At the start of a new School year after a full term of online learning from home, John Lyon Head Miss Katherine Haynes welcomed pupils back with an assembly watched online in classrooms across the School site.

Good morning. Welcome back. Welcome to our new pupils. Welcome to the start of our new School year.

For every pupil here, you are stepping up a year, you will have higher expectations of yourself, it is time to set new goals, you will be keen to do well.

This may sound obvious, but success comes when you earn it.

How can you get the most out of your School year ahead? Get involved in School life; there will be lots of opportunities, take them.
Your teachers will have high expectations of you; work hard to reach them. Try your best and don’t accept less than your best effort.
Be ambitious for yourself.

Learn and be guided by our School values: achieve excellence, have an inquiring mind, express your creativity, be innovative and show flair. We must also show our community spirit and we should value friendship with others.

This week is an important milestone for us all. We are returning after many weeks away and adapting to our new Covid-secure arrangements. We need to respect our rules and requirements. But this should not stop us looking forward with enthusiasm and determination.

The School’s purpose is to enable you to do well. You will often hear me say that busy pupils are happy and high achieving. This year’s GCSE and A-Level results bear this out.

Everything you do as pupils contributes to the success of our School: whether Academic, in Sport, Music, Art or Drama. Your task is to do your best individually and, as a School community, to do your best for us all together.

I want to make clear my expectations of you. You should behave responsibly in all you do. Organisation is key; don’t be reliant on others. Motivate yourself, set your goals and work towards them. Take pride in your work, in all that you do. Follow instructions, take advice and listen to your teachers.

Every year I observe that our highest achieving pupils are those who show determination, resolve, resilience and give maximum effort.

Good luck in your year ahead.

Remember, success comes when you earn it.

The Head spoke to pupils across the School site from her office in Red House.