Headmaster's Newsletter Friday 23rd September 2022
Dear Parents,
Like millions (billions?) of others, I watched Monday’s funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II on the television. It was, in many ways, a strange experience. In a former life, I spent more time than was healthy reading and writing about seventeenth-century royal ceremonial; some of those heralds’ uniforms therefore looked rather familiar. To see echoes of that ceremonial in 2022, and witness the first British monarchical transition in generations, was quite something. As someone who spends a certain amount of time in my current life working out logistics, including those to do with ceremony, I could only be impressed with the almost perfect choreography over several hours and many different stages.
What especially struck me, among the military grandeur, was something as obvious but sometimes less appreciated: the crucial role of the arts in events when the nation is grieving and processing its identity on the world stage. In chapel last Wednesday I read an excerpt of a poem called ‘Queenhood’ written by the Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, for the Platinum Jubilee. At around the same time as that service, Armitage issued another poem to mark the Queen’s passing. Within a week or so, his predecessor as Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, issued her own poetic tribute to the Queen, which itself evoked the culture clash between ostensibly ancient royal ceremonial and the way it is observed and digested in the twenty-first century: ‘the iPhone torches linking back to medieval flame’. With honourable exceptions, poetry is an artform often learnt at school, then dropped once ‘real life’ takes over. That it remains a go-to at momentous times is, perhaps, a sign that it should not be dropped quite so quickly.
Weaving together the services at Westminster Abbey and St George’s Chapel, Windsor, was – of course – music. It would be remiss of me, in a setting like ours, not to pay tribute to the exceptional quality of the music that we heard in those services, coming from choristers the same age as our pupils here. Under the respective direction of Jameses O’Donnell and Vivian, the choirs were remarkable, especially considering the gravity of the occasion. I was proud that an arrangement of Vaughan Williams’s ‘Romanza’ by our very own Robert Quinney was played in the Abbey before the service as the congregation was assembling. What the vast majority of the television audience (and, perhaps, the audience there in person) don’t really realise is that music of such quality takes place day-in day-out, month after month, in many places around the country – including, naturally, on our own doorstep. So while the music was of great import on Monday, at a time of significant national ceremony, I hope it is not forgotten that the arts are vital for so many reasons, and they can only be ‘picked up’ at relatively short notice for such occasions because of the extraordinary levels of talent and hard work that are going on behind the scenes year-round. We are lucky at NCS that we have the resources to invest in those arts, not as frivolous baubles, but as something core to education and the human condition; would that it were the case everywhere.
Have a great weekend,
Matt Jenkinson
The NCS Parents’ Association AGM will be on Monday 26 September, from 19.00 in the hall. Please do speak to your class rep if you have any issues that you would like raised, but remember that small issues are best dealt with by either contacting us immediately or going straight to your son’s teacher. We are always keen to help! As I mentioned in last week’s newsletter, we are always keen to nurture the next generation of NCSPA officers, so do please put yourself forward if you would be interested in helping us out, especially if you have sons in the younger part of the school.
From Mr Morrison and the Charity Committee: This Harvest Festival NCS will again offer crucial support to those facing food insecurity within the surrounding area. The Community Emergency Foodbank provides food to those in the community most in need. Through their three locations around Oxford, they help to provide food security for individuals and families. The organisation is run through the generosity of volunteers and relies on donations from schools, local businesses, churches and other community groups. This year their resources are stretched even further because of the cost-of-living crisis and they have seen a rise in those who are food insecure and need their services. If pupils and families would like to support this worthy cause, they can do so by donating on the day of our Harvest service, which will be held in Chapel on Wednesday 28 September at 9.00. Pupils can bring in non-perishable food items (canned or dried) along with toiletries, which will be collected at school and donated to the Community Emergency Foodbank. A small symbolic number of donations will be taken across to chapel to represent our support of those in need. We thank the NCS community for their support of this worthy cause. For more information about the Community Emergency Foodbank please find details on their website: https://www.cefoxford.co.uk/
Our next Open Morning is on Saturday 8 October at 10.00-12.00. Prospective parents are asked to register at https://www.newcollegeschool.org/open-days -- do please pass on this link if you know of any families who would be interested in joining our wonderful community. You should also have received via your son's schoolbag a poster and a leaflet advertising the event. Although the morning is primarily for prospective parents, current parents, especially those from the Pre-Prep, are most welcome to get a further insight into the upper part of the school. We would really appreciate it if you could display the poster in a prominent place such as on notice boards at:
• Nurseries and girls' schools (so as not to offend other local boys’ schools)
• Oxford Colleges, Brookes University and other educational institutions
• Hospitals and health centres
• Churches, local shops and community centres
• Your car or house window
• Please pass the smaller leaflet onto any friends who may be interested.
