8 March 2019

It has been an exciting and enjoyable week across the school and it was wonderful to be joined by so many Senior School parents on Tuesday evening for our Choreography, Dance and Gymnastics performance.

For the second year the Performing Arts and Sports departments took us out of school to the Cornerstone Theatre in Didcot to enjoy an evening of exceptional entertainment and impressive performances! I never cease to be amazed by the incredible creativity, coordination and athleticism of our pupils. This event was made particularly impressive by the independent choreography undertaken by the pupils and the professional nature of the performances. Many congratulations to all of the performers and my thanks.

Yesterday we enjoyed a wonderful celebration of World Book Day across the school. We were treated to a spectacular array of costumes as pupils brought to life characters from their favourite books. As well as being great fun, World Book Day is such an important opportunity to celebrate, share and promote our enjoyment of reading across the school. Many thanks for all your support as parents in creating and providing so many wonderful costumes and getting into the spirit of a brilliant day in school.

Elsewhere in school yesterday, an intrepid group of 22 Year 8s enjoyed an exciting and inspirational day of STEM-inspired fun at an event run by Dare to be Different at Deutsche bank in London. As I'm sure you are aware, Dare to be Different is a charity founded by former Williams Formula 1 test driver, Susie Wolff, and the governing body of UK Motorsport with a view to inspire the next generation, to challenge preconceptions and prejudices and encourage girls to pursue careers in engineering and motor sport. In an action-packed day the pupils learnt about resuscitation techniques from a race doctor, skills in presenting from Rosana Tennant and were also treated to a range of challenges testing skills in teamwork and reaction. In the spirit of celebrating International Women’s Day, the pupils also enjoyed building a website on inspirational women in STEM. We are very grateful to Dare to be Different for facilitating this opportunity for our pupils.

Finally, my congratulations to all of the pupils involved last night in the Reading District round of Youth Speaks. The pupils were tasked with speaking on the subjects of ‘sibling rivalry’ for the intermediate team and ‘positive role models of youth’ for the senior team. The judges were exceedingly impressed by the eloquence of the girls, who were all wonderful representatives for the school. The Senior team were delighted to win their competition and will now take part in the District finals at the end of the month.

With best wishes

Dr J Raymond