The official start of the Lunar New Year took place over the Half Term break, so we saved our school celebrations for the week we returned.

Year 12 pupil Sophia L and Year 10 pupil Tiger M delivered an original and informative Chapel talk with a personal touch, explaining their own experiences of celebrating New Year and how celebrations vary across different parts of Asia. They focused on the relevance of the range of special foods shared with friends and family and explained the significance of language and wordplay to the festivities.

This year is the Year of the Horse, or Fire Horse, and the opportunity was taken to involve pupils across the school in a linked activity: making origami horses. Many found it trickier than they might have expected, but some wonderful herds were created.

Information was shared with pupils about which zodiac animal was aligned with their year of birth to see if they share its attributes – this year’s horse represents freedom, adventure, independence and energy. Our catering team also arranged a delicious Chinese inspired lunch.

We ended the week with a New Year themed gathering for international pupils at break time on Saturday. Attendees enjoyed snacks, fruit and hot drinks while relaxing and checking in with friends, to a background of international music.