Commemoration

Commemoration 2017

Commemoration 2017: the Head Master’s address

A council in Wales recently put up a bilingual road sign. The English instruction told drivers that they were entering a residential area that was unsuitable for heavy goods vehicles. Native speakers could see that the script underneath, in Welsh, read: ‘I am not in the office at the moment. Please attach any work to be translated’.

We live in an age where things are done very fast; and communicated even faster. The age of Google Translate and Wikipedia: an ‘always-on’, data-rich world.

Opinions are swiftly formed - and swiftly communicated. They are ‘liked’ and ‘go viral’. Emotions become fact. Facts are half-checked, finessed or ditched in favour of more convenient post-truths.

We live in a world where Presidents Tweet.

In such a world, it may feel as if authentic leadership is an endangered species: truth a rare bird.

Can we still trust the version of events communicated to us? Or is the popular narrative composed of hollow words – the work of silver-tongued smooth-talkers? Has reasoned argument really been supplanted by hectoring bluster and boo-hooray rhetoric? And, if this is the spirit of the times, should we go with the flow; resist it; or step aside?

At times, the truth seems to have been lost in translation.

Yet, as parents and as educators, we are wired to communicate a vision of hope. We want to see our children walk into their future with confidence. Our vocation is to ensure that our children are educated to think for themselves; to engage positively with the wider world; to be seekers and communicators of truth.

One of our school’s seven school values asks us to ‘speak with conviction and honesty’, and ‘to listen carefully and openly’. True communication only happens when you have something meaningful to say; and when you are truly heard. True communication is the art of being understood.

When I talk with Peterites, when I see what they do and how they talk, I am filled with hope. I believe in them. Educating

children to be leaders with values is the best way to ensure that the world doesn’t end up being run by maniacs.

The academic year began with a government Green Paper that called on the independent sector to do more to create good school places and help with social mobility. St Peter’s School is a key partner in the City of York Independent State School Partnership which the Green Paper cited as a national beacon of excellence. Having hosted Saturday masterclasses, and provided Latin GCSE for pupils from York’s state schools, we are adding Astronomy GCSE to our growing portfolio of activities which, it should be said, we do because of our values, rather than any external political imperative. We end the year with a minority government and an Education Secretary keen to pursue a more collaborative dialogue with independent schools.

Considering the political landscape now, and the wounded, wild and occasionally wonderful beasts that seem to populate it, my mind harks back to the political giants that stalked the earth when I was an 18-year-old, and leaving school. John Major, when he was Prime Minister, often used to criticise Neil Kinnock, the Leader of the Opposition, for making long-winded and tedious speeches. They went on so long because, according to Major, the Labour leader had nothing to say – so he was never quite sure when he’d finished saying it. I shall try to avoid this pitfall.

Today is about communicating the values and achievements of the pupils of St Peter’s School. There is plenty to say. Indeed, when I asked my colleagues to help me with this speech by suggesting their highlights of the year they responded with characteristic enthusiasm. Gathered together, their submission amounted to 5,627 words, which would take around 50 minutes to read. You’ll want me to be selective.

This has been a year of tremendous achievement in the field of learning. The class of 2016 delivered some stunning examination results in August, with over four-fifths of all A-Levels exams passed at A*-B; and over 75% of all GCSE passes at either A or A*.

We all know that a truly rounded education goes well beyond excellent examination results. The F1 in Schools team reached the national finals at the first attempt, breaking the UK speed record on the way. Meanwhile the Physics and DT departments entered teams in the Bloodhound rocket car challenge, winning the regional round. Our Mathematicians continue to dazzle in the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust Challenge and we became regional champions for the second time in the National Schools’ Challenge.

We scooped prizes in Spanish debating and Latin reading competitions. Our physicists won both the Liverpool University and King’s School Chester Physics Olympics. A team of canny investors reached the finals of the National Student Investor Challenge.

The Public Lecture Series has once again delivered some outstanding intellectual challenge as we hosted big-name speakers including Bernard Cornwell, Ann Widdicombe, and Jonathan Dimbleby – all

great communicators. The Christmas Science Lectures sparkled with energy and over 200 students attended our Philosophy conference. The thriving debating programme was extended to include competitive public speaking, and Global Perspectives now entails presentation and communication training.

