Teamwork makes the dream work: it’s a hackneyed old chestnut but it’s true, and we saw two fine examples of this from our talented rugby and netball teams this week. Our girls went off to an U14 Merton Borough Netball competition and came back with an impressive score sheet: one draw and two wins. Our boys went off to Box Hill School and came home with a win too. Champion!

These players are not just role models on the pitch with their fair play and sporting attitude, they are role models back here at school too. They put everything into all they do and demonstrate a positive attitude and a determination to succeed.

Teamwork was also seen earlier in the week when we filmed our new HSW promotional film. We spent two days capturing so many exciting aspects of our vibrant school, and I would like to thank all the students and the staff for their cooperation (and their patience, with all the cameras and drones buzzing around them!). I look forward very much to sharing the finished film with you. Our students were all stars, of course – a great team.

There is a wonderful African proverb which I’m sure you will have heard before: ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go to together.’

Here at HSW, our culture is designed to enable us all to go far together, it’s our modus operandi. As I walk the corridors and drop into lessons, I see and sense teamwork in action: how our students support each other, how they take turns at leading and following – the latter being just as essential for good teamwork. We often champion the development of leadership skills while perhaps forgetting the values of good followership, such as loyalty, commitment and cooperation. Similarly,  independence often overshadows the better goal of interdependence! We are, in so many ways, interconnected.

Whether our students are working together in class, socialising together outside, or training together for a sports fixture, they show outstanding skills in cooperation and collaboration. Everyone in our community performs an integral role in the HSW team and I am proud to play on the same side!

A J Hammond