Our assembly theme this week echoed the message across most schools with the start of anti-bullying week. It was good to see so many boys coming into school dressed in odd socks. Just as all the sock combinations were different across the school, the message was that people are similarly unique and differences should be celebrated.

It was good to see the boys returning refreshed and ready for the second half of the term. Judging from my conversations with the boys, they have enjoyed some interesting experiences over the two-week break.

I managed to join a couple of our Houses as they met to elect the four charities to support over the coming year. Boys were encouraged to make a short presentation to their Houses before they voted to determine a local, national, international and environmental charity. As always, the boys rarely make poor decisions and four most worthy charities have been elected.

We were very fortunate on Friday to host the author Cressida Cowell. Cressida spoke to the boys about how her experiences spending entire summers on a remote Scottish island helped fire her imagination to write her 'How to Train a Dragon' series. The house she stayed in had no electricity and together with her siblings, they amused themselves in boats, climbing rocks and exploring caves. Given that the Vikings had visited these islands in the past, it was not surprising how ideas formed in her head to fuel her future stories.

Two events during the last week left a major impression. On Thursday afternoon the Halse Pavilion was full of parents and Year 6 boys to mark the culmination of the boys' Young Enterprise Project. For the last two weeks the boys spent a number of their lessons forming groups, deciding on a company name and then what product they wished to bring to market. The boys produced questionnaires as part of their research before deciding on the food item they wished to manufacture, market and sell.

The demands on a Headteacher know no bounds, particularly at this most busy time of the term. On Friday I was summoned to conduct the most challenging task of the year to date: the semi-final adjudication of the Great Junior School Bake Off. This saw four of the finest young bakers in Warwickshire vying to secure a place in the final.