Many hands make light work

It has been a busy and exciting week with a focus on the theme of teamwork and collective responsibility. Monday’s assembly was on the topic of ‘Many hands make light work’. I gave some examples of the teachers and grounds staff getting in early to keep school open when we had the snow disruption, the builders working on the new Sports Hall and how taking responsibility for looking after our own belongings and taking care of our environment means that it won’t be left to Mr Fleet to sort out! I also talked about how we all have a collective responsibility to look out for one another, being aware of and supporting others who may need it. A phrase devised by a young Belmontian ‘If someone falls over help pick them up’, that I often refer to, is wonderful advice both literally and metaphorically. It was heart-warming when a Year 3 boy came to tell me that he was reminded of assembly when he had fallen over the same day and another boy had helped him to get back up.

RNLI

To reinforce the importance of teamwork we welcomed Stephen Wheatley from the RNLI, Tower Lifeboat branch. He came to talk about the importance of every single member of the RNLI team having a vital role to play and how they rely on each other’s’ organisation, dedication and professionalism to respond to emergency situations. If the team doesn’t work effectively it could cost lives. It was fascinating to hear how quickly they respond once alerted. I would like to thank all families who have supported this worthy cause by providing tracksuits that will be used to keep people who have been rescued from the water dry and warm.

Fives Success

Many hands literally made some light work of the opposition at the Eton Fives Nationals this week. On Monday, we took six pairs to the U13 boys’ competition where Toby and Edgar in particular did extremely well, reaching the quarter-final stages. On Wednesday it was the U13 girls’ competition and all girls did very well, but the first pair of Hannah and Jasmine came 6th in the country for their age category! Handy work all round! (Sorry – it is half term.) Thank you to Mr Rennie and Mr McGuinness for all of their work in coaching and supporting the children.

Townsend History Warner Prize

I am also pleased to announce that four of our entries to the Townsend History Warner Prize have qualified for the second round of this prestigious and extremely challenging prep school History competition. Well done to William, Max, Felix and Ruth who will be sitting Round 2 after Half Term.

Best wishes,

Leon Roberts