Annual Review

SPEECH DAY 2009: 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.

It was just a year ago that our [SLIDE 1] magnificent new Abbot Building opened. Our spacious new Refectory [SLIDE 2] has made a huge difference to school life, much more than any of us had expected. We had its formal opening on St.Edward’s Day in October. As usual, there was Mass for the whole school, celebrated for us this year by our Bishop, Declan Lang of Clifton Diocese. Here [SLIDE 3] is the whole school, together with Trustees, parents and other guests, gathered round the altar for Mass that day – a wonderful occasion. To celebrate our new Refectory with its superb modern kitchen, we had invited the celebrity chef Paul Rankin [SLIDE 4] who earlier that morning visited a Food lesson and also talked to the Sixth Form about his career. [SLIDE 5] Later, the now retired founding Chairman of the St.Edward’s School Trust, Mr.Michael Abbott, [SLIDE 6], formally opened our new building, which was also blessed by Bishop Declan [SLIDE 7], before the guests all enjoyed the lunch prepared by Chef Paul Rankin. Here are the Senior Prefects carrying out their onerous duties that day [SLIDE 8].

The opening of this major new building freed up older parts of the school for re-furbishment. The most striking of these was the creation of the new Café 6 Careers Centre [SLIDE 9] for the Sixth Form. We needed this extra space, partly to provide extra space for our record number of Sixth Formers, but also as a cunning plan to provide all that mass of information on universities and degree courses [SLIDE 10] in a place where our Sixth Formers will be sipping their lattes and cappuccinos. [SLIDE 11]

The Abbott building contains the superb new Drama Studio [SLIDE 12] which we used later that term for the Lower School Play, Toad of Toad Hall, [SLIDE 13] a hugely enjoyable production of this classic story, with some very characterful performances by the young cast. [SLIDE 14] Later in the year, by contrast we had the immensely moving main school play, the ancient Greek tragedy by Euripides, The Trojan Women. [SLIDE 15] This was an extraordinarily powerful production. Those of you who were there will remember how the audience audibly gasped with shock at some of the most intensely tragic moments. [SLIDE 16] It was an impressive achievement that school students could enable this play, which was written nearly two and a half thousand years ago, to work so powerfully. [SLIDE 17] This is a very important part of education – to show that the culture we inherit from our past still speaks to us today. [SLIDE 18] The issues which Euripides put into dramatic form are still our issues today – war, the misuse of power and how the human spirit faces suffering.

As well as the new Drama studio, the Abbott Building also has some teaching rooms [SLIDE 19] which house the Geography Department. Of course our Geographers really like to be out in the field, and as usual they have had a full programme of trips. [SLIDE 20] In the Autumn TermYear 7 were out on Cleeve Hill, while Year 8 [SLIDE 21] did a microclimate investigation around the school site. Year 9 once again had their fascinating day at Cheddar Gorge, [SLIDE 22] going down into the caves and then climbing the 274 steps of Jacob’s Ladder to reach the Pavey Lookout tower. [SLIDE 23] The students produced two projects, the best one winning the Cheddar Challenge cup presented by the Gorge’s owners. Year 10 were in Gloucester [SLIDE 24] collecting data for their GCSE Geography coursework, and the Lower 6th A-level Geographers [SLIDE 25] had their three-day residential Fieldwork at Nettlecombe Court in Somerset, studying rivers [SLIDE 26] and practising their geographical skills for their AS module in January.

Over the October Half Term Mr Ogilvie led a Geography trip of 30 students to Italy to the Naples Bay area. [SLIDE 27] Based in Meta di Sorrento, the group walked up Mt Vesuvius, [SLIDE 28] saw the archaeological ruins at Pompeii, the volcanic crater at [SLIDE 29] Solfatarra, and the Amphitheatre [SLIDE 30] at Pozzuoli, and visited the Island of Capri [SLIDE 31] to see its stunning rock formations. A pretty enjoyable way to learn Geography!

When I took over as Headmaster eight years ago, one of my early aims was that St.Edward’s should become strong in Classics, and since 2002 all our pupils have studied Latin in Year 7, most have continued it to Year 9 and there have been consequent record numbers opting for Latin GCSE and A-level. Two years ago we also introduced Classical Civilisation as a subject, and this year our first batches of students sat this subject at GCSE and AS level. As you will know, the Classics are almost completely neglected in state schools, and yet universities are short of Classics students – as they are in all languages – and Classics graduates have very high employment rates. So I am delighted that this is now so strong at St.Edward’s. It also generates some fun here. The Junior Latin Reading competition [SLIDE 32] saw all the Latinists in Year 8 and Year 9 getting into pairs to play the roles of Salvius and Rufilla [SLIDE 33], and this year there was the added incentive [SLIDE 34] that the top 3 pairs would go on to compete in the county final where two St.Edward’s students won 3rd prize – not bad for our first entry. We also tasted success in the Greek reading competition in which we came second in the county – not bad for a language which we only teach as an after-school club!

