Head’s Blog 29.01.21

Dear Parents,

I hope that you have all had a good week. It feels that we have now settled into a routine and I congratulate pupils, staff and parents for how well remote learning is going. It is certainly a challenge for all parties and it is nice to hear that both the boys and the teachers are becoming increasingly expert in this medium. Many of the expectations that we have for lessons and work in School are also expectations for online learning.

It is good to see that during this lockdown the clubs and activities have been so well attended but I am particularly excited to hear when boys have taken the initiative and set up a club.  I am also pleased when the focus is supporting other boys in the School.  Well done to two of our Year 12 boys who have started a Maths support club on Monday lunchtime for the younger boys.  One parent described her son’s reaction to the first session as ‘absolutely thrilled’ so well done to both of them.  I am sure it will also be eye opening for them to experience online learning as teacher rather than pupil!

I am very grateful to Ms Mendes for producing a short film this afternoon to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day.  Her personal reflections make for a moving assembly and remind us that, in these difficult times, there is still much for us to be thankful for.  As it is now 76 years since the camps were liberated, the number of remaining survivors sadly reduces each year and so it now falls to us to continue to bear witness.  As Ms Mendes points out, Holocaust Memorial Day, is an act of remembrance for that terrible genocide and those that have sadly followed it in other parts of the world.  This year the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust made the theme of their act of remembrance ‘be the light in the darkness’ an important idea for all of us living in a world that is currently facing so many challenges.

With best wishes, Seth