It was a pleasure to welcome back our last cohort of Sixth Form leavers, just before Christmas, to collect their A Level certificates and share a mince pie or two. The buzz of excited conversation between students and staff exchanging news on courses, accommodation and budgeting was both entertaining and enlightening! 

As I am quite certain you are already aware, we are at the beginning of not just a new year, but a new decade! As the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve I felt a mixture of excitement and anticipation as the 'blank canvas' of a new year came into focus; I also felt the weight of responsibility, a need to do something significant and useful with it. Bloggers and influencers encourage their followers to 'focus on a passion, not the way you look', 'work out to feel good, not thinner', 'read a book a month', or my favourites which are to 'stop gossiping', 'give at least one compliment each day', 'do random acts of kindness' and 'go a whole day without checking your mobile'! 

There is always so much good advice around as a new year begins and I have added my fair share, reminding the students to be mindful of their long term goals, that their efforts over the coming months can make such a difference to the next stage in their lives. I encouraged them to invest all the energy they can into their studies, prioritising their work, adopting a positive attitude, using effective time management skills to practice and master their subjects so that in their terminal exams this May, Year 13 students can achieve their dreams and aspirations. Visualising themselves opening their results envelope in August often helps them to crystallise their thoughts.