Senior Reflections 13 February 2026
Dear parents,
The half term has truly flown by, and the achievements of your children continue to amaze us here at school. I had the pleasure of meeting again this week with Dr Rainbow and, as I reflected on the many successes of the term so far, we were both inspired by the collective commitment and dedication shown by our staff and pupils alike. We are very grateful to you all for your continued support throughout this half term.
It has been a fantastic final week. On Monday, we enjoyed three equally outstanding yet wonderfully varied Upper Sixth Drama Component 2 performances. It was a delight to witness such talent and creativity on stage. Every pupil involved delivered a superb performance, providing us all with a most entertaining and memorable end to the day.
On Wednesday evening, our Choral Society concert at the Cathedral was simply awe-inspiring. Pupils, staff, parents and friends of the school came together for a truly special occasion. The solos, both instrumental and vocal, were remarkable, and the enthusiastic conducting added to the joy of the evening. Huge thanks go to Mr Tamblyn and Mr Titchin, as well as to all the staff who helped make the event such a success.
Our amazing U16A netball team continues to go from strength to strength. Their impressive win against tough competition on Thursday means they are through to the Sisters in Sport national schools final at Loughborough University in March. They are now guaranteed a national top four finish. What an achievement! Congratulations to the girls and to their expert coach Miss Johnson. I have ordered my navy, pink and maroon face paints, and I looking forward to watching them compete against the nation’s best netballers next month.
My thanks go to Mr Gibson, who masterminded a special Sports Media Day for our sports scholars this week. Working alongside SportBIBLE, pupils developed their public speaking skills, practised interview techniques, and learned how to enhance their sporting profiles. I look forward to some impressive post-match interviews in future school assemblies.
This week I also led a Safer Internet Day assembly in pre-prep, focusing on how to use technology such as voice assistants safely. Meanwhile, in the senior school, we have been sharing messages about the importance of kindness as part of Mental Health Week, a theme that sits at the heart of our school community.
Good luck to all those heading off on half-term trips: Mr Drew is leading a classics visit to London today; yesterday Mr Glanville departed with pupils for a ski trip to Austria; and Mrs Sewell is accompanying a group to Nice for a French language experience later next week. It is wonderful to see such a wide range of out-of-class learning opportunities, and we are most grateful to the staff who give their time to make them possible.
I would also like to wish our Upper Sixth every success as they prepare for their trial examinations after the break. This is an important step in their preparation for the summer exam season.
Finally, I wish everyone a restful and happy half term with loved ones. Perhaps, with a little luck, we may even see a day without rain! We have staff training days on Monday 23 and Tuesday 24 February so the first day back for pupils is Wednesday 25 February.
