St George’s Church, Buxton Road, Stockport

I am writing to invite you and your family to attend this year’s School Carol Service which will be held in St. George’s Church on Wednesday, 16th December, beginning at 7 p.m.

I am pleased to have this opportunity to write to you at this early stage in the school year. I trust that you will recently have received a copy of the booklet 'Current Information' together with details of important and topical information to be found on our website. The latest edition of our newsletter 'Taking Stock' is due to be published later this month and the annual school magazine 'The Stopfordian' will appear in December. These publications illustrate the considerable breadth of our extra-curricular provision and I hope that every one of our boys and girls will seek to take full advantage of the opportunities available in the course of this year. As in previous years, a large number of pupils benefited from the willingness of many members of staff to organise visits and activities during the summer holiday period. The expedition to Vietnam was greatly appreciated by those fortunate enough to take part. Closer to home our musicians attracted large audiences in their Belgian concerts, cricketers enjoyed success in Malta and outdoor enthusiasts took advantage of the English 'summer' in Grasmere. The sports camps held on the school site again proved to be extremely popular and play a valuable role in promoting the School to local boys and girls.

As usual there are a number of important items of information to draw to your attention as we approach the end of this academic year. I do hope that the recent examinations will provide encouraging news of your child’s academic progress and that the forthcoming reports will reflect involvement in a range of extra-curricular activities. As I write, preparations for the numerous end of term functions are in an advanced state. Our speaker at Speech Day on 30th June will be Libby Purves, the writer and broadcaster, and we are anticipating a very high standard of performance in the annual music festival and the Sixth Form drama production. I am very grateful to all those who work hard to arrange these events.

Schools should be beacons of optimism in a world too often preoccupied with the trivial and transitory. Encouraging young people to realise their full potential and helping them to take proper advantage of all the opportunities on offer in a school like ours provides a timely antidote to the gloom, both economic and meteorological, which seems to beset society at present. The recently published editions of ‘The Stopfordian’, ‘Taking Stock’ and the website provide an illustrated picture of the rich variety of activities in all areas of school life, whilst this letter offers a more prosaic register of topical information.