Headmaster's Newsletter Friday 20th May 2022
Dear Parents,
It was in my early teens, I think, that I first heard a song about ‘the day the music died’. I remember a hazy period when I’d heard the song but didn’t know what it was called; what I did know was that I really liked it. (There was no Shazam in those days, obviously, not that it was so long ago.) When I finally, by chance, encountered the song alongside its title and artist, I probably became a bit obsessed with it. The song was, I’m sure you know, American Pie by Don McLean.
Over the years, my pursuit of that song has taken me to concerts in rather disparate places. I have seen McLean sing American Pie, for example, at the Royal Albert Hall as well as at an open-air concert a stone’s throw from what was at the time the murder capital of the US. Why did I become so obsessed? I’m not quite sure, but I imagine it was something to do with the very catchy tune, the epic length when most songs were no longer than three minutes, and the fact that the lyrics seemed to be written in some kind of code. The mystery was intensified by the fact that McLean has never, himself, clearly defined what he meant by his lyrics. Due to some savvy copyright and financial arrangements, whenever he is asked what American Pie means, McLean simply replies, ‘It means I don’t have to work anymore if I don’t want to’. The metaphorical allusions throughout the song – some 870 words – were clearly attractive to a pretentious teen who quite liked the idea that words weren’t always what they seemed to be – a teen who would grow up to make a living teaching poetry and trying to explain that words aren’t always what they seem to be.
Aside from many of the specifics that McLean won’t tell us, there are some pretty obvious meanings. ‘The day the music died’ was the day that Buddy Holly – a figure the boys learnt about from Miss Krebs in Thursday’s assembly – died. The ‘jester’ who stole the king’s ‘thorny crown’, was Bob Dylan stealing from Elvis Presley. The ‘quartet’ who ‘practised in the park’ were The Beatles. Anyone interested in cultural history, and especially the cultural history of the US in the twentieth century, will have their interest piqued by such a lament. I don’t think it is any exaggeration to say that my musical tastes (as sometimes eccentric and varied as they are) were formed by chance hearings of bits of songs. That is one of the reasons why our artworks of the week, and our ‘personal passions’ in assemblies, so often constitute a varied and eclectic collection. We want the boys to learn about a variety of cultural artefacts, and to hone their taste through some chance of hearings leading to, ‘I don’t know what that is, but I really like it’.
Have a great weekend,
Matt Jenkinson
Staffing news: At the end of this term we will say goodbye to Caroline Showell-Rogers and Katia Houghton. Caroline will be making the exciting move to Harrow, Bangkok, to lead their SEND team, while Katia will be leaving NCS to focus on her adolescent and adult counselling work. We will be able to pay full tribute to them at the end of term, but we wish them all the very best in the meantime. I am very pleased to inform you that Dr Sarah Lintott has accepted the post of Inclusion Coordinator (SENCO) at NCS from September 2022. Sarah initially studied at University College London then trained as a GP and worked in medicine for 15 years before retraining as a teacher. Since then, she has taught across the key stages (especially KS1-4) in both the primary and secondary sectors. She currently works in the Personalised Learning Team at Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School in Aylesbury, where she is assistant SENCO. She has broad experience working with young people who have autism, ADHD, and other areas of SEND. Sarah also has experience supporting Duke of Edinburgh expeditions and running or overseeing clubs, especially those for aspiring medics. I am also delighted to announce that we have appointed Susie Galbraith as our new school counsellor from September. Susie has an advanced diploma in psychotherapeutic counselling, a CPCAB certificate in counselling children, and is completing her postgraduate diploma in child, adolescent and family mental health and wellbeing. She also has a background in teaching art to ASD children. Susie has been a school counsellor at both the primary and secondary level; she is currently a counsellor at Marlborough College. You can find out more about Susie via her webpage at the National Counselling Society: https://nationalcounsellingsociety.org/counsellors/ncs16-03029. We are very much looking forward to welcoming Sarah and Susie to the NCS team and I’m sure they and their families will be made most welcome.
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. We very much enjoyed seeing the boys’ ‘wacky shoes’ today to mark the end of the week.
A quick reminder, as we get closer to our Sheldonian concert on Tuesday 24 May, that the boys will be staying in school between the end of school and the beginning of the concert. As the concert starts at 17.00 it is logistically much easier for us to keep hold of the boys, to give them a snack and drink, and to walk them to the Sheldonian as a school.
