The View From My Study 26 June 2026
Well so much has happened over the last seven days it is hard to know where to begin.
Last Friday and Saturday’s Sports Days were a spectacular example of sporting excellence and breadth which allowed individuals to showcase their talents while working hard for the team.
The 4th Form production of Peter Pan in the Woods was brilliantly creative and ambitious. It reminded us that, while we all have to grow up at some point, we don’t need to lose our sense of wonder, joy and imagination.
The Year 3 Barn Dance on Tuesday was rip-roaringly successful – pupils and parents, be-decked with neckerchiefs, galloped, twirled and do-si-do-ed. Yeehah!
Wednesday’s Nest Graduation Ceremony was so sweet and a positive reflection of the incredible learning journey of our youngest pupils. While the ‘nesties’ had a short red carpet to walk along, the 6th Form had a much longer one, outside Earle House, as they arrived for the Leavers’ Prom on Wednesday evening. With a Hawaiian theme, the children dined, danced and socialised to their hearts content and it was a lovely celebration of a very good cohort.
Yesterday the Pre-Prep concert was incredible – lively, fun and accomplished, despite the heat! Throw in a superb leavers’ programme and we arrive where we are right now – at the end of a wonderful year, on a final day which has included a thought-provoking Valedictory Service and a celebratory Prize Giving.
The hot weather did its best to disrupt this week but while other schools may have wilted, BG stayed true to its commitments through tweaks and mitigations that kept all of the shows on the road. I am grateful to all of my colleagues for their efforts this week and indeed throughout the whole year – they do an incredible job of inspiring the children on a daily basis.
We say goodbye today to Mrs Burley, Mr and Mrs Wicks, Mrs Soutter, Mrs Rose and Gappies Nelly Bathard Smith and Erin King. They are all off to pursue new adventures and we wish them well, thanking them as they go for their contributions to BG life.
Summer works will begin almost immediately and the headline news – fanfare please – is that the changing rooms will receive a full make-over, including the installation of lockers. We will also begin work on the landscaping around Earle House and this will include the installation of a new play area which, for those who remember, replaces the old Junior play area that we had to remove to make way for the construction. So, plenty going on with positive investment in the school.
Finally, to those moving on: I hope you have enjoyed your time on your BG surfboard. It will shortly be time to catch a new wave, in a new sea, for a new ride which will hopefully provide as much fun and exhilaration as you have experienced here. Be bold, be brave and go with the waves.
