Friday Bulletin

Dear Parents and Carers,

After a very busy week in school, I felt very fortunate this morning to spend quality time with our students around school.

This morning the atrium thrummed with purposeful energy; a hive of activity with Year 11 students the diligent worker bees. There was the buzz of conversation and as I walked around, I heard snippets of historical dates, explanations of how to calculate average rates of return, and reflections on yesterday’s exams. Some students were sat in little clusters – heads bent over notes, highlighters galore – whilst others had their eyes closed quietly muttering mnemonics or recalling facts. On one table friends were testing each other with flashcards, quick firing questions and responding confidently with precise dialogue. Teachers, me included, flitted between groups calming nerves with light-hearted chit chat, answering last minute questions and offering reassuring words of encouragement. On the other side of the Atrium the Year 13 students, veterans of summer exams, formed their own focused cells of concentration. They were calmly and skilfully preparing themselves for the A-Level Psychology exam; their conversation included terms like schema, operant conditioning and attachment theory. Pens in hand, they annotated notes with practiced precision, flipped through flash cards and quizzed each other on research methods and ethical considerations.

Moving to the yard outside, I was struck by the complete contrast of the younger students playing carefree in the sunshine. Many darted around the yard playing four-square with moon balls, others were laughing in groups with friends, and some were perched on flower beds enjoying the warm weather and chatting quietly. There was not a highlighter in sight and the biggest debate taking place was whether or not the ball had touched the line. They were completely oblivious to the world inside the atrium. I had a brilliant conversation with one Year 7 student who was trying to uncover who had put Lego in the fridge in Lydia and with another student I found myself debating whether or not a burger was a sandwich. I think I blew his mind with my talk of square sausages from Scotland being like burgers and in the end excused myself from the interaction before it delved into the truly controversial realm of what to call a bread bun (it’s a roll, by the way!). 

It was lovely morning and was undoubtedly the highlight of my week. It captured the arc of a student’s journey through secondary school, beginnings and endings all rolled into one. It was impossible not to smile when watching the boundless energy and spontaneity of the Year 7 students and impossible not be proud observing the resilience and camaraderie of Year 11 and Year 13. 

Have a lovely weekend and long may the sunshine last.

Mrs McFadden