Annual Review

SPEECH DAY 2008: HEADMASTER’S REPORT TO PARENTS

As usual, my Report was accompanied by slides. To see each one, click on the word ‘SLIDE’ as it appears in the text. To close a slide, click on the ‘x’ in the bottom right hand corner. Note that Slides 10-31 are a sequence which runs automatically.

This year’s Upper Sixth arrived at St.Edward’s at the same time as I did in September 2001. As they now move on to university, I realise that I’ve now seen my first full St.Edward’s generation go through the school. It’s interesting to look back over what the school has achieved over those seven years. It’s a very pleasing picture. Our A-level results [SLIDE 1] have gone from this, to this [SLIDE 2]. Our GCSE results [SLIDE 3] have gone from this to this [SLIDE 4]. The school has grown in size, [SLIDE 5] from this to this [SLIDE 6]. Our Sixth Form [SLIDE 7] has gone from this to this [SLIDE 8] ; and in September it will be this [SLIDE 9] – the biggest Sixth Form St.Edward’s has ever had.

And this year we have all watched our exciting Abbott Building take shape [PLAY MOVIE]. This project has been a great success story. When work started a year ago, we certainly assumed that it wouldn’t be ready within the school year; but, amazingly, the work was completed ahead of schedule – and, even more amazingly! – under budget. And, as you know, we have actually been using the new Refectory for these last three weeks of Term. I would like to pay tribute today first to our builders, Thomas Vale, and also to our Bursar, Bob O’Hara, and our Estate Manager Colin Dickinson who have played a crucial role in ensuring the success of this project. I hope you have all had a chance to look over the whole building today - and we’ll be having our final tea and cakes in the new Refectory at the end of this afternoon.

We started this year with some new facilities – the refurbished and re-equipped [SLIDE 32] Sixth Form Chemistry and Physics laboratories. These complete the programme of renewing and expanding our science facilities that began back in 2000 [SLIDE 33]. The growth of Science in the school has been most encouraging – the new Sixth Form in September will have record numbers taking Science A-levels. Science has also expanded off the curriculum. What started as an Environmental Science Club in the lower years has now become two groups who are taking this subject as an extra GCSE through their after-school sessions. Here are some of these students [SLIDE 34] on their four-day trip to North Wales where they visited the Centre for Alternative Technology as well as a hydro-electric power station. Meanwhile the Years 7 and 8 Science Club [SLIDE 35] has continued to flourish – here they are making chemical dyes out of various substances. [SLIDE 36] I am most grateful to our Science teachers for all the extra time they put into this, stretching our bright young scientists in this way.

These past seven years have seen the growth of Classics in the school, culminating with the arrival this year of St.Edward’s first ever Head of Classics, Mr.Bull. Our classicists from across the year groups have been going to evening lectures on Mythology run by the Gloucestershire Classical Association, and in March, two of our Lower 6th took part in the Gloucestershire Latin reading competition, performing admirably in front of a packed audience at Cheltenham College.  This was soon followed [SLIDE 37] by the first ever St Edward's Junior Latin Reading Competition, with all the Latinists in Years 8 and 9 taking part in some form or another.  The standard of reading was high, and there were some [SLIDE 38] dramatic performances from both year groups.

GCSE Classical Civilisation has been a new addition to the timetable, and in September the subject will also be run at A-level. Next term an additional Classics teacher, Miss Jodie Mallet, will be joining the department. I am very glad that we now have such strong Classics in St.Edward’s – it is one of the signs of a sound academic school.

Another sign of the school’s healthy intellectual culture is the large amount of public speaking which our students do. The Sixth Form Team [SLIDE 39] of Charlie Coldicott, Stevie Christian and Leanne Rinne spoke very effectively at the Cheltenham Rotary Competition. We also had a team in the English Speaking Union Competition for Key Stage 4 pupils [SLIDE 40] consisting of Alex Chan, Ed Cowan and Kit Stoddart. They went through to the second round with Kit being named as best Questioner. And this team also entered the 15-18 Class at the Cheltenham Festival [SLIDE 41] where they beat three other teams to win the Cup - the second year running this has been won by St Edward’s. The School also entered two teams in the 11 to 14 years Competition. [SLIDE 42] Our ‘B’ team of Colette Shakib, Ellena Ingles and Hope Claydon won the Gold Medal position, and our ‘C’ team of Coco Chan, Samuel Bradley, and Catherine Dowie took third place.