Another reminder, if I may, that the boys should be bringing hats and water bottles to school, in case of sunny weather. They should also, ideally, be applying sunscreen which offers good and lengthy protection before they arrive in school. Though having endured the weather today, it would also be a good idea to keep sending in your sons with coats!
We are very much looking forward to our Charity Week events next week in aid of Surfers Against Sewage. We will be enjoying some of our usual events, including a staff vs boys basketball match, some topical films, and home clothes day. A new addition will be a ‘Burpee Challenge’ featuring Mr Mainstone and some of our senior boys. My thanks to Mrs Showell-Rogers and the charity committee, and all those boys and colleagues who are supporting our fundraising efforts so enthusiastically. More anon!
Bike Oxford will take place on Sunday 3 July 2022 at Oxford University Rugby Club on Iffley Road. The event, now in its 9th year, aims to attract up to 1000 riders and comprises marked rides of 25, 50 and 80 miles, including a 2 mile stretch around historic Oxford. The 2022 event is supporting a number of worthy causes including Helen and Douglas House, Wheels for All, Active Oxfordshire and is supported by the Cowley Road Condors Cycling Club. Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council have committed their support and the event is seen as promoting active lifestyles and encouraging sustainable travel. The rides are designed to appeal to all ages and abilities, in particular the 25 mile ride will appeal to prep-aged pupils. Everyone will experience a day in the beautiful Cotswolds, get an event medal and enjoy the post event festivities on offer at the rugby club afterwards. The organisers encourage supervised groups to enter where ratios of adults to students must be a minimum of 2 adults : 10 children. Riders can register via the Bike Oxford website www.bikeoxford.co.uk and view a short showreel, which may be of use if you are unfamiliar with the event. You can register as individuals or contact the office via info@iconiccylingevents.co.uk if you would like to enter a team as there are team entry options available.
From Mr Bishop: I am pleased to say that we’ve managed to complete a full week of fixtures despite the best efforts of the weather to disrupt things again. In between the rain we have seen some excellent competitive matches this week. It all started off with an U13 tennis fixture against Cranford House. Miss Krebs and I were lucky enough to see eight brilliant matches between the two schools with honours even at four sets each at the end of the evening. There was some fabulous shot making from our lead pair of Gary Z and Timon B, especially from the base line where both boys played with power and control to give their opponents the run around. A special mention also goes to Josh C on debut with Zachary W; both boys worked extremely hard all evening and came away with a well-deserved 6-3 win in their opening set. We are set for the return leg of this match in June when we travel down to Cranford; everybody is eagerly looking forward to this.
Following on from this the U11 and U13 cricket teams played a host of Summer Fields teams and in the four games we witnessed some superb cricket. In Mr Mainstone’s B team the boys bowled very well indeed and restricted the hosts to 134 all out with a ball to spare; Finn L being the pick of the bowlers with six wickets. After the tea break, when it was the turn of NCS to bat, we started brightly, playing good shots but the slow scoring rate was starting to trouble us. Chasing the big shots meant a risky approach and some slightly unorthodox shot selection saw us unfortunately end 70 all out. The same story was true for the U11 teams; the focus going forward will be on batting correctly and trying to score from some of the kinder balls. I am confident we’ll be back, stronger and more focused as we face Bruern Abbey next Wednesday.
The U13 A team enjoyed a dominant performance and in doing so managed an impressive win against their Summer Fields opponents. A controlled bowling display, where the deliveries were shared around a little more than usual, gave the NCS batters a challenging but not daunting total of a little over a 100 to chase down. The boys managed to complete the task with six overs to spare and for the loss of only six wickets. This was a good solid performance to get them on the winning track. Lastly this week the U9 A-C teams also played Summer Fields. On another sunny day we enjoyed three fantastic games. We lost two but won the third game with Arran L from Year 4 and Hugh L from Year 3 being the stars with the bat for Miss Bishop’s team. Despite not coming away with the win, Aaron A from Year 3 and Henry T from Year 4 both deserve special mentions for their contributions to their teams. Both boys batted superbly and Henry’s bowling is really starting to be very impressive now.