After the excitement of the House Music, this week seems to be the calm after the storm. Despite it being a more sedate week, there have been many activities to report on from both a House and pupil perspective.

Our very own Captain of the 1st Fifteen had a frank conversation about the match and his own performance on Wednesday as the team were defeated in a narrow match on the playground where the boys were in front most of the game. Ajay told me about decisions that he made in the game as well as the team and this made me consider the LWE topic that Year 7 had been doing in tutor time, resilience and who our support network are. I spoke to Ajay about moving on from defeat and what to do next, and remembered what my tutor group had spoken about yesterday, that their friends are often the best support. 

It's rare that boys in the House come forward with their achievements. I often spy them on social media or the House Instagram page, but I sparked up a conversation with Arthur C in Year 9, who informed me that he has been awarded 'driver of the day' in his karting competition. The manoeuvre he made in very tricky circumstances allowed him to recover from a difficult start to the race, and it was great to hear how well he did. 

As well as being a very accomplished swimmer, Harry G in Year 12, after 5 years, attained his black belt in Taekwondo this week. I had a conversation with Harry two weeks ago after he suffered an injury to his ankle but he was determined to make the National Swimming Championships next week and was working hard on his rehabilitation. The amount of effort Harry puts into training is astonishing and missing a few sessions would have a major impact on most but for him, it seems to have been something he has taken in his stride.

It was great to see so many of you at the annual parents' drinks reception on Friday. Mr and Mrs McMillan, Sharon and I had a great evening discussing what the pupils had achieved throughout the term and we really appreciated your company.

Finally, congratulations to our current resident tutor and previous Head of Caffinites Zack Hills who returned from the Commonwealth Beach Sprints Championships in Barbados with a bronze medal in the under 21 category. 

Good luck to everyone on the water and on the field this weekend.

Mr Thompson.