Headmaster's Blog

Posted Tuesday, 8 May 2012  /  Written by Richard Biggs

What an extraordinarily wet start this has been to our summer term. Such a pity...all but one cricket match has been cancelled, and the prospects for the next few days are no better. But, looking on the bright side, if the sun does make an appearance this will be a spring to remember from a gardening point of view.

Indoor activities have carried on regardless, of course. I watched a very exciting swimming match against Blundell’s on Saturday, which ended in a draw – a very satisfying result given how hard the swimmers from both teams had tried. We’ve had some tennis matches, too, with some excellent results for both boys and girls.

The best  event last week for me, however, was the inaugural inter-house Masterchef competition on Friday night. Having made up the rules as we went along it turned out to be a huge success, and an excellent format. Each house entered a team of two chefs, who had to cook a three-course meal for two on a budget of £20 in two hours. I was impressed by the sophistication of the menus and by the calm and professional approach all the pupils showed under very stressful conditions. There was the odd mistake: King Alfred’s dessert was more of a slab than a roulade after it had been carefully prised off the floor. The vagaries of the ovens meant that some crispy bits weren’t. But it was all delicious and many of the dishes have graced the table in any restaurant. Well done to the team from Meynell who, after much heated debate amongst the judges, emerged as winners.

I attended the annual Boarding Schools Association conference in Bristol last week. This is much more fun than the HMC conference, which can get a bit precious and political I think. The BSA attracts all sorts of schools – most importantly, from my point of view, prep schools who offer boarding. It was a cheerful, informative and most enjoyable few days, spent in the company of some extremely talented and engaging Heads.

Then to a meeting at Lord’s to discuss our involvement in the MCC’s cricket Hub programme. We have been part of a pilot scheme to offer good coaching to talented cricketers from local state schools, in partnership with a local club, St Andrews. The meeting was in a box overlooking the ground, where Middlesex were meant to be playing Worcester. As the meeting progressed we saw umpires coming on and off the field, and the covers doing likewise, but not a ball was bowled.

This is just about the busiest week of the term: Octagon Concert tonight, CCF dinner tomorrow evening, Batten Lecture on Thursday, 6.1 parents’ supper on Friday, Ten Tors on Saturday (I’m hoping to get up early to see the teams off on Dartmoor) and prep schools’ athletics on Sunday (we’re hosting lunch for visiting Heads). And I’m visiting a prep school near Oxford on Thursday.

The lecture should be interesting (and I think there may still be tickets available if you contact Reception). John Ridding, CEO of The Financial Times, will be talking about The Crisis in Journalism. The title was chosen some time ago...and has become, in the last few months, extraordinarily topical.

We had a very successful Open Morning on Saturday, with more families visiting than we usually see at this time of the year. As always our third form guides did us proud and I met lots of very happy and impressed parents and children at lunch afterwards.

The sun is making a brave attempt at breaking through the clouds. The beginning of summer? I’m not holding my breath.