Tuesday, 2 September 2025

HT Blog – Tuesday 2 September 2025

 

HT Blog – Tuesday 2 September 2025

I would like to extend a very warm welcome to the start of the new academic year—and to my first blog post. I hope everyone who was able to take a break over the summer had a restful and enjoyable time with family and friends.

We return this week following an exceptional set of public examination results. These were the strongest outcomes the school has achieved outside of the COVID years, and they are a testament to the dedication and hard work of both our students and staff. My sincere congratulations to all involved.

This week, we are welcoming students back in a staggered manner. Today we greet Years 7, 12 and 13, while the remaining year groups will join us from Wednesday. Weather permitting, we are planning a whole-school assembly in the Quad on Wednesday morning—a valued tradition and a wonderful opportunity for our entire community to come together and celebrate being Maidstonians once more. It is always a joy to see the whole school gathered in one place.

In addition to our returning students—and the many new students beginning their journey with us—we are also pleased to welcome 15 new members of staff across various departments. We look forward to getting to know them and hope they find MGS to be a warm and rewarding place to work.

At the end of this first week, we look forward to celebrating Upper School Speech Day. This is always a highlight of the school calendar, offering one final opportunity to come together with our outgoing Year 13 cohort before they move on to new adventures. This year’s guest of honour is Old Maidstonian and former School Captain, Chris Boobier, who left MGS 20 years ago. We are delighted to welcome him back as he presents awards to our senior students.

Finally, I would like to offer our congratulations to Old Maidstonian Jacob Safa, who has recently signed a professional football contract with Charlton Athletic. Jacob was an exceptional footballer during his time at MGS and an outstanding member of the school community. We are immensely proud of his achievement.

Wishing you all a successful and positive start to the term