September 4th 2025
Leadership, Teamworking and Values
On Tuesday and Wednesday, our Year 7 and 8 pupils began their school year with a varied and exciting programme. Designed to give the children an engaging and practical start to the school year, there were sessions focused on Leadership, Teamworking, Values and also sessions run by an external group, ‘Beyond Equality’, even more pertinent with our first girls coming into Year 3 this September.
The Leadership sessions explored key aspects of communication, planning, decision-making and observation, through a variety of practical group tasks. Teamworking exercises on the Front Field applied similar principles, with collective aims and effort clearly rewarded and a great deal of fun and laughter. Values sessions utilised Drama skills, as real-life situations were enacted, challenging core values and how individuals might react to testing scenarios. Finally, the Equality Workshops incorporated a wide variety of contemporary social challenges. From the influence of social media to stereotyping, some emotive themes were explored, and it was striking that the children were so forthcoming with their ideas.
A further highlight was the time that our senior children got to spend with younger pupils. All of Year 8 visited the Pre-Prep on Tuesday, meeting a variety of children, helping in the classroom, at play times and in serving lunch. Our Year 7s spent quality time with their Year 3 buddies, helping them to organise their lockers, touring the school and reading in the classroom, before enjoying lunch and then break time playing together. The relationships between different year groups are so important to harmonious and fulfilling school life, and the senior children were absolutely exceptional in demonstrating the core values of Kindness, Courage and Curiosity with all that they did, as role models to their younger friends.
Feedback from pupils and staff has been really positive and the aim of starting the year by focusing on individual and collective skills and crucially the practical aspect of our values seems to have been well met. Crucially, the children will now be tasked with ‘living out’ these high standards and expectations, day to day and week to week, with really close support from subject teachers, Form Heads and the staff as a whole. A very big ‘well done’ to our Years 7 and 8 for embracing something new with such energy and enthusiasm; a really powerful start to the new school year!
