The Summer Term is always the highlight of the school year, especially given the contrast to the awful, wet and pretty miserable start we had to the Spring Term. With longer days and warmer weather, it has been wonderful to see the children embracing every opportunity to be outside – playing, exploring and expressing their creativity with such fun. This is particularly important for the boarders who have a huge ‘back garden’ and when I head home it always leaves me smiling seeing them tearing around outside in the early evening sunshine.

Sport remains a particular strength this term, with a wide variety on offer including cricket, pentathlon, swimming, athletics and tennis. The energy and commitment shown by the pupils has been inspiring, whether representing the school competitively or simply enjoying being active with friends. We continue to work hard to ensure that every child can find something exceptional – it just seems easier to cater for this with dry days and longer evenings.

Our recent Zimbe concert was a truly phenomenal occasion, involving over half of the Prep School. It showcased not only the exceptional musical talent within the school, but also the confidence, teamwork and enjoyment that music brings. Music continues to be a real strength of the school and sits at the heart of our community. As should be the case, the children fully engaged in the wider Performing Arts are often the same children fully engaged in everything else – it is great to see this as no child should leave the Prep School regretting they did not try everything. I know Miss Simmonds is planning another a great showcase for Parents’ Day which I am sure the pupils will embrace with their usual gusto.

Innovation and enterprise are also thriving. It has been exciting to see the first competitive outing of our Greenpower car, thanks to Mr Woodhall’s enthusiasm. Alongside this, he has been working with Mrs Burnett on an ambitious and imaginative project to create a functioning Anderson shelter, with embedded podcasts which will help bring this Year 6 History topic to life. We hope to have this up and running for Parents’ Day but we could do with some rain: the ground is now almost too hard to dig!

There is still much to look forward to, but we will soon be preparing to say goodbye to a brilliant Year 8 cohort, who lead our school with pride, energy and kindness. My final Courier article will focus on them and the legacy they leave but with exams approaching I want them to know I am thinking of them and wishing them the very best for this final, important academic challenge.