Headmaster's Newsletter Friday 18th November 2022
Dear Parents,
Today, as I write this, I am wearing one sock with oranges on it, and another sock with carrots. This isn’t (I think) the result of some eccentricity that can be an occupational hazard in my line of work; nor is it (again, I think) because my brain has become garbled by reports season. I am still quite capable of sorting out my laundry … just. It is because today is NCS’s odd socks day, a country-wide initiative that marks anti-bullying week and celebrates difference and what makes us all unique.
As you know, NCS is a school that eschews the factory-style approach to education, that rejects the creation of identikit ‘products’ (even if we do have shared values). We leave that kind of nonsense to other places. One of the reasons that there is such a happy buzz around the place is because we allow the boys to be themselves; no, we celebrate them being themselves. Obviously, this needs to be within the confines of certain boundaries like ethics and the law, but it is a joy to be in a community of different people with different backgrounds and interests. I remember being verbally attacked at school because I ‘listened to classical music’. This was for two reasons. Firstly, I couldn’t quite fathom why it mattered to anyone else what I listened to. Secondly, I spent more time listening to Bon Jovi and Meatloaf which, let’s face it, was probably a more fruitful line of attack. Now, I get to talk to the boys about their varied interests and passions. When I do practice interviews with the older boys, in preparation for their 13+ school admissions processes, I sit up when the boys offer answers about their passions from left-field – it's this which, to me, makes a pupil stand out; it’s not their verbal reasoning scores.
The theme of this year’s national anti-bullying week has been ‘reach out’. In preparation for the week, Dr Lintott gave an assembly on knowing to whom the boys can talk if they are worried. In wider society, we are increasingly used to headlines like this one from a recent Guardian: ‘Friends are good for us … so why do many men have none at all?’. Or this from The Times: ‘Why do so many men have no real friends?’. Or this from The Spectator: ‘Male friendship is in crisis’. Are our boys growing up into a society where men have such small (if any) informal support networks? I hope not, and much of what we do here is getting the boys into good habits, whether they are academic or pastoral, for their later lives. One of those habits is learning which support networks are in place, and reaching out to use them should they feel the need – and sometimes, pre-emptively, even if they don’t. That network here is wide. It includes all of us: me, my deputies, SLT, all my colleagues, form tutors, assistant form tutors, our school counsellor, friends, parents, guardians, grandparents. The lesson of this anti-bullying week, then, is that no matter how nice the setting in which we are growing up, there will always be tensions when human beings coexist; to ensure that those tensions are resolved quickly and amicably, and do not spiral into something more unpleasant, we are all here for the boys, and they can reach out to us whenever and wherever they need help.
Have a great weekend,
Matt Jenkinson
I am pleased to report that the video recording of our recent Years 7-8 production of Henry V is now available on the video gallery page of the NCS website: https://www.newcollegeschool.org/video-gallery
Congratulations to all of those boys who played so well at our senior recital on Wednesday evening. It was our first recital of the year and it was wonderful to hear all of the progress that the boys have been making, across a number of different instruments and genres of music. Thanks to all those families who have been so tireless in helping the boys to practise and, of course, our fantastic music team under the leadership of Tom Neal and Izzy Rose, who make all of this possible. We are looking forward to our junior recital next Monday! Parking is available from 17.15 in the playground; please drive very slowly and carefully and keep an eye out especially for pupils leaving school at the end of their enrichment activities.
Four of our senior boys went on the road earlier this week as part of our Language Ambassadors scheme, which sees some of our older boys teaching language lessons at St Michael’s in Marston. Josh, Dan, Gary and Will were excellent teachers and ambassadors. My thanks to them and to Catherine Phillips and Louise Brown for accompanying and supporting the boys.
On Monday 21 November England will play Iran as part of the Football World Cup. Pupils from Years 3-8 will watch the match in the school hall. Pupils are to wear full school uniform but may also wear a football shirt or colour of the country they are supporting in the tournament for a cost of £2. Please note that there is absolutely no obligation for parents to buy any special kit for this. The money will be donated to the Bobby Moore Foundation which supports research into bowel cancer. Due to the timing of the match Year 7 & 8 pupils will not need to bring in their football boots or shin pads on this day. Judo sessions will continue with slightly shorter sessions and music lessons will continue as normal.
