Headmaster's Newsletter Friday 17 March 2023
Dear Parents,
What a week! I can’t possibly do justice to the range of events the boys have enjoyed over the past five days during our SHTEAM Festival. Those families who haven’t encountered one of these before: SHTEAM is our version of STEM with the humanities and arts put back in. This isn’t to downgrade the four subjects in STEM, but to point out that the great value of interdisciplinarity is best unlocked when all subjects are involved, talking to and learning from one another. Our SHTEAM Festivals include a variety of workshops, talks, external speakers, and lots of ‘internal’ activities too, with day-to-day assemblies and lessons across the year groups and subjects each looking at a single theme, and what we can learn about that theme, in their different ways.
This week’s theme has been ‘How to Live’. It’s quite a big theme, which is part of the point. We have been looking from a number of perspectives at what we can learn about living a good, happy and healthy life. Again, I don’t have space to list all of the fifty or so special lessons, workshops and talks that went on this week, but to give you a taste: we had sessions focusing on physical and mental health; how authors and philosophers have discussed different ways to live a good life; how figures throughout history have tried to live their ‘good’ lives; and a playground yoga session which saw over a hundred prep school pupils (and their teachers) mindfully engaging in the pursuit all at the same time. One of the highlights of the week was, of course, our annual Holloway Lecture which this year was given by the economist and journalist Tim Harford. Tim spoke about the importance of critical thinking in living a good, healthy and safe life. The Holloway Lecture is one of the events in our annual schools partnership calendar, so it was especially good to be able to welcome pupils and their teachers from other schools in the locality. For those of you who missed the lecture but would still like to buy Tim’s new book, The Truth Detective, please follow this link: https://timharford.com/books/truthdetective/. You can watch a recording of the lecture at https://youtu.be/IRX-Ljqht00.
I won’t pretend that, at the end of this week, we have all the answers to the question of how to live. But we have demonstrated, I hope, the real joy, creativity and spark that comes from all the disciplines talking to one another about a vital central theme. The boys will have learnt some more tips on how to live healthy and fulfilling lives. They will, at the very least, now be more aware that it is a question that has concerned (and often vexed) every generation throughout human history. Putting together such a varied and stimulating programme is a logistical challenge, so I would especially like to thank all of my colleagues who tailored their teaching so imaginatively and hosted outside speakers, all those parents who generously took the time to come in and offer special sessions, Emma Krebs who oversaw the week so masterfully, and Caroline Hitchings who planned pre-prep’s SHTEAM-themed Question-Explore-Discover Day.
Have a great well-lived weekend,
Matt Jenkinson
Izzy Rose’s ‘Culture Club’ enrichment sessions have been devoted to our SHTEAM theme, leading to some excellent ‘mindful’ compositions from the boys in that club. You can enjoy their work here: https://youtu.be/Rs8SHIAg_jM
Congratulations to Josh and Finn in Year 8 who have been awarded academic exhibitions to MCS!
Congratulations, too, to Jack in Year 6 whose essay on biodiversity, inspired by the new gargoyles and grotesques for the Gradel Quads, won the Warden’s Essay prize.
After over a decade and a half of sterling service to NCS, I am sad to say that Elle Kilkenny, our Finance Officer, will be leaving us at the end of this academic year. We will be able to pay full tribute to Elle at the end of Trinity; she will be staying on with us for one day a week next term to help with the handover to our new Finance Officer, Zoe Osbourne. Zoe has extensive finance experience having worked in a number of roles over the past twenty years, most recently for Thame and District Housing Association. We are looking forward to working with her, and to welcoming Zoe and her family to the NCS community.
Well done to the choristers who sang Bach’s St John Passion so well in chapel last Sunday. Their attention now turns to their tour of the USA (taking in Houston, Dallas, Charlotte and New York) which departs towards the end of next week.
Could parents please ensure that all school library books are returned by Monday? If boys wish to continue reading a specific book it can then be renewed for the holidays. When books are either returned or renewed it will be possible for your son to borrow anew. Please also have a thorough look at home for any books that might have wandered. Thank you.
Following our visit from historian Dominic Sandbrook earlier this week, Penguin are offering NCS pupils 40% off some of his Adventures in Time books (£8.99 per book after discount). 1: The First World War. 2: The Second World War. 3: Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile. 4: The Six Wives of Henry VIII. 5: Alexander the Great. 6: Fury of the Vikings. If you would like to take advantage of this offer, please let the office know (office@newcollegeschool.org) which book(s) you would like (by noon on Friday 24 March) and we will put in a bulk order and add the amount to your next termly bill.
Do join us for our brand-new ‘Spring Service’ which will be taking place in our usual chapel slot next week: Wednesday 22 March at 9.00. There will be performances from all of our choirs, some congregational singing, and readings to get us in the mood for the new season. This service is not ticketed and it will be longer than our usual Wednesday chapel, finishing at around 9.50. You will be directed to your seats when you arrive; it will be the same seating plan as for our carol services, so it is all very straightforward.
On the final Friday morning of Hilary, Years 3-8 will be taking part in our very first ‘house brunch’. Following our termly sports awards assembly, the boys will be getting into their house groups to enjoy some sustenance while taking part in some sporting and quiz-based activities. This session will further develop the ‘verticality’ across the year groups that we really enjoy at NCS.
