Another year over, and we certainly finished it in style! Nursery children had their first ever Graduation Ceremony on Thursday, organised by Mrs Pitman. Each child crossed over the ‘red carpeted bridge’ and parents were treated to drinks and canapes. It was a truly special event and marked a rite of passage before children move up to the Reception class (even if it is next door)!
Speaking of the Reception class, I hear they are to be congratulated for winning the whole school sunflower growing competition organised by Mrs Evans earlier in the term. Here is a photo of the winning plant with Liz, our Head Gardener.
Gregory in Form 6 has been busy baking and he kindly shared a photo of a cake he has made. Our Head of History, Mrs Smith set an original assessment to test the children’s knowledge of castles. Pupils were asked to make one and Gregory’s motte-and-bailey castle looks delicious. He tells me he scoffed quite a lot of chocolates making it!
Speech Day, was a wonderful day from start to finish. We began by walking through the town for the Form 8 Leavers’ Service, at St Peter’s Church. Form 8 have been a fabulous cohort and they kept everyone entertained with an original programme; there were a few moments of course which brought a tear to the eye for both staff and parents. Back at school, the Prize Giving and Speech day began. It was great to see parents able to attend the event again, and thank you to Mr David Newberry for being our guest speaker.
This was my 11th and final Speech Day. Whilst I will be off to pastures new, Mr Newberry takes over as Head in September. I have always felt proud to be part of Sunninghill and I leave with many great memories! As a goodbye, the school managed to surprise me by singing ‘A thousand miles’ before my speech – I will never forget how it made me feel. Getting my words out after that was challenging and I am grateful to the pupils, parents, staff and governors for giving me such a great send off.
To finish, Form 8 and their families enjoyed a farewell picnic with staff in the grounds. Named picnic blankets and water bottles were the final gift of the day for pupils, and I think they went away feeling thoroughly spoilt, as did I. There was a staff ‘after party’ but I think it best we leave it there!
From all the staff at Sunninghill, we wish you a wonderful summer break. Our excellent holiday club runs for five weeks over the summer, and pupils return to school on Wednesday 7th September.
