The term here has been as busy as ever, of course. The Year 11s have been crunching through their revision and indeed the GCSE papers are already underway. They seem to come earlier and earlier, it seems. So far, so good. I have not been informed of any worries, though I believe Chemistry was challenging. We send them all positive thoughts.
The rest of the senior school are approaching summer assessments, which are important as markers of progress, but also will affect sets and streams, as always. Summer is an odd phase of the year, in that sense: the weather gets better, but there's always a little bit of pressure in the system for the seniors. 'Twas ever thus and our teachers are working very hard to prepare them all.
There are fun and outdoor challenges ahead too, of course. We get them out in the fresh air. Our athletes did very well in the District round with six of our pupils going through to Sussex Trials and our team came a stunning second in the ISA Regionals. Our sports' days, in both parts of the College, are coming up as I write and our D of E groups are out and about for Silver and Bronze expeditions, navigating their way around the county - we hope!
The Junior School is as active and dynamic as ever. I was pleased to see armies of cyclists about the place the other day, as Year 6 were engaged in Bikeability. The staff tell me that was a great success and that the programme seemed to go very well indeed. It's great to see the young people we have here becoming more confident and more resilient, gaining independence and skills.
Mr Batstone's film club produced a spooky but fun romp around the campus - well done to him and his crews. Creativity is such an important skill and very much part of modern life and I very much enjoyed the Junior inter-house singing competition. I was in agreement with Mr Mathias when he said that he could actually hear the words of one of his rock favourites, 'Somebody That I Used to Know'. I told the pupils that perhaps some performing artists need to learn a few things from them!
Looking ahead, we have many things to look forward to. Our next Head's Challenge for Key Stage 3 will focus on India as we are all celebrating 70 years since they gained independence. India is a country that we all should know well, it seems to me. Historically we have so many ties and I suspect our relationship with that country is going to be key to the future. It is important that our pupils learn about that magnificent country.
So, I look forward to sports days, swimming galas and, of course, our Prize-Giving at the end of the year. We have a terrific guest speaker, though I won't give that away just yet. We hope to see all of our parents there on July 1st to celebrate our pupils and, in many ways, our life as a community. Have a wonderful half-term.
Mr Taylor-West, Headmaster