Please find below the link to buy tickets for the next NCS Chamber Choir and Choral Society concert, with the Instruments of Time and Truth. It will take place on Saturday 25 March at 19.00 in New College Chapel. The programme will feature J.S. Bach’s Markus-Passion (BWV 247), reconstructed by Malcolm Bruno. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/j-s-bach-st-mark-passion-tickets-525465450307
From Mr Bishop: A busy but fantastic week or so of NCS hockey has passed by in a blur, with the boys travelling far and wide to show off their skills with some superb results. The U9s went north to Brackley where they faced the ever-tough Winchester House. The B team came out with their heads held high after some thrilling hockey saw them emerge victorious, and the A team also managed a win, a draw and a loss, so honours were just about even. I’d like to give a special mention to two boys who were inspiring all day with not only their play but also their leadership: Felix T and Frankie PA. This Wednesday also saw the U13 A-D teams take on Summer Fields. Four brilliant games were played out and in all four games we saw lots of goals and some excellent play. It was clear to see that, as we come towards the end of a tiring season, the boys are playing some of their best hockey; the training and the hard work is really paying off as we see the ball moved around the pitches with power, control and skill. Our striker in the 1st VII Rishaan C is testament to this and his hard work has meant that he’s leading the goal scoring charts by some way with a week to go. His exploits in front of goal have been breathtaking in recent weeks. A 2-2 draw was played out in the 1st team game and for the width of a post, it could have been a snatched victory. The B and C teams lost by the odd goals and in the C Team game it was struck with the last hit of the ball! A tough way to finish but a brilliant game nonetheless. The D team also managed a 1-1 draw with Issac T having another stellar afternoon in goal.
On Friday last week the U11 A team, on the back of their recent IAPS exploits, added the Oxfordshire County Cup title to their impressive list of honours this season. Having beaten both MCS and Chandlings they were crowned county champions and, as a reward, earned a trip to Woking for the South-Central regional tournament. On the back of the U11s’ brilliant performance in the IAPS qualifiers, they made the long journey to Repton School for the national finals. Mr Swanepoel, their lead coach, had this to say about both the county cup and the IAPS finals: “First up we played against Chandlings; in the first half we showed why we have had good results this season by playing good team hockey. This resulted in the boys taking a 2-0 lead. The second half was a scrappy affair and we missed out on chances to put the game to bed. Chandlings then scored a goal to make the end of the game tense. The boys managed to hold out for a 2-1 win.Next up was MCS which was a very tight fixture. A bit of a roller coaster first half from both sides saw some good attacking play from both teams but MCS managed to convert more frequently than us to take a 2-1 lead into half time. In the second half momentum ebbed and flowed which saw another exciting end to the game with the boys chasing an equalizer. This came in the form of a shuffle scored by Max L-L who gave the boys the lift they needed. With momentum in our favour the boys went about trying to find a winner. A good piece of play down the left flank saw the boys win another shuffle. This shuffle was the final play of the game and, with the win and qualification into the next round at stake, Noah stepped up and converted. The first few games of the national finals were extremely tough but after a game or two the boys found their feet and earned a hard fought 0-0 draw to secure their first point of the championships. After the four group games our point was enough to earn a spot in the semi-finals of the bowl. The semi-final against Chafyn Grove school was extremely competitive but we went down 2-1 and we then faced our old rivals Ashfold for the third time this season. Playing off for third place in the bowl we managed a 3-2 much to the delight of myself and Mr Rose. Congratulations to the boys on the success they have had so far. They continue to show great development and are understanding the benefits of playing for one another: Tristan B, Hugo C, Tom, Thomas H, Max L-L, Noah S, Xander S, George T, Henry T.
Upcoming Events
Monday, 20 March 2023
14.30 French Play Performance 1, Hall
17.30 Senior Recitals, Sports Hall
Tuesday, 21 March 2023
Last day of VMT 1:1 Music Lessons (pre-prep and prep)
Last day of After-school Enrichment Activities (pre-prep and prep)
18.00 French Play Performance 2, Hall
Wednesday, 22 March 2023
College Day
8.15 Eco-Committee meeting, library
9.00-9.50 Spring Service
14.00 U11 A-D Hockey vs Dragon. Away
14.00 U13 A-D Hockey vs Dragon. St Edward's
17.30 Pre-Prep Parents' evening
Thursday, 23 March 2023
14.00 Pre-Prep Poetry Recitation and ‘Show and Tell’
U11 Regional Finals (if qualified)
Friday, 24 March 2023
12.00 End of term (12 noon)
Saturday, 25 March 2023
13.00 Choral Society/Chamber Choir rehearsal (New College Chapel)
19.00 Choral Society/Chamber Choir concert (chapel)
Monday, 17 April 2023
Staff INSET
Tuesday, 18 April 2023
Staff INSET
Wednesday, 19 April 2023
Start of School Term
9.00 Chapel. Speaker: The Headmaster
11.50 Year 6-8 Wellbeing: How to prepare for assessments while staying happy and healthy, led by the Headmaster
17.00 Year 7 Leadership Evening (ends 19.00)
Wednesday, 26 April 2023
9.00 Chapel. Speaker: Mr Richard Bayfield, Project Director, Gradel Quadrangles, and former NCS parent
Junior Maths Challenge: Years 7 -8 11.50-12.50; Years 5-6 12.30-13.30
14.15 U13 A&B Cricket vs Abingdon Prep, Home
14.15 U11 A&B Cricket vs Abingdon Prep, Away