Of the many things that a child’s time at school should provide, happiness is possibly the most important: the reassurance that a pupil feels secure, valued and enthusiastic about coming into Wellow House every day is paramount.
In the first ten days of this action-packed term, I have been struck by the beaming smiles all around the school, all the way from the reception pupils feeling the satisfaction of keeping up with their teachers on the Weekly Walk (or Run) to the Year 6 and 7 pupils completing a particularly arduous navigation and hiking exercise in the Peak District.
Faces wreathed in smiles have adorned the games field, the classroom and the break times, when guides have spent time caring for our new starters and ensuring that they always have someone there to show them where to go or to ask them to join in with a game or activity.
Our wide range of activities, such as Forest School, Gardening Club, kayaking, Tadpoles, archery and play rehearsals have seen many opportunities for creating happiness –as the laughter listening to some gruff boys trying out for the part of Anne Boleyn in the prep school play last Monday illustrated well.
From a Positivity Room in the Prep School to a buddy bench in the Pre Prep, the family atmosphere of this unique school, with its feeling of a large, caring family, suffuses everything we do. One only needs to look at class dojo to see how happy the children are to be a part of it all!
Dan O’Kane,
Assistant Head