Governors, friends, colleagues, parents, boys: welcome to our 2015 Commem prize-giving.
Thank you Rob and Jack. A hard act to follow and as Jack goes off to read Classics at Durham and Rob to read Music at Oxford, it’s worth remembering that your careers in stand up comedy began here. I would ask for your autographs, but I already have them, here in the Prefects book, going back literally centuries. A fair few pages back another name appears, A.D.Leakey, across 3 terms in 1970. In the last term his name is at the top of the list; Head of School. So Lieutenant General David Leakey’s distinguished career began here, at Sherborne. After Law at Cambridge, he rose swiftly through ranks within the army, serving around the world including being the UK Military Representative in Dayton at the Bosnia peace negotiation. He served as Chief of Staff Northern Ireland and commanded the European Force responsible in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2004/5, then served as Director General of the European Union Military Staff in Brussels. In 2010, David was appointed Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod in the House of Lords. His Housemaster’s Report as he left was somewhat more brief than those we write today (don’t look so scared, David!): ‘An outstanding boy. Good leader with high standards. All the right ideas.’
It is fitting, perhaps, that someone with such a distinguished military career should be with us in the academic year when we have been commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the start of the 1st World War. Last November saw every boy in the School paired up with an Old Shirburnian who had given their life in conflict; yes, you heard that correctly, there have been as many OS who have fallen as there are boys now in the School; it was very moving to read the tributes which today’s boys wrote on wooden crosses to the young men who walked here in the Courts before them and the overwhelming sentiment was one of gratitude; gratitude for the freedoms and privileges that we enjoy today.
Last week I went with the 3rd Form to the battlefields around Ypres. Like many of the other visitors, our boys saw the row upon row of headstones and it brought home the extraordinary scale of sacrifice. What was most poignant however was finding the individual names upon the headstones, the memorials and the Menin gate. Charles Bean aged 21, Abbey House. Maurice Bennett, aged 20, Lyon House. William Duckworth aged 19, school house. Arthur Frost, Harper house, aged 18. And the names went on. I asked one boy whether he had enjoyed the trip. “No Sir. It has been devastating. But I’ll never forget it and I’m thankful that we came.” The boys still surprise me with their capacity to understand so deeply.
It is easy to take for granted the privilege of living, working and learning in such an extraordinary place, surrounded by an ancient heritage and walking in the footsteps of so many generations before. Their achievements are our boys’ aspirations and, while they may not explicitly state it, I know that current boys feel that connection to the past very deeply. While international politics may have changed and we now have revolutions driven by social media, some values remain timeless. To stand in the Abbey twice a week and have the voices of 600 boys singing together with such joy is hugely moving. To know that they do so in the same seats as generations before, some of whom were cut down so young by war 100 years ago is heart-rending. Those boys were no different in spirit or ambition from those who sing today.
It has been a year of other significant anniversaries too.
Another, earlier this term, saw the 150th Anniversary of the Green; the boys enjoyed their BBQ with wheelbarrow races, the egg and spoon race and sack race hotly contested by Third Form and Sixth Form alike. I couldn’t help but feel that it is only in an environment like this that boys of this age enjoy such simple pleasures together; away from iPhones, the Xbox and other screens. The Old Shirburnians who returned for earlier celebrations shared their own happy memories, but also recalled harsher times; the boarding school life which some of them remember is austere and unforgiving – so very different from Sherborne today.
Today’s boys share in a much kinder, understanding and supportive community. One of the most extraordinary things for me this year about Sherborne has been the way in which it runs through the DNA of the older boys to look out for the younger ones, to help them to learn how to live together in community, to encourage them to make the most of the breadth and quality of opportunities here. Humankind is not always kind, of course, and we have done a lot of work this year with both boys and colleagues to heighten sensitivities to a careless word which causes pain, a broken friendship which can be cruel.
I pay tribute here to my Housemasters who guide the boys to learn to look out for the most vulnerable, perhaps the boy whose home life is difficult, and bring out the social cohesiveness for which Shirburnians are famed. Yesterday in Lists, we presented the Bow Award to Olly Douglas, an Upper Sixth Former in Harper House, and one of our Head Chapel Wardens, in recognition (in the words of another boy) of his “consistency of kindness and awareness of others”. Olly received a standing ovation from the Boys; they value those who give so generously of themselves in the service of others.
