We not only celebrated the remarkable achievements of our outstanding students, but also marked the inaugural Prize-Giving of our new Head, Mrs Haydon.

The ceremony began with an introduction by Mr Patrick Sherrington, Chair of FHS Governing Council, who reflected on Mrs Haydon’s first two terms as Head, as well as thanking our families for their ongoing support. Mrs Haydon’s subsequent speech also reflected on the warmth with which she has been welcomed into the school community and how she is consistently impressed by the creativity, curiosity, tenacity, enthusiasm and kindness of our staff and students. She also acknowledged the rich heritage of our schools and how since our founding in 1881, we have stayed true to our founder Canon Francis Holland’s values of providing an outstanding education to girls and young women.

Following the opening speeches, we were delighted to welcome Colonel Professor Linda Orr as our evening’s guest speaker. Col Prof Orr is a military consultant ENT surgeon at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, as well as the UK Armed Forces Professor of Surgery. In her speech, she urged girls to take every opportunity to grow into the best versions of themselves, as well as taking every opportunity to travel, explore new cultures and make friends. She also reflected on the skills she has learnt throughout her remarkable career and imparted invaluable knowledge on our students, encouraging them to ‘look beyond the loudest voice in the room’ and take time to nurture other peoples’ skills. We are so grateful to Col Prof Orr for giving her time and wisdom so generously at our event.

We were also treated to a selection of outstanding performances from our choirs, Ballet Scholars, Sports Scholars, Lower Sixth thespians and winner of the Rose Tremain Short Story Prize, Georgia L. These included our Senior Chamber Choir performing Sarah Quartel’s enchanting Lux Aeterna, our Lower School Chamber Choir performing Suzzie Vango’s Fly, and our dramatists performing a scene from Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit. Our outstanding Ballet and Sports Scholars also delivered stunning performances, the latter of which reflected on another incredible year of sporting at Francis Holland.

This was another truly wonderful evening celebrating student excellence at FHS, and we are so grateful to all who joined us. A huge congratulations to all students who received prizes.