Simon Williams
Headmaster’s Foreword
Until recently I had always associated 2020 with a measure of perfect vision, or the suggestion of an ideal scenario, but, following this year, the expression will forever have a very different connotation. When the academic year 2019-20 began no one could, or would, have predicted how it would end, or the remarkable lengths to which people have gone to make things work under very trying and, in many cases, tragic circumstances. In a year when the horrors of racial injustice and discrimination have also come to the fore, it seems entirely appropriate to quote Martin Luther King Jr when he said: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. Nothing worthwhile is easy. Your ability to overcome unfavourable situations will provide you with time to demonstrate your true strength and determination for success.
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Always set your standards high, your greatest achievements lie within the infinite feats you achieve in your life.” Whether it is the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement or the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an enormous challenge for all this year and, when it comes to ultimate measure, the students at Churcher’s certainly have much to their credit. The subsequent pages of this Churcherian magazine will evidence how and where Churcherians have ‘stepped-up-to-the-plate’ but, as a simple foreword to this chronicle of an academic year, it is worth noting how stoic all have been; how inventive, adaptable and inspirational both adults and children associated with the school have proved to be. With almost no notice the school closed with one week left of the Spring Term. The school went from 90% analogue to 100% digital overnight. In ordinary times, introducing a brand
The Churcherian 2020
new, untried IT system across a large organisation brings months of chaos and frustration, but, somehow, we transformed the school’s ‘output’ and the children adapted their ‘input’ in a matter of weeks. Remote learning was a challenge for all, but one that was grasped with energy and enthusiasm. By all accounts academic progress for if not all, then the vast majority here, did not slow at the tail end of the year; it may have even been enhanced by the lack of distraction, but even the loss of public exams did not dissuade or dishearten. The Fifth Year, with their ‘Bridging Courses’ instead of GCSE exams, and the Upper Sixth, with their ‘Churcher’s to Campus’ challenge certainly rose to the occasion, embracing their new courses, created overnight by need, not design, with enthusiasm and determination. When it came to exam results the Fifth Year and Upper Sixth also needed to show enthusiasm, determination