It has also been a most successful year in Debating. Our team of Charles Coldicott and Jamie Close won the Three Counties Debating Competition. Winning the Cup in the Finals of the Midlands Schools Debating Competition were St.Edward’s debaters Ollie Morrison and Nathan Spence; and our team of Charles Coldicott and Jordan Crickmore were Regional Finalists in the ESU Debating Competition. And this year we held our first ever in-school [SLIDE 43] Knock-out Debating Competition, which had 32 staff and student competitors and culminated in a memorable Final in which the student team of Josh Pendry and Jordan Crickmore beat the staff team, with Jordan also winning best speaker.

Another encouraging development in the intellectual life of the school has been the founding this year of the Stride-Darnley Society, named after our late colleague Judith Stride-Darnley, who was the school’s longest-serving teacher before her untimely death in 2005. This is a Sixth Form society in which the students deliver papers which they have researched, and there are then questions and discussion. Run by Mr.O’Reilly, it meets in my study after school, and we have heard some outstanding papers on topics such as ‘Is archaeology a science?’, ‘How Marxist was post-revolutionary Russia?’, ‘Can robots be intelligent?’ and ‘What is Art?’ This is exactly the kind of intellectual exploration beyond the confines of exam syllabuses which good education should be doing.

This year has also seen a group of sixth-formers meeting fortnightly to discuss literature and English-related issues outside the A-Level syllabus. And most recently there has been the founding of a school Literary Society: at its inaugural meeting, the medieval historian Dr.Tim Porter came to give a talk with slides on Chaucer. And a group of younger pupils, under the guidance of Mrs Harris, has been producing a school English magazine called ‘Shakespeare’s Secrets’.

The English Department have also once again run the ever-popular Spelling Competition [SLIDE 44] – here is the winner Matt Morrow and runner-up Coco Chan - the Poetry Competition, the Poetry Slam, and the Readathon which raised over £1,400 for children’s charities. There have been numerous theatre trips and a Shakespeare Day [SLIDE 45] at Stratford involving lectures and a workshop on ‘Twelfth Night’. Just last week [SLIDE 46] the L6th English group once again made their residential trip to the Quantocks ‘In the Footsteps of the Romantic Poets’.

On World Book Day in March our Librarian, Mrs. Dipple, invited a real live novelist, Mark Robson. [SLIDE 47] During the day he gave talks, signed copies of his books in the Library and gave an interview to some budding journalists from our English Magazine Club.

Visiting speakers are the key feature of our Sixth Form enrichment programme, run by Mr.Scarboro. Friday afternoons have seen a series of lectures for our Sixth Formers by a variety of speakers. The most moving one was undoubtedly the talk by Mr.Henry Metelmann [SLIDE 48] about his time serving Hitler in the German army during the Second World War, including the invasion of Russia and the horrors of the retreat. On a lighter note, I know that the students much enjoyed the talk by the colourful Mr.Hector Krone [SLIDE 49] about his travels, entitled ‘Ripping Yarns’. They also found stimulating the presentation by two local Magistrates [SLIDE 50] who gave examples of real cases which come up before them and asked the Sixth Formers to work out what judgments and penalties they would have given. The students found this a lot harder than they had imagined, and it brought home to them the immense difficulties presented to our legal system by the fallout from our ‘broken society’. There is so much more to Sixth Form education than exam results – vital though those of course are! – and it is an essential part of our educational mission here at St.Edward’s that we help our young people to engage with the issues of today.

