BIRMINGHAMTHEBLUECOATSCHOOL1722

As we look back over the penultimate week of this half-term, I must commend my colleagues and pupils for digging deep. There’s a high bar of expectation here, and we take pride in being one of the leading Schools in the country, not just for academic outcomes but for the exceptional value we add to every child’s educational journey. That said, let’s not forget we’re also masters of keeping the children on their toes with a myriad of enriching experiences – some of which I suspect might even rival Hogwarts on a good day!

On that note, this week I delivered a Pause for Thought to pupils on the importance of mental health. After all, mens sana in corpore sano – a healthy mind in a healthy body, as the Romans liked to say. It’s crucial that our children know it’s perfectly normal to have worries and even more important that they feel safe sharing them. We’re blessed here at BCS not only to have Teachers and Teaching Assistants who are wonderful listeners but also an outstanding team of Pastoral Staff who seem to have antennae for even the faintest frown. As parents, we bear a shared responsibility to create space for those conversations, be it about playground triumphs or trickier emotions. To shine a spotlight on this, we all wore yellow on Thursday—sunny hats, neon jumpers, and everything in between! I’m sure we gave Dulux’s “Lemon Zest” a run for its money. The children positively glowed, and I sincerely hope that this small gesture served as a gentle reminder that they don’t need to shoulder their worries alone. After all, as the saying goes, “it’s okay not to be okay.”

Switching gears—linguistically, that is—this week saw languages taking centre stage. Mrs. Newman (our very own professeur de français extraordinaire) really brings languages to life, be it through French pen pals, International Mother Tongue Day, or by leading our fearless charge in the National Language Challenge. This week, we held an assembly on careers in languages, and I must say it was formidable! It’s always eye-opening for the children to see how knowing another language can take you from reading menus in Paris to leading international business meetings. Year 6 even tried their hand—or should I say pied?—at Futbol Lingo, combining sport with vocabulary skills. Le football et le français, quel mélange! The feedback was tremendous, and I hope it inspires the children to approach senior school languages with the same enthusiasm. As the Austrian proverb goes, “the limits of my language are the limits of my world.” Something to keep in mind.

Meanwhile, this week also saw our Year 5s and 6s take part in their much-anticipated House Art Competition Final. The standard was, as ever, staggeringly high! Pupils clearly poured their hearts into their work, and in my view, all involved should feel like winners. Who knew we had such an array of mini-Monet prodigies among us?

And as if that weren’t enough, our Nursery children were out in full force on Friday for their Autumn Enrichment Day. Nothing quite says “joy” like a group of tiny explorers toddling through fallen leaves, peering at conkers, and listening intently to the story of how trees prepare for winter. It was a delight to see them reveling in the season’s beauty, as they learned about the magic of change and the cycle of the year. In the Pre-Prep gym, more of nature’s delights await them as they made their very own wands and slime. The golden leaves are clearly not the only things turning this week; minds are being transformed as well.

Finally, as we approach the last week of this half-term, I’d like to invite parents to join us for our Harvest services—times are on the calendar. Your generous contributions to support St George’s Newtown and the thoughtful Harvest gifts are very much appreciated. Nothing says “community” quite like coming together to share our bounty, and I am always in awe of the generosity and kindness of our School families.

Wishing everyone a lovely weekend—one that, I hope, will be full of rich conversations, a bit of multilingual practice, and perhaps some art appreciation! To get you talking together, here is a family quiz. So you think you know your languages? Have a go at our quiz! Answers should be one word only. A prize awaits the first family to submit all ten answers correctly:

The French word for bread?

In Spanish, what is a house?

How do you say friend in German?

The Italian word for apple?

Cat in Japanese?

What is the Russian word for book?

Thank you in Mandarin?

What’s love in Arabic?

The word for water in Greek?

How do you say goodbye in Swahili?

Good luck, or as they say in French, bonne chance!