After two years of lockdowns and very few opportunities for adventure, it has been such a pleasure these last few weeks to see action-packed photographs of our students enjoying different residential trips together. They have braved all sorts of outdoor challenges and built bonds that will last a life-time. 

We all know that learning cannot be confined to a classroom, or a screen, no matter how engaging and inspiring the teaching may be. Trekking outside, visiting new places and tackling physical challenges together – these are the things that bring depth to our character and breadth to our horizons.

Ours is a busy, daring, dynamic education. We are defined by our outstanding pastoral care and the very caring relationships that play out between our teachers and students, but this doesn’t mean we are short on ambition! Establishing a safe and secure environment built on kindness and mutual respect is only the beginning. We can and do offer a daring and adventurous education precisely because of our core work in building trust and projecting belief in our students. Once this trust is established, we can make the learning as challenging as possible, and we do. Seeing the pictures that have been coming back from recent trips, it is clear that our students have been stepping far out of their comfort zones and attempting character-building challenges. This is made possible because they feel safe, secure and valued. Self-worth breeds self-confidence, in my experience.  

Get the fundamentals right first – build a safe and nurturing environment – and then raise the bar to new levels of expectation and challenge. That’s how we roll at The Hall. I am so very proud of everyone.

Have a lovely weekend, and to all our trekkers returning from distant shores: have a bath. 

Yours,