Then there is our more active extra-curricular life - our sport. The 1st Fifteen came to their new season fresh from their wonderful tour to South Africa. [SLIDE 51] 34 players and 7 coaches flew out to Cape Town soon after last year’s Speech Day. Over the next few weeks [SLIDE 52] they won four matches, met children in the Langa township [SLIDE 53] and played in front of 1,000 supporters in the stadium there, trained on [SLIDE 54] the beach with Table Mountain as a backdrop, went on two safaris [SLIDE 55], and visited wildlife sanctuaries and a crocodile farm. A fabulous experience! [SLIDE 56] And the season which followed season saw St Edward’s play more fixtures than ever before and against more testing opposition. They had a run of six wins in a row at one point and concluded with a long awaited and convincing victory over local rivals Bournside. The squad benefited from two training sessions with [SLIDE 57] Italy World Cup captain Marco Bortolami, Scotland and British Lions player Bryan Redpath, and Captain of Gloucester Peter Buxton. Three of our 1st XV, Jack Tupper, Callum Kerr [SLIDE 58] and our American visitor Cameron Dolan, were selected to represent the District and then the County. Our 1st Eleven [SLIDE 59] Football team had a good season, with emphatic victories against Cotswold and Bristol Cathedral. And this year [SLIDE 60] saw the first ever Old Boys’ Football fixture which we hope will become an annual event. And this summer sees the first ever St.Edward’s football tour, with Mr.Ruck taking the senior squad to Malta. We wish them all the best, playing in the mid-summer heat – Malta is near the equator than parts of North Africa! In Boys’ athletics, [SLIDE 61] there were medals for Tom Migliuolo and James I’Anson in the 800m and Javelin [SLIDE 62] respectively at the Independent Schools Association National Athletics competition. And we won 10 medals [SLIDE 63] at the ISA National Swimming championships.

In Boy’s Hockey, our Year 7 team were runners-up in the Cirencester 7-a-side tournament, and our U13 team were runners-up at the ISA National Championships. In February the U14 team travelled to Holland [SLIDE 64] together with the girls’ U14 team. Both the boys’ and girls’ teams played challenging and enjoyable matches – [SLIDE 65] here are girls’ team in their warm-up routine!

Our girls have had success in a variety of sports this year. [SLIDE 66] Here’s the senior girls’ Netball team in practice [SLIDE 67]. Our girls played in 12 Hockey tournaments and finished runners-up in 8, semi-finalists once and 3rd place once. [SLIDE 68] Here are the U14 team at the Gloucestershire Schools Tournament Finals in March where they were runners-up. A number of girls have represented Gloucestershire, and also Amy O’Connor represented the Midlands and Charlotte Collins the West of England. These Year 7 [SLIDE 69] girls were also selected to play for the county or district, as were these Year 8 girls. [SLIDE 70]

And there has been an innovation in Girls’ sport this year – St.Edward’s first ever girls’ football team, coached by Mr.Martin. [SLIDE 71] Here they are after they had beaten the Ladies College 2-1 with a goal in the last minute!

I’m sorry if I haven’t been able to mention your personal favourite St.Edward’s sporting moment of the year. I simply can’t cover everything. But here are the finalists [SLIDE 72] in our road Road to Wimbledon competition, Tom Hage and Jack Merron. Tom, along with Matthew Morrow, was also selected to represent Gloucestershire at Tennis. We haven’t been able to track down any cricket photos, but I can report that the U12 team reached the quarter finals of the County Cup and that the Captain - Tom Hage again! - has also been selected for the county squad. In Cross-Country [SLIDE 73] Georgie Gunn clocked up a number of impressive performances, as did Tom Migliuolo and Merlin Middleton.

Well, if all that sporting activity hasn’t exhausted you – now for CCF! [SLIDE 74] Straight after last year’s Speech Day the cadets were off on Summer camp at Penhale, doing all kinds of challenging activities. The RAF Section went to Cranwell – [SLIDE 75] see if you can work out what they’re doing here! There were training weekends and [SLIDE 76] Field Days for all cadets during the year. And in February the CCF had its very own ski trip to Austria [SLIDE 77], jointly with cadets from Pate’s. In April there came the Ten Tors competition. You will remember how last year this had to atrocious weather, and some of our cadets carried out a heroic rescue of a young participant from another school. So this year our teams trained hard [SLIDE 78], preparing for the worst, but in fact the weather turned out exactly the opposite, and some participants found the heat overpowering. [SLIDE 79] But most of our 35-mile team and our 45-mile team made it through to the finish [SLIDE 80] – we commend all of them on their achievement in this supremely challenging event. The Duke of Edinburgh Award has had Bronze, Silver and Gold expeditions taking place [SLIDE 81] – you can see the sense of satisfaction and enjoyment on this team’s faces!

And while we’re on these physical activities, I mustn’t omit the main school ski trip. [SLIDE 82] This year 40 students and 6 staff went to Courmayeur in Italy. They had glorious sunshine, [SLIDE 83] no accidents and all inclusive ice skating and swimming trips.

