Last week the girls in Years 5 and 6 entertained us with their fantastic performances of ‘HONK!’ the musical. Winning the Olivier award for Best New Musical in 2000, ‘HONK!’ is a charming musical adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen story, ‘The Ugly Duckling’, incorporating a message about acceptance and tolerance of others. The production weaves together many engaging and witty characters, entertaining songs and delightful dance scenes. The girls worked so hard in rehearsals together to achieve the end result. They thoroughly enjoyed rehearsing and it was an amazing learning opportunity, developing stage presence, voice control, teamwork and self-confidence. This, in turn, creates incredibly well-rounded young ladies for the future. Many thanks to everyone who supported ‘HONK!’ in so many ways: to families for assisting with word learning and for listening to songs over and over again; RHJS staff and parents, Lisa Smith, Jazmine Vale (Year 7), Penny Corley and Carole Sheringham Smith for their help at the performances; Mrs Sharples, Miss Gurney and Scenery and Props club for the wonderful props; Mr and Mrs Townsend for taking such fantastic photos; Mr Woods for his fabulous set; Penny and Carole and their team for first-class costumes with immaculate attention to detail and of course the amazing Miss Debby for being such a joy to work with. Huge congratulations to each and every girl – you were all wonderful and you made me very proud indeed. — Mrs Millard

Also a big thank you to all the parents from Miss Debby, Mr Woods and myself for the gorgeous flowers and wine. These gifts were greatly appreciated.