We were all treated to a wonderful performance of Mr Richard’s play Wilton Hall, a witty and colourful drama set in an 18th Century manor house. As ever every line was worth listening to. There were wonderful cultural allusions, brilliantly clever jokes – all delivered with character and verve by the brilliant actors. We are all so blessed to have Mr Richards in our midst and he ensured that all his actors put together a performance to remember. Well done to all those who were involved in such a stunning evening of entertainment.

On Tuesday, we had a remarkable concert in the Cathedral. The elite string players of Winchester College visited us. They played a remarkable Shostakovich piece which shimmered with brilliance. Following this extraordinary display, some of our string players joined them to play a charming arrangement of a Faroese folk tune. For our boys it was an unforgettable experience playing alongside such talented young men. It was particularly touching that one of the Winchester players was a former pupil Orlando who had been a chorister. Music does not stop beyond CCCS.

Yesterday, Prep-Prep and Nursery assembled in the Cathedral Garden for an Easter Egg hunt and Easter bonnet parade. In front of the ancient stones of the Cathedral, the boys and girls paraded round in front of their parents, showing off their beautiful creations. I was struck both by the ingenuity of some of the design and by the natural poise of the wearers. A cat walk would not have been out of place!

This morning we had a packed Cathedral to witness a double bill – a Mothering Sunday service during which the boys and girls of Pre-Prep explained why they loved their mothers and those close to them followed by four pieces played by our excellent string orchestras. There was one particularly striking piece focussing on birdsong, composed by our strings teacher, Mr Wilson himself, where four players were able to summon up the sounds of birdsong in spring. It was lovely to see so many parents at coffee afterwards.

Last night a large number of parents and some pupils attended a fascinating event in the Upper Library, one of the most beautiful rooms in Oxford. We had a most enlightening talk from the Keeper of Rare collections about the Library. He had put out for us some fascinating books which are rarely seen. There were two first editions of the Birds of America by James Audubon, a vast nineteenth century book whose pages measure almost a metre square. A similar pair sold in 2010 at auction at Sotheby’s for £7,321,250 – no wonder we were asked to leave our drinks on a table before approaching the books. There was also a copy of Robert Hooke’s Micrographia, the first British book showing drawings of creatures seen under a microscope. The page on view was a beautifully detailed image of a flea. And then there was my favourite, a very early manuscript of the Canterbury Tales by Chaucer, hand written in 1400. Despite having read many of the tales (and indeed having taught them) I had never seen an early manuscript. I was very surprised by how difficult it was to read the writing. At the other end of the Library was a display of the newly acquired collection of Lewis Carroll papers which have been left to the College making Christ Church the holder of the largest collection of Carroll archives in Britain. Part of the collection were translations into different languages of the Alice works. It was good to be reminded of how popular this work, based on Christ church, is.

And today we also had the Poetry competition during which a large number of our boys recited a whole selection of poetry from heart. It was hugely inspiring to see how talented our boys are and how much energy and commitment they put into learning the works. Committing literature to memory is one of the most rewarding things to do – not only do these works change the person learning them but each person gives new life to the work in question through their unique interpretation of it.

This morning, one boy heaved his bag off the School Bus. “ Huh!” he said, “My bag’s just so full of nothing!” I always think that it’s good to make the most of a situation! I hope that everyone makes the most of the Easter Holiday, that you have a great deal of rest and relaxation and a wonderful time together.