The learning has extended outside term-time. We have seen a Politics exchange to Washington; Art Historians and Classicists in Italy; skiers in Switzerland; linguists in Spain; a tennis camp in Portugal; rowers in Belgium and space enthusiasts in Florida. This summer will see a boys’ rugby tour to Argentina; trekking in Iceland; a girls’ hockey and netball tour to South Africa; and a rejuvenated CCF deploy a record number of cadets on annual camp in Sussex. The RAF section is flying again – literally and metaphorically – and over 140 pupils are pursuing Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards.

The cultural life has been enriched by some remarkable and diverse productions from Shakespeare to J B Priestley, as well as plenty of original work. The whole school musical Grease was a rousing and carefree romp. The pupil-directed A-Level piece, called ⧣TwentyMinutesOfAction, was so effective in tackling the issue of consent that we arranged for it to be seen by the top three yeargroups as part of our PSHE programme.

We need to destigmatize the conversation on mental health by encouraging open communication amongst pupils, parents and staff. This year we initiated a pupil wellbeing committee, monitors led our work on internet safety and we introduced a new system to track and support pupils even more closely.

Volunteering and Community Action remain a vital way to reach out and connect. It has also been shown to improve wellbeing. Volunteering is good for our health.

Meanwhile, our music-making continues to communicate and bring together. A record number of grade eights were awarded this year, with three pupils also securing diplomas, and one pupil making the National Youth Choir. The musical diet has been wide-ranging, from Cabaret and informal concerts to Evensong at Durham Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, and of course in this wonderful space. As ever, we are deeply grateful to the Chapter of York Minster for allowing us to gather here for our Easter Concert, and today as we mark the 1,390th year in the school’s long history.

In sport, the first eleven boys’ hockey team was unbeaten and once again crowned county champions. The first eleven football also won all their games: played eleven, won eleven. Our girls’ hockey teams reached the north-east semi-finals at all three age groups; and the netballers made the north finals at under-14 and under-19 level. In racket sports, the girls’ squash team won their division of the York Ladies’ League and the boys’ tennis first team made the finals of the LTA National Senior Students Competition coming fifth out of 300 entries. More recently, our cricketers made the north of England finals of the HMC T20 competition. The Boat Club turned in some fine team and individual performances at the National Schools’ Regatta.

Whilst the results are great, it’s the extraordinary culture of participation that is most influential. With wonderful participation levels in girls’ and boys’ sport, few schools in the region can match us for depth. Our second and third teams often play up a level and enjoy unbeaten runs. And, in a world where all of our competitors are offering sports scholarships, we continue to generate excellent performances through dedicated training, spirited teamwork and outstanding coaching.

These were some of the ingredients of the first fifteen rugby team’s outstanding unbeaten season – our second in the last four years. St Peter’s School ended the campaign ranked fourth in the country,

with only Wellington College, Sedbergh and Harrow above us, and plenty of well-known names below. The under-15 team had a cracking run in the National Cup, meeting the eventual winners at the quarter-final stage. We went on to have our best ever run at the Rosslyn Park national rugby sevens, reaching the semi-finals.

The success and health of the school is in huge part down to the dedication of the staff across all areas. They so often go the extra mile to provide the best for the pupils. Anyone visiting the school these days will appreciate the quality of the work they, and indeed colleagues right across the support staff do, to provide exceptional environment in which to learn and play. No real surprise then that our grounds team recently came second in the Grounds Team of the Year awards.

Colleagues new to the school have certainly had an impact. Warm congratulations to our fabulous Head of Art who has masterminded no fewer than five inspirational exhibitions of both pupil and staff work in her first year. Our new Head of Careers, and her full-time assistant, continue to expand and diversify the guidance programme. The appointment of an expert learning support specialist has extended our provision.

Sadly, each year brings departures and this year we say farewell to Mr David Morris, our Head of Science after 28 years’ service. Not only a wonderful teacher, and physics evangelist, David has created a string of science engagement events which will form part of his rich legacy to the school. Rarely seen without at least two digital SLR cameras draped around him, Mr Morris has captured school life and supplied copy for numerous editions of The Peterite magazine. The Bursar kindly allowed me to give David one of the beloved school cameras as part of his leaving gift.

