On Saturday, 6^th July we welcomed pupils in Years 3-8 and their families for a memorable Speech Day. As the torrential rain hammered down upon the marquee, we celebrated the many achievements of our outgoing Year 8 as well as the remarkable successes across the school this year - eloquently summarised by our Chair of Governors, Juliette Hodson.

Our special guest speaker was one of the country’s most successful swimmers, Mark Foster, who gave a motivating and passionate talk about his life and the lessons learnt from failure. By the age of fifteen, he was the fastest swimmer in the country and during a career spanning 23 years, won 51 international medals, competed at five Olympic Games, held World, European and Commonwealth titles and broke eight world records.

Mr Foster spoke honestly about never fulfilling his ambition to win an Olympic medal and how his ambition to get there was the important point.  "If I hadn't aimed for the stars and only aimed for the moon I might never have got off the ground,” he explained.  You don't fail at anything, he reminded them. If you have a go, then you're a winner: ‘From Action I Learn’.

Following the traditional reading of the scrolls for each leaver, Mr Gillam handed out the final prizes; the Headmaster's Cup for contribution to all areas of school life which was awarded to Ned S, and The Willows Cup which recognises outstanding character and embodiment of our values (as voted for by the pupils and staff) to Esme G.

With the rain continuing to pour, everyone headed to the Sports Hall for traditional strawberries and cream and prosecco as well as shirt-signing and final farewells.