KINGSWOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS 2020-21 NEWS
NEWS Dear Old Kingswoodians I am delighted to have this rather unexpected opportunity to respond to Michele Greene’s request for a few words on life since stepping down from the Kingswood headship after twelve extraordinarily rewarding years leading the School. Re-reading what I thought would be my final words to members of the Association written in April 2020, I can feel some eleven months later the sense of shock and uncertainty that so much had changed so fundamentally and unpredictably in such a short period of time. What I can however also see is that there was at the time still a genuine sense of hope that all might have returned to normal by the time Andrew Gordon-Brown succeeded me in September, but alas even now we are some way from being fully through the woods. In much the same way as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic meant my final term took an entirely unplanned
course, so the first six months of retirement have not exactly mirrored the immediately post-Kingswood scenario which I might have aspired to when deciding some two years ago that Summer 2020 would be my final term, but I am certainly not alone in saying 2020 did not turn out as planned! The original plan was to relocate to be nearer family in Derbyshire whilst involving myself more fully in various activities, and especially governance responsibilities at Queenswood and Woodhouse Grove, whilst taking a breather from the type of full-time commitment which headship demanded and
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I certainly hope there will be plentiful opportunities to continue to meet Old Kingswoodians, something I enjoyed hugely...
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considering more actively what options might be for the future. After a period in Devon, from where I was pleased to be able to record a farewell message to members of the Association, the move to Derbyshire has (just) happened and we are now based just south of the Peak District and looking forward post-Covid to settling fully into a new way and pace of life. I can but admire from a suitable distance the magnificent work Andrew Gordon-Brown and his colleagues have been undertaking in the most challenging of
Renaming of the Sports Pavilion
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