Posted Wednesday, 22 February 2012  /  Written by Richard Biggs

This may come as a surprise: I don’t know everything. In particular I don’t always know everything that happens in my own school. A few years ago I stood up in assembly and read out an announcement that we were the SW girls’ independent schools football champions, having won a tournament over the weekend. Until then I did not even know that girls played football at King’s! (it turns out they hadn’t....until the week before).

Yesterday, wandering about the school in my tracksuit looking for my U14C hockey team I fell into conversation with one of our Directors of Sport. Did I know, she asked, that we now had a vibrant lacrosse programme for the girls at King’s and were soon to play our first match? I didn’t. But I rejoice. My knowledge of lacrosse is sketchy to say the least, but what I do know is all good: It looks a wonderfully physical and exciting game in which players get to bash each other with fishing nets. Apparently the first match is between the King’s girls and a team of mothers. I am really looking forward to that.

Staying on the sports theme...our boys’ U18 hockey side won the county tournament just before half term, beating Millfield narrowly (by one penalty stroke) in the final. Millfield have won the competition previously for as long as anyone can remember, so that is an important feather in the King’s cap. The regional competition is this afternoon and I’m sure our boys will acquit themselves well. They’re up against some very strong opposition.

The fuss about university access rumbles on. If universities are increasingly going to use “contextual” data to inform their admissions decisions they are in very real danger of damaging their own academic standards. This sort of social engineering, however well intentioned it may be, simply won’t work. And it seems to me to be tinkering with the wrong end of the problem. Universities should admit students on academic merit alone...and the government should make more effort to improve schools, which is where the problem really lies. In all the debate on this issue, nobody has mentioned one fairly basic fact: a university education does not start from scratch, but builds on the thirteen years of schooling that has gone before. The quality of that schooling clearly matters – it is not just about potential. “Fair Access” should mean fair access to top-class, inspirational teaching for all children at school so that they get the grounding and the grades to get into good universities. It is madness to expect universities to make up for failings elsewhere.

Having said all that, I am delighted with the results of our university applications this year. The 6.2 candidates have been very successful in obtaining offers (though those offers seem quite steep – a lot of hard work is going to have to take place between now and the exams) and we are particularly pleased with our four Oxbridge offers and our medical school successes. We do a good job of supporting applications and I think the quality and enthusiasm of our pupils is, quite rightly, recognised by the universities.

Posted Monday, 13 February 2012  /  Written by Richard Biggs

Half term has come extraordinarily quickly this term. It doesn’t seem all that long ago that I was shaking the beach sand out of my suitcase. I always think this is probably the toughest few weeks of the year – the start is disrupted by module exams for many, and the dark and the cold don’t help. But as I said in my parents’ letter, the signs of spring are emerging, the days are longer and we go back to the summer timetable next week.

We said goodbye to the two SACS boys last week. It was sad to see them go. They threw themselves so wholeheartedly into school life that they will be greatly missed. I know that the four King’s pupils going to Cape Town in February are looking forward to the experience very much. I think this is a very good programme. The chance to live in a different culture and part of the world (as opposed to visiting as a tourist) is invaluable, especially now, when our pupils have to see themselves in an international context, I believe, if they are going to succeed in life.

I gave a talk to the school in Chapel on Friday, trying to persuade them to consider teaching as a profession. Father Mark had done the same for the priesthood earlier in the term. Of course, pupils might consider both...and end up like him! I spoke about teachers who had influenced me. In every case it was not the subject matter that counted, but their own characters – and their obvious passion for learning and their obvious determination that we should share that passion. I said there was much to recommend teaching – long holidays, interesting colleagues, a sense of doing something worthwhile, variety, exportability. Above all, I said, it was good fun, which I think it is. My greatest regret as a headmaster is that I don’t get to teach very much. I miss it!

We’re about to pack the car and head off to our cottage in Cornwall. Plenty of reading, walks and cooking lie ahead. The odd pub or two might feature as well.

Posted Wednesday, 1 February 2012  /  Written by Richard Biggs

I have just been to watch a hockey match and now can hardly feel my feet – it’s bitterly cold! We had a flurry of snow over the weekend. And apparently we might get a proper fall soon. I hope so; the South African visitors have never seen snow and it would be great if they could throw a snowball or two before they leave on Sunday.

It’s been an interesting few weeks in ways other than meteorological as well. Last week I was away inspecting another school. It’s a real privilege as a Headmaster to be allowed to rummage around in somebody else’s school and, despite being away for three days, it was a thoroughly worthwhile experience. We’ll be inspected one of these days ourselves and it was useful to see how the new inspection regime (I think we’re into phase 3 or even 4 now...I lose track) works in practice.  Needless to say I came back full of ideas and the senior staff here have had to endure several days of listening to an endless stream of mostly crackpot schemes.

We had two important suppers last week: I came straight back from inspecting and into the 5^th form parents’ supper. The fifth form music scholars, who have played at the relevant supper each year since their arrival, have matured into a fine, accomplished group of musicians. There was a poise and confidence there which was a joy to see.

The following day we had the Burns’ Night supper, run by the PA. As before, this was a splendid and very atmospheric occasion, complete with (outstanding) piper, very appropriate surroundings (in the dining hall) and all the requisite speeches and toasts, a raffle and rolling a pound for a bottle of whisky...games invented by Robert Burns himself, I believe.  The most scurrilous and the naughtiest speech of all was, inevitably, delivered by the Chaplain. His attempt at a Scottish accent was simply appalling, a strange cross between broad Afrikaans and Eastern European.  I gave the speech about Burns himself. Having spent the afternoon umpiring U14C hockey at Millfield there wasn’t much time to hand-craft a masterpiece of the oratory art. Thank goodness for the internet is all I can say.

We had a very interesting meeting of the HMC South West Division at Queen’s yesterday, at which the head of recruitment at Bath University, Dr Katherine Lloyd-Clarke, explained how her admissions team sifted through over 20,000 applications each year. GCSEs matter hugely, as does anything which makes the candidate stand out from the pile, especially academically. Judging from the offers our pupils have been receiving this year from all over the country we must be doing something right. Almost everyone has an offer – some asking for pretty tough grades, though. It seem that our four Oxbridge offers is quite an achievement too, compared to most other schools in this part of the world.

My family and I are attending the Chinese New Year supper tonight (that’s a lot of suppers in one week, a tough job, but I’m bearing up...), an event that is now well established in the King’s calendar and is always a lot of fun. Happy Year of the Dragon to you all.