Skills development and opportunities are two key ingredients to success, and so is the motivation to engage and improve. It is lovely to see our sports stars in the close season ‘licking their lips’ for the return of their game!

Of course we are knee deep in the football season, and many congratulations to the U13 and U12 teams that managed five out of six wins against Oratory Prep yesterday. We are also busy with lots of scholarship assessments and entry activity for our next cohort of pupils. Year 7 played their part conducting their first tours around the school on Open Morning yesterday, and drew universal praise from our 32 groups of visitors, who loved their ‘indomitable’ spirit and ‘curiosity’.

Looking forward to the PTA AGM next Friday morning at Junior Boys, the ‘Pupil Voice’ team of James (B10), Dan (B9) and Jack (B8) will be presenting for Senior Boys, supported by video journalist George Miller. We’ve had so much benefit and support from the PTA this year; at Senior Boys Tina Webster continues to ensure we have second-hand uniforms available, and the Rugby Dinner at the end of last term was such a great event because of our parental support. 

And finally, I would just like to recognise the remarkable value we have enjoyed through our work with our European partners and friends over the decades since becoming part of the European Union. We have enjoyed an amazing relationship with St. Amands College, Belgium, through the end of the last century, and more recently our regular language trips to France, Germany and Spain, coupled with our History trip to Ypres, Rowing in Hazewinkel, Sailing on Lake Garda and Skiing in the Alps has kept us very much Eurofiles. With the learning of European languages at Claires Court very much on the up, it is so obvious we are going to stay well connected to our near neighbours. The UK may be leaving the EU today, but Claires Court’s relationship with Europe is very much here to stay!