Then at Easter came the school’s first ever Classics trip. [SLIDE 35] Mr.Bull led a party of twenty students to Greece where they visited such breathtaking sites as the Acropolis, Delphi, [SLIDE 36] Olympia and Corinth. And the tour company were even kind enough to get the flight details wrong and give the group an extra day! [SLIDE 37]

Mr.Bull is also our Oxbridge Adviser, and so this is a good point at which to celebrate the very significant academic milestone which St.Edward’s achieved this year: our record number of five Oxbridge offers. [SLIDE 38] Now, we have a fairly wide range of ability at this school, and Oxbridge of course isn’t the be-all and end-all. There are many universities, and our task is to get our students into the best one they can which suits them. But, I’m well aware that it sometimes used to be muttered about St.Edward’s, "It’s a very nice school, but will it stretch my bright child?" Well, I think this year’s record Oxbridge success has finally nailed that one.

We are equally proud of all our students here, whether they’re high flyers, those who struggle academically or – the vast majority – somewhere in between. Indeed, they are the main thrust of our work. You have to have total school culture of stretching – if you don’t get the vast majority in the middle right, you certainly won’t be able to address the needs of either end. Our exam results show what our students have been achieving - [SLIDE 39] here are our A-level results over the past five years: note our record number of A-B and A to C grades last summer. But what’s key for a school is to go beyond the exam syllabuses and have a culture in which students explore ideas for their own sake. Public Speaking, for instance, is now a strong part of the school’s intellectual life and has been very successful this year. [SLIDE 40] Our Key Stage 4 team won the first round of the English Speaking Union Competition, taking prizes for Best Speaker and Best Chairman. In the second round St.Edward’s were the Reserve team by a hair’s breadth, and again we won Best Speaker. At the Cheltenham Festival of Performing Arts our two Lower School Teams were placed equally in the Silver Medal position; [SLIDE 41] and in the Senior Competition the School Team won the Business Women’s Cup for the third year. [SLIDE 42] Within the School this year we had a series of workshops for Years 8, 9 and 10 [SLIDE 43] ending in two competitions with five teams who all showed very promising speaking skills.

Debating involves similar skills but in a more combative way and has also seen success this year. Our team won 2nd place in the Taylor Trophy Debating Competition [SLIDE 44], and the same pair also won our own in-school Knock-out Debating Competition. Our team [SLIDE 45] won the Committee Shield in the Midlands Schools Debating Competition. And our debaters [SLIDE 46] were Regional Finalists in the English Speaking Union Competition and National Finalists in the Cambridge Union Competition - one of the final 36 teams out of an initial 750. Overall, St Edward’s debaters were finalists in four out of the six competitions we entered.

Our debating has been run by the Deputy Head of the English Department Mr.Chris O’Reilly, and this is the appropriate moment to wish him and his family all the best as they move this summer to Germany. Mr.O’Reilly has contributed a great deal to the life of the school during his five years here, not just in his English teaching and running the debating but also through his responsibility for our Gifted and Talented programme. Last November he took a group of these pupils to a study day in Oxford to consider questions such as: ‘What Is Truth?’, ‘Is There Life After Death?’ and ‘Should Animals Have Rights?’ And this term Key Stage 3 pupils took part in an ‘Island Survivors Day’ [SLIDE 47] in which they were stretched both intellectually and practically, discussing how society should be organized and considering different political systems. Mr.O’Reilly also runs the Sixth Form Stride-Darnley Society which meets in the evenings in my study. [SLIDE 48] What you’ll notice about this picture is that we teachers in it are listening, not doing the talking. It’s the Sixth Formers who give the lectures, and during the year we’ve heard some really well-researched and stimulating papers such as ‘Why do we enjoy watching tragic drama?’, ‘Should modern education instill moral principles?’, ‘What is literature?’, and ‘How meaningful is meaning?’ Well, I’m sure Mr.O’Reilly is looking forward to continuing this kind of work in his new school, too, though there it’ll be all in German! Many thanks, Mr.O’Reilly, for all you’ve done for St.Edward’s.

