Headmaster's Newsletter Friday 19 May 2023
Dear Parents,
Despite the potholes and Wadham library, Savile Road is a really rather lovely part of the world. It will get even lovelier over the coming months as the cranes and delivery lorries disappear once the building work in our part of town has ceased. Parents might not always experience this at drop-off and pick-up but Savile Road is, the vast majority of time, quiet and peaceful. We’re lucky to be surrounded by attractive colleges (with the exception of the aforementioned), mature trees and green spaces. While other parts of the city might seem hurried and choked in emissions, we are lucky to sit in the city centre, but in such a way that we wouldn’t necessarily notice we were in a city centre – until we want to take advantage of all the city-centre benefits and walk five minutes up the road. It is, in many ways, an idyllic place for the boys to learn and grow up, enjoying the best of both worlds.
The reason I’m waxing lyrical about the locale is because there is a very real danger that this can be become too comfortable. It can be tempting to develop a cul-de-sac mentality at the end of, well, a cul-de-sac. There are plenty of challenges in the world, obviously, and it can be tempting to cut the world off at the end of Savile Road and to enjoy our side of the mental boundary. It is important to get the right balance, then, between the boys feeling they have a safe and comfortable space in which to learn and grow, but while still understanding that they need to think about – and help – others who aren’t so lucky, wherever they may be in the world. Our wellbeing theme this week has centred on this very fact, with the caveat that they need to think and help others while not worrying unhealthily. If they are scared into the latter, we will simply achieve a kind of psychological ‘freeze’ in the next generations, where they know there are problems and issues to be addressed, but without the wherewithal to do anything about it.
To that end, we strive to put the world’s problems into perspective, and to encourage the boys to think about practical ways that they can help. A very obvious way that they can do this, from a very young age, is to raise money for charity. Last weekend over thirty NCS runners raised money for Multiple Sclerosis UK when they took part (in fetching neon green shirts) in the Town and Gown. Next week will be our termly charity week, when we will raise money for World Bicycle Relief, which works to expand bicycle infrastructure, offering mobility to students, health workers, farmers, entrepreneurs and field mechanics across Africa. Brett Morrison has sent families a separate Parentmail outlining all the wonderful fundraising events going on. We are, in particular, supporting one of our parents – Emily Gee – who is cycling three hundred miles across Zambia to raise money for the charity (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/emily-jn-gee). For many of our youngest pupils, these are the first steps in them becoming active international citizens with a social conscience that extends beyond their own individual success or career trajectory. But they are crucial steps if, and I appreciate that sometimes this can feel like a forlorn hope, we are going to leave behind a world better than the one we inherited.
Have a great weekend,
Matt Jenkinson
Our Year 5s enjoyed joining members of the congregation from the University Church to ‘beat the bounds’ around the city centre on Ascension Day yesterday. It is a pleasant tradition that our boys are invited each year to represent the schoolchildren within the parish, and there were plenty of treats along the way. Well done to the choristers who sang a special Ascension Day service yesterday, culminating with them singing from the mound in the College gardens. They have started Trinity very well indeed and we look forward to hearing even more great singing as they bring this academic year to a close in a few weeks.
Many thanks to all of you who have supported Walk to School Week, going the extra mile (sometimes literally) to encourage healthy lifestyles and to reduce traffic around school.
Our next open morning is on Friday 16 June 2023, 10.00-12.00. All families are welcome to join us to view the school in action, chat to pupils, staff, and current parents and find out more about an NCS education. Places can be booked via https://www.newcollegeschool.org/open-day-booking. Do please pass on this information to any families you think might be interested in joining our special community, and we would be most grateful if you would consider displaying the poster that has been sent home via your sons’ rucksacks. Keep an eye out for our adverts on social media too, and don’t be shy when it comes to pressing the ‘like’ and ‘share’ buttons. Many thanks.
Wykeham Day will very soon be upon us, on Saturday 17 June. This day brings together the whole NCS community, former and current, for a series of special events. We will begin at noon with a short and informal music recital in the hall, with performances from NCS pupils past and present. Then, at 13.00, the old boys vs 1st XI cricket will begin on Field, followed at 14.00 by the school fete, adjacent to the cricket on Field. The fete will end at 16.00, giving attendees time to head back to Holywell Street for a special Wykeham Day evensong in New College chapel at 17.45. For those who have signed up, there will then be drinks in the College gardens, before our very special Wykeham Day dinner in New College hall. Full details can be found at https://www.newcollegeschool.org/wykeham-association and the booking form for the drinks and/or dinner can be found at https://www.newcollegeschool.org/wykeham-day-2023. We look forward to seeing you there!
