Through the Eyes of Children
Sometimes, it’s good to pause, to stop, to just BE! looking around this hall, now seems like as good a moment as any, so why not take the next few weeks off? But more than just pause, I would encourage and invite everyone over the coming holiday to not only stop, but to stop and look around, and when you do, try and see the world through the eyes of children.
All too quickly we see the world with grown up eyes, my hope is that we can all try and see things much more through the eyes of children. Because when we do, we find there is joy out there. there is Wonder. And maybe sometimes even a little bit of magic!
These amazing Children show us daily how to marvel at the extraordinary when looking at the ordinary. Curiosity isn’t necessarily something we teach them—it’s something they teach us. It reminds us that questions are often more valuable than answers, and that the most powerful discoveries begin with “I wonder…”
Their curiosity is boundless, every conversation filled with “what ifs?” , “how come?” and of course “why?” questions that challenge us to reconsider what we think we know. We don’t just PLAY; we inhabit worlds we let our imagination lead the way. Mud becomes potion, sticks become wands, empty boxes become rocket ships. We approach problems with creativity that defies convention: turning a maths puzzle into a game, using drama to understand history. We explore not to tick boxes, but to connect ideas and experiences—to make sense of the world and their place in it.
Children are natural explorers of possibility, play, and perspective. And every time they ask “Why?” or “What happens if?”—they challenge us to do the same.
It is this natural curiosity that lies at the heart of our ethos here—a school that believes our children should be children, be “free to be me.” Not just free to be academic, or sporty, or musical, but free to explore all of it. To dabble and dive. To get muddy in the outside, to make a mess to build and dismantle. To compose in music, debate in English, and problem solve in maths, create in art, experiment in science, converse in French, perform in drama. To learn through play, through doing, and through being with each other.
We believe in broad experiences. We know that a rich and varied curriculum doesn’t just educate—it liberates. We’ve watched pupils blossom and we’ve seen them astonish us, again and again, with insight and originality far beyond their years. When you offer a child a wide canvas, you shouldn’t be surprised when they paint something breathtaking.
Last year I was inspired by a famous little bear and his wisdom is worth sharing again.
As A.A. Milne wrote in Winnie-the-Pooh,
“When you are a child you can do anything—you can be a bear, or a forest, or a cloud… and it’s only the grown-ups who think it strange.”
Children’s literature has always understood the power of the imagination. In The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry reminds us,
“Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.”
I recall being firmly put in my place when asking my son what sort of bear we were looking at on a visit to the zoo. He looked at me like i was a complete fool and declared knowingly “ urgh, its a koala wala!” I stood corrected and enlightened. They have forever since been known as this!
And perhaps nothing captures it better than Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, where curiosity leads Alice to fall headfirst into a world of possibility—guided not by logic, but by wonder.
Children, please continue to remind us all what wonder looks like. The beauty of innocence, curiosity, and awe—these are the things we should all protect, nurture, and celebrate. Please continue to show us the world as you see it. Curiosity isn’t something we instil in children; it’s something they generously offer us. They ask, “Why?” before they ask, “How?” Their questions open doors, spark conversations, and lead us into discovery. That spirit of “I wonder…” lies at the very heart of our school.
So please continue to dig, splash, investigate, question, compose, design, perform, and play.
To Our Staff
You are mentors, motivators, champions, and guides. You bring passion to knowledge, and purpose to PLAY. You are what makes this school not just somewhere children learn—but somewhere they truly belong. Thank you for the love you show our children every day, I know they feel it, the safety you provide allows them to fly.
To Our Parents
Thank you for your trust, your partnership, and your belief in what we do. You are a vital part of a community that honours not just outcomes, but the incredible journey it takes to get there.
To all Our Children
You are explorers, inventors, teammates, poets, performers, thinkers, doers and friends—and most of all, you are all wonderfully uniquely you! What a magnificent thing to be. Keep seeing the world the way only you can. Keep asking questions. Keep wondering. Build forts, draw maps, chase dreams, make mess (sorry parents). Don’t rush to grow up—grow wide. Your imagination is your superpower. And your kindness is your compass. Use both freely.
To Our Year 6 Leavers
You leave behind not just memories, but a legacy of leadership, kindness, and curiosity. You’ve modelled what it means to grow, to serve, to shine. As you step into senior school, take with you all that you are—and all that you’ve become. Be proud. Be brave. And carry the spirit of this place with you, always.
As you grow, never lose the courage to be curious. Ask questions, especially the big ones no one yet knows the answer to. Don’t be afraid to get things wrong—that’s where the best learning happens. Help others. Listen deeply. Speak kindly. Embrace who you are and the journey you’re on. You are enough—exactly as you are—and you’re becoming something even more extraordinary every single day.
I’d like to finish with a poem:
Look not just at the prize they hold,
But at the journey brave and bold—
The scrapes, the doubts, the leaps, the tries,
All seen through little, wondrous eyes.
To us, it’s just a muddy shoe,
A page half-scribbled, stained with glue,
But to a child, it’s Everest climbed,
A masterpiece, a thought unlined.
They see the world in wider ways,
Where dragons sleep and shadows play,
Where stars are close enough to catch,
And every door’s a secret latch.
We teach them facts, and rules, and charts,
They teach us joy with open hearts.
We show them how to walk life’s line,
They remind us how to pause in time.
So as we clap and cheer today,
Let’s listen to what children say—
In silent dreams, in beaming grins,
In how they lose—and how they win.
Their view is stitched with hope and light,
With fierce belief that wrong turns right.
And if we see as they see too,
We just might learn a thing or two.
Let’s honour not just what they’ve done,
But how they laughed, and dared, and spun
A world of colour, wild and true—
The kind we once saw, and still can do.
Have a wonderful break. Have fun, explore and adventure and be safe. We can’t wait to welcome you back for another chapter of our shared story.
Until then—be free, be bold, be brilliant. Be you!
By Jon Chesworth, Headteacher
