On Friday 27 April, The Lions Club of Maidenhead held their Swimarathon Awards Evening. Claires Court had entered three teams in the event and we were delighted that Lucy Skipper G7 and Kally Mudge Sixth Form were asked to attend the evening on behalf of the Claires Court. The school raised over £600 pounds for The Lions Club and the girls were presented with cheques for half the amount to give to their chosen charities, Sportsable, The Autism Group and The Link Foundation. The cheques were presented by Martin Trepte, the editor of the Maidenhead Advertiser and all the Claires Court swimmers were thanked for their enthusiastic participation.

Year 10s are fully underway with their school examinations and have completed their applications for prefect roles by writing a letter of application setting out why they think they should be appointed, and what they would bring to the role. Head and Deputy Head candidates will be observed during a group debate activity and then final interviews. I am delighted to see how many of our Year 10’s have put themselves forward and believe that they can undertake leadership roles, our experience is that given the opportunity and the expectation they rise to the challenge.

During this weeks assembly we saw the launch of our inaugural musical fundraising event, Claires Court Girls Music-a-thon. The ball is now rolling to prepare 12 hours of live music to raise money in aid of Brass for Africa; a musical charity using the power of music to transform the lives of disadvantaged youth in Africa. For more information on the charity, please see http://www.brassforafrica.org/. The event will be taking place on Friday 6 July from 8am until 8pm. The day will culminate in an informal concert at 7pm accompanied with Pimms and scones. We hope this event will be an enjoyable end to the year for everyone and it is a perfect opportunity to bring us together as a community. The challenge has now been set and the hunt for 12 hours worth of live musical performance has begun, if you are interested in taking part, please let Mr Gravett know as there is always room for parental contributions! We have set a target of £2000 and the girls will be taking responsibility for helping raise the money through sponsorship. More information to follow shortly...

At the end of the week we say farewell to our G11 pupils on their last day before study leave begins. It is a special time for Year 11 and pupils, tutors and senior staff have worked hard and in collaboration with each other, to create a day with time to look back, to reminisce and to enjoy each other’s company. The day culminates in a Final Assembly, in the presence of parents, staff and pupils, where we present all Year 11s with a silver heart necklace which symbolises the love and affection in which they have always been regarded, and the strong relationships between themselves. The necklaces are kindly provided by our PTA. It is also a time to look forward and to wish them well for the future.

Given the time of year there is not a huge amount else going on within school just at the moment - well unless you count preparations for athletics trials, the Talent Show, Music-a-thon, DofE expeditions... so yes we are still bubbling away.

Have a wonderful Bank Holiday weekend.