We all have creative encounters we remember forever. A film we never forget; the first sight of a painting that stays with us for life; a theatre show, a song – things that matter and sustain us and shine in memory.

Those of us who work in schools are so fortunate to witness student progress, over years, in all sorts of areas, towards the fullest expression of themselves and their talent. One of the most vivid displays of this is our annual music scholars’ dinner and concert at the Senior School.

There are performers of all ages from 11 to 18: all, as scholars, sharing the utmost dedication and passion. They recognise in each other what drives themselves, and there is the warmest mutual respect across the age range. One of my favourite moments in the evening was a casual conversation between an Upper III and Upper VI. Just seven years and an entire school career apart, talking about their performances, acknowledging the musicality they share.

Towards the end of the evening, we heard two pieces in succession: the first movement of Mozart’s Oboe Concerto, played by Violet, and Tchaikovsky’s Meditation for violin, played by Shree. Both were played with dazzling virtuosity, but more importantly, with such heart and feeling and musicianship – true of all performers throughout the evening. And both pieces shared in common moments towards the end where the accompaniment falls away and the voice of the single instrument stands alone. It feels as though the music is being wrung from player and instrument alike: the two very different pieces rise towards the top of each instrument’s range; there is such delicacy in the line of sound they create – and the room was spellbound, silent, holding its breath before the accompaniment returned and the music resolved to its conclusion.

It was a chance similarity between two otherwise very different pieces, written almost exactly a century apart – but it was one that symbolised the entire evening, and the spirit that imbues every corner of this lovely school. That moment where you hold your breath and wonder… Every piece we heard throughout the evening was breathtaking in its ambition, in the hard work that led up to the performance, in the exuberance with which it was delivered. From Jimmy Hendrix to Bach, every piece was gloriously different and individual. That’s what our school is, too: a place where individuals are allowed to be gloriously themselves, to set themselves at achievement, and to accomplish it with exuberance and a sense of fun.

So many times at The Abbey I have witnessed creative moments and known, in the moment of seeing them, that I will never forget them. Paintings from exhibitions, performances like those tonight, poems declaimed from stages, startling answers in class to the most prosaic of questions. A collection of things that matter and that shine in memory: which is also a good way to express what The Abbey is, and what it means to all of us who are part of it.

Will le Fleming, Head