The pastoral work of the school is overseen by a team which is guided and led by the Pastoral Deputy, Peter Watts. Peter, living up to his name, has been a rock for Sherborne and a tremendous support for me this year. Starting here as a Physics teacher in 1995, he has over the years been involved in almost every aspect of school life. A former Headmaster, Simon Elliot, described him as “One of the great Housemasters” during his time at School house and his wisdom, deep understanding of the boys and tough but nuanced fundamental kindness have won over the hearts and minds of countless boys and their parents.
It is testament to the respect and trust which his colleagues have in Peter that he has been able to bring them with him this year as we see through some far-reaching reforms to the Pastoral Support and supervision in Houses which will take effect from September, strengthening the supervision and care for the boys in House. After 20 years of dedication far beyond expectation, I am delighted for Peter, that he will be moving on at Christmas to become the founding Headteacher of a brand new school in Gibraltar and we take this opportunity to thank him for all that he has done for Sherborne and I ask him to come up to receive a small token of our appreciation.
Both the Third Form who are sat here today, and I myself, will soon be celebrating another anniversary - 1 year since arriving at Sherborne. For me, and I suspect for many of them, that seems like an age ago.
Two of them, Barney and Tima, spoke powerfully on Tuesday to the boys who will join us in the 3rd Form next year. They talked of the shock of the hard work when they arrived; halls in every subject, essays to write, exercises to complete. They also acknowledged the help they had had, from teachers who give so generously of their time, to other boys in House, tutors and Housemasters. Interestingly, they spoke of third form work building upon the work of their Prep schools and the learning there being a foundation for what came next.
I too was conscious at the beginning of the year that we did not start from a blank slate, there was work to be built upon and extraordinary talent and determination in depth among my colleagues. It has been a year of energy and optimism and I am enormously grateful to my colleagues for this. The pace of reform on the Academic front has been swift and focussed, led by Tim Filtness, Academic Deputy. Conscious that even the most inspirational teachers have a tendency to hide their magic away inside their own classrooms, we were determined this year to become a true ‘learning school’, introducing an in-house teaching magazine, involving students through “Student Voice” and working rigorously and forensically through Heads of Departments to secure the very best teaching right across the board. This is teaching which focusses on understanding the learner, structured feedback and academic rigour. The ISI inspectors in March (yes, it has been a busy year) supported this focus and the work continues with more initiatives next year.
Boys of course have their part to play too. They have heard me say this before, but talent is overrated. Of course natural gifts exist, but their impact is much less than people imagine it to be. By far the greatest determinant of success is effort. Sheer determination is the key to extraordinary achievement. I won’t embarrass him by saying his name, but one Sixth Former I was talking with last week looks like he is on track to secure straight As at A Level. He told me that when he arrived at Sherborne he had only just passed common entrance and started in the bottom sets. It’s not something the league tables will tell you. Where you start on the bell-curve is not the best predictor of where you will end up. Each individual boy will know that he can do even better and we are introducing a tough – some might say very tough – new system of Effort Grades in September to measure not how able a boy is but how determined he is to do his best. The criteria are stringent. But today’s boys will be competing in a global market place where “good” effort is nowhere near enough. Parents, you will be able to support us by treating these grades as a challenge to be embraced.
Speaking of a global marketplace, it is worth paying tribute to Rory McMillan, one of the Upper Sixth who is representing Great Britain this summer in a 4-man team in the International Chemistry Olympiad in Kazakhstan, shortly before he takes up (we hope) his place to read Natural Sciences at Cambridge.
Also representing England this year has been Jack Edmondson who played U18 Rugby for England in the European Championships. And that brings me on to Sport and back to my theme of anniversaries. The Sporting year kicked off with our tremendous victory against Radley in their 100th Anniversary match with all our sides away at Radley together.
We have had successes this year in so many sports. Hockey, Water polo and clay shooting, Tennis (the Colts A were unbeaten for the first time in 10 years) and swimming (Jasper Slawson broke three school records this year, including one which had been standing for 27 years).
