Fr Simon began assembly on Friday with a tribute to Capt Sir Tom Moore, “a very lovely man who gave positivity and hope with his cheerful, chirpy confidence”, and who achieved so much in his life, especially in his last, extraordinary year, raising almost £33 million for NHS charities by doing laps of his garden. But it is not just the great life of Capt Sir Tom that warranted reflection by the whole school. The very generous donations made by Farleigh families before Christmas, of cards and box of chocolates and biscuits, for residents in local care homes, have also given us cause to stop and think.

The response to our small gesture was quite overwhelming. We have been informed that those small gifts and cards from Farleigh pupils have made such a difference to people who must feel cut off from the world at the moment, particularly as even their families cannot visit them. Fr Simon showed the many messages of appreciation from Harrier Grange, Lion Oak Court and Winton House care homes. Most poignantly, Fr Simon received a letter from a Mrs Wells, a retired teacher, whose father, Ronald, died recently, aged 95. She writes: “I found a card from Alice, a pupil at your school. I remember my father showing this card to me and he said how much he cherished it. He wanted to write back to Alice immediately but I explained that it was the Christmas holidays and then came the lockdown...”

So, what more can we do? Why don’t we do more? Fr Simon is asking pupils to write again, to add a photo or a drawing, telling the recipient about their family, their life, and in their best handwriting, of course! We hope that these letters can be received in school by Friday 19th February; they can be dropped off when families collect their packs that day.

Coincidentally, Pope Francis recently declared a Church-wide celebration of ‘World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly’, which will take place on every fourth Sunday of July, beginning this year on 25th July 2021. He is instituting this day because “grandparents are often forgotten, and we forget this wealth of preserving roots and passing on” what the elderly have received.