Our school bereavement group have produced some great hot air balloon artwork that will be installed as memorial in the Remembrance Garden, nestled in our Modern Foreign Languages Department. They have been coloured, painted and decorated to commemorate those that the group members have loved and lost. Our staff are also being asked to add their own tributes.

We are planning to set this up in the garden at the beginning of the new academic year, in September, after they have been varnished and punched. We’ll post an update and pictures of the installation then.

Given the priority to keep our college and community safe during the pandemic, we took the decision early not to hold our annual 10K event in 2021. Instead we offered runners the opportunity to take part in a virtual 10K and help raise funds for Butterflies Bereavement and Fledge. A virtual 10K allows runners to choose their course and the date/time of their run. They then let us know they have completed the distance and we send them a nice glittery medal.

Hedge End Running Club, who usually act as our fantastic marshals on the day of the annual 10K, set themselves the challenge of completing the distance on the college J-track. They had planned to do this on Monday 12th July – but the extreme weather not only made the prospect dangerous but temporarily flooded the track. So a week later they tried again – the weather might not have been quite do extreme, but it was certainly hot. It was an impressive run from everyone.

Congratulations and thanks to all those runners that took part, not just at this event, but all over the area. Hopefully we will be back to an actual run in 2022.

The brand new all Weather Pitch will be complete by the end of this month and in use from the beginning of August.

This building of this amazing new facility, was made possible with funding from Hampshire County Council – which in turn came from Section 106 funds. A Section 106 is a funding agreement between a developer seeking planning permission and the local planning authority. The funds are used to mitigate the impact of new homes on the local community and infrastructure – that is roads, utilities, services and schools.

It will be a brilliant space for our students – allowing half a year group at a time to enjoy year round, outdoor PE lessons and extend the options for exercise during break periods and after school. It will also be an important community facility – one we hope that many of you will get the chance to enjoy.

Last week a group of 30, Year 10 students had the opportunity to hear from the Schools Outreach team of St Hilda’s College at the University of Oxford. Students would usually visit the university in person, but due to COVID-19 restrictions the visit went virtual this year.

The interactive session provided students with important information about going to university, A-level course choices, applying to Oxbridge and life at Oxford. Students also had a Q&A session at the end. The inspiring session was a great success and we are grateful to Emma Gregory from the university for spending the morning with us at Wyvern.