Teaching is a wonderful job and we are very lucky to work in a wonderful school. With a general recruitment and retention crisis in the education sector, it is important teachers take time to recharge over the holiday. The opportunity to reflect as teachers is as important for us as it is for our students.  As a teacher of over 18 years, the night before we return is as fresh in our minds as the first time of teaching and on reflection, it is the opportunity to inspire and the sense of belonging that keeps our passionate and enthusiastic teachers working so hard. 

Whilst every lesson is memorable, it has been so nice that we have been able to bring back all of the extras that make our community so special. The DofE weekends, the sailing trip and the ski trip. I was lucky enough to see this sense of community first hand on the ski trip over Easter. We took 72 students through Dover and on to Calais in early April (no mean feat); we skirted around Operation Brook, ‘sailed through’ French customs and drove through the French and Italian countryside to the city of Aosta. We had so many compliments on the trip. The coach drivers, the hotel owners, the ski instructors and the resort managers all said our group was the best they had ever looked after. Our students are polite, respectful, stoic in the face of adversity and I could not have been more proud as a Headteacher at Claires Court.

I was struck by this picture of Mark Noble, West Ham’s captain and crucial midfielder, cleaning the away dressing room after their victory at Lyon the same way our students cleaned the coach after the 10 hour journey fuelled by Harribo wrappers and spilt Pringles. The experienced drivers said they had not seen a cleaner coach in all of their trips to the Alps. This shows that our values of respect and integrity are truly lived and not just laminated around the site. Two members of our trip are still off school and I would like to send them our love and wish them a speedy recovery. 

Finally, the best way to celebrate this sense of community and enjoy the company of other great people in the Claires Court family is at our Summer Ball on Saturday 11 June. Our wonderful PTA put an enormous amount of effort into this event, it raises a lot of money for the extra things at school and is the perfect way to be involved in school life. All details are shown on our Facebook Page www.facebook.com/clairescourt but email Anna Taylor West on annat_w@hotmail.com to secure your ticket. 

Enjoy your bank holiday weekend. 

 Mr Richards