Last night was our annual school Open Evening and it was great to welcome so many prospective students and families to Wallingford School. We hope that during the evening Year 6 students got a real sense of what is so special and distinctive about our school.

Wallingford School is a school at the heart of its local community and that is very important to us. We are comprehensive and inclusive – determined to serve the town and its surrounding villages. We cater for students of all abilities and aptitudes and our ethos of “able and qualified” is weaved through everything we do. Results are very strong indeed and students leave us to go to their destinations of choice; these results are so good because teaching and learning is excellent and staff are both expected to, and always do, deliver lessons of the very highest quality. Equally, our provision for enrichment, extra-curricular activities, trips and visits is quite remarkable – the breadth and depth of what is on offer for our young people is second to none and ensure that they have experiences which will support their development as they become mature, well-rounded young citizens.

Our ethos and values are clear. Our biggest assets however are our staff and students – they live these values and make this school community such a pleasure to be a part of. What always stays with me following Open Evening is the enthusiasm and passion of the conversations, the desire to engage with the next generations of Wallingford School students and the vibrancy and zest of everything which is going on. It is an honour and privilege to lead this great school and Open Evening never fails to bring that even more sharply into focus.