It was a real pleasure to spend the morning of Remembrance Sunday in Warlingham at the parade and Ceremony of Remembrance on The Green. The coming together of so many different elements of the local community to pay our respects to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice – giving their tomorrow’s for our today – was both inspiring and humbling. 

The group of students I had the pleasure of walking with at the parade took their roles as representatives of the whole school community very seriously and did so with dignity and thoughtfulness. To listen to their sincere reflection on the negative impact of war, the changing nature of it through the twentieth century and their admiration and respect for those who gave their lives, gave me real confidence that, even as the number of surviving veterans of those conflicts is becoming ever fewer, the importance of remembrance is not lost on the younger generations. See some of their quotes about the Ceremony of Remembrance below. 

What I learnt on Sunday was a new perspective for the casualties lost to war. It especially touched me hearing the names of the men who died at war as for years you commit to the silence but forget it was actual humans who fought and sacrificed their souls bravely for our prosperity and peace. I feel honoured I got to learn this while getting to witness the positive community they helped protect come together to show such a huge amount of gratitude and it really hit home how strong our Warlingham community is.

Shane B, Year 12

Remembrance was a big part of our week last week with my assemblies at the start of the week reminding students of the origins of remembrance and the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in preserving memorials and cemeteries in honour of the fallen. We were lucky to have Mr Duff playing the Last Post in assemblies and Year 9 student, Oskar, playing it fantastically on the bugle to mark our two minutes silence on Friday 11^th November which can be seen in the article included in this edition of the Newsletter. What you can’t see in the video is the whole of Year 7 surrounding the front lawn observing the two minutes silence, which was a fitting collective act of remembrance. 

I am so thankful to have been able to represent my community 

Emily P, Year 10 

If Remembrance was a big focus last week, it has been part of a wider focus on bringing our school community together and celebrating all our individual and different contributions to that community. Whether it be our Culture Week before half term, our monthly music recitals, sporting triumphs at Harrow and in the swimming pool, or our identity poetry House Competition – there has been a great deal of work by all members of the school to continue to build back the strong school community that was diminished so much by the effects of the pandemic. Thank you to all the students and staff for your ongoing commitment to that goal and congratulations to those who have had recent success that this edition recognises.  

You will no doubt be aware that last week on Tuesday we had the call from Ofsted and our inspection on the Wednesday and Thursday. While it will be a number of weeks before the outcome of the inspection is shared, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank parents and carers for taking the time to complete the parent view surveys and share both our strengths and areas for improvement in the future. The students who were observed in lessons and who met with the inspection team were an absolute credit to both the school and you as parents and carers. Hopefully, we will receive the report before the Christmas break and I will communicate with parents when we do receive it. Until then, thank you for your ongoing support of your child and the school.