The Headmaster Writes

Above: This year’s Christmas Card Competition winners Below left: Planting trees for The Queen’s Green Canopy to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee Below right: Speech Day 2022

here are many challenges to being a Headmaster, but one of the most difficult decisions of the year is judging the annual Christmas Card Competition. I am presented with a wonderful range of designs from pupil artists across the School, and despite my efforts to share the responsibility as widely as possible, the ultimate choice falls to me. This year, I have settled on two designs: one featuring an impressive Father Christmas, with the Oakham School signage and a large train in the background; the other being a seasonal depiction of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, with a pencilled note on the back ‘in honour of The Queen’. In any school year, there are memorable moments, but I suspect many Oakhamians will long remember the days around The Queen’s death. In our Chapel Services on Friday 9 September, I spoke of The Queen as a role model and a constant in people’s lives, who defined the contract between privilege and responsibility. It was fitting that we were able to use the Queen Elizabeth Theatre as the venue for our own Book of Condolence. On pages 32–33 of the Old Oakhamian magazine, we reflect further on our School’s unique connection with Queen Elizabeth II and former pupils and staff recall the times when she visited the School. Just a few short months before this, I was delighted to enjoy my first Summer Term (in my third year as Headmaster) free from the restraints of Covid, including my first Speech Day and full schedule of end of term events. Speech Day itself led into The Queen’s Jubilee, where not only Her Majesty’s longevity, but her duty and service were celebrated; words and values intimately and inextricably linked with The Queen’s reign. That sense of service is something we take seriously at Oakham. It is reflected in the prizes we award at Speech Day and in the importance we place on Service Weekends and the value of contribution within, across and beyond the School. The ways in which Oakhamians and Old Oakhamians are working to help us lead more sustainable lives in our features on pages 68–69 of The Oakhamian and pages 20–25 of the Old Oakhamian provide a particularly pertinent interpretation of the duty and service our past and former pupils are demonstrating, as reducing climate change remains everyone’s priority. After 70 years of stability in the monarchy, the current economic and political climate has a very different feel. The waters have been and remain extremely choppy, and we are all needing to pull hard on our oars, whatever ship we are in. Like so much else, education needs direction and stability, with good interaction between sectors to drive what is best for our pupils and the country. The challenges around us should, however, not deter or daunt us, but make us more determined to put education at the heart of the solutions required of us all. At Oakham, we are clear in our ongoing focus on a rounded and grounded education. Our Connected Curriculum not only links our learning from the Lower School, into the Middle School,

Tonto the Upper School and beyond, but also intertwines and interweaves academic, pastoral and co-curricular learning. Above all, we are clear in our purpose to teach our pupils the knowledge, skills and values to thrive and confidently contribute at Oakham and beyond. I hope you will enjoy reading in this edition of The Oakhamian about the many aspects of our rounded and grounded education in full force with the return of live music, Chapel services, social events and a year’s worth of inter-school sporting fixtures. We are proud to have celebrated 50 years of co-education and 20 years of the IB Diploma this year, and we wish to maintain a tradition of innovation in what we do. At a time when Government is looking again at skills, and breadth of education, I hope that all politicians will therefore continue to see what we and the independent sector have to contribute and see that our DNA is positive and there to be drawn upon. As questions around the financial benefits of Charitable Status are raised more loudly, and VAT on fees is suggested to benefit education more widely, there will be a need to question whether this will have the positive financial and educational impact that is understandably sought for all. My view is that Oakham and independent schools are at the heart of the educational eco-system, working with other schools, contributing to educational debate and development, and also at the heart of our local eco-system. I truly believe that we understand the contract between privilege and responsibility, taking pride in the achievements of current and former pupils in the knowledge that the majority are unsung, yet contribute quietly and meaningfully to their professions, businesses, communities and families, not just doing well, but doing good. As I write, the classrooms are busy, and we are just days away from the School Production – Into the Woods. Girls and Boys teams are involved in important cup matches. This morning I watched a fantastic debating final, and I will be at my second concert of the week on Friday. It is good to feel the vibrant normality of School life and after the ups and downs of the Covid year, it is even more precious and enjoyable.

As ever, the success of the pupils comes not only from their own hard work and ability, but from the support and encouragement of staff and parents. This connection and sense of partnership, the triangle of trust, remains as important and invaluable as ever, and I would like to finish by thanking and congratulating everyone who is a part of Oakham School for their service in this remarkable place in which we live and learn together.

I hope you enjoy reading this edition of The Oakhamian and take pride and feel a strong sense of connection as we celebrate of some of the highlights we enjoyed last year. Quasi Cursores

Henry Price, Headmaster

It is good to feel the vibrant normality of School life and after the ups and downs of the Covid year, it is even more precious and enjoyable.