Headmaster’s Notes: Together we can achieve so much

Inspections are always one of those exercises that we all need to go through from time to time but our experience this week was certainly a first as we hosted our first ‘virtual’ inspection team. We anticipated some healthy interest from the Department for Education following the launch of our Nursery and it was so encouraging to witness the school community working together so collaboratively with the shared desire to celebrate all that is outstanding here during an intense week of scrutiny across the spectrum of Prince’s Mead life, with a particular focus on our Nursery and Pre-Prep. Rightly, inspections are never announced but, true to form, pupils, staff and governors stepped up to the challenge, speaking with confidence and authority during a tight schedule of meetings. The Reporting Inspector spoke so highly of everyone she met and, above all, how we have risen to the challenges of this moment in time, maintaining the highest standards of education in support of our children. Such is the nature of this inspection we will be left with a rather formulaic outcome statement in due course but we certainly sensed that we continue on a very secure trajectory and have everything to be proud of.

I hope that the tutor and subject specialist Zoom meetings this last week have proved to be beneficial. We value our strong relationship with you as parents and the sense of community and trust that this engenders. These are fundamental in ensuring your child’s flourishes and we are fortunate that they can be appropriately challenged and inspired by so many teachers, each with their own specialisms, at every stage of their journey through Prince’s Mead. You will have received further staff news in your inboxes this week, outlining a number of additional appointments in support of our continued commitment to an outstanding breadth of education for your children. As soon as we are able, we look forward to hosting parental gatherings in school where it will be a pleasure to get to know our many new families much better. In the meantime, thank you for maintaining that all-important self-distancing during those busy times at the beginning and end of the day.

Away from those Zoom meetings, our busy sporting fixture list would normally be well underway but schools are not there yet. However, the Prince’s Mead Champions League and Netball Super League are proving a real hit alongside over 500 extra-curricular activities that have been partaken in over this week alone in our Co-Curricular programme.

I hope that you have a most enjoyable weekend. We look forward to our Early Years virtual Open Morning tomorrow where we will be welcoming a number of prospective parents for a live ‘Q&A’ with our teachers.

Peter Thacker