Letter to Principal / Headmaster / School
A formal letter to a school principal/headmaster is usually a letter written by a student, the school's student body, a parents' group, or a parent. One would generally reserve the more important matter/request for the principal/headmaster. For everyday matters relating to school (such as leave application, class allocation, etc.), one would generally write to the relevant teacher in charge instead. Please see the section relating to “Request / Notification to School”.
The purpose of writing to the principal/headmaster depends on your circumstances. This is usually a request letter on more important matters:
(i) request that require the approval of the principal/headmaster;
(ii) complaints against certain school policies, teachers or students at the school; or
(iii) report a serious issue/problem at the school.
For example, complaints about bullying experience, or prohibition for students to wear masks at school in the face of a pandemic.
It would be helpful to include the student name, class name and the class number, as well as the purpose of the letter in the subject line.
The tone of the letter is set in the introductory paragraph which should be formal and polite. You should keep a pleasant, approachable tone in the letter, even when you are filing a complaint.
How you begin the letter would depend on your relationship with the principal/headmaster, if the principal/headmaster does not know you, introduce yourself / your child and indicate the class name and class number. If the principal/headmaster knows you, you can write a greeting instead and then head straight for the purpose.
It is important to set out the purpose of the letter in the introductory paragraph - for example, I write to you concerning a request, complaint, arrange an appointment for a meeting, etc. It is also good to be tactful and gain some rapport with the principal/headmaster early by expressing your support for the school. Tell the principal/headmaster what you like about this school, and/or praise him/her.
Explain your request or complaint in more detail. You should be clear, direct and focus on the point on what you are requesting or notifying the principal/headmaster about. Always be extremely polite and tactful, no matter how frustrated you are. Don't use abbreviations and slang.
If you are reporting a problem to or notifying the principal/headmaster about a certain issue, be honest and accurate when describing an incident at school (Including the date, time and location). Any facts provided in your letter should be accurate. Do not exaggerate what happened or the impact on you or your child.
When you outline your request or recommend specific actions to be taken by the school, you should be courteous and reasonable. Put yourself in the position of the principal/headmaster when you write to ascertain the reasonableness of your request. Give good reasons for your request and phrase them correctly to increase your chance of getting a favourable response from the headmaster/principal.
In the concluding paragraph, you should summarise the purpose of your letter in one to two sentences. End the letter positively and thank the principal/headmaster for taking the time to consider your request/issue. Please also inform him /her that you would look forward to a response to the request/complaint / issue raised in the letter.
Not the right document?
Don’t worry, we have thousands of documents for you to choose from:
10 Jun 2022
6 min read
2 Jun 2022
6 min read
27 May 2022
6 min read
20 May 2022
6 min read
9 May 2022
6 min read
3 May 2022
3 min read
25 Apr 2022
5 min read
31 Mar 2022
1 min read
29 Mar 2022
1 min read
20 Mar 2022
6 min read
12 Mar 2022
5 min read
21 Feb 2022
5 min read
31 Jan 2022
5 min read
13 Jan 2022
4 min read
3 Jan 2022
5 min read
7 Dec 2021
11 min read
14 Nov 2021
6 min read
1 Nov 2021
9 min read
21 Oct 2021
1 min read
17 Oct 2021
7 min read
7 Oct 2021
12 min read
16 Sep 2021
4 min read
14 Sep 2021
5 min read
10 Sep 2021
3 min read
31 Aug 2021
4 min read
23 Aug 2021
3 min read
16 Aug 2021
5 min read
30 Jul 2021
6 min read
23 Jul 2021
7 min read
13 Jul 2021
5 min read
2 Jul 2021
5 min read
24 Jun 2021
5 min read
15 Jun 2021
4 min read
4 Jun 2021
6 min read
28 May 2021
5 min read
21 May 2021
5 min read
14 May 2021
5 min read
7 May 2021
5 min read
30 Apr 2021
5 min read
23 Apr 2021
5 min read
16 Apr 2021
5 min read
9 Apr 2021
5 min read
1 Apr 2021
5 min read
26 Mar 2021
4 min read
19 Mar 2021
5 min read
12 Mar 2021
5 min read
5 Mar 2021
6 min read
26 Feb 2021
5 min read
19 Feb 2021
6 min read
11 Feb 2021
5 min read
29 Jan 2021
6 min read
29 Jan 2021
3 min read
22 Jan 2021
6 min read
15 Jan 2021
6 min read
8 Jan 2021
6 min read
31 Dec 2020
6 min read
24 Dec 2020
0 min read
24 Dec 2020
7 min read
18 Dec 2020
6 min read
11 Dec 2020
6 min read
4 Dec 2020
6 min read
27 Nov 2020
6 min read
27 Nov 2020
7 min read
22 Nov 2020
7 min read
13 Nov 2020
8 min read
12 Nov 2020
8 min read
7 Nov 2020
8 min read
5 Nov 2020
6 min read
30 Oct 2020
7 min read
29 Oct 2020
8 min read
23 Oct 2020
7 min read
19 Oct 2020
8 min read
16 Oct 2020
10 min read
7 Oct 2020
9 min read
28 Sep 2020
8 min read
18 Sep 2020
7 min read
9 Sep 2020
7 min read
3 Sep 2020
7 min read
27 Aug 2020
8 min read
27 Aug 2020
9 min read
19 Aug 2020
8 min read
17 Aug 2020
8 min read
11 Aug 2020
8 min read
11 Aug 2020
8 min read
10 Aug 2020
11 min read
10 Aug 2020
9 min read
7 Aug 2020
9 min read
4 Aug 2020
9 min read
3 Aug 2020
10 min read
23 Jul 2020
8 min read
23 Jul 2020
8 min read
12 Jul 2020
8 min read
5 Jul 2020
7 min read
25 Jun 2020
7 min read
12 Jun 2020
9 min read
11 Jun 2020
9 min read
9 Jun 2020
9 min read
8 Jun 2020
8 min read
4 Jun 2020
5 min read
4 Jun 2020
8 min read
2 Jun 2020
10 min read
28 May 2020
13 min read
25 May 2020
8 min read
1 May 2020
10 min read
1 Apr 2020
6 min read
1 Mar 2020
11 min read
1 Feb 2020
11 min read
8 Jan 2020
9 min read
1 Jan 2020
1 min read
10 Dec 2019
7 min read
26 Nov 2019
8 min read
5 Nov 2019
5 min read
24 Oct 2019
3 min read
1 Oct 2019
1 min read
1 Oct 2019
1 min read
