I am sure I am not alone in thinking that this is one of the hardest periods of the year. As we end the half term, even the boys arriving at 7.45am can enjoy the playground in daylight and there is the prospect of longer days and better weather ahead.

I am in a fortunate position of seeing the very best of what our boys can achieve. When boys come to my office to receive a Headmaster's Commendation, I read through their writing, or work through some maths. The artwork they bring is truly exceptional. In the last fortnight I have seen some wonderful perspective drawing from Year 6 boys and some terrific Pop Art from Year 5. Our Year 4 boys have been writing some terrific 'Thunderbirds' inspired stories. The format for the stories helps provide our boys with a clear structure and each year they respond with some wonderful new episodes. They also provide a whiff of nostalgia for my childhood watching the television on a Sunday enjoying Gerry Anderson's stringed superheroes. My Year 3 visitors have brought examples of their vlogs, mythical creatures and I know they have been having fun revealing fossil casts as part of their science work.

The photographs and articles published in the newsletter provide a regular reminder of what our boys can achieve. It may be our swimmers completing lengths of front crawl in times few adults could match or our hockey and rugby players winning tournaments both near and far. The regular tales of Billy terrorising adult chess players or Oscar jumping to national level show just what can be achieved with commitment, talent and good coaching.

Whilst  the prospect of a week's break is very appealing, I am also looking forward to further excellence from the boys. After half term we will be in the Bridge House Theatre for our Year 4 production. We will finally be able to sit down to an end of term concert in Warwick Hall. Our Year 6 boys will be visiting North Wales for a week and all the boys will enjoy swimming and football house matches.

We very much hope that the drop in Covid numbers will continue after half term and that all the events will follow. I would like to thank the Junior School staff for their huge commitment covering colleagues, providing work for the boys self-isolating and delivering excellence in the classroom. They have also been busy at the weekends writing reports (shortly available on the school portal).

I wish all our families a restful week and look forward to seeing the boys back in school on Monday 28th February.