Head Master's Weekly Notes - 17 June 2016

Joy and jubilation filled our hearts yesterday, as our national football team remembered how to play the beautiful game against our Welsh neighbours! The school community came together for this rare match which embodied everything about our British values. And before the match the students learnt about the value of sport and its place in society and for me, the most poignant part of this community event was when all the students (Y7 to U6) got up and sang the National Anthem with great pride and gusto, with no prompting at all. At 90 minutes I was getting ready to pour out my lament, recite Dylan Thomas and share recipes of leek pie, but instead we can now head into this wet weekend full of optimism and pride. And speaking of football, two of our talented footballers, Harrison McNairn and William Howarth are at a Tottenham Hotspur training day, perfecting their skills and learning from Premier League coaches – potential England players one day? This weekend, we wish Caitlin Carnegie (1500m Steeplechase) & Georgia Silcox (Long Jump) the very best as they represent Sexey's & Somerset at the South West Schools’ Championships in Exeter; Georgia will also be captaining the Senior Girl’s Somerset Squad – a huge responsibility and testimony to Georgia’s leadership skills. The Y9 boarders arranged a Sexey’s Fashion Show this week and tonight sees the first of our Leavers’ events, the much anticipated 6^th Form Ball at the Haynes Motor Museum, where the U6 will bow out gracefully and reminisce about the highs and lows they have had whilst being a part of the Sexey’s family – it will be a wonderful occasion and I look forward to spending time with the next generation of leaders in our community and beyond.

However, yesterday we learnt of the horrific death of Mrs Jo Cox MP who was brutally murdered in her constituency in West Yorkshire whilst carrying out her regular surgeries with the people she represents. She was a compassionate MP dedicated to serving her people and ‘believed in a better world which she fought for every day'. At one point yesterday, we had a community made up of many colours, creeds and faiths coming together celebrating and rejoicing and the next moment we had a community, again of all colours, creeds and faiths coming together to mourn the loss of a loved one. Community is so powerful and we must embrace all that are part of our community. The husband of Mrs Jo Cox has urged people to "fight against the hatred that killed her" in the wake of her death and I hope through education and our values of tolerance, respect and kindness, we will all do this  - to make our communities safer places for us all.