Another important part of the school’s wider intellectual and cultural education is the series of outside speakers which Mr.Scarboro organises for the Sixth Form on Friday afternoons. There have been 18 of them this year. Particularly memorable were: [SLIDE 49] an inspirational talk on ‘Living with Paralysis’; a harrowing lecture by Count Nikolai Tolstoy of how the British Government returned Russian prisoners to be executed by Stalin; and a hair-raising account of the Everestmax Expedition.

I haven’t time in this Report to list all the activities like this that the School has done during the year. We do so much, and I have to be selective this afternoon. The English Department alone has done six theatre trips, two A-level conferences, a Shakespeare Day at Stratford [SLIDE 50], the Sixth Form Literary Society, including a lecture on Wordsworth from Professor Malcolm Kelsal [SLIDE 51], the school Poetry Competition and Poetry Slam, the Readathon which not only gets the pupils to read lots of books but also raised over £1,500 for children’s cancer charities, [SLIDE 52] the annual Spelling Competition and the lower years English magazine ‘Shakespeare’s Secret’ [SLIDE 53].

The highlight for the English Department, however, was their trip to the First World War battlefields over the Easter break. [SLIDE 54] Here the students are reading Wilfred Owen’s poem ‘The Sentry’ at the Serre Road cemetery. Their visit coincided with Palm Sunday, and Fr.Basil was invited to celebrate Mass for the group at the cemetery’s open air altar. [SLIDE 55] They described afterwards the enormous impact this had on the whole group, celebrating the Eucharist as the mist was breaking through the clouds, on that morning when the Passion of Christ is read and in that place. [SLIDE 56] This was an event which was at once spiritual, cultural and, yes, educational.

Or take the Languages Department. They kick off the year with the Day of Languages which is a lot of fun [SLIDE 57] with some new and challenging language experiences such as lessons in Arabic, Italian, Portuguese and Russian, and visits from three speakers from GCHQ on Language careers. Over the Easter break Mrs.Pursey led a trip to Barcelona for Years 8 and 9 linguists. [SLIDE 58] As well as the cultural activities such as visiting the Dali museum and the sights of Barcelona, [SLIDE 59] they also loved the visits to the sausage museum, the bakery and of course the Port Aventura theme park. [SLIDE 60] And tomorrow the Department are off again, this time to Germany, when Mrs.Hotchen and Mr Geracitano take an exchange party to Berlin.

We now have record numbers of students taking Science at A-level. This is another healthy sign of St.Edward’s academic calibre, especially against the background of the national shortage of applicants to university for Science degrees. Our more gifted younger scientists have once again been exploring the subject beyond the confines of the curriculum through our after-school Science Club. Here [SLIDE 61] they are extracting the DNA from kiwi fruit; here [SLIDE 62] they’re finding out exactly how much energy there is in an onion ring; and here [SLIDE 63] they’re studying the conservation of rainforest animals in a workshop run by Bristol Zoo. Another group run the Science Department is the Year 9 and upwards students who take Environmental Science as an additional GCSE through after-school study which involves some trips as well as work in the laboratory. Here [SLIDE 64] they are actually visiting a sewage works!

I’ve been concentrating on the more cerebral side of the curriculum so far, but the more creative subjects are strong here too. You will all know how Art has now become a major strength of St.Edward’s, and as numbers taking Art both at GCSE and A-level have grown, we’ve had to provide extra space, such as the temporary Sixth Form Art studios we had for a while. Well, we’ve now been able to replace those - the opening of the Abbott Building meant that we could convert the old Refectory into Art rooms [SLIDE 65], including a dedicated Photography room [SLIDE 66]. With the conversion of this building, we finally have the Art facilities that we have long needed. Among the Art Department’s many activities during the year was the two-day Driftwood Workshop by Artist Kevan Hopson for Year 11. [SLIDE 67] Many impressive sculptures were made [SLIDE 68] which can be seen in the GCSE Art exhibition in the Main Hall. [SLIDE 69] In May came the residential Art trip for Year 10 to St Briavel’s in the Forest of Dean. [SLIDE 70] Despite the weather turning poor, [SLIDE 71] lots of good work was produced. [SLIDE 72] Don’t forget to visit the A-level Art exhibition also which is in the Performance Hall. And I am delighted to announce that next year our Art Department takes another step forward – it will be offering Textiles as a further option in Art A-level. So we look forward to some stunning new fashions being on display next year!