Sport at Sherborne represents many of the fundamental values which sit at the heart of so much of what we are. A loyalty to each other and to the school, an appetite to engage with learning and improving in its very widest sense, a desire to make a difference and a recognition that this is best achieved by standing shoulder to shoulder with others. After 20 years of teaching I can confidently say that this spirit of common endeavour is fundamental to a Shirburnian in a way which is rare to find in other schools.
We saw this recently in a particularly special game of rugby played by the U15As. They had had an excellent season and worked their way through to win the semi-final of the NatWest vase. Imagine the joy of these 14 and 15 year olds when they knew they were off to play at Twickenham in the final against Oakham school. I cancelled lessons for the whole of the 3rd and 4th Forms and we bussed them all up to Twickenham. The rest of the school gathered in the BSR to watch a live ‘stream’ on the big-screen. We were joined at Twickenham by many of you, parents and friends, lending your support and your voice to the boys.
The boys’ joy was tempered however when they learned that Oakham had a secret weapon. In the weeks before the game, the Oakham captain had over 4 million ‘hits’ on YouTube video clips of him playing in the semi-final. He ran like a bullet with unmatchable pace and unstoppable force. He will undoubtedly eventually be a national and international sportsman. What Oakham did not know is that Sherborne also had a secret weapon. It is true that every time Oakham’s captain touched the ball – 3 times – he scored a try. What we had was the strength of a team; boys who were willing to put themselves on the line for others, a discipline and determination borne, not only from our first-class coaching, but also from the friendships forged in boarding houses, across the courts, in the classroom and the barge yard. And in the end, the team won through. The final score 34-24. Sherborne lifted the trophy high. The boys were walking on air.
Many of these same boys have, this term, gone on as cricketers to reach the semi-final of the T20 National Cup and the Final of the National Lord’s Tavener’s Cup and will be playing Manchester Grammar School in the final next week. Never before has Sherborne got so far in the competition; these boys are creating anniversaries for others to celebrate in years to come.
So Twickenham was a special moment but, frankly, for me, there have been glorious moments every week this year. Who could forget the highly malevolent performances in the Duchess of Malfi which kicked off a year of challenging, ambitious and highly professional drama productions, from both House and School? A group of boys are about to take a production of “The Tell Tale Heart” to the Edinburgh Fringe over the summer.
Other cultural ambassadors for Sherborne this summer include the Chamber Choir who are going on tour to Prague. This is surely one of the finest all-male school choirs in the land; you only need to look at our music school and meet the dynamic and inspirational Director of Music, Mr Henderson and his very talented colleagues to know why. The highly polished and lyrical performance of Cantate Domino in the service this morning shared in musicality and professionalism if not in genre with the very tight playing from the swing band which we have just heard. There have been so many musical treats this year, from the big set-piece Haydn’s Creation in the Abbey, to the small, intimate performances each Friday lunchtime in Cheap-Street church from fine musicians including many with Grade 8s or diplomas.
As the musicians go to Prague, so the CCF are on their way this afternoon to Summer Camp. The CCF at Sherborne remains one of the very largest in the country and understandably so. The leadership shown by the older boys is inspirational and impressive and highly dedicated staff enable activities as varied as sailing, powerboating, night-vision weaponry, competitive shooting and much more.
There is so much going on here that, even with our very long boarding days and seven day weeks it sometimes seems impossible to fit it all in. During the last week we have seen lots of outdoors activity, with the Leadership Course for the 5th Form on Brownsea island and numerous Duke of Edinburgh expeditions going out. I had an email on Thursday from the external assessor of one Silver expedition, praising the boys for their impressive skills, determined attitude and warm welcome.
He also mentioned the professionalism of the staff involved and in particular of Richard Warren, who leaves Sherborne this year after 28 years here. While here, Richard has been commanding officer of the CCF, Variously Coordinator for DofE, Amnesty International, General Studies and Community Service, and resident tutor in Harper; it tells you something about Richard when you learn that he genuinely proposed to save the School the trouble of building dedicated tutor accommodation by living in the garden of Harper in a Mongolian Yurt with electricity supplied by a wind turbine! A colleague talks of his “way of teaching boys values that would stick with them for life, and the mantra that nothing would be put on a plate. This is a man who does the right thing for the right reasons.” Richard, we thank you for your long, dedicated and varied service and ask you to come up to receive a small token of our appreciation.
