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16 May 2026

Interchangeable weather and spring showers have been a prevailing feature of this week. Whilst our expansive green spaces have been grateful for the hydration, spirits in school have remained high and those enjoying the outdoors have found a way to do so regardless – the highlight for me was watching a number of Year 7 pupils continuing practising their dance moves on the terraces in the midst of an almighty and unexpected downpour! I am also very proud of our Year 9 who, en masse, are completing their Duke of Edinburgh practice expedition this weekend which has included sleeping out under the cold but beautiful sky at Holford House. 

Indoors, the business of learning has continued apace, and the week concluded with a couple of really precious events that speak of the nurturing community spirit at the heart of Westonbirt and sense of the pupils truly belonging to something so much bigger than themselves.  

The Year 13 testimonials in the Library is the first of these; an opportunity for each form tutor to say goodbye to their form, recalling some of the highlights of each Sixth Former’s journey to the footsteps of adulthood. The speeches are put together and prepared with so much love and, as a witness to this interchange, it was easy for me to see why our young people flourish in the way that they do and how they have come to be the rounded, kind and humble young adults that they are.  

The second of them was the Senior Sports Awards I again had the privilege to attend. The evidence of camaraderie, mutual respect and a love of sport was palpable and heartwarming. The event made it clear that the source of celebration was not about winning but about the values associated with good sportsmanship; tenacity, generosity of spirit, leadership, putting others first, resilience and dedication. The presentations and the discourse also highlighted the incredible dedication of the sports staff and the central role that sports and sportsmanship has played in the fundamental development of character of the young people in the room. This is a really invaluable and important feature of a Westonbirt education and one that our newly appointed Director of Sport is incredibly keen to nurture. I am delighted to be able to allude to his appointment but in respect of his school community we are holding off on the announcement of his identity for just a few more days – please look out for a separate communication regarding his appointment very soon. 

Finally, I would like to share with you the key theme of this week’s assembly. Following on from the remarkable milestone of Sir David Atttenborough’s 100th birthday and the outpouring of national joy and love it prompted, I was inspired to take the time to look into his life and legacy. This week I chose to share with the children my observation that at the core of some of the most successful and fulfilled people I have had the pleasure to meet or learn about have been those that have lived their lives authentically and true to themselves. Such lives are not easy and often require a significant amount of resilience but I have always been moved by the wisdom and depth of perception that such people are able articulate; and, on a personal level, I associate fulfilment and self knowledge as cornerstones of true and lifelong happiness. 

To “live life authentically” I proposed to the pupils the following recipe: 

  • Curiosity – allowing ourselves time and space to appreciate the beauty and complexity of this world. Asking questions to understand helps us to grow our empathy… 
  • Empathy – the ability to see and perceive the world through the eyes of others and learn and grow through this experience. 
  • Courage – in order to achieve great things we have to take risks and embrace failure as a natural part of growth. Sometimes we also have to be courageous for others and courageous in the pursuit of truth. 
  • Resilience – quite simply, if something was easy, how did you grow?  
  • Self-knowledge – a skill and a strength at the very core of authenticity and yet so difficult to achieve. I wanted the pupils to recognise that you are most likely to “meet” yourself when you are truly challenged. 

 

Experiences in school should provide space for all of the above. They are ingredients fundamentally mixed into all aspects of an excellent educational provision, but they are things that here at Westonbirt we will seek to tease out, highlight, celebrate and amplify for the purposes of nurturing people for whom authentic happiness in themselves is the goal.