Head Master's Weekly Notes - 8 July 2016

Our founder, Hugh Sexey would have been proud of last night’s School Production of Shakespeare’s ‘Taming of the Shrew', which was performed with such confidence and energy by our Y7s and 8s. The cast and crew have produced a play which has set the standard for future productions - expectations will be high and the challenge even greater. The quote by Katherine, who was played by the eloquent Leanne Baker, “If I be waspish, best beware my sting” will ring in my ears for many years to come and well done to Jack Fowler-Baxter in the lead role of Petruchio, a difficult part to play but Jack rose to the challenge. Drama continues to excel at Sexey’s under the expert leadership of Mrs Kiddell and with Trinity Guild examinations on offer to our Sexeians and our partnership with the Youth Cinema Foundation, I am confident Drama will go from strength to strength. England’s most popular playwright, Shakespeare was a favourite of both Elizabeth I and James I to whom Hugh Sexey was the Royal Auditor and I think after last night's performance, a new generation of thespians are going to acquaint themselves with the bard. We also sponsored last weekend’s ‘Shakespeare Comes To Lamyatt’, where Hamlet was performed at Speeds Farm by the Festival Players Theatre Company and I know many Sexeians attended and enjoyed this event. Bringing the Bard to life who continues to this day to influence us through his many quotes, which have become part and parcel (is that one?) of our vernacular, ‘The world is my oyster’ to ‘heart of gold’  a national treasure to say the least. Best of luck to our thespians who will be treading the boards this evening – don’t break a leg whatever you do! Get your tickets now if you haven’t done so already. And speaking of taking to the stage, our very own Deliah Ackworth (L6) has successfully auditioned for the highly competitive National Youth Theatre of Great Britain. Do read below her story and how you can help.

It was a real privilege to attend the Somerset Games this week at Millfield School with the PE department and the event was opened by the Olympian marathon runner Mara Yamaguchi who spoke about character and resilience. Our sportsmen and women performed well with the swimmers coming a respectable 7^th out of 14 schools and the Y7 Rounders’ team, who have had a tremendous season anyway, crowned champions of Somerset. A tremendous achievement and we wish the track and field athletes the very best today. We also welcomed the next generation of Sexeians this week (our new Y7 Boarders and Day students) for their Transition Day and it was great to see so many parents at the event – our new students had a brilliant time and my thanks go to colleagues and the prefects for making it such an enjoyable experience for them, from the variety of lessons they attended, the dress rehearsal of ‘Taming of the Shrew’, Games and afternoon tea with colleagues . We will be hosting our new Y7 boarders again this weekend when they will be having a sleepover in the boarding houses and will get the opportunity to make new friends, get to know each other, learn more about our boarding houses and most importantly, have fun! Let’s hope the weather is kind to us when we have the New Boarders’ BBQ at the Head Master’s House on Sunday with the Men’s’ Wimbledon Tennis Final in the back ground and later that evening the Euro 2016 Football Final. And let’s not forget the race to become the next British Prime Minister – it will be between two formidable women, Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom, We will of course watch this, as Shakespeare would have said ‘with bated breath’.

Head Master's Weekly Notes - 1 July 2016

It's been a dramatic time following the EU referendum - a result few saw coming. The resignation of a prime minister. Recrimination and infighting in both of Britain's major political parties; calls for a repeat vote and England's subsequent exit from the European Championships - Brexit, Regrexit and sporting humiliation all in such a short space of time!  And Friday isn't even over yet. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics and I guess we are all trying to make head and tail of what is going on. I wrote last week, will I be writing ‘From the Head Master’ next Friday from a different political landscape. And the answer to that is – I certainly am. I wrote the following to staff last Friday after the decision to leave was announced  and I would like to share this with you today.

After some 40 years, our close and influential relationship with the European Union has come to an abrupt and bitter end with us leaving the EU, an institution that has been part of our cultural fabric for decades, and the resignation of our prime minister. A truly monumental day for the UK to say the least. We are now sailing in uncharted territory with many unknowns which will inadvertently affect our working conditions, pensions, tax, economy, house prices, security and mortgages amongst other things.  It will be a difficult and complex minefield to navigate. Many of you will be disappointed in this morning's outcome to leave the EU; and many of you will also be elated with the outcome. However, it's important we respect the decision of the British people (and that of each other) and come together, putting aside our differences and work together in order to achieve the best for our students, our school and ultimately our country. The values of tolerance, respect and kindness mean so much now. This morning I have been working with the BSA and the DfE to understand the wide-ranging implications of Brexit for our EU students - the vote to leave has brought much consternation amongst many of our state boarding heads; for the time being it is business as usual. Boarders with EU passports will be completely unaffected by the referendum result for at least the next two years. The Boarding Schools Association has already highlighted this issue, and will be pressing for clarity. British education has great international appeal, and we will hope to be able to continue offer this opportunity to EU boarders for many years to come. 

Many of our students, including those from the EU, will not fully understand the implications of leaving the EU, I'm not even sure many of us do either. So they will need plenty of support and guidance to help them come to terms with this decision which has been made against a back drop of divisiveness over the past few weeks from both sides of the political spectrum. We will need to think long and hard about what our British values are and what they stand for. I don't think we quite realise the scale of the political change ahead of us with this historic decision which will permanently change the course of our country. It's the biggest political change that our country will have experienced for the past half century and I hope our leaders are well equipped and prepared to reassure and navigate us through this political storm.

We have spoken to our students this week about the EU referendum result and for us to continue to live by our values and we have continued to educate and provide as many opportunities to our students. This week our U15s played at the Wells Cathedral Cricket tournament where the likes of the MCC, Bryanston and Blundell’s School were being represented and our boys won their match against the Wells U15s, which is a great achievement. Man of the match was Jack Ives who took 5 wickets. The ‘End of Year Art Show’ highlighted all that is outstanding about Sexey’s –  creativity and diversity - and the art that was on display was stunning; I am sure we will give Hauser & Wirth a run for their money! And speaking of running, we have ‘the Race for Life’ around Bruton after school today, so do come down and support our students, staff and friends of the school and give generously to Cancer Research UK.

Today saw our students organise and deliver the Battle of the Somme Commemoration Service that took place this morning – a sombre and emotional occasion where we remembered the soldiers, including those six Old Sexeians, Harold Carver, Ernest Court, John Hodges, Horace Marsh, Harrington Sebright and Frank Withers who studied, lived, and fell together. They gave their lives during the infamous Battle of the Somme, so we can live ours. Moving poems written by our students (Tommy Stewart and Bryan Chow) were delivered with great confidence and aplomb.  It was an emotional event. After a century, the sacrifice of those soldiers is not forgotten. Let us always remember.