5 February 2021
What an incredible day we have had with so much going on in school from our Year 7-9 STEAM event to our Year 10-12 Wellbeing Conference and not forgetting all our pupils benefitting from a talk from Helen Sharman, detailing her adventures in space.
Helen Sharman’s talk
We learnt so much from Helen, not only about her time in space but also about the rigorous training she underwent in order to be able to go into space. Her dedication and commitment, from having to learn Russian, through to the extreme mental and physical training regime, was quite simply awe-inspiring.
As well as stunning us with the enormity of her career, Helen left us with some very important messages about things she has learned as a result of her time in space. Despite having everything she could possible need to survive including clothes to wear, food and water, life support systems in the space ship and the company of colleagues, Helen told pupils how much she missed friends and family. She stressed the importance of these relationships, how they are what makes life worth living and how parallels can be drawn with her time in space and this recent period of lockdown.
Finally, Helen also encouraged our pupils to seize new opportunities, to be open to new ideas, to have courage to step up to new challenges and how amazing things can happen by following this advice!
Year 10-12 Wellbeing Conference
We were spoilt for visiting speakers in school today and our Senior School Wellbeing Conference was a huge success. The first talk was held by Mrs Swinburn, a Mental Health Nurse, Counsellor and Psychotherapist, who provided pupils with some expert tips and advice on mental health, including breathing techniques to ease moments of anxiety and identifying a happy space that can be used for indulging in relaxation. I loved Mrs Swinburn's top tip to pupils, to look in the mirror and think ‘we’re going to get on’! This is good advice for us all, especially at the moment.
As I write this, pupils are enjoying a fabulous talk from Suzie Lavington from ‘The Art of Brilliance’, guiding and inspiring pupils to be fearless and nurture self-belief.
Pastoral Break Time Chats – all year groups and now including Reception and KS1 pupils
On the subject of wellbeing, I thought it worth reminding parents that there are break time chats for pupils across the school. We are delighted that from Monday, Reception and Key Stage 1 pupils will also benefit from these drop-in sessions, running daily from 10:50am-11:05am. Please see the notification in your son or daughter’s calendar.
Not only do these provide the opportunity for pupils to share their highs and lows and have a general catch-up, but more importantly as we know and as advised by Helen Sharman, they help us stay connected. Please do encourage your son or daughter to join in.
Have a lovely weekend.
James Raymond
Headmaster