It is a busy time in school for our Year 11 students. On Friday they received the results from their mock examinations which they sat in December. The handing out of the results was deliberately something of a "setpiece" event which was held in the school hall with the mock results on pieces of paper in an envelope as the actual results will be in August.

The purpose of this setpiece is for the students to consider how they would feel in the summer if they were to receive these results. There is ultimately no getting away from the "theatre" of results day and having a flavour of it in a supportive environment surrounded by each other and their teachers is a good way of preparing for the experience.

Students react to exam results in different ways. There are huggers and whoopers, the stony-faced and the inscrutable, usually a few tears and hopefully lots of smiles. At this point each of our Year 11 students will need different approaches to support them to fulfil their potential – it may be a frank conversation about revising more or working harder, it may be support to balance subjects and revision techniques or how to manage the natural anxiety which comes with exams, it may be a few important discussions with subject teachers. Whichever of these is most relevant, it is almost always about communication between school, home and the student. We have already had a number of key events this year to ensure that this communication is in place – including this week’s optional meeting appointments with senior staff – and we hope that the channels of communication are open but if parents and carers of Year 11 students have any questions or concerns then please do not hesitate to get in contact with us. Equally, this applies across the school for all students and we will ensure that your query is responded to within 24 hours with at least an acknowledgement and addressed as quickly as is possible.

I have been interviewing Year 11 students during this week for places in the Sixth Form. As part of the conversation I have asked them all what they feel are the best things about Wallingford School. Uniformly they have said two things. The first is the strong sense of belonging within the school community and that this is important to them; the second is how much they appreciate their teachers and their hard work and commitment to them as students. These two attributes are an apt reflection of our school and suggest that the right support is in place at such an important time.