Headmaster's Newsletter Friday 30 June 2023

Dear Parents,

I don’t wish to make you envious (much), but I’ve spent the last five days in Sicily. I could lie to you and say that it has been a massive hardship, but I won’t. The sun has shone pleasantly, the temperature has been warm but not overbearing, and the Mediterranean has been its shimmering restorative self. In case some of you are wondering whether I’ve gone AWOL before term has ended, I haven’t. I’ve been accompanying our leavers’ trip: their penultimate week together before they head off to their different senior schools. It is a trip that combines different pedagogical and recreational elements. I’ve been enjoying teaching the boys about the early modern and modern history of the island: from the bonkers Baroque of Noto to the vital anti-mafia work of Judges Falcone and Borsellino. Mr Hanson has also been in his element as we’ve visited the classical sites of Agrigento, Segesta, and Selinunte. There has also been plenty of time for pizza at a beachside restaurant in Mondello, some football, plenty of gelati, a dip in the hotel pool, and lots more in between.

This Year 8 leavers’ trip is the culmination of our residential trips as the boys progress through the school, increasing their stamina for being away from home. From a couple of nights away not too far away, to a full week in the UK, then abroad, it is a carefully thought-through programme to increase the boys’ independence as they get older, and especially as they head towards their senior schools in Year 9. Some boys take this very easily in their stride; others, totally naturally, require a little more support to get used to being away from home, with reassurance that feelings of, say, homesickness are totally normal and experienced by everyone at different times. But there are also really positive experiences: trying out new physical challenges they wouldn’t normally get to experience, hanging out with their friends all day (and all night!), experiencing new cultures and languages.