Yesterday, our dining hall became a bingo hall — and it was every bit as lively as that sounds. For many pupils, this was their first introduction to old-style entertainment. Once the rules had been explained, the room quickly filled with focus, excitement, the occasional groan, and a wonderfully competitive spirit. No screens, no special effects — just numbers, anticipation, and the sudden realisation that a full house might be within reach. With house points at stake, the competition was fierce. Our winners walked away with valuable points for their houses — and plenty of pride. It was a great addition to the roster of half-termly House challenges, designed to entertain the pupils as well as giving them opportunities to interact across year groups. I look forward to seeing what Dr Holbrook and the team have up their sleeves for next half term.
This week we are also launching the process for our prefect leadership roles. We are a little later than usual, but that has had one real advantage: it has given us the chance to see our prefects in action already — effectively a live job interview. I have been really impressed by their efforts so far, particularly in supporting Open Morning and raising funds through the European Day of Languages bake sale. Next, the prefects will deliver a short speech to the school, before pupils and staff are invited to share who they feel would do a great job. I will then make the final decision on the leadership structure. Meanwhile, Mr Bereford is taking Year 6 through a similar process, with selected pupils set to be paired with Year 11 prefects for our first year of “top and tail” prefects: leadership from both ends of the school, working together.
Becoming a prefect is a wonderful opportunity for pupils to develop their leadership skills, and it also reflects something I feel strongly about: preparing children for the realities of adult life. I want the application process, and the campaign for senior leadership roles, to feel as realistic as possible. If your child is currently in Year 10, have they started thinking about whether they might like to be a prefect next year? It is more than a quick application in May; now is the time to think about how they are contributing to school life and what they are doing to “build their CV”.
I had great fun on Monday helping pupils bring the school to life as we captured photos and short videos for our upcoming social media posts and new website. There may be the odd staged shot in the collection, but most captured lovely candid moments: chalk drawings in Art, pond weed testing in Science, conversations in the gardens, and pupils arriving at school with a smile. Admittedly, I may have had to tell a few jokes to elicit some of those smiles — but it was Monday morning! A big thank you to the pupils who took part; I look forward to seeing the final edits and sharing them with you all.
On that note, a small ask: if you are able to like or share our posts on Facebook or Instagram, it really does help us spread the word about our wonderful school.
Finally, I want to wish Year 7 a good time on their residential, they headed off this morning for three days of bonding, adventure, and challenge.
Ever Onward and Upward
Ms Purdy
