This week we followed up last week’s assembly on the school motto, Altiora Peto, by talking to the boys about how you ‘seek higher things’ and make improvements in your learning, your hobbies and interests as well as your relationships with others. We looked at the philosophy of marginal gains which dramatically improved the performance of the British Cycling Team in the buildup to the London 2012 Olympics and beyond.  Small improvements in lots of different areas led to greater success, not just in terms of Olympic gold medals but also in world record times and success in the Tour de France. The cycling team considered every area of their training from the design of the bike and material used to make their race suits, to the detailed analysis of training and diet as well as the type of pillows that the cyclists used to improve their sleep. They also painted the inside of the vehicles which transported the equipment white, so that any dust which could damage the bikes, was easy to spot and could be cleaned away.  

The challenge to ‘get better’ can be incredibly daunting and impractical. However, by breaking things down into smaller steps, and making simple, yet effective, improvements, we eventually see great progress. I challenged the boys to make those small marginal gains this week. 

This week saw a number of football fixtures, the IAPS swimming qualifiers and even some cross-country. Amongst the last week of rehearsals for the Year 4 play, almost 50 boys also performed in two teatime concerts this week.  

Thursday saw the boys wearing an eclectic range of headwear as part of World Book Day: well done to everyone for making such a great effort. Thank you also to everyone who donated books for the book sale run by PAWS, and a huge thank you to those PAWS representatives who gave up their time to collect donations and run the book sale on the day. Not only was lots of money raised for PAWS, but it was also a great pleasure to see so many boys buying books and then sitting in the middle of the playground engrossed in their new purchase! 

With best wishes, 
John Bond 

On Saturday, 1 March, the Final and Plate of the Warwickshire Primary Schools' Team Championship took place at Solihull School. A unified Warwick squad consisting of six boys from Warwick Junior School and two girls from Warwick Prep was formed for the event. The A team that had qualified for the Final by winning their zonal last year consisted of Ilyas, James, Bani and Sammy. The B team playing in the Plate consisted of Leon, Alex, Cian and Libby. Both competitions were strong events, with many of the county's best junior chess players representing schools spanning Warwickshire, Solihull and Birmingham. The Warwick team was led by Mr Lam, with Mr Thomas, chess coach at Warwick Prep, also present to offer his support.

In the Plate, the B team had a magnificent result, finishing in second place for silver medals behind a very strong Blue Coat team, surpassing last year's third-place finish. The team lost only one match to Blue Coat and won all of the rest. All four players were outstanding and every single one of them won board medals for their individual performances, with Alex finishing as the team's 'big hitter' with 6/7. He also found one of the moves of the competition, playing a beautiful forced sequence which led to the opponent's king being skewered to its rook for a decisive gain of material.

In the Final, the A team were simply fantastic and also finished in second place for silver medals, also bettering their third-place finish last year, and finishing just behind the overwhelming favourites, Hallfield School, against whom they lost by the narrowest of margins in their individual encounter. Although Hallfield scored one more match point, it's worth noting that Warwick scored 3.5 more board points overall! All four players were brilliant on the day and, once again, every single one of them also won board medals for their individual performances. It's worth noting that no other school achieved this feat in both competitions. The team's big hitter was Sammy who scored an unbelievable 7/7. The game of the competition was played by Ilyas. Facing the very talented Solihull board 1, who outrated him by nearly 200 points, Ilyas attacked the enemy king with great energy, hounding it across the board and finishing with a lovely tactical operation which gained material and simultaneously liquidated to a winning endgame.

The event was well-organised which ran very smoothly and all the Warwick players thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The credit for this must go to the tournament officials, particularly Warwick Junior School alumnus, Gregory! Gregory, who is currently in Warwick Senior School, is one of the youngest qualified chess arbiters in the country and ran a whole section independently. He was unfailingly professional, polite and helpful and his presence was a great source of assurance for the Warwick players. The Warwick players were fabulous representatives of the school; their conduct and respect for the rules and spirit of the game were impeccable!

Thank you to all the parents who provided invaluable support throughout a long, tiring but ultimately rewarding day. 

A huge well done to the Warwick teams!

Our Year 6 boys had a fantastic residential trip to Plas-y-Brenin this week. All of the boys were a testament to themselves, and a great time was had by all. The daily report from the trip can be found below!

School has been a little quieter this week with Year 6 in Snowdonia. As always, the news is that the boys are having a fantastic time, learning new skills, gaining some great memories and working together as a team. We look forward to hearing about their experiences next week. 

This week we celebrated, along with many schools across the country, Children’s Mental Health Week. The theme this year is 'Know Yourself, Grow Yourself' which encourages children to embrace self-awareness so that they can grow and develop the resilience to cope with future challenges. 

In Monday’s assembly, we talked about the philosopher Socrates who said, ‘The most important thing is to try and know yourself’. By taking notice of ourselves and how we feel, we can make better choices and know when we need support. Further resources and guidance for parents and families can be found at: 

https://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk/families/ 

https://here4you.co.uk/for-parents/ 

On Thursday, 6 March, we will be celebrating World Book Day in the Junior School by asking the boys to celebrate their favourite book and get creative! Our theme this year is 'World Book Day Hats' and we are encouraging the boys to come to school wearing a hat that represents their favourite book or book character.