Our students have also been showing their design skills in the Technology Department and also been working on projects outside the normal timetable. A team from Years 8 and 9 entered the Flying Start competition sponsored by GE Aerospace. [SLIDE 73] They had to design and make a glider, with the help and advice of visiting GE engineers, which was thrown in the national finals competition at the Yeovil Aerospace Museum. Our team didn't win, but did well to get this far. A team of Year 10 GCSE students entered the ‘Technology Challenge’ competition. [SLIDE 74] For this they had to design and make a sustainable robotic vehicle to negotiate a maze on its own. In the Regional Final our vehicle was the only one to do it [SLIDE 75] and ultimately we were placed fourth out of about 100 schools. And finally, our Young Engineers Club in Year 7 have shown they can successfully design and construct a complex piece of machinery which can safely transport a delicate cargo from one side of a deep chasm to the other!



In October Mr.Bryant led the School’s first ever music tour, taking the Junior Choir to Paris. [SLIDE 77] As well as seeing the sights they gave two concerts, one at the Résidence Liberty [SLIDE 78], and one at Disneyland Paris [SLIDE 79] where they performed one afternoon in front of an ever-changing audience [SLIDE 80]. Music is so important in the life of the School, not least for what it brings to our liturgical celebrations. At our St.Edward’s Day Mass [SLIDE 81] the choir sang the polyphonic Missa Sancti Eduardi, the Mass of St.Edward, specially composed for the school by our organist Mr.Higginson. And then in December we had another beautiful Carol Service in Tewkesbury Abbey [SLIDE 82]. And last Term we were in the Pump Room again [SLIDE 83] for the concert which is musical highpoint of the year.

It’s time I talked about our Sport. Again, I can’t possibly list everything. The pupils will tell you that at one of our Sports Assemblies this year we had so many awards to give out that it took over an hour! So I certainly can’t list all the teams’ achievements now, just some highlights. It’s been a great year for St.Edward’s rugby. [SLIDE 84] The 1st XV had their best season ever, winning 11 times, and progressing through four rounds in the National Daily Mail Competition. [SLIDE 85] including one impressive away win against a school which had 1100 boys to draw on for their teams– we have less than a quarter of that. In Rugby 7s we were winners of the Independent Schools Association Vase at the Under-18 National Tournament. Not to be outdone our Under-12s were also winners of the Vase trophy at their National Tournament. And it’s not just current students - our annual Old Boys event, the Richard Bailey Memorial Rugby Sevens [SLIDE 86], attracted 8 teams this year and 200 spectators. The beer tent and barbecue doubtless helped. Finally, the senior rugby squad [SLIDE 87] have been training hard in preparation for their tour to Canada and USA, led by Mr.Watson and Mr.Cummins. They leave at 2 o’clock tomorrow morning – we wish them a great tour.

Mr.Cummins is pictured here [SLIDE 88] with our recent rugby and football tour to Portugal for Years 7 to 9 boys. They had some great games, [SLIDE 89] despite the U14 rugby team finding themselves up against the Portugese National Sevens champions. But Sinta beach provided some relaxation as well. [SLIDE 90] We’re losing Mr.Cummins this term. He joined us only three ago, and now he’s moving on to Cokethorpe School. His coaching skills and his taking sports tours have been greatly valued [SLIDE 91] – our thanks to him and all the best for the future.

Mr.Ruck was breaking new ground last summer when he led the first ever St.Edward’s Football Tour, taking a squad of senior boys to Malta. [SLIDE 92] The training ground was very hard and dusty [SLIDE 93] and they came up against some tough opponents. [SLIDE 94] But our first team were undefeated, and our boys found ways to cope with the hot climate [SLIDE 95].

Our Football 1st Eleven had some smart new kit this year. [SLIDE 96] Unfortunately a lot of fixtures were cancelled because of the bad weather. We had our first ever Football match against an Old Boys team this year – they lost to our 1sts by one goal in extra time.

In Athletics this year [SLIDE 97] we had two medal winners in the Independent Schools Association National Athletics Championships. One of our girls is ISA National Champion [SLIDE 98] in three events and also represents Gloucestershire. St.Edward’s also won [SLIDE 99] the ISA U16 Midlands Cross Country this year. And on our own Sports Day, [SLIDE 100]11 school records were broken, including high jump.

