"Although many aspects of life before lockdown are starting to feel like a hazy blur, the moment when Boris Johnson announced the cancellation of exams will forever stay in my memory as one of those ‘where were you when it happened’ moments. I remember I was on the late Bus Duty and some boys came running up to me brandishing their phones. They had to tell me over and over again and let me read and reread it as I just would not believe it. Even then, I kept repeating ‘but he can’t mean, ‘cancelled’, he must mean ‘postponed’. The immense shock, the sense of loss and disorientation that I felt is nothing compared to the experience of our Year 11s and Year 13s. Our remaining time in school was marked by a feeling that the boys were shaken and rudderless in a way that I had never seen them before. As we moved to remote teaching, it felt particularly painful to be parted from these year groups and it seemed that they would struggle to adjust to being taught without the anchor of looming exams. The following pieces of work, then, denote something much more than just superb pieces of scholarship. The assignments these boys have completed are symbols of their resilience and passion. I think they knew that, if we were honest, we were powerless to do anything about it if they chose not to write them but they wrote them anyway. In every subject, essay and essay poured in of great depth and scholarship on a range of subjects and each one seemed to give us hope. If these boys could work like this, after the trauma they had experienced and with no stick or carrot, then imagine the sort of students they will be when they move on to the next stage of their academic careers. I wish we could show you every single one so you can feel the same hope that we feel about the next generation of young men but as we can’t then do enjoy this selection."

Mrs Wyatt, Deputy Head Teaching and Learning