Overall, I can’t remember a year in which we had quite so many school trips – over the two-week Easter break alone we had new fewer than seven! Not only is this a tribute to our teachers that they are willing to spend their holiday time on school activities; it also shows how the life of St.Edward’s goes far beyond the school site. One of the most spectacular trips was to Costa Rica last summer by 11 A Level Geographers and Biologists led by Mrs Low. [SLIDE 84] During this 10-day trip the group visited a research centre and learnt all about the native flora and fauna; [SLIDE 85] a coffee plantation where they had the chance to test the taste; [SLIDE 86] and two active volcanoes. The trip’s most outstanding experiences, however, were the visit to a local primary school [SLIDE 87] and to a secondary school where they planted trees as part of a conservation project. The most adventurous part [SLIDE 88] was travelling through the rainforest on zip wires or via hanging bridges. [SLIDE 89]

In October there was the Geography Department’s second trip to Iceland. [SLIDE 90] The highlights included the Blue Lagoon and watching several eruptions of Geysirs and some spectacular [SLIDE 91] waterfalls And they walked in the Mid Atlantic Ridge [SLIDE 92] which separates North America from Europe – this must be the very best way to have a Geography lesson about plate tectonics. During this trip there was also a first for the school – Mr.Ogilivie, our Head of GCSE and lower years Geography, ran a Blog [SLIDE 93] which you can still look at via a link on the school website.

And this summer the intrepid Mrs.Low is leading a 4-week school expedition to Zambia. [SLIDE 94] The nine pupils, all from Lower Sixth, have raised their own money for this trip through a wide variety of activities over the past 2 years and have done a lot of training. This expedition [SLIDE 95] is all about personal development and becoming independent travellers. They will be camping, cooking their own food and will have to survive on a strict budget - no luxury hotels or fancy restaurants. And they will be taking with them the £1,400 the school has collected to donate [SLIDE 96] to the Itala school which needs basics like books and writing materials. I wish the group all the best for this challenging trip.

As you would expect, our Languages students have been practising their skills abroad. The wonderful cuisine trip to Le Touquet was one of the Easter ones I mentioned. [SLIDE 97] This was fourth year the Languages Department has run this trip. They visited a snail farm [SLIDE 98] and a chocolate factory, but the heart of this trip [SLIDE 99] is of course the delicious cookery demonstrations. I can’t think of a more enjoyable way to learn a foreign language.

At the same time, the Languages Department [SLIDE 100] was also leading a trip to Valencia in Spain where the students had Spanish classes in the mornings, [SLIDE 101] followed by various outings in the afternoons.

There has been a new language taught in the department this year, Mandarin. All Year 7 have had a taster, and in September there will be a Mandarin set in Year 8. And this afternoon, we will be awarding the school’s first ever Mandarin prize.

The Languages Department put on a range of activities for the European Day of Languages, including taster lessons [SLIDE 102] in new languages – here’s the workshop in Lithuanian. It was a ‘mufti’ day for charity, and everyone was asked to come in a clothing of another country. The prize for the best went to our Chaplain, Fr.Basil, [SLIDE 103] for his costume from El Salvador.

I always feel that it’s rather tough on other subjects which by their nature don’t have glamorous pictures to show of their activities. Take Maths. There has been much talk in the media of the government’s Maths curriculum being dumbed down. Like a number of independent schools, we have adopted the International GCSE in Maths for our top sets because it has maintained a high academic calibre. Absurdly, the government’s league tables refuse to include IGCSE results. And yet everyone one – especially universities – knows that it is a more academic course. Bear that in mind when the government league tables appear next year!

You will also have heard in the media about the national trend for students to be guided into easier, less academic subjects to push up a school’s grades. Well, I am happy to assure you that the exact opposite is the case here. This year we have the largest number of A-Level Maths pupils we have ever had, with over 30 of the Sixth Form studying Maths at AS or A2 level.

And can Maths be done in an extra-curricular way at all? Well, yes! This year the Maths Department has promoted the Puzzle Club [SLIDE 104] to our younger pupils, and it has been a tremendous success, with enthusiastic Year 7’s trying to solve strategy board games, logic and lateral thinking puzzles. And this year they held a Connect 4 Challenge. [SLIDE 105] Twenty Year 7 pupils competed, and the Final was a closely fought match with some excellent game strategies; the winner was Tim Van der Star, with Charlie Howes as runner up. You will also have noticed in the WeekEnd the weekly Maths puzzle which now appears; it’s attracted real interest across the school years. There is a prize of a Rubic’s Cube, and it’s costing the Maths Department a fortune in Rubic’s Cubes! Finally, each year Leeds University runs a U.K. wide Maths Challenge for which we always enter pupils. Special mention must go to Jacqueline Uren in Year 8 who this year gained 121 marks – significantly higher than any St.Edward’s pupil has ever scored before. So, I think we can safely conclude that there is no dumbing-down of Maths at St.Edward’s.

