As I write, the final break time of the term comes to a close. The boys and girls at Lyonsdown are making their way back to their classrooms for the last time this academic year. In a few hours, our leavers will move on and be Lyonsdown pupils no more. Soon, the school will fall silent.
The last week of term was anything but silent, particularly on Monday evening, when children from Reception to Year 6 took part in a revamped School Discotheque, which featured professional disco dancers for the first time. “Fantabulous” was probably the best review, with the boys and girls being praised by the visiting DJ for their enthusiasm.
We even managed to squeeze in a few more trips and visitors: Years 4 and 5 learnt all about the role of make-up on screen, whilst Year 6 enjoyed jumping around on trampolines and making metallic lions; you will find details within these pages.
Our End of Year Celebration always provides a wonderful opportunity to formally celebrate the achievements of our pupils. But this year we were privileged to welcome Beth Tweddle MBE, triple Olympian and bronze medallist and three-time World Champion, to present our awards and also speak to our community.
As I said at the End of Year Celebration, our pupils’ success could not be attained without hard work from the boys and girls and support from their parents and teachers. It is important to remember that results are not the only way to reach a goal: experience and mindset, alongside grades , are the path to future success. Lyonsdown Learning has proven to be popular this year, and will move into a more formal and visual format from September. As I always tell visitors to our school, our pupils are both informative and entertaining. They are also very like their headmaster and do not accept anything less than the best from themselves and others.
So: what does the future hold for our leavers? The future outside of Lyonsdown is theirs to decide. If they are sad, they must have loved being here. If Lyonsdown could keep them, that would be wonderful, but we all have to change and move on. The future for any school educating an old Lyonsdownian is a bright one, as they are inheriting stars. The future is theirs to shine in, the possibilities endless. To seize those possibilities, we only have to believe in ourselves.
As always: be kind, work hard and do your best. No-one can ask any more of you.
All the best for the summer holiday. I look forward to seeing you all in September.
C. Hammond