This year the school orchestra achieved great things. We were able to play some amazing pieces which most school orchestras wouldn’t dream of trying to play, like the Montagues and Capulets or William Tell Overture.

Of course, this would not have been possible without Mr Langdon, to whom we owe it all for his ongoing perseverance and seemingly crazy belief that we could play them. 

While many will complain as they unpack everything and get their things set up for our weekly Thursday rehearsal, we all know that we would be lost without this amazing group. There was no baton to be led by this year unfortunately. However, seeing as how many times it has flown out of Mr Langdon's hand into the flute area in past years when he was enthusiastically waving it around in the air, this came as somewhat of a relief for some people. 

This year we were fortunate to be able to take part in the annual tour of the intermediate and primary schools, where we show the young kids how cool and fun it is to learn an instrument and to be able to make music in a big group. We all had a blast and the bus trips between each school were equally as fun as the actual performances. Seeing the kids' reactions to the pops medley, and hearing them sing along once they had identified the songs we were playing, made the time spent on these pieces so worth it. 

We also had the honour of playing in the Town Hall this year for the first time since the earthquakes for the orchestra festival which was very exciting for everyone involved. 

Having been in the orchestra since I came to this school in 2015 I can assert that it has been an absolute honour to lead this year and a major highlight of high school.

Sam Roberts