VES Team End of Week Update | Spotlight on Progress

Dear wonderful VES team,

Hope you are well - and thank you for a really great week together at VES.

There was a lovely sense of life across the school this week: many full classes, warm welcomes, good conversations, students taking next steps, and a particularly brilliant youth drop-in. It has been genuinely moving to see friendships growing among such an amazingly diverse group of teenagers (most of whom in v challenging circumstances). That Tuesday afternoon space is becoming something really special - safe, friendly, fun, and full of possibility and potential!

Samba, Libby and Oumar - Youth Drop-In Regulars

Spotlight this week: Progress

This week I’ve been especially struck by the progress we are seeing across the school.

Several students “moved up a table” this week - including a number encouraged by Angela to take the step from Absolute Beginners into Beginners. These moments can look small from the outside, but they are significant. A student moving across the room to join a higher-level table is not just changing seats or solving our logistics. They are taking a great next step in their life!

As we look ahead to the final part of the summer term, next week is another really good moment to gently encourage students who are ready to “move on up”. We don’t want to push people before they are ready - but we also don’t want anyone to stay stuck because of inertia or nervousness. Sometimes a kind, clear encouragement from a teacher or class assistant is exactly what someone needs to take their next step.

Fouzia

The photo above captures this beautifully for me. When I first met Fouzia around 18 months ago, she had basically no English. This week she was standing at the front of the Pre-Intermediate class reading and speaking!! That is wonderful progress - and a testament to the classes you have been teaching and assisting in!

And of course, progress at VES is not only about English levels.

Ran

This Sunday at the Croydon Vineyard 11:30am service, Ran is being baptised. That is an amazing step - and such a joyful one. Many of you will know Ran well from VES, and if you are free, we would absolutely love you to come and celebrate and support him!

All details here: https://croydonvineyard.churchsuite.com/events/gnwvokm1

These stories are the fruit of your steady teaching, patient encouragement, warm welcome, and willingness to graft week in week out. Thank you.

Dates and reminders

Full week this coming week
Classes are running as normal across all four mornings next week.

Free health checks — Thursday after classOn Thursday, we’ll have free after-class health checks available for students.

Half term - Week commencing 25th May — NO classes

Just a clear reminder: there will be no VES classes during half term.

Welcoming Well - deferredThere will be no Welcoming Well gathering on Monday 1st June (as previously slated). We’ve decided to defer it for now - more on that in due course.

VES Dashboard — Week at a Glance

● 19 classes delivered across 4 days (Plus 3 creche sessions and 1 youth drop-in)
● 246 student sessions enabled
● 67 team sessions given
● Weekly participation number: 360
● +85% increase on this time last year

Thank you for the part you play in making VES a place where people can grow!