I was able to watch a good deal of the latter: the work rate of many of the boys was exemplary and it was great to see the fire in their bellies! 

As we look ahead to next week and towards Exeat, I am especially excited about the journeys that await our Year 6 and Year 7 boys. Residential trips are not just a welcome change of scene; they are among the richest learning experiences we can offer. They test independence, deepen friendships, and – as I wrote in June – they remind us that education is not confined to the four walls of a classroom and is not just delineated by ‘subject’. 

Our Year 7s will be travelling to the wild, windswept beauty of the St Davids peninsula in Pembrokeshire. Their days will be full: scrambling along the coastline, setting out by boat to watch seals and seabirds around Ramsey Island, or discovering the ecological lessons of pollinators and bugs at a working farm with a difference – a sideline in insect gastronomy! There is plenty of adventure in this, and rightly so. But there is also reflection. The boys will walk the pilgrimage route from St Non’s to St Davids Cathedral, connecting with the spiritual and cultural heritage of the place. On the journey home, Raglan Castle will stand as a final reminder that history is written not just in books but in stone, landscape, and memory. In this one trip, the past, present and future are drawn together: medieval ruins and sacred buildings, present-day tests of resilience and teamwork, and lessons in environmental stewardship that look firmly ahead.

Meanwhile, Year 6 will be setting out across the Channel to Normandy. Their itinerary balances the medieval — such as the formidable Falaise Castle, birthplace of William the Conqueror — with the modern, as they stand by D-Day beaches and confront the echoes of more recent conflict. To visit the Arromanches 360 cinema or to consider the sands of Gold Beach as a sort of shifting war memorial is to be reminded that the freedoms and comforts we take for granted were hard won. And yet this trip is also about cultural exchange: hearing French spoken, tasting new food, and sensing the subtle differences in how another country remembers its past. 

Both journeys share a common thread. They place our boys in unfamiliar settings, with just enough challenge to prompt growth. Research consistently shows that such experiences build resilience, adaptability, and empathy — but one hardly needs data to see it. It is visible in the way the boys will work together to encourage themselves through the challenges of sea kayaking and coasteering, or in the thoughtful gaze as the Mulberry Harbour remains of Normandy. These are formative moments that leave a quiet but lasting mark. 

I have no doubt that these boys will return from their travels with stories to tell and, more importantly, with perspectives widened. In years to come, when schooldays are a memory, it will often be these trips - the sea air of Pembrokeshire, the solemn shores of Normandy, the other-worldliness of Mont St Michel - that they recall most vividly. 

Tim Butcher
Headmaster