It’s been such an exciting couple of weeks. There is nowhere that is as wonderful to celebrate the festivities as in a school. I’ve enjoyed a wonderful nativity by our Reception pupils to the extraordinary richness and solemnity of our Carol Concert. And it’s been terrific this year to see all the different ways that our students have collected, bargained and gathered all kinds of goods to raise funds and awareness of their Form charities. Our Santa Run raised over £1,000 for Helen and Douglas House and in the week of COP28 we have raised over £1,000 through the efforts of our students and staff this term so far for ‘Just One Tree.’ A huge thank you to every one of you for supporting our endeavours.
Much has been written about the impact that Artificial Intelligence will have on education, let alone the lives of our students and so it was with a curious mind that we welcomed Professor Steve Roberts, former parent and Professor of Machine Learning. He talked to us about ‘patterns, predictions and hallucinations’ and the importance of using data to anchor the hypothesis. I found it extremely exciting because he used Denis Gabor to finish: ‘We cannot predict the future but we can engineer it.’ His examples of Ada Lovelace and other famous female mathematicians were inspiring and empowering. To then hear that our Year 8 computer scientists, in a team called ‘It ain’t rocket science’, had finished first out of 3608 schools in the UK demonstrated the importance of ambition supported by talent, hard work and effort.
On Thursday evening the entrepreneurial arm of the London School of Economics (LSE) came to share with us pitches from new business owners who shared their journeys as they spotted a problem, found a solution and established a business case for it. Two of our students were awarded work experience with the LSE Generate as a result of their questions and it was a real privilege to watch those same entrepreneurs pitching to external judges the following day. These wonderful opportunities are giving your children, our pupils, the skills that they need to harness the challenges of the future.
That, of course, is possible because of the strong community we have at Oxford High School GDST and that is always exemplified by the warmth and generosity of the welcome that you receive at the front door of the Senior School. This winter we say goodbye to Mrs Julia May after over 15 years of service. She absolutely reassured, always lent a hand and was always there for any pupils at the front desk, as well as numerous members of staff and parents too. We are indebted to her for all her hard work and dedication to OHS. She is off to tour Australia and New Zealand, who are experiencing the height of summer, so we aren’t too sorry for her but she has been invaluable to us and she goes with our heartfelt gratitude and thanks.
And, speaking of that community, thank you to each and every one of you. Whether you are a member of staff, a pupil, an alumna, a Governor or a friend, your interest in OHS, your support for what we do is something we are truly grateful for.
I wish you all a happy and restful holiday and look forward to seeing you in January.
Ad Lucem
Mrs Gardiner Legge