Happy New Year to you all. This term has certainly begun at a pace and Christmas seems a long time ago!

Walking around the site and corridors so far this week, I have seen a good sense of purpose around the place and the atmosphere has been impressive. Some of our students have been taking examinations this week – Maths IGCSE for the Fifth Form and some ICT/English Language for a few Sixth Formers. We hope that the preparation over the break has paid off and that they will get the results that they desire. Outside of the classrooms and labs, the co-curricular programme has started well on the sporting, physical and creative fronts.

It seems that, for the most part, people have managed to recharge their batteries well over the break and have returned refreshed and excited about the term to come. As I explained in HM Assembly today – this term will fly by as there will be a great deal going on. There was also some wise advice from Grace, one of the new Heads of School this term, about taking all the opportunities on offer at this special place. Families, please do take the time to look at the calendar on the School Portal and see all that is happening.

Mr Carr led an interesting Junior Assembly today during which he spoke about the dangers of procrastination, before he and I acknowledged a number of the fine achievements that happened at the end of last term and have already happened in the first four days of this term in the First and Second Forms.

Tomorrow, as well as welcoming a number of Fourth Form parents here for coffee in the morning and our first block of fixtures for the term in the afternoon, we have 20 families from Year 5 at our Prep School for a mini-Open Day. I am sure that all will be made very welcome; do please say hello if you are coming along to any of these. Lower Sixth parents should also have Wednesday evening next week in their diaries for their online parents’ evening.

Best wishes to you all for the term ahead and I look forward to seeing many of you around the sites.