Welcome to Dawlish College.
It continues to be an absolute privilege to be the Headteacher at Dawlish College – the staff and students are second to none and take all of life’s challenges in their stride. Despite current uncertainties as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, we continue to hold onto our core purpose in all that we do. Behind all of the decisions taken and measures put in place sits the balance between keeping staff and students safe whilst also providing them with a varied and exciting school experience.
Dawlish College is a vibrant and exciting place to be, where we have the highest expectations of staff and students alike and seek to provide challenge at every available opportunity. As a small school, we have a very proud record of holistic support, care and individual attention: the happiness and well-being of our students is of paramount importance and is a vital foundation for their growth and development. Our college has an atmosphere of creativity and positivity that is generated by the provision of excellent opportunities for every individual thereby maximising the outcomes and improving the life chances of the young people in our care.
As a parent myself, I understand that you want your child to be inspired, supported and challenged to be the best version of themselves within an environment that knows them and values them as an individual. Thank you for entrusting me with the care and education of your child, present or future, and I look forward to unlocking their ambitions as I get to know them and work closely with you.
S Banks
Headteacher
During the month of January, the MFL team have been celebrating Epiphany with the French traditional cake “La Galette des Rois” (King’s Cake). This year we shared the experience of tasting a Galette des Rois in class, in years 9, 10 and 11 who had the exciting opportunity to taste one made by their teacher, Madame Marc and Madame Noble.
The cake is made with almond paste (“frangipane”: ground almonds, sugar, butter and eggs) encased with puff pastry – délicieux!
“‘La galette des Rois” celebrates the Epiphany (when the three kings visited baby Jesus). You can eat the cake a few days before and after the 6th January and it can be found in most bakeries in France during the month of January! According to tradition, the ‘Galette des Rois’ was baked to "draw the kings" to the Epiphany.
A figurine called “la fève”, is hidden in the cake before baking. Originally, “la fève” was a broad bean, but they were replaced in 1870 by a variety of figurines made of porcelain. To make sure that giving out the slices of cake is fair, it is traditional for the youngest person to go under the table and call out in turn who should get each slice.
In Ms Marc’s year 9 class Martha got the charm and chose Grace as her queen. Charlie, being the youngest in the class, got to say who got which slice.
Many students commented on how delicious the cake was and that they would like to make it themselves.
In Ms Noble’s year 10 class Emily got the charm and chose Emilia as her queen. Eli had the important job of deciding who was given each slide! In her year 11 class Kathryn is the youngest student and she distributed the pieces. Incredibly Fern got the charm for the second year in a row and chose Jessica as her queen.
Look up the recipe on the internet and celebrate this tradition next year – you won’t be disappointed!
