The first week of September is one of my favourite times of the year. It is when the GAP evidence starts to arrive, photographs of places near and far, hand-drawn board games, poems, business plans, home grown sunflowers and, on one memorable occasion, an ice-lolly stall with a full set of costings. This year the pile was a joy to work through. Thank you, and congratulations, to every student who took part.

GAP 2026 Results

• Over 120 students took part in GAP this summer.
• 53 students completed all 20 GAP tasks.
• Those 53 students will receive R5/R6 rewards on Arbor, which will also help their Houses in our major House competitions.
• As a thank you, they will attend a rewards trip to Thorpe Park on 16th October.

Behind those numbers is a great deal of effort. Entries came from across the school. Whether a student completed three tasks or all twenty, they spent part of their holiday learning, creating or helping someone else, and that deserves recognition.

Highlights from the evidence

Choosing was hard, so here is a small selection that captures the range and imagination of this year’s GAP entries.

Exploring our community and beyond

Students found something new in both the familiar and the unfamiliar, a historic rose garden and a neighbourhood park they had never visited, a local museum, and a walk taking in some of London’s best-known landmarks. Five photograph community stories celebrated the churches, libraries, war memorials and cafés that bring people together. Cultural visits ranged from a night of magic and illusion to West End musicals, each followed by a thoughtful reflection.

Green fingers and greener habits

Sunflowers, basil, mint and melons all appeared on the evidence sheets. Some students were refreshingly honest that the hot weather got the better of a plant or two, which is a lesson in itself. The sustainability ideas were just as impressive: heating water with a solar pouch, sharing one reusable bottle all summer, growing herbs to feed pet rabbits, using phones less to save energy, and recycling bottles and cans on holiday to claim the deposit back.

Designing, making and innovating

Board games were a huge hit. Students designed a geography game full of trivia and dares, a snakes and ladders style quiz where the dice choose the topic, and a 145 card game that combines maths, money and words. One student took inspiration from the peregrine falcon to model a new aircraft in 3D design software. The enterprise tasks produced businesses that could start with just £20, an ice-lolly stall for the hot weather (with costings and a profit calculation), homemade dog biscuits, a monthly relaxation care package, and a cafe where customers learn to bake. Several students also used AI responsibly to create posters, revision timetables and study planners, and reflected on what they asked for and what they changed themselves.

Creative minds

The writing was full of imagination: an Enormous Crocodile whose day ends very differently, the finale of a play reimagined with the townspeople taking matters into their own hands, poems about summer, snooker and football, and songs about a much loved family dog. One short story about a lighthouse that quietly collected stars ended with a line I have not stopped thinking about:

“…even after the longest clouds, the stars remember the way back.”

From a student’s short story

Creativity was hands-on too. Students decorated clothing for the textiles task and cooked dishes from other cultures, from a slow cooked curry with all the trimmings to a limonana with Turkish style tiramisu.

Learning, kindness and community spirit

Students practised French, Spanish, German, Italian, Ukrainian, Korean, Gujarati and even Latin, and one learner has kept a Duolingo streak going for months. Family members turned out to be excellent teachers, students learned to bake biscuits, take more interesting photographs and arrange travel visas for a family holiday. Others tried something completely new, including skateboarding, fishing (with one proud first catch), padel and crochet.

The kindness shown was the part that moved me most. Students watered a neighbour’s plants while they were on holiday, helped grandparents with their daily jobs, phoned a grandmother living overseas, and made a colourful card for a great-aunt and great-uncle’s ruby wedding anniversary. One student completed a sponsored 100 length swim, raising thousands of pounds for cancer research.

Ideas for the future of our school

We asked students to suggest improvements to school life and to imagine Bushey Meads in 2050, and they delivered. Ideas ranged from more recycling bins and more vegetarian meals, to teaching time management skills to ease exam stress, to a lunchtime friendship club for anyone who finds it hard to make friends. Their visions of 2050 included holographic textbooks, AI tutors, virtual reality history lessons and learning built around real world “missions”.

Our parents and carers

GAP only works because families get behind it. Parents and carers sign the record sheets, cheer students on, share family days out and teach new skills, and I have been touched by how supportive and appreciative they have been. One parent wrote to me last week after their child was recognised with an award for dedication and hard work:

“We were thrilled to hear the wonderful news, and the award truly means a lot to us… Thank you for creating such a motivating environment.”

From a parent’s email

Messages like this mean a great deal to us and to the staff behind GAP. They are a reminder that the programme is a true partnership between home and school, and I am grateful to every family who makes it possible.

A final thank you to all CDCs for collecting evidence. GAP works because our whole community backs it.