We talk a lot in school about our ethos of “Sending every young person out into the world able and qualified” and the core values of being Able and Qualified run through everything we do as a school. This week we have as ever been focusing on becoming Able as a young person – there have been and number of trips and visits out, a lot of summer sports fixtures, and the final of the House The Weakest Link competition – but the focus has perhaps been rather more on becoming Qualified with A Level, BTEC and GCSE examinations continuing, Year 9 students taking their assessments with Years 7, 8 and 10 assessments to follow over the next couple of weeks.

I have to say that the approach of all of our students to examinations and assessments is absolutely first class. As a school we achieve fantastic results because teaching and learning are excellent and our young people are focused, ambitious and hard-working. None of this should be taken for granted. It comes through quality professional development of our staff, excellent relationships across the school and a tangible shared sense of aspiration for every young person’s future.

I have been around school over the past few weeks leading tours of the school with prospective Year 5 students and their families, popping in and out of classrooms, talking with students and staff and I could not be more proud of the Wallingford School community and everything that we achieve, offer and embrace. The values of becoming Able and Qualified pervade the school and can be felt in everything we do.