I arrived at Bablake in January 2017 as Deputy Head and was immediately struck by the warm, supportive and purposeful atmosphere. Having worked in a variety of schools, it was apparent that Bablake is a special place. It was a great surprise to me that a couple of years later, I found myself leading the School and since my grandfather was a pupil here, I often wonder what he would have thought if he knew that I was Headmaster. It is a privilege to be at the helm of this remarkable school and I hope, during my time in charge, to protect the things that make Bablake unique. Exam results were again excellent, especially at GCSE. Having beaten records last year, we were able to again claim that we had achieved the best ever results! Over 52% of all grades were at 8 or 9 (the old A*) and the results placed us in the top twenty co-educational independent school nationally. Results and league tables, of course, are only part of the story; we are convinced that these incredible outcomes are because of the supportive community and the range of opportunities on offer. Over the summer we were able to refurbish the library. The design achieved the near-impossible task of taking the same room and increasing the number of places to work, creating a library office and making it a more welcoming space, while keeping books at the heart of the area. The refurbishment has gone down very well with pupils and staff and the room is packed at many times of the day. Some pupils now arrive in school early in the morning to get some of the best seats!
Sports teams have started the season on fine form, with the highlight, so far, being a 22-7 victory over King Henry VIII in the U18 national competition. The annual rugby fixture between the two schools is scheduled for Friday 15th November. You will know that independent schools are not currently the flavour of the month and are being blamed for many of society’s ills. We continue to offer more bursaries than most other independent schools and give support to education across the city. We would like to do more and have some interesting plans of how we could widen our work with other schools. Any change to how independent schools operate (such as VAT on fees) would significantly hit our capacity for this work and our ability to award bursaries. If this was to happen, it would change our intake and, in time, I think make Bablake a less welcoming and supportive place. If only we could go back to the days of assisted places and direct grant schools! We are not asking for anything except a hope that you will continue to tell anyone who will listen, why Bablake is an important part of education in Coventry.
I hope to catch up with many of you at future reunions.
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