Teamwork & Community
At the spectacular Gym and Dance Show this week, I was struck by lots of things. By the depth of talent, the sparkly costumes, the beautiful choreography, the sheer effort that had gone into the night, but most of all by the sense of teamwork and trust.
Sitting alongside a smaller number of stunning solo pieces, over 140 dancers performed seamlessly as groups. I was especially struck by this during the final piece, Bounce, when the gymnasts got all the equipment out. Four rows of sparkly blue leotards and flexible limbs then dashed about the stage. I was barely able to pick out any individuals because they were moving too fast. Personal glory was exchanged for collective triumph. It was particularly good to see pupils in different year groups working so well together in so many pieces.
Teamwork has been in evidence in lots of areas of school life recently. We have enjoyed two magnificent large scale concerts – the Spring Concert and the Wind and Brass Concert. I always enjoy watching the sheer focus of our musicians and singers as they perform. I have also seen teamwork in action at the Middlesex Netball Finals where our U14 and U16 teams played with such passion. One of our teams won the Rotary Club Technology competition last week for the second year running. Chorale and Lower School Chamber Choir brought more trophies back from the Mid-Somerset Festival. A Lower Sixth Economics team came Runners Up last week in the Institute of Economic Affairs Challenge. Enthusiastic teams of pupils have produced the first edition of The Penguin, our satirical and inquisitive new magazine, and Eureka – a dedicated Science Magazine.
Small teams of Sixth Form students run so many of our clubs and societies – Fem Soc has secured Laura Bates, the founder of Everyday Sexism, as a speaker next term. Zine Club has been producing another magazine. Numerous academic societies from History Society to Experimental Science Club are run by pupils for pupils.
It would be wrong of me not to thank the staff after such a busy term. The second half of the Spring Term is probably the busiest in a teacher’s year as they get exam classes ready to fly the nest. It’s just as well the staff team triumphed (just) at the recent Staff vs Students Netball match. It did seem a little bit too competitive to put all the netball coaches on the team, but even teachers have to be ruthless sometimes.
I would also like to thank all my pupils for yet another inspiring term, and parents for your unstinting support. We are at our very best when we take inspiration from each other’s talents and combine them with our own. The Pole Star, Sirius, the stars in the Great Bear or Orion’s Belt – each star shines brightly in our night skies. And all our pupils shine like stars. But it’s together they make a constellation. They are so much more than the sum of their individual parts and watching them achieve so much together this term, I could not be prouder.
Blog post by Vicky Bingham, Headmistress from 2017 to 2023.