The Maths Department is also home to our famously successful Chess. This year the Staff v Students Chess match [SLIDE 106] was again won by the students, by 30 points to 19. In fact, I have to tell that the Staff have never won! [SLIDE 107] It is one of the distinctive joys of the profession for a teacher to find him or herself humiliatingly defeated by a young teenager. 12 of our students qualified for the Land Chess Challenge Megafinal which was again hosted at St Edward’s and organised by parents Mr and Mrs Carter for 215 competitors from all over the county. Our own Alex Carter became the Gloucestershire Under 14 Boys’ Champion, and Ed Broom also qualified for the Gigafinal.

History is proving very popular in the school at present. In September we will have 25 students studying A Level History, and 51 Year 10 pupils have chosen it at GCSE - all-time records for the school. The Department’s visits to the battlefields of the Great War [SLIDE 108] are now a well-established aspect of History at St. Edward’s; and over the years this event has become more and more cross-curricular, with English and Art aspects. This year was the largest group ever, with 43 students. They visited the graves or memorials of a number of our pupils’ ancestors, including the grave [SLIDE 109] of Private L.Varder, 42nd Battalion Canadian Infantry –Annabel Withers’ great-great uncle - who died on 18th April 1916 at the age of 21. The group also went to the Welsh Dragon memorial at Mametz Wood, a site made famous by the poets Siegfried Sassoon and Robert Graves. [SLIDE 110] Mr. O’Reilly placed the various war poems and novels into their context of time and place. At Serre, on the Somme, he read Wilfred Owen’s famous poem ‘The Dugout’ while standing virtually on the spot where the incident it describes took place.

I have already mentioned the Geography Department’s spectacular trips to Costa Rica and Iceland. But as usual there have also been the more local field trips. On the Year 7 trip [SLIDE 111] to Cleeve Hill our young Geographers practised their[SLIDE 112] map skills, compass reading and field sketches. Whilst Year 8 completed their microclimate investigation around school, which linked in well with the arrival of the Geography Department’s new weather station [SLIDE 113] on the school roof which has enabled Mrs Anderson to run a new weekly weather club for our budding meteorologists. The highlight for the Year 9 Geographers was their trip to Cheddar Gorge to undertake the ‘Cheddar Challenge’. [SLIDE 114]This involves the pupils formulating their own plan to introduce a new visitor attraction.[SLIDE 115] Pupils also went caving there and climbed the 274 steps [SLIDE 116] of Jacob’s ladder. The Year 10 Geographers were out in Gloucester [SLIDE 117] collecting their data for GCSE coursework.

The Business Studies Department had outstanding success this year with the ‘Young Enterprise’ team. The company, [SLIDE 118] Sapphire Designs, had really classy products [SLIDE 119] made on the Technology Department’s laser cutter. In the local competition they swept the board [SLIDE 120] with a raft of prizes and then went through to the Regional Final – further than any St.Edward’s Young Enterprise team has got before – where they got the award for best presented stand. It has been an exceptionally busy year for our Music Department – I can only give you a few highlights. As well as the beautiful music for our school Masses and other liturgies, the Choir once again gave us a wonderful [SLIDE 121] Carol Service in Tewkesbury Abbey. A striking new venture this year was the concert in November when our musicians played the film score to ‘The Snowman’ live in front of a showing of the film - a magical event. Our Jazz Band [SLIDE 122] played at the Playhouse in January – a wonderfully relaxed evening. There was yet another superb Pump Room concert [SLIDE 123] – I would say our highest standard yet. The Chamber Choir sang Mass at Clifton Cathedral [SLIDE 124], and there were the usual regular informal concerts after school each term. And this Autumn there will be the school’s first ever Music tour when Mr.Bryant takes the Junior Choir to Paris! Of course this year the Music and Drama Departments were jointly [SLIDE 125] responsible for our school musical, ‘Oliver!’ What a superb show this was! [SLIDE 126] Who will forget Josh O’Connor’s Fagin, Max Brown and John Warner as Oliver, [SLIDE 127] Rachel Smith’s Artful Dodger, Max Bitterlin’s Bill Sykes, or indeed any of the roles? [SLIDE 128] A vibrant and hugely enjoyable production. Earlier in the year there had been the lower school [SLIDE 129] play, ‘Carrie’s War’. This was imaginatively staged by Mrs.Pozzi, and [SLIDE 130] and had impressive performances by its young cast. And of course the Department now has [SLIDE 131] its fabulous new Drama Studio – purpose built and equipped to the highest standard. Next term’s Lower School Play, ‘Toad of Toad Hall, will be performed there – don’t miss it!