We have some outstanding young tennis players in the school at present. The U13 Tennis team lost only one match this season. Chris Morrow [SLIDE 101] is No.1 in the County at U14 – a year above his age group. Just last weekend he won the Gloucestershire round of the National ‘Road to Wimbledon’ competition and so goes to the National Finals at Wimbledon in August. His brother Matthew is No.1 in the County at U15 and No. 2 in the County for U16. The highlight of our Tennis season was the match against Balcarras: we fielded U13 A, B C and D teams as well as an A team at U15 – 200 games of tennis were played in total, with St Edward’s winning every single match.

We can’t find any swimming pictures, I’m afraid. But St Edward’s won 31 medals at the Midland ISA Swimming Championships including 23 Gold medals. We then won 9 medals at the National Championships, including two golds.

Here [SLIDE 102] are our senior Boys’ Hockey team in action, though it was actually the U13 team who had the best season, winning the ISA National Hockey Championships, while the U15s were Runners up in their competition.

Again, Cricket photos have proved elusive, but I must mention that we have a St.Edward’s boy captaining the U15 County cricket team. Our U12 and U13 teams have had fantastic seasons of league wins, with our U12s unbeaten, including bowling out great rivals King’s inside 9 overs. And I am delighted to announce today an important enhancement of our cricket facilities. In a joint venture with Charlton Kings Cricket Club, a new cricket square is to be created on our field on the Junior School site. It will give us three new grass wickets in addition to our existing artificial one. It is planned to be available for the 2010 season. In this time of economic stringency, I’m pleased to be able to tell you that through this partnership with the local club, the cost to the school will be absolutely minimal.

The Girls Hockey 1st XI [SLIDE 103] have also had a good year, and our various teams [SLIDE 104] entered a total of twelve tournaments during the season, reaching at least the semi-finals in 8 of them. [SLIDE 105] Three girls gained selection to regional teams, another three to the county, and a further 9 girls were selected to attend junior development centres. [SLIDE 106] I should also mention that one of our Old Girls, Ashleigh Ball, is now a member of the England team currently playing in Australia.

We have had the most successful Rounders season in history of St Edward’s. [SLIDE 107] Out of the four Cheltenham & District tournaments we won two and were runners-up and semi-finalists in the other two. [SLIDE 108] And just this term Mrs Dunn led the school’s first ever Rounders tour to Devon, with a squad of Year 8 girls having some great matches. [SLIDE 109]

Another part of the School that benefited from knock-on effects of the opening of the Abbot Building was the CCF. With the Art Department moving out of the area at the back of the Performance Hall, we were able to convert that into a permanent CCF Headquarters, [SLIDE 110] a huge improvement on the ‘tin hut’ they’ve been in for the previous five years. Our cadets have had another active year, [SLIDE 111] including the contingent’s Camp at Longmore last summer. [SLIDE 112] They also had a week of Adventure Training in Scotland [SLIDE 113] covering kayaking, climbing and abseiling. [SLIDE 114] In October the Contingent had its Biennial Inspection by Brigadier Flint - [SLIDE 115] we were delighted to receive an ‘above average’ rating [SLIDE 116]. The CCF Ski Trip – now become an Annual event - was an excellent week. Here we see the novices! [SLIDE 117] But I gather they made good progress. The Contingent also ran two Field Days, and the RAF Section had their Camp during the Easter holiday. [SLIDE 118] A group of Year 11 cadets have followed the Method of Instruction Cadre in which they learn to become Instructors of the younger cadets – a very valuable skill. [SLIDE 119] The contingent also runs an Advanced Weapon Cadre in which Year 10 and above cadets are trained and assessed in weapon safety skills. But perhaps the most demanding event of the year is the Ten Tors Challenge on Dartmoor. [SLIDE 120] We entered two teams who both completed in good times and were duly awarded their medals and certificates. [SLIDE 121] Finally, we are extremely proud of Imogen Ryley who was chosen as Lord Lieutenant’s cadet [SLIDE 122]. She has been called for royal duties a number of times this year, including during a visit of Princess Anne to the county.

Our CCF contingent has been commanded for the past four years by Mrs.Dawn Chapple [SLIDE 123] who has combined this with her main role as our School Nurse. Over her eleven years at St.Edward’s, Mrs.Chapple has dealt with the innumerable children who have felt unwell, including the odd more serious medical incident, as well as all the administration of medical information, the vaccinations and so on. The enthusiasm and energy which she has also put into our CCF have helped our contingent to flourish. She is now leaving us, and we thank her for her – probably unique! – double role in the school.

Many cadets also do the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. We’ve got a good number currently doing Silver, and only the other weekend groups were doing their Bronze Award expeditions. And – another record - four of our Sixth Formers have already completed their Gold Awards - it is unusual to do this while still at School.

