The final weeks of this term have been full of firsts and lasts. This is often the case at this time of year, with everything drawing to a close and new beginnings on the horizon. This time around, we have had to also contend with the additional conundrum of Government regulations regarding the ongoing pandemic situation, which has meant that many of our traditional end-of-term activities have not been possible in the usual way.

Necessity is, as they say, the mother of invention, and our creative and innovative staff have worked tirelessly to adapt and adjust many of these activities so that they can still happen, albeit in a slightly different way.

Last Friday saw a brilliant Year 3 to 6 Sports Day, with the weather turning out much more favourable than the forecast predicted. This was closely followed by the recording of the Year 6 play, Cinderella and Rockerfella. It is a real shame that we weren’t able to have a live audience, but Mr Evans has been spending every spare moment editing and pulling the recording of what is an excellent play together. We anticipate being able to share this with parents before the end of term.

Tomorrow sees our Year 6 Prize Giving event, which promises to be a fantastic celebration of all that our eldest children have achieved over the course of their time at SVPS. It is certain to bring a chuckle and/or tear to the eye as we begin the process of saying goodbye. The Year 6 children are very much looking forward to their residential adventure at Bushcraft next week, while the rest of the School are in for a real treat with our annual Leadership Week, during which Mrs Savage and her team are going to take us on a journey through our emotions and exploring our creativity.

Talking of creativity, there was plenty to see during the Year 6 Art Exhibition, which was adapted from its normal format to fit in with restrictions. It was a real pleasure to both see the children’s fabulous artwork, but also to see their excitement about sharing their learning with their parents, at the end of a year where so often this hasn’t been possible.

As a School, we are also turning our heads to the next academic year. We will be welcoming a new Headmaster to SVS and also, subject to guidance, hoping to be able to open our doors a little wider and make something of a return to ‘normal’, though I very much hope that as we do this, we are able to keep some of the fantastic positives to have come out of the last year or so, because they have been plentiful and worthy of celebration and repetition in the future!

Mr Watkins, Deputy Head