We are very pleased that our lovely new NCS umbrellas have already been snapped up by a number of families. These are available for £25 each via the school office. Please just email purchase requests to office@newcollegeschool.org and we will add the amount to your termly bill before delivering the umbrellas via your son. Aside from being cheerfully designed in NCS colours with the school logo, the umbrellas are very good quality. They’d also make lovely Christmas presents!
From Mr Bishop: This Wednesday the U11 boys played host to Thorngrove and our new friends from Cranford House. With over 100 boys on show, all playing football, it was a spectacular afternoon of sport. All of the NCS teams did extremely well and with so many games it’s difficult to mention them all but I understand from Mr Rose that the U11 team were on particularly good form in recording a 0-0 draw against Thorngrove and a 5-1-win against Cranford. Again, Max L-L was voted player of the match thanks to his excellent play all afternoon. In the D/E triangular with Thorngrove, Mr Gardner and Mme Phillips were again very proud of the boys’ efforts and, despite being a few key players down, on this occasion they fought really hard and Mrs Phillips had this to say about the team: “This week’s player of the match was Toby C, for his tactics, clearing out and using the wide areas really well; he seems to float across the ground with elegance and speed. The midfield players were really strong and got back well to help with defence. Myles T was also on good form as a lone striker.In the second match of the afternoon the Player of the Match was Andres for actively moving up from defence to midfield, trying hard to get back when we were under attack. Henry C was good at moving with the ball along the flanks of the pitch.”
Away from home the U13s also played Cranford House. In the second and third team games both matches went to the wire and were only lost by a solitary goal. Both Mr Swanepoel and Mr Cui were full of praise for their teams as it was one of the most entertaining afternoons of the season so far. Playing with a skeleton staff of only nine a side meant that all the boys had to really dig deep and find those reserves of energy that Mr Swanepoel has worked hard to develop this term in the afternoon fitness sessions. Not to be outdone, the first XI soon found their rhythm and played a brilliant game; the first half was end to end action and we did well to weather a Cranford storm in the first few minutes. Having won a free kick with yet more fantastic footwork, Dan C then lofted a brilliant ball over the top of the Cranford line for Rishaan to beat the off-side trap and score a wonderful left footed drive into the roof of the net. A rare slip at the back saw the half time score at 1-1 but the NCS boys were still confident of a result. An early second half goal and a flurry of chances came our way and with little over ten minutes to go we were still in front. But then came the sucker punch: a late Cranford goal tied the score at 2-2 with minutes left. This was when the shuttle runs, the extra running and all the hard work paid off; a tireless display from all of the NCS boys saw one last attack. A brilliant cross-field ball from Dan C saw George W race through to the left of the box, but surely the angle was too acute? Not for George: he slotted home a deft left-footed shot that crept inside the post and secured a fabulous 3-2 win. I’d like to give all the boys a massive well done for this week’s game and especially George C from Year 7 who made his first team debut this week.
Upcoming Events
Monday, 21 November 2022
17.30 Junior Recital (Years 3, 4 & 5), Sports Hall
Refreshments beforehand at 17.15
Tuesday, 22 November 2022
AM Handbell workshop for Year 7-8 Music Scholars, Hall
14:30 U9A&B Football vs Sibford, Home
Wednesday, 23 November 2022
9.00 Chapel. Speaker: The Chaplain
8.15 Eco Committee meeting, library
14:30 U11A-C Football vs Sibford, Home
17.30 Governors' Meeting, McGregor Matthews Room
16.00 Inter-schools Debate
Friday, 25 November 2022
14.00 Thomas Cranmer Awards Competition, St Edward's
Monday, 28 November 2022
PSB Audit
Tuesday, 29 November 2022
PSB Audit
8.50-10.10 Carol service readers' rehearsal (chapel)
14.30 Onatti French Performance (Years 7 and 8)
Wednesday, 30 November 2022
8.15 Charity committee meeting, library
9.00 Form period (no chapel)
14.15 onwards Carol service practice (all PM)
18.00 Year 6 parents' evening
Thursday, 1 December 2022
14.30 Pre-Prep Winter Concert
19.15 Year 7 opera trip: Puccini's La Boheme / Welsh National Opera (New Theatre, Oxford)
Friday, 2 December 2022
ABRSM exams
Saturday, 3 December 2022
University Term ends
10.00 Music Scholars' Masterclass (Saturday Music Academy)