While I am talking about expeditions, I must mention the Zambia trip last summer. [SLIDE 124] A group of our senior students, accompanied by Mr and Mrs Low, undertook this demanding expedition. Most of the time they camped in the wild [SLIDE 125] and cooked their own meals on wood fires. A key element [SLIDE 126] was the time spent with the Itala Community School, [SLIDE 127] teaching the children and helping with the building of new classrooms. [SLIDE 128] I know that our students found this a life-changing experience, [SLIDE 129] and some have already decided that they want to do more of this kind of work.

I find it inspiring that our students want to get involved in this way. The education we offer here must be about so much more than the curriculum. Christian education means helping young people to grow in the values of Gospel. This is why we put so much emphasis on activities which go beyond the academic. Our charity fund-raising has been outstandingly successful this year – just this term we handed over a cheque for £1,500 to the charity Mary’s Meals which works in impoverished parts of the world to provide a basic daily meal for children at their school. Year 7 alone raised £1,200 for LEPRA, and we have also supported a number of other charities connected with disabled children. We try to promote the student’s spiritual lives, not only through our school liturgies and prayers at our regular Assemblies, [SLIDE 130] but also through occasional times away for the students such as the recent Year 8 pilgrimage to Tewkesbury Abbey. [SLIDE 131] And this spiritual and moral dimension of the school is certainly not just something for the Chaplain or the R.E. Department alone. The Year 7 Morfa Bay week [SLIDE 132] teaches the pupils about teamwork and getting on with each other, [SLIDE 133] combined with elements of reflection and pilgrimage. [SLIDE 134] I am grateful to all our teachers who contribute in their many various ways - in the classroom, through their pastoral care, through the school’s extra-curricular life - to the integral growth of the young people entrusted to us.

My time is almost up. There are a couple more ‘goodbyes’ to say to staff. Mr.Martin Connerty has been with us for the past year and a half, Mrs.Andrea Dawson and Mr.Alan Tydeman just for this year – they’re now moving on, and we thank them for their work here and wish them all the best.

A long-serving member of the staff is retiring this summer. He is someone whom very few pupils or parents will know – yet he’s been a vital part of the team here, whom we all rely on everyday for the smooth functioning of the school. It’s our Estate Manager Mr.Colin Dickinson [SLIDE 135] who’s worked at St.Edward’s since 1996. As well as the day-to-day matters such as heating, lighting and maintenance, Colin has been closely involved in all the building developments which the school has done in that time – it’s a long list! - and their successful completion would not have been possible without him. He is famously unflappable, no matter what goes wrong. We thank him for everything he has done here and wish him a long and happy retirement.

You will all know that we lost a member of staff during the year – our much-loved colleague Mr.John Wheeler who died in March. [SLIDE 136] John came to St.Edward’s in 1993 to teach Maths part-time as a ‘retirement’ job after a very full career at Cheltenham College. He only taught our Sixth Formers here, but through his work with Chess he was known throughout the school. John’s enthusiasm was unbounded, and the thriving state of Chess in the school today is entirely down to him. In the classroom he was an outstanding teacher, not just because he was a brilliant mathematician but because he was also a man of humility. He once made an error in some complex calculations on the board, and when he spotted it sentenced himself to six press-ups which he did there and then in the classroom. John was one of the kindest people I have ever met. He took an interest in everybody and with his amazing memory would ask after your family when you could only mentioned them once in passing. He exemplified that greatest of virtues – charity. I never heard him speak ill of anyone – and no-one ever spoke ill of him. He was a true Christian gentleman. His illness came upon him quite quickly, and I think he knew early on how serious it was. But he was determined to carry on teaching, even when every step round school must have been an effort. The end came suddenly, and it was a terrible shock to the whole school that he died only days after he had been teaching in the classroom. Yet even in his death, John taught us something, because the response of our students was very moving. I will never forget the Monday morning school assembly when we had just heard the news and I had to tell the school. We all said together the psalm for the departed and then stood in silent prayer for John. Later, a memorial book was placed in the school Chapel, and the tributes the students and staff wrote to him are a powerful record of the influence that a good teacher, a good man, has on those around him. St.Edward’s has been a better place because John Wheeler taught here. Let’s now say our thank you to him.

This has been a year with some sadness but also with some of the School’s highest ever achievements. I want to thank my colleagues for all their hard work, and you the parents for your support of the School; but most of all to each individual student here, well done on what you have achieved here at St.Edward’s this year.