We are now three months in to their Wallingford School lives and I have to say a huge “well done” to our Year 7 students. I have been in and out of a lot of their lessons over the past couple of weeks and their focus, politeness, commitment to learning and enthusiasm have shone through in every single one. They are doing brilliantly and we are very proud of them. And it’s not just in lessons that they are shining. Their commitment to clubs and activities has been really impressive and this is all part of them being embedded in our school community.

I often write about our range of clubs and activities and this has been a pretty engaging recent pitch for our Warhammer Club: "Interested in painting challengingly small things? Interplanetary squabbling? Fun? Sandwiches? Destruction? Eating your lunch in an Art room? THEN WE HAVE THE CLUB FOR YOU!" What is particularly special about this club is that it is run by our Sixth Form students for the younger ones (and just a little bit for themselves) and they have been holding cake sales over the past week to raise funds for extra equipment as well as preparing for a visit to Warhammer World in the new year. This is great student leadership and we appreciate it.

Other lunchtime clubs which are proving particularly popular at the moment include Art Club – a real favourite for a great many students – Debating Club, Basketball Club and, despite the cold, Gardening Club. All of these activities are part of the fabric of our school life.

Also at the heart of the life of the school is our House system and this week we have held House assemblies. I won’t give away the current standings but they will be updated for our whole school assembly on the last day of term and as ever the competition is fierce. What is particularly great about the House assemblies is the way in which students from Years 7 to 13 come together to forge a collective spirit to participate and compete; the winning is nice but the sense of being in something as a group is special.

Finally, well done to our Year 11 students for the start of their mock examinations with speaking and practical exams taking place this week and the full schedule really kicking in next week. Their approach has been absolutely first-class – this is unsurprising but should be noted and commended.