Our Technology Department has been busy as ever. Our Technology students [SLIDE 132] helped to run two Technology Days for Year 5 and Year 6 pupils [SLIDE 133] from our own junior school and other local primary schools.

The remarkable development of Art in the school has been another striking feature of the last seven years. You will know that our Art A-level and GCSE results are second to none. The Art Department is always buzzing with activity, and only last weekend [SLIDE 134] our Year 10 artists were away on their 4-day residential study at St.Briavel’s [SLIDE 135] where they stayed in the Norman Castle and drew and sketched [SLIDE 136] in the beautiful countryside around the Wye Valley. I hope you have all been to look round this year’s Art exhibition. The work is the fruit not only of the students’ hard work but also of the workshops and visits the Art Department runs. The Year 11s made driftwood sculptures in a two day workshop, and the Sixth Form Art and Photography students visited Tate Britain and Tate Modern.

[SLIDE 137] It is the spiritual life of the school which is the very heart of St.Edward’s. As usual we have celebrated the various feasts and seasons, such as St.Edward’s Day, Ash Wednesday [SLIDE 138] and the beginnings and ends of terms. This has been the first full year of our full-time chaplain, Fr.Basil, and he is introducing a programme of ‘away days’ for each year group. In October Year 8 had a ‘Community Experience Day’ at Belmont Abbey [SLIDE 139]where they learnt something of monastic life and had a go at stained glass making. And this term the Year 9’s made a walking pilgrimage along the River Avon, visiting the mediaeval church and Anglo-Saxon Chapel at Deerhurst and then went on [SLIDE 140] to Tewkesbury Abbey where amongst other things they climbed the tower [SLIDE 141]; that’s them at the top! The plan is to have further such days for all the year groups in due course. Such trips help the students experience the riches of our Christian culture in an enjoyable way and also give them opportunities for prayer and reflection. And, very challengingly, Fr.Basil is now planning a school trip to El Salvador, where he was a parish priest for 10 years, in which our students will work with a local community. More details in due course on this exciting project.

Of course, for some years now we have provided our new Year 7 pupils with the experience of the Morfa Bay trip [SLIDE 142] - a ‘bonding’ week which combines the physical and the spiritual [SLIDE 143] when our pupils are introduced into the spirit of St.Edward’s [SLIDE 144]. By the end of the week our new pupils, [SLIDE 145] wherever they’ve come from, are all Edwardians.

And this brings us to our staff leavers this year. We are saying goodbye to Mrs Sue Price who’s been teaching Spanish this year, and to Mr Andy Tufnell, one of our Physics teachers, who’s been with us for two years – he and his wife are going off to do missionary work in Africa. We wish them all the best. And of course at Easter we said good bye to Mrs.Sheila Cooper [SLIDE 146] when she left to become Headmistress of St.Margaret’s, Exeter. The school owes her a great debt for the work of academic improvement which did over the past 6 years as Deputy Head Academic. She sends her best wishes for today, especially to all the Upper 6th leavers.

And today we are saying goodbye to the school’s longest-serving teacher, Mr. Henderson [SLIDE 147]. He started teaching at Whitefriars in 1976 as an R.E. teacher, soon becoming Head of R.E. But it is his pastoral role with the younger pupils which has been at the heart of his vocation as a teacher. At Whitefriars he was Head of what we now call Year 8, and when it merged with Charlton Park in 1987 to become St.Edward’s he was in charge of this top year of the Middle School. When St.Edward’s was later re-structured, he opted to stay with this age-group as it moved to become part of the Senior School. And when I arrived at St.Edward’s in 2001, I appointed Mr.Henderson to the newly established role of Head of Key Stage 3 which gives continuity to the pastoral care of Years 7, 8 and 9. His pastoral approach has always been firm yet caring, and meticulous in dealing with problems. His influence on generations of St.Edward’s pupils has been marked - it was he who thought up Morfa Bay back in 1999 - and when he asked to step down from his pastoral role at Christmas, it was the end of an era. Colleagues will know that there are many other sides to Mr.Henderson too, such as his encyclopaedic knowledge of horse-racing which we know he will put to lucrative effect in his retirement! You may not also know that he is a writer of verse – you’ll find two of his compositions in our new school hymn book. And of course he is famous for his multi-coloured Hawaian shirts! [SLIDE 148] We thank him for his many years of devotion to Christian education here and wish him all the best for life after St.Edward’s.

