These nominations may recognise an excellent piece of work, a strong work ethic, exemplary behaviour, or notable resilience and determination. Time and again, however, I have been struck by how often students are recognised for unprompted acts of kindness.
These acts of kindness are often small in scale but large in impact. For example, a Year 10 student voluntarily choreographed the Year 4 dance for the Dance Festival; a Year 12 student gave up her private study periods to teach swimming to small groups of Year 3 and 4 pupils; and a Year 13 student has been keeping a Year 1 pupil company during their daily school bus journey, patiently doing Maths with her, knowing she is just five years old and has the longest journey of all. These are just a few of the many shining examples that remind us: kindness in words creates confidence, kindness in thinking creates profoundness, and kindness in giving creates love.
What is especially touching is that, in most cases, students are completely unaware of the reasons why they have been nominated until their stories are read aloud at the Head’s Commendation event. That moment is always poignant, as it serves as a powerful reminder that no act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted. In fact, it is these very actions that shape the kind of school and community in which everyone can thrive. At Northampton High, we strive to instil the belief that kindness is not just a virtue, but a force that creates unity, nurtures relationships and strengthens our shared humanity.
That is why I was especially delighted when Mrs Saunders-Wall and Mr Rickman introduced the Kindness Award Certificate in the Junior School earlier this year. Since January, we have celebrated a Year 6 pupil for being kind to a classmate in need of a friend, another Year 6 pupil showing some Year 3 girls at Wraparound Care how to make paper umbrellas, a Year 5 pupil for volunteering as a peer mentor in Maths, and – perhaps most charmingly – a group of Year 2 pupils for carefully rescuing stranded worms from the playground. These moments may seem small, but they speak volumes about the character and spirit of our students.
Stories like these, from all corners of our school, reaffirm something we all instinctively know: in a world where acts of kindness can often go unnoticed or undervalued, they are in fact the very threads that hold a community together. They bring joy, offer comfort and shine a light during the more difficult days. By recognising these actions both formally and informally, we teach our pupils that kindness is not only noticed, but deeply valued.
By celebrating acts of kindness we also pay tribute to the school’s historical status as a church school, a legacy preserved in our crest through the Diocesan keys. Since the school joined the GDST in 2007, we are now non-denominational, something reflected in our diverse and vibrant student and staff body. However, the universal Christian values of kindness, charity and service remain at the heart of our ethos and are lived out in the everyday life of the school.
Long may that continue.