Bursars sometimes get a bit of a bad press. I remember a rather jaded and ancient teacher remarking that if the headmaster is the shepherd of the flock, the Bursar is the crook he leans on. This is not so at St Peter’s, for we are blessed with a wonderful Bursar whose work ensures that our resources are carefully deployed.

We will be at full capacity in September with 570 pupils in the senior school. We are about to begin an exciting phase of campus development with building on the Maths and Modern Languages block starting in a matter of days. With applications up 20% this year, the school is thriving, in a climate that is seeing many schools in the north really struggle. We have to keep working hard to maintain this strong picture

You’ll expect me to indulge in a little collective celebration at our exceptional inspection report, which was published a few days ago. We were particularly grateful to parents for the very high response rate to the questionnaires. It was doubly gratifying that parents were ‘strongly appreciative’ of the ‘school’s leadership and management’; that pupils were found to be ‘very enthusiastic about

the teaching they receive’ and that our pastoral care was rated excellent. The Independent Schools Inspectorate gave the school the highest possible ratings.

But, the biggest cause for celebration was the comments made about the pupils. The lead inspector spoke with genuine warmth about the excellent behaviour and attitudes of the children from the nursery all the way through to sixth form. The evidence of the outstanding achievements of the pupils, inside and outside the classroom, was overwhelming.

The report concludes that: ‘the pupils play a major part in making the school an enjoyable place to be, where a strong regard for one another prevails’. They ‘know, and take to heart, the school’s “seven values”and the modelling of moral responsibility by leaders and staff’. They ‘demonstrate an excellent moral undestanding ‘ and ‘appreciate selflessness and kindness’.

These words speak powerfully of the attitudes and behaviours of the children in our care. They are words that give us great hope. Because, as we know well, the pupils are the leaders of the future.

It is said that the great spiritual leader and communicator, Mahatma Ghandi, was once asked what he thought of western civilisation.

After a brief pause, Ghandi replied: ‘I think it would be a good idea’.

There have been many moments in the past twelve months when our faith in the fabric of civilisation has been battered. The echo of Ghandi’s legendary response reminds us how far we still have to go.

Leaders of successful and thriving organisations need to be held to account. Our governors perform this role fastidiously and I thank them for their diligent scrutiny. My job is to foster excellence: to keep us moving ‘over the ancient ways’. Schools are mini-civilisations. In schools, we protect and communicate the values that hold us together. We govern and lead them carefully, with one eye on the present and one on the future. We are far from complacent; we want to continue developing the pupil experience at St Peter’s School.

This year, as Chairman of the Boarding Schools’ Association, which represents over 500 state and independent boarding schools, I hosted the annual conference for heads, here, in York. In a packed three-day programme of speakers, my highlight came when I asked one of our pupils, Deputy Head Girl, Emma, to introduce a panel session. Just a few words at the start, I promised. On the panel were a GB Olympic hockey gold medallist and a Strictly Come Dancing winner, and broadcaster Libby Purves, OBE. With minutes to go, Libby Purves said to Emma: ‘Instead of just introducing us, why don’t you join the panel?’ Gulp. An hour passed, and Emma had taken questions from the floor and was by far the most articulate panellist. Unflappable, direct, absolutely herself: a typical Peterite.

So, to our 124 upper-sixth leavers. I am very grateful to our excellent Heads of School, Ellie and Tom; to their deputies, Emma and Sam, the monitors, and to all those who have shown dedicated leadership in house, sport, societies and a whole range of activities. It is the most joyful of year groups, rich in talent and endeavour.

As the class of 2017 prepares to leave this wonderful space, and enter the next phase of their lives as Old Peterites, we hope that they take with them memories and experiences that will fuel them for life; wisdom that will guide them and friendships that will sustain them. Most of all, we hope that each of them has found their own individual voice.

To echo our guest of honour today, we hope that our leavers feel proud, trusted and skilled. We hope that, wherever they go in life, they live and communicate the values of their school.

Mr Leo Winkley Head Master