If we are what we eat then I must be a warm Christmas muffin! Sorry to mention Christmas this side of half term, but our Sixth Form chefs have given me no choice following their culinary exploits this week. As part of our enrichment programme Mrs Irons has been working with a group of students to increase their cookery skills and knowledge in preparation for university and ultimately independent living. Our cooks have made numerous types of bread, pastry, sauces and cakes and can even bone a whole chicken! They will never go hungry. In fact, judging by the quality of the food they are making they will be the most popular students in halls and we know how central food is in bringing people together and forging friendships.

Our Gambia adventurers have also made their mark this week, holding a Bake Sale on Tuesday, selling delicious brownies, cupcakes, cookies, doughnuts and krispy cakes. In just half an hour over two hundred items were sold and enjoyed, boosting the charity fund by an extra £230. Well done to everyone involved, including Ms Bell who made the doughnut dawn raid on Krispy Kremes! With less than a week before 'wheels up' and the students fly off to Brufut, excitement is building. Activity plans to engage the local children are being finalised, last minute shopping for appropriate clothes is underway, including 'team t shirts' and vaccinations are done. The Gambia JustGiving Page will be officially 'launched' on Saturday, at Fireworks Evening. Look out for Sixth Formers in hi-viz, helping you park and give us a wave! A number of our students are also on ergos, demonstrating the many benefits of rowing. Please pop in and cheer them on.

Oliver and David conceived and organised a winning sports event for fellow students to participate in this week - a dodgeball tournament!

It attracted more than 20 players, divided into 5 teams and was played with incredible enthusiasm and competitiveness! There were plenty of supporters cheering on the competitors and match after match was keenly contested. Before we knew it, the final whistle was blown and the tournament was over. Only one team won all their games but everyone enjoyed taking part and agreed another dodgeball event should be arranged soon! Students gave generously to The Gambia Fund and close to £30 was raised. With only a month before our intrepid adventurers set off for Brufut, the occasion was intended to 'make a difference' which it will.

As well as tracking the time left before we wish our students a good trip we are also tracking and monitoring the progress and development of their learning before half term. To track means “to follow”, rather like following a car's motion on the Uber App;  while to monitor means “to watch” in the same way the “Ring” app “monitors” your front door so you can actually see it through the app, and when someone arrives, you can physically “monitor” and “observe” what is happening, in real time. Likewise, it is helpful to a student’s progress to track the academic assessments they experience each year and look at the outcomes at those checkpoints. Year 12 students are taking their first subject based assessments since beginning Sixth Form next week, while Year 13 are sitting internal tests. For Year 12 it is the first point of tracking their movement through Key Stage 5; for both year groups it is an opportunity to observe the quality of their work and to gauge their attitude to learning. Consistent, targeted and SMART work is fundamental to success in A Level and Level 3 study and I look forward to seeing results which reflect the best outcomes from each individual. 

In a recent study by the OECD economics think tank, going to university in England is still considered to be a good investment. The majority of our students recognise this too and continue to prefer the university route; 71% of our Year 13 leavers this summer achieved their first choice university while 19% are heading off to their second choice. As a school we are delighted not just by their success but also at the diversity of degree courses they have opted to study. As well as computer science, banking and finance, real estate, business and sport, students are also pursuing classical civilisations, astrophysics, interior architecture and design and marine and natural history photography. Traditional subjects including maths, biology, geography and economics remain firm favourites too.

‘Celebrate what you've accomplished but raise the bar a little higher each time you succeed'. Today we celebrated, together with you as parents, grandparents and friends, the remarkable events and activities Year 12 have participated in during the past academic year and also, more importantly, the growth and development of the students too, who are a credit to themselves, their families and our Sixth Form. But we know full well there is so much more to come from them and as a team of subject teachers, personal tutors and Heads of Year, we will continue to encourage, cajole and inspire them to achieve the very best they can throughout next year. 

As well as celebrating the year group as a whole we also recognised some stunning individual achievements, some from earlier in the year and some from as recently as yesterday! Following a democratic staff and student vote, our Heads of School were announced during today's celebration and we are immensely proud, and expectant, of the students taking on various responsibilities under the guidance of Head Girl, Kayla and Head Boy, James. 

Do you agree with AJ Heschel? “People of our time are losing the power of celebration. Instead of celebrating we seek to be amused or entertained. Celebration is an active state, an act of expressing reverence or appreciation."

For my part, I live life in an 'active state' every day and I believe in the importance of recognising and celebrating the remarkable achievements of our students, in all their many and varied forms. Last night we actively celebrated the conclusion of our Year 13s time in the Sixth Form by meeting together, with Year 12 too, at the Crowne Plaza for our Summer Ball, sharing a delicious three course meal, then working off the calories, again very actively, on the dance floor! There was conversation, laughter and nostalgia as we looked back over the incredible roller coaster ride we have shared over the past two years. Each of these amazing individuals have recently been focused on preparing for and sitting their final exams which are their passport on to university, into an apprenticeship, employment or on to a meaningful gap year. Now that pinch point has been negotiated there is no more appropriate response than to celebrate! Seeing the camaraderie they share with each other and their teachers last night reminded me of how we affect and are affected by those we spend most time with and it has been a privilege for our Sixth Form team to have worked closely in helping shape and be shaped by the outgoing Year 13 cohort. View the full gallery here.

Sponsored Silence! What a marvellous way to raise money for the Gambia Project, a well used but brilliant idea Jacob in Year 12 had and which, strangely, staff and students were keen to support! It was a peaceful day in the Sixth Form and proved very profitable too with £118 now added to the funds the students are building up for their trip to Brufut in October.

Our rowers have also had success, winning various races including the quad you can see in this week's photograph. James, Alec, Joe and Jake holding their winners medals and the well worn trophy which has been awarded to many other superb teams down the years. Congratulations to them and our other rowers who competed so impressively.