I take this opportunity to thank, Mr.Rodrigues, who took over the role of Head of Key Stage 3 in January after having only arrived in the school the term before. My thanks also to Mrs.Low who became Head of Key Stage 4 in September, and to Mr.Harvey who took over as Deputy Head Academic at Easter. I am most grateful also to the other members of my Senior Management Team, Mr.Lewis, Assistant Headmaster and Head of Sixth Form, and of course my Deputy, Mr.Kelly. It’s a privilege to work with such an effective and supportive team in the running of the school.

And having praised the senior staff, I like to say a special word of thanks to the new generation of younger teachers whom it has been my privilege to appoint over the past seven years. Their energy and loyal commitment have brought new things to the school – they’re terrific.

St.Edward’s is still a young school – only 20 years old. We are still evolving. I’ve talked about the pace of our development over the last seven years, and this will certainly continue. The opening of the new Abbott Building not only gives us wonderful new facilities, but also frees up other areas for much needed development, and over the summer break a great deal of further work will be carried out within the school.

The old refectory will be converted into three large Art studios, including a specialized Photography room. And the old drama studio will be transformed into a new Sixth Form facility - a much expanded Careers Centre with a ‘Café 6’ recreation area and a dedicated A-level classroom. Within our main building the Music Department will gain an extra teaching room and practice rooms. Both the Chaplain’s office and that of the Head of Key Stage 3 will be relocated into more accessible positions. And the CCF will move out their temporary hut into the new Headquarters which we are creating at the back of the Performance Hall.

Such new facilities are not just an expansion – they affect the total experience of school life here. We have already noticed that the new Refectory [SLIDE 149] is having a positive effect on our communal life as a school. Instead of being cramped into a canteen-like area with a succession of pupils and staff looking for spaces in which they could just ‘eat and go’, we are now able much more to eat together as a community. [SLIDE 150] Our lunchtimes are busy times, with many clubs, activities and meetings. But feeling relaxed to have a civilized meal is also important, and in the new Refectory pupils are staying to chat, with different age groups more able to be in there at the same time; [SLIDE 151] and the staff are now more able to eat together as a body. I know that you parents make huge efforts to ensure that your families are able, despite the rush of modern life, to eat meals together – and we know how important that is for family life. Well, we now have something of that in our new Refectory.

The academic development of our curriculum will continue. From September, the timetable will enable us to have more setting by ability in the lower years. The focus on stretching each student through challenging work, both in the classroom and through off-timetable activities, will sharpen. We must have the highest possible aspirations for our young people and never be content with what is just comfortable.

There are evidently tough economic times ahead. But I am glad to tell you that we will have a bumper entry of new Year 7s in September – 80, instead of our usual 72. Independent schools nationally are seeing a continuing rise in pupil numbers, and even if money is getting tighter, St.Edward’s is well-placed in the independent school market. We are delivering a high quality independent education at much lower cost than our wealthier, longer-established rivals. Why pay boarding school prices when what most parents want is a sound day school?

There are other challenges, politically. You will know of the new legislation which requires all charities to demonstrate their ‘public benefit’. I think education is itself a great public benefit – especially when it is paid for by you parents who are already paying taxes to support state schools where your children do not take up spaces.

We also need to be aware of an increasingly unpleasant secularist agenda in some circles, hostile to faith schools and indeed to the role of religion in public life. We must be sure of our principles. There is no such thing as ‘neutral’ education. A school which doesn’t have a clear philosophy will simply be dominated by the values of an empty, materialist culture and the constant interference of political policies. At St.Edward’s we will set our own policies, firmly rooted in the principles of Christian education.

So, there are plenty of challenges ahead – and I am looking forward to my next seven years as your Headmaster.