Thank you for your interest in Hopescourt School, a new all-through specialist school which opened in September 2024 and is the first specialist free school within the Bourne Education Trust. I am immensely proud to be Hopescourt School’s Headteacher and to have the opportunity to develop this new and much needed provision for children with Autism in Walton-on-Thames.This is an exciting time for new staff to join the school, providing an opportunity to play an instrumental role in our journey right from the start. I want to ensure that we develop and define a school culture with strong outcomes for pupils at its heart, and create an aspirational environment where learners can access specialist support alongside a range of subject expertise. My vision is that we equip our pupils for life and offer the best of mainstream and specialist settings, breaking down barriers and ensuring that opportunities are expanded so that they can flourish. In our first year, we will be welcoming up to 77 new pupils across years 7 to 10, in class sizes of no more than 11, and will be opening in temporary accommodation. Our brand new, purpose-built facility on Waterside Drive in Walton-on-Thames should be completed in Spring 2026 and from September 2026 onwards, our numbers will grow incrementally with intakes into Reception and Year 3 as well as Year 7. All of our pupils will either have a diagnosis of Autism, or identified communication and interaction needs as their primary need on their Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) and will be functioning at broadly age-related expectations. No child should ever have a glass ceiling placed on them and every child should have the opportunities to reach their full potential, regardless of their disability or special educational need.I hope to create a dynamic team of colleagues who are passionate about special educational needs and disabilities and are both aspirational for our pupils and driven to ensure that they can thrive and succeed.There is further information about Hopescourt School within the next few pages, but if you would like to contact me to talk through more of the detail about our overall vision, the plan for our inaugural year, and the role that you could play in shaping Hopescourt School’s journey, please call Joanne Orchard to arrange a mutually convenient time. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours faithfully,Alexandra Burrows Headteacher