On Monday 16th June, our FHS community gathered in Cadogan Hall for our annual Prize-Giving & Summer Celebration.

Our guests were serenaded on entry by beautiful musical pieces by our music scholars, followed by an excellent introductory speech by our Chair of Governors, Patrick Sherrington, and an exquisite performance of ‘Ave Maris Stella’ by our Senior Chamber Choir. Our Head, Alexandra Haydon, addressed the audience with a brilliant speech highlighting the extraordinary strength and spirit of our FHS community and praising our pupils’ ability to think boldly, act purposefully and dream fearlessly in a community where they feel truly known, supported and valued for their individuality. She expressed heartfelt gratitude to our governors for their steadfast support, guidance and inspiration, to our staff for their care, absolute dedication and relational approach to learning, to our parents for their partnership, warmth and insight, and to our pupils for their bravery, humour, thoughtfulness, vulnerability and courage.

This was followed by an equally fantastic speech by our guest speaker; adventurer, author of 15 acclaimed books and one of National Geographic’s Adventurers of the Year, Alastair Humphreys. Speaking with humour and humility, Alastair regaled the audience with tales of his adventures on land and sea, including spending over four years cycling 46,000 miles around the world, travelling through 60 countries and across five continents. He emphasised that we all have our own adventurous superpowers and that curiosity and relentless enthusiasm are all you need for a lifetime of adventure; highlighting that the best measure of success is to measure yourself against yourself, that adventure is really about daring yourself to try something that is new and difficult for you, and that ‘if you take a deep breath and keep on pedalling, eventually you might surprise yourself!’ We are so grateful to Alastair for his inspirational and empowering words, and delighted that he recognised that FHS ‘is clearly such a special school’ following the event.

Next came the ceremonial giving of prizes celebrating the outstanding achievements and incredible progress of girls in Year 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12, with our Year 11 and 13s having had separate ceremonies before embarking on study leave. Interspersed with prize-giving, we enjoyed spectacular ballet, creative writing, drama, dance, sport and music performances, reviews and recitals, all of which reflected the immense talent and boundless achievements of our FHS pupils. The event culminated in an exuberant performance of ‘Jerusalem’ by the 500-strong audience – a gloriously uplifting end to the evening.

Thank you so much to all who made Prize-Giving 2025 such a dazzling celebration of everything that makes our FHS community extraordinary, and a special shout out to Lola Cavanilles for the stunning flowers. We could not be more excited to see what the 2025-26 academic year has in store!