I would like to share just a few words I delivered in assembly earlier today, when we paused to honour Her Majesty’s remarkable reign.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II died peacefully at Balmoral yesterday afternoon. This brings to an end the longest reign in the thousand-year history of our monarchy. Her Majesty was one of the most remarkable monarchs the world has ever seen; some are already referring to her as Elizabeth the Great.

The Queen embodied duty, service and stamina. She was our mainstay, our rock, in an ever- changing and uncertain world. When Her Majesty became queen in 1952 – seventy years ago – she was just 26.

She said at the time: ‘I declare that my whole life, whether long or short, shall be devoted to your service.’ And it was. Just three days ago, Her Majesty was still working, meeting the outgoing PM Boris Johnson, and inviting the new PM, Liz Truss, to form a government. At 96, still performing her royal duties and still serving her people. But behind the monarch was, of course, a person: a wife – more recently a widow – a mother, a grandmother and a great grandmother. Let us hold her family in our thoughts for a moment and send them our prayers and wishes.

On Tuesday morning my colleagues and I came out to the gate to welcome everyone – faces old and new. I must say it was one of the most enjoyable moments I have experienced since arriving at the Hall. Rarely have I seen so many smiling young people entering school gates on day one; a more common expression worn on the first day of term in some schools is a reticent yawn, nothing more. But not here. Pupils seemed genuinely pleased to be back, and we were certainly pleased to see them!

We have continued in this vein all week with a sense of optimism and excitement about our school’s future. My thanks to all my colleagues for their hard work in firing up the jets and doing all the final checks before Tuesday’s take off. It was a busy launch but we are certainly airborne again now. What a marvellous school this is.

With best wishes for the weekend.