Dear friends of Pilgrims',
I trust this finds you very well and may I wish you a wonderful Easter season.
What a very busy, productive and remarkable term it has been! As ever, the diversity of opportunities for the boys, and their subsequent achievements, has been outstanding. We have seen a wide number of exciting and enriching day trips, AI literacy workshops, Twilight Talks from fascinating speakers, parent engagement presentations, the celebration of Science Week and, most recently, the Juniors’ STEAM day, which saw Cross-Year teams working on bridge building. Year 8s have done their mock exams, and other Years have had their mid-years and the benefits these confer.
Music making
Musically speaking, the tone was set right from the outset of term, with the Choristers singing at the installation of Bishop Phillip, the new Bishop of Winchester, and the Quiristers’ performance of Handel’s ‘Messiah’. Not too long after half term, we were to get the final music award results for our Year 8s, which brought this year’s total to an incredible 15 awards to senior schools – a record-breaking achievement! And the music making continued with some great fun and talent on display in the music-rich adaptation of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ put on by the Juniors; and latterly with the Seniors’ brilliant performance of ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat’. In the midst of this, the Cs and Qs each pulled off an Evensong broadcast by the BBC. The Spring Concert on Monday, which brought the musical term to a close, was of an astonishingly good quality.
Sporting success
Things have been equally busy on the sporting front, with a broader range of rugby opportunities – contact and touch – than ever before (including the recent inter-Set touch rugby) and many Herculean efforts resulting in some tremendous performances and scorelines. The diversity has continued with water polo matches, cross-country fixtures and the regular array of extra-curricular sports to boot.
Fun in Pre-Prep
This term, Pre-Prep classes enjoyed trips to Manor Farm, Portchester Castle and the Hawk Conservancy, and welcomed newly hatched chicks into the classroom. Our 'Mother's Day in the Woods', behind the Wolvesey playing fields, was a huge success, blessed with the most glorious sunshine, and boys, with their mummies, discovered activity stations, from wildflower bombs to clay hearts.
Wraparound care and transport provision
While the School can look at the boys’ achievements with great pride, we are constantly assessing what we can improve. In particular, we are currently looking at how Pilgrims' can serve the needs of busy parents, extending our wraparound care provision and looking at transport provision. From September, we aim to be running minibus routes from the Basingstoke and Southampton areas. We also believe that a weekly London route may be of interest to current and prospective families and so, with sufficient interest, we will look to run a weekly private route from central and south-west London on a Sunday evening, offering convenience to London parents of weekly boarders.
We look ahead to the fun and excitement of the Summer Term and just hope that these rather chilly and heavy showers we're enduring currently clear out to make way for an excellent cricket season!
With all good wishes,
Tim Butcher
Headmaster
