A Message from the TSA President

A Message from the TSA President

ANDY JOHNSON HEAD OF TRURO SCHOOL

My warmest regards to you, as we, like the rest of the country, enter another Christmas of uncertainty associated with the pandemic. My thoughts go out to all who suffer at this time, or for whom this Christmas season will be a reminder of loss as much as a time of renewed fellowship and community.

Amidst the wider climate of challenge, I am delighted by the ongoing strength and forward momentum of Truro School. In July’s Truronian, I wrote of how our community and school should be confident of building on strength and heritage, and would be ambitions for the future. In September, and with the strongest school roll for a decade, we launched a new five-year Strategic Plan to embody that intent. At the heart of our ambition are commitments to wellbeing, to educational breadth and excellence, to equality and sustainability, and to the ongoing and creative evolution of our site, and the opportunities we afford to the children (day and boarding) who give our school its life and its purpose.

I thank the Governing Body for their insight and dedication, and our staff for continuing to deliver, with such compassion, the quality of education that they do, even in these unprecedented times. The experience of our pupils this term has been as normal as it could be, in all the best possible ways. This has included the launch of our new Sixth Form Diploma programme, dramatic and inspiring cup runs in sport, firstclass productions in the Burrell Theatre, concerts, exhibitions, outdoor pursuits including the Duke of Edinburgh Award, and ongoing charitable engagement within our community and beyond.

We look forwards with courage, therefore, as we also stay connected to our roots, our history and our extended family of alumni. In August, we remembered the life and legacy of Guy Dodd, with a rightly celebratory service in our Chapel and the planting of what will be a strong, proud oak tree, prominent on our terraced lawns. It stands near a commemorative rose garden that we are also creating, to be opened in the Spring. In late September I had the privilege of attending an ’80 not out’ alumni event in Somerset, which was lit up by the most inspiring blend of energy, fraternity and nostalgia. It was a delicious taste of the alumni activity that we are committed to seeing return as soon as safe and possible.

Over the last month I have met with the committees and trustees of both our Association and Foundation, to support them in their service to our community and their partnership in our Strategy. As we look to the future, I thank all the staff in our Development team and beyond who have put this edition together and who keep us all connected, including via our new social media spaces on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Our Old Truronian network is integral to the soul and health of our School community and has always supported many to join it, and others to stay within it, in hard times. For this you have my ongoing gratitude, and the knowledge that you positively shape and enhance the lives of others.

Here at School, we have dubbed 20212022 a year of curiosity, and I am sure that this edition of the Truronian will in equal measure both satisfy and spark that sense in you all. My very best wishes for the festive season and the year ahead.