We are now at a point where local parents have made their choice of secondary school for September 2000. Once again, we are oversubscribed and have a waiting list. Naturally we are very pleased about this because it is in line with our plan to maintain a manageable school size of 1000 pupils.

In making their choices, parents have considered the strong academic record at Bottisham and the fine range of extra curricular opportunities.

This week a very strong cast have been performing a demanding play - The Royal Hunt of The Sun about the Spanish conquistadors and the Incas in Peru. Audiences have been very impressed by the quality and maturity of the performances.

Also this year, members of the College attended a presentation at the Guildhall in Cambridge, to celebrate the success of school sport in the District. Seven of our pupils received awards for their outstanding contribution this year. Two of them, Matthew Mitchel-King from Burwell (soccer) and Neal Flynn from Bottisham (cross country) were nominated for sports personality of the year.

Our sports teams continue to do well and this year so far we have achieved the following successes:

We are confident that swimming will be back on the college timetable very soon indeed. Fourteen months after the disastrous fire of February 1999, we are soon to re-open and we will be delighted to see many old friends from the local community `take the plunge', and get back to full fitness.

Another important development this year has been our link with Marshalls, who have agreed to sponsor the College. We are very proud of this and it has already become a very positive relationship: one spin-off has been that Marshalls staff from the aircraft design office have supported our pupils at an after-school club, designing and building a hot-air balloon which will be capable of rising to 1000 feet. This will be launched at Marshall's airport when testing is complete.

A busy year then and a lot for pupils to enjoy…. But the proudest moment was when Bottisham Village College was named in Parliament this year as one of the 66 most outstanding secondary schools in England and Wales.