The girls' efforts during the Henley Royal Regatta were awe-inspiring and we were all so proud of them. They beat the favourites, Shiplake, with ease in the semi-finals. They beat USA national Champions, who had not been beaten for a year, in the final. Claires Court becomes the first school ever to win both the boys and the girls quad. Claires Court girls were the only British women racing on the Sunday at Henley this year. Jemima Donn, in the bow seat, is the youngest woman to win the quad at Henely, at only 15 years old and it was only the second time we have entered a girls boat into Henley. 

They rowed in the Claires Court way and we gained so many fans that weekend. They had worked hard all year and they knew that when they went behind early on in the race. They stayed calm and rowed through them in the final stages, 'dropping the hammer' with the most primaeval guttural scream you'll ever hear - turn the audio up on the YouTube clip. I was sitting (on my hands) in the launch behind, where I wasn't allowed to make any noise or signals; this was very hard for me, especially towards the end. I did sneak in a cheeky thumbs up at the end though, nobody seemed to mind. 

We also welcomed our new students and their parents into school on Wednesday afternoon and there was such a lovely atmosphere around the place; we are looking forward to them starting in September. 

Sports Day was another fantastic success, the students were fantastic and I'd like to thank the parents for coming along. I must also congratulate the PE department for their slick and efficient running of the events and the staff for making it all go so smoothly, and the weather held up too!

Good luck to the CCF, who are off on their Summer camp next week. 

We must end by thanking Mr Bennett, Mr Gravett and Ms Gutteridge for all of their hard work in putting together 'Living The Dream'. It was quite simply amazing, and I am so proud of all the students. What a way to end the year! Onwards to next year!

Have a great summer,

Mr Richards