VIEW FROM THE ABBEY

Friday 5 May 2023

The summer is certainly shaping up, with that most British of combinations of sunshine peppered with intense showers: weather that seems a metaphor for the summer term itself, with the students out enjoying cricket, tennis, cycles through the countryside, and trips to the coast, alongside the inevitable arrival of exams and the completion of BTEC courses.

The Fifth Form and Middle Sixth have made a great start to their external exams and BTEC assessments. The Sports Hall has hosted the first written exams of the season and hush has descended on the Art and Photography studios, DT and Fashion workshops, and the Creative Media Suite, as students work hard on their final BTEC assignments. The focus for all is securing what they will need for the next steps, whether that be transition into the Sixth Form to pursue their passion, or heading out to life after school, whether that be university, apprenticeships, or travels around the world.

I’m pleased to say students have approached these assessments with maturity and focus, but overwhelmingly and thankfully without significant anxiety, benefiting from support both at school and at home. There is also the pleasing sense of culmination and completion for many, as they bring the efforts and learning of the past years to a conclusion and get to see what they are really capable of.

Education inevitably moves outside the bounds of the classroom, especially at this time of year, and the pupils have enjoyed our annual visit from Franco Manca pizza chefs, who pick wild garlic in our grounds, the arrival of lambs on the School Farm, co-curricular activities such as Ten Tors, and trips to events such as the Winchester University UCAS Discovery Day.

We were also excited to learn that we have been short-listed as ‘Boarding School of the Year’ in the prestigious Tes (Times’ Educational Supplement) Annual Awards.

MA often feels at its best in summer, with an added energy provided by occasions such as the recent Dorset County Cricket match held on our idyllic cricket square, and as ever, we would love to share this energy with you at the various milestone events open to parents this term.

Dr Josh Bradbury | Assistant Head (Head of Sixth Form)