Greetings to you all. This is, of course, the first ‘normal’ community newsletter of the year owing to the national period of mourning during which schools were advised to keep things low key on the celebration and communication front. Thus, there is a great deal of information and things to applaud in this week’s edition and I hope you enjoy reading it.

As mentioned in my recent letters, we marked HM the Queen’s passing in a number of ways including a moving ceremony around Prefects’ Lawn last Saturday. You are welcome to sign and make comments in the special SVS Book of Condolence which remains in Reception, if you wish to do so. The mature and thoughtful response of the School was most humbling and reflected both the sorrow and gratitude of the nation.

In the Junior and HM assemblies this week and last week it was a pleasure for us to be able to applaud a number of achievements and successes that have already taken place this term and during the summer break. We have also had the speeches from this term’s new Heads of School – James Pepler and Katie Moore and will publish their wise words for all to read. I know that it certainly inspires many of our students with fine advice about how best to use their time well here at this special school, as well as making great contributions.

We have certainly begun the year at a pace and I trust all our new members of the community feel welcome (please do reach out if you have questions at all). Current parents will have received a letter from me via email at the start of the year on 6th September which I trust was helpful. It has been very good to see and meet a number of parents around both the Prep and Senior School, and I see various parents’ evenings and events are in the diary too for the term ahead (you can find the calendar on the Parent Portal). Please do catch me to say ‘Hello’.

We now have a little breather with an exeat weekend before coming back to School on Monday 26^th with lots of good things on the horizon.

Mr James Thomas, Headmaster