It is good to be back and I hope you and your families enjoyed a good half term break. Preparations have begun in earnest now for House Music which takes place in the Cathedral on Monday 18th November and it is great that we are able to welcome families to watch the event for the first time in what feels like a good number of years. 

For this of you new to the school, the event is entirely pupil-led: houses choose their songs and organise their own rehearsals in the houses with only a small amount of input from the music department. It is always keenly contested but no matter who wins, the opportunity to represent their house and perform in the cathedral is an experience that stays with pupils long after they have left. 

Please do get you tickets now if you haven't already done so. 

On another note, today sees our annual Remembrance Service in Chapel. As you may know, we remember the 98 and more former pupils who fell in the two wars by asking pupils to hold their photos on each of the chapel steps whilst the rest of the school files past in silence. It's a remarkably moving service but as ever what really strikes home is the space left in Chapel by the pupils who leave to take their places on the steps. It had a devastating impact on the school cominnoty at the time and it is easy to understand why Canon Budworth was inspired to build the chapel as a memorial to those who fell.