Confidence

Last Saturday was our first Open Morning of this academic year and I am delighted to say that we had many visitors to the Prep School. The numbers in all of our year groups are very healthy with some year groups very nearly full. In particular, I would urge any families looking for places in next September’s Years 3, 4 and 8 to contact us as soon as possible. With regard to the Open Morning, I must mention all of our fabulous Year 8 guides who were praised so much by all of the visitors for their maturity and good manners. It was particularly good to hear visitors struck by the pride which our senior pupils so clearly have for our school. The staff and I are all extremely proud of our school and it is very rewarding to see that feeling shared by so many of our pupils.
Today, Year 7 and Year 3 are out on a trip and I am delighted that we are able to provide our pupils with experiences which enhance the curriculum and which bring alive the work done in the classroom. Year 7 are visiting the Refugee Aid Centre in Taunton and Year 3 are visiting Carymoor Environmental Trust to find out more about sustainability and life as a Celt! I am sure that the pupils will learn a lot and enjoy the day. Meanwhile, pupils in Year 5 have been writing with real purpose as part of their work in English, History and Geography and are in the process of finalising their letters to the Prime Minister, in which they register their dismay over the practices of the Slave Trade.
Our TPS Mission value of the week is ‘Confidence’ and we have witnessed so many lovely examples of pupils being confident over the last seven days. Last Friday, for example, in the Harvest Festival, the pupils who stood up and sang in our various choirs produced singing of the highest quality. A very well done to all of our performers and thank you to all the pupils and parents who donated so much food and drink, all of which will be very much appreciated by those most in need in our local community. This was, of course, Mrs Winter’s first Harvest Festival as our new Chaplain and she is settling in very well to this important role.
Last night, many of our most accomplished musicians demonstrated high levels of confidence by performing superbly at The Brewhouse during the Private View of the new Anne Frank exhibition. Congratulations to all of our musicians who represented the school so well.
Confidence is one of the most important characteristics which we can nurture in our young people and there are many ways in which we can help on a daily basis. Encouraging the boys and girls to speak out clearly and to make eye contact are just a couple of examples which make a huge difference.

Mr Andrew Edwards
Headmaster TPS