You will all know that we have instituted a new tradition this year of flying the flag while the boys are in school. Jack Hillan, Head of School will be lowering the flag to a fanfare by his predecessor, Robert Ham, after our leavers’ service this afternoon.
We are also reviving old traditions and in the Michaelmas term will be bringing back the Shirburnian magazine in a form which hasn’t been seen for the last 4 years. The magazine was first published in 1859 and editors and contributors have included Alex Waugh, Richard Eyre, Stanley Johnson and Anthony Lane; the first published poem by Cecil Day-Lewis appeared in its pages. Still, it is hard to think that it was ever in better hands than when Patrick Haigh was Master in Charge. Patrick leaves us this year after 32 years of service. Patrick’s career in the English department has been as impressive as it has long and many generations of boys have cause to be grateful to him. During his time as Housemaster of Wallace House, he became a legend, as the boys say, running a happy, well disciplined house, filling it with interesting and talented boys.
It can be said that Patrick will never use one word when twenty would do and oh, those words are a joy to read and hear.
On one end of term report: ‘His pen wanders like a spider across the page but rarely does his brain follow it’.
Boy to Patrick in frustration: Don’t you ever give a straight answer?
Patrick: It depends what you mean by a straight answer
Patrick (Commenting on the arrival of the new GCSEs): The difference between A levels and GCSEs is that A levels are a public examination and GCSEs are a form of academic Morris Dancing
Patrick (to a lacklustre class): If ignorance is bliss, I can’t think why you are all looking so miserable.
Patrick, you are a legend and may I wish you, on behalf of us all, a long and happy retirement and ask you to come up to receive a small gift.
This year is the 165th anniversary of the arrival at Sherborne of the Headmaster the Rev. Harper. During his tenure, numbers increased seven-fold from 40 boys when he started to 278. We cannot match that, but I am glad to report that our 3rd Form numbers will be up over 20% this year to be full in September.
Harper also oversaw a major building programme including new classrooms. He would approve, I think of the way that Western education has seen huge leaps over the last 2 decades in our understanding of what makes effective teaching. We have the privilege here of pushing forward with innovation alongside our heritage. Designs have been progressing over the last month for futuristic classrooms, informed by all that we now know about how boys learn, but sited within our beautiful heritage buildings within the Courts. As one colleague put it, Downton on the outside, Dr Who on the inside.
Looking to the future then, in one year’s time, Dominic Luckett will be standing here as Headmaster and C.E.O. and, whilst I have enormously enjoyed the great privilege of leading Sherborne this year, I am also hugely looking forward to working with Dominic as his Senior Deputy or “Usher” – a role steeped in ancient Sherborne history, and last seen here in 1871. Dominic is a man of considerable vision and determination who will lead Sherborne on the next stage of her journey.
Let us look forward further then, to 2050, when Sherborne celebrates the 500th anniversary of its re-founding. The boys here today will then be in their late 40s and early 50s and, if the statistics are to be believed, most will be on their 5th or 6th careers. We cannot know what the world will be like then, but we can be sure that it will be different. Driverless cars, domestic drones, free energy, who knows? The global culture will certainly look very different; perhaps English will no longer be the language of commerce.
We have been working hard behind the scenes at Sherborne already establishing and developing partnerships not only in the Middle East, but the Far East too. How are young people in the UK today being prepared for this world? At Sherborne, we already have a few boys studying Mandarin but from next year, we will be offering it as one of the options alongside our new A Level programme and I strongly encourage the 5th Form who are here today to consider it seriously.
Employment in 2050 will require skills that have not even been invented yet, so how will you feel that Sherborne served you when you return for that Anniversary Commem service in 35 year’s time? In the words of this year’s inspection report, “Shirburnians have a purposeful sense of what they can contribute to the world and they are ready to meet its challenges,” and that, surely is why we are here. I hope that you will look back and say that Sherborne taught you what is valuable in life and what is not; the power of working together with others; an appreciation of beauty, service and friendship. I believe that we can have confidence in your futures.