As I am sure you know by now, the growth mindset is at the heart of my vision for education and personal development. Whilst this is a concept you can apply every single day of the year, January is a particularly good time to take stock of yourself and set targets for the new year. Children in all areas of our school have been talking about what they want to achieve, and how they can best work towards their aims. We have a very short term ahead of us, and it will be great to see how many of us (and I include the adults!) can achieve our goals by the end of it. Targets can be specific to a particular subject, training for sports, or practising scales on an instrument. You can set a goal to get more fresh air, more sleep, or drink more water. Year 8 divided their ideas into resolutions that would improve their physical health or their mental health. They then explored how a change to physical wellbeing might positively affect mental wellbeing, and vice versa. The only real limit to what you can achieve is your desire to make changes and be the best version of yourself you can be.
If at first you don’t succeed? You know what I’m going to say next. There’s always the next time, and indeed the next term. Not everything happens overnight. For our Seniors who sit exams this term, they will sit another set next term, so they can track their progress and refine their skills over time. Our school motto is “I aim for higher things”; with the right attitude and hard work, you’ll get there. Failures along the way are nothing to be ashamed of; in fact they are valuable learning experiences. This was the message of Mr Rodgers’ Assembly for Middle and Upper School yesterday morning, and of Head of School Saskia’s speech this morning.
As this term started rather grey and gloomy, we must take a moment to remember the fantastic ending to last term, with the whole school and a huge number of parents and relatives filling All Saints Church for our Carol Service. Occasions when we can bring our entire community together are so important, and I am glad that so many of you were able to join us.
Another exciting event this week was the launch of the 2025 Leonardo Creative Competition, which sees our older children set an open ended challenge in competition with Brighton College Prep, Handcross Park, and Brighton College Prep Kensington. I was delighted with our success last year, and hope that the trophy – which sits proudly in my study – will not be moving anywhere soon!
Finally, as the cold weather means that gloves, scarves, and woolly hats come out to play, can I remind you that all items must be school uniform (or plain black / red) and that all are named in case they get lost, which smaller items like these are far more likely to.
Ms Elizabeth Lyle, Head
