Witnessing the girls enjoying a feeling of completion and achievement as they saw their GCSE results for the first time this morning has, at last, made sense of what has been a difficult and sometimes baffling experience for us all. In the face of all the ‘slings and arrows of outrageous fortune’ that the pandemic has delivered to Y11 students nationwide, the fortitude and determination to make the most of the situation shown by OHS girls have inspired everyone around them.
Our pride in them overflows today, not in statistics but in adjectives. We have seen them grow into confident, capable and compassionate young people, who were fully prepared for the exams that never took place. We witnessed the hard work and dedication which, with the guiding expertise of our exceptional staff, made them wholly deserving of the stellar results they have been awarded. We know that they are both keen and ready to take on the exciting new challenges of their sixth-form courses. Our focus, like theirs, is now directed firmly towards the future – to the start of a new academic year and the opportunity to reconnect as a school community. One thing is certain – that the new Year 12s will make a flying start and scale new heights in the next two years.
We congratulate all the students on their wonderful success in the face of such difficult circumstances and pay tribute to our remarkable staff, through whose talents, resourcefulness and unstoppable energy these successes have been secured in uniquely testing times.