From Mr Bishop: On Tuesday afternoon the U9 boys played host to MCS and enjoyed a fantastic afternoon of high-quality cricket. In both games the bowling and fielding were so impressive and all the coaches exclaimed that we have seldom seen so few wides in a game with players of this age; Felix T and Aaron A were particularly good, with both taking wickets. The difference on this occasion was the speed at which the teams scored their runs; MCS were a little more ruthless with the bat and just edged the result. The U12 and U13 tennis teams made the short trip across town to MCS for their second fixture of the term. All twelve boys had a great afternoon and learnt a great deal about game management and doubles play. Although we didn’t come away victorious overall, we saw some really encouraging performances from certain individuals, such as Edward M and his cross court back hand shots and the way Max J plays the ball really close to the net when he drives down the line. I was also really impressed with Josh C and in particular his return of serve. In the U12 section Mr Gardner was also really pleased with the boys’ efforts and he singled out for praise Max A-B alongside Eddie L and Arjun S. Back on the cricket pitch the U11 and U13 boys were all in action against Summer Fields. At home the U13 B team and the U11 B team played out two very close and exciting games.
In the U13 game it came down to the final over, with NCS needing three wickets for the win; it seemed an unlikely task but with two quick strikes the hopes were raised, albeit briefly as the final wicket stayed firm and Summer Fields just about secured the win. In the other home game, the U11 B team managed to be part of that rare thing in limited-overs cricket: a draw. 70 runs each saw the honours even and Mr Rose tells me it was a fair result on the balance of play. More importantly, the NCS boys excelled themselves with their team spirit and sense of fair play. Away from home the U13 A and U11 A teams were enjoying the sun with Mr Swanepoel and myself. At the half time break it was a real pleasure to catch up with so many NCS parents who had come to watch two very exciting games. In the U13 A team game the boys opted to bowl first and in the first two overs both Rishaan and Didrik both struck to remove the opening batters. We continued this good work with a third wicket quickly following. However, the next pair put on a resilient display and despite their toil the NCS bowlers did not quite find another breakthrough for some time. We found ourselves chasing a daunting target of 142. Despite resilience from a battling Dan C and our player of the match, Henry W, we fell a bit short of the target. The U11 A team saw a record U11 partnership of 82 runs between Xander S and Monty L; the two boys batted beautifully to set up a winning score of 142. Xander managing to hit 62 and the first 50 of the NCS season. With the ball the wickets were shared around the bowlers and the boys worked extremely hard in the field to limit their hosts to fewer than 100 in their 20 overs to secure a well deserved second win of the season.
Finally, you will have read in last week’s newsletter about the Town and Gown run and I am pleased to be able to report on some fantastic times from our boys. Two NCS 3km records fell thanks to some excellent running and great conditions. In the junior school, last year’s record of 12m47s set by Yoav was beaten by Aloysius; he managed a very impressive 12m42s. In the upper school, the 3km record had stood since 2017 and was 12m11s. Isaac from Year 7 managed to break this long-standing record with a time of 12m10s!
Upcoming Events
Saturday, 20 May 2023
10.00 ABRSM Grade 5 Music Theory exam (IT room)
Monday, 22 May 2023
Charity Week begins
Years 3 & 4 form tests begin
16.00 U11 (5 pairs) Tennis vs MCS, Home
Tuesday, 23 May 2023
14.15 A8 A-C 6-a-side Cricket vs Manor Prep, Home
14.15 A9 A&B 8-a-side Cricket vs Manor Prep, Home
Wednesday, 24 May 2023
9.00 Chapel (Pre-Prep and Years 5-8 only). Speaker: The Revd Lyndon Webb, Associate Chaplain, Merton College
14.30 U11 A&B Cricket vs Bruern Abbey, Home
14.30 U13 A&B Cricket vs Bruern Abbey, Away (2 sites)
14.15 U11 C Cricket vs Manor Prep, Away
17.30 Governors' Meeting, McGregor Matthews Room
Friday, 26 May 2023
Home clothes day
Orders in Years 3-8 issued
Half term break begins at end of school day
Monday, 5 June 2023
Return from Half term break
Years 5-8 Assessment Week begins
14.30 U12 Tennis vs MCS, Home
Wednesday, 7 June 2023
9.00 Chapel (Pre-Prep and Years 3-4 only). Led by Pre-Prep
12.00 U11 A Cricket County Cup, MCS
14.15 U11 B&C Cricket vs CCCS, Away
14.15 U13 A&B Cricket vs CCCS, Home
Friday, 9 June 2023
9.30 Year 3 Natural History Museum (rocks and soils workshop)
13.00 Cycling proficency test for lunchtime enrichment club, Years 5-6: 12.20-13.50
17.00 Leavers' Evening (ends 19.15)
Saturday, 10 June 2023
10.00 Composers' Workshop and Concert (School hall)
16.30 Chorister Open Day, New College