14 May 2021

Despite the fact it feels more like Autumn than late Spring, the wet weather hasn’t dampened activity levels or spirits, and we have enjoyed a very busy week with some wonderful learning going on throughout school.

Our English department have enjoyed exploring with Year 7 pupils, the recurring theme of magic in several of Shakespeare’s plays, including ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and ‘Macbeth’. They have learnt about the comedy and chaos magic introduces in the plot of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, in sharp contrast to the darker magic portrayed in ‘Macbeth’. Year 10 pupils have been working exceptionally hard on their GCSE coursework, Arthur Miller’s ‘A View from the Bridge’. They have also been comparing poetry by Maya Angelou, Tony Harrison, Wilfred Owen, Robert Frost and Moniza Alvi.

Year 1 and 2 pupils have been working impressively on some practical projects in Science and Mathematics. In Year 1, the children have been weather detectives this week as part of Science – they have certainly had quite a range of weather to explore! Meanwhile, Year 2 have created a hydroponic farm as they investigated whether beans will grow without soil and they have also learnt about capacity, measuring in millilitres and litres – without getting too soaked!

There has been plenty of sport action too! It has been brilliant to see both internal and external competitive sport back for all pupils, and their positivity and energy around matches has been brilliant. Year 3 and 4 are continuing their inter-house cricket matches, demonstrating exceptional progress and enjoyment in all areas of cricket. Year 5 and 6 had a brilliant block cricket fixture against St Helen’s and St Katherine’s and in tennis, pupils have been enjoying some professional coaching from our LTA coach Simon Parker. Year 7 and 8 also enjoyed a block fixture versus St Helen’s and St Katherine’s, putting on a display of excellent competition and teamwork. Further up the school, our Year 9-12 pupils had some exciting tennis matches against Queen Anne’s with superb performances all round.

We were very pleased to be able to facilitate the first of many day trips taking place this term, as Year 3 ventured off to Court Hill for the day on Wednesday. Their excitement was palpable as they experienced an action-packed day of team building activities including den building, scavenger hunts and creating nature collages. We are looking forward to the many other trips our pupils will benefit from over the next few weeks and hopefully, a return to a full programme of trips in the Autumn Term.

Our music department have been no less busy, with 6 pupils taking Trinity remote music exams this week. This involves making a video recording of each performance which is then submitted to the exam board. Well done to everyone and fingers crossed for some excellent results. Years 3-6 have been working extremely hard for their tea concert recordings which are taking place next week, whilst Reception pupils have made a musical version of the Gruffalo and Year 1 have been designing bird calls! It is wonderful to hear so much excellent music making happening across the department.

Have a lovely weekend!

James Raymond
Headmaster