SENIOR PASTORAL STEVE BARNES

Firstly, I would like to commend all of Form 11 who have diligently worked through their public examination season. I very much enjoyed the Form 11 Leavers’ Dinner too where staff joined Form 11 as they celebrated the end of their examinations. I wish them all well as they move to the next stages of education.

I would also like to say a public thank you to our Heads of School, Arabella Taylor and Tom Walker. Both have served the school well in many events over the course of the year and I am very grateful for their efforts. I know they are looking forward to their role during speech day too, where they will address the whole of the Senior school and their parents. I am also grateful for our Heads of Houses who have led on a variety of House competitions this year.

The Summer term has been a very busy one as well as very warm one. The pupils have been telling me how much they have enjoyed the new Dining Hall and their school lunches – and the air conditioning within the Dining Hall too. The Senior School Council told me how much they enjoyed eating ‘al fresco’ and requested more seating outside of the Dining Hall. This has now arrived, and many pupils enjoy this option. With the vastly improved space and service speed lunchtime is even more of a pleasure that it was before.

Earlier this term I have enjoyed watching the Form 9 pupils mentor Form 8 so that they know a familiar face as they join the Senior school next year. The Form 9s have enjoyed giving advice about making the most out of the Senior school experience; village visits, merit stodge and hopefully also how to keep on top of prep too!

My thanks to all involved.

The Form 10 pupils have been very busy preparing for and then delivering bespoke sports lessons to the Form 3 and 4 pupils. This is always a highlight of the year for me as we see such a lovely example of community and togetherness. The Senior pupils enjoy it as much as the younger ones and it helps them develop their leadership skills together with soft skills such as empathy and understanding.

The Form 9 and 10 GCSE Drama pupils also performed some magnificent set pieces from Willy Russell’s ‘Blood Brothers’ and Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’ during their Drama showcase in May. In this delightfully warm weather we have also been out on ‘wellbeing walks’ and I particularly enjoyed going (some of the way!) with Form 9 or perhaps it was the ice lollies we all enjoyed that sticks out most in my mind? The walks, though, do allow the pupils to have time to relax and stroll in the open air and gives mind-space away from the very busy academic classroom. Another example of enjoying this wonderful weather as a community has been during our coronation celebrations before half term where the pupils had a fantastic time with a variety of inflatables mixed with other games and activities – great fun!

Our Friday activity programme has continued with gusto with pupils receiving input on a variety of topics such as money and budgeting, role models and self-esteem, first aid, enterprise and employability, how the government works and road safety. I should mention the last one as this is a fantastic experience for the Form 9 pupils to develop a road safety lesson for the Nursery children which they then deliver to them in small groups. It truly melts my heart to watch this, and I am immensely grateful to the pupils involved. It is another example of the positive St. Ed’s community in action and why I am so proud of our pupils here at St Edmund’s.