THE headteacher of Thornden School has written to parents to address rumours circulating in the community and online.

These focus on two members of staff and "an alleged incident between students".

Patrick Earnshaw, who took over as the executive headteacher of the Chandler's Ford secondary school in September, told the Daily Echo he was aware of the rumours and provided a copy of the letter he was sending to all parents.

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It read: "The school is aware of rumours circulating about two staff members and about an alleged incident between students. We have been contacted several times by individuals seeking further information in response to them. As I hope you will understand, under our policies we would not discuss any individual students or staff.

"Given the nature of the rumours I can, however, reassure the whole school community that the safety and wellbeing of our students is always paramount and as a school we have clear policies in place to ensure the safety of our students. We also have policies in place to address any concerns that are raised within our community, including safeguarding concerns, should any be raised, and these policies will always be followed if any concerns are raised. 

"We are fortunate at Thornden School to have a wealth of resources available to us as part of the wider HISP Multi Academy Trust, including access to experienced staff from across the Trust. As part of our work within HISP we have recently been joined by Nicola Goodridge and Jess Paul. Nicola Goodridge has been providing us with the benefit of her experience in the role of Designated Safeguarding Lead and Leader of Pastoral Care and Jess Paul has been working with the school’s leadership team, alongside myself as Thornden’s Executive Headteacher, to help support the day-to-day running of the school."

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He went on to say that school leaders and governors are reviewing many of the school's policies and identifying any improvements which can be made for the benefit of students and staff.

Thornden School converted to an academy in 2012 and is part of a multi-academy trust serving Hampshire, Southampton, the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth.

It has a long-standing reputation as one of the best secondary schools in Hampshire.

Thornden's latest OFSTED inspection, in June, saw it rated good.

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