Goodbye and thank you

Term ended today and, as you would expect, the children left to start their summer holidays in very good cheer.

We have had a very busy and successful few days and as the final assembly came to a close I became acutely aware that my tenure as Headmaster had come to an end. It is a position that I have been very proud to hold for the last seven years and I am grateful to have had the experience of running such a wonderful school. I leave Arnold in Jim Keefe's very capable hands and look forward to hearing of even greater successes in the years to come.

In a few days, along with the end of term reports and other documents, all parents will receive a letter from me in which I say much more about the school and our achievements. For the moment I will simply say that I have loved working with the children, who are delightful. Unfailingly polite, conscientious and such good fun, I will miss them. This was brought home to me both at last night's wonderful Celebration Evening and in our final assembly this morning.

As you might imagine, Pat and I view the move overseas with mixed feelings. We have enjoyed our time at Arnold very much but we are also looking forward to starting new lives in Canada. We have also been overwhelmed by the wonderful messages and many gifts we have received over the last few days; thank you so much.

Finally I must say how grateful I am for the support I have been given by parents, colleagues and pupils and wish you all, individually and collectively, all the very best for the future.

Kind regards

Barry Hughes