this form to request leave of absence from school.
Gosford Hill School is an academy which is part of the River Learning Trust which is an exempt charitable company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales with registered company number 7966500 and its registered office is River Learning Trust, Central Office, C/O Rose Hill Primary School, The Oval, Oxford, OX4 4HF.