Please also feel free to share/retweet the schools social media posts about the open morning:
https://www.instagram.com/newcollegeschool/
https://www.facebook.com/newcollegeschool
The New College School ‘Welcome to the Foundation Service’ will be on Wednesday 12 October in New College Chapel. The service will begin at 9.00 and will take a little longer than our usual Chapel. This is the occasion when all new members of the school, boys and staff, are formally welcomed to the New College Foundation by the Headmaster and the Warden of New College, the school’s chair of governors. We would like to encourage all families of new boys to attend this important occasion if you can.
Weekly instrumental music lesson information is available online via Schoolbase every Friday from 9.00 for the following week. These can be viewed as part of the 'Timetable' found on the homepage. Parents are asked to log in to Schoolbase in the first instance to check these times. Please contact Ms Ulett (Beverley.ulett@newcollegeschool.org) if you have queries with login details, and Miss Rose (isobel.rose@newcollegeschool.org) if you have any questions or queries about the published times of your son's music lesson(s).
From Mr Bishop: This week has been another great week on the football pitch, with each and every boy from Years 3 to 8 playing in competitive matches. The U9 boys played a fixture against MCS on Tuesday afternoon and Cothill also brought a team along for good measure. Despite being up against it somewhat, the A-team New College boys certainly gave their all, in particular Aaron A and Emil S, while Tassilo H was voted player of the match by the MCS coaching staff. Our B team won against both MCS and Cothill with Ambrose S being the pick of the bunch after his recent promotion to the squad. The other games played in the afternoon were both excellent encounters and Mr Gardner tells me that James D and Rufus from Year 3 were both outstanding. Honours were even in the C&D team games at the end of the afternoon with both schools coming away with a win each. On Wednesday the older boys from Years 5-8 played a fixture against Cothill. In the U11 teams Samuel J from Year 5 and Thomas B were fantastic with Samuel the player of the match. Xander S was brilliant for the A team smashing the woodwork on more than one occasion with his thunderbolt shots and in the B team Hugo C was once again strong and determined. Mr Rose was the lucky one on this occasion and had the pleasure of looking after the U10 boys away from home; he tells me it was a great afternoon of football with each and every boy working really hard to keep the games alive. The games were finely balanced and the NCS boys can be proud of their efforts. George T in the A team and Peter K in the B team deserve a special mention thanks to their efforts throughout the match.
In the senior games Mr Swanepoel tells me that the B team deserve a mention; they worked extremely hard and it was finishing in front of goal that prevented the result going our way. A narrow 1-0 defeat did not justify the NCS dominance in the game and just goes to show what a little composure in front of goal can do. Benji and Jai were fantastic by all accounts as were Peter K and Vedant M in the C team. Mr Cui informs me that these two boys held the team together in the face of some tough Year 8 opponents. In the A team game, the boys left the field disappointed with a loss, however after some reflection we realised what a good game of football had been played out. The George and Henry W were once again brilliant at the back but our player of the match was the inexhaustible Daniel C. In the centre of midfield he was simply everywhere, challenging for every ball, ghosting past defenders with his sublime skill. We move to next week full of confidence after developing well as a school and in individual teams. Finally, this week the U8 boys all made the short trip over to Summer Fields for their annual U8 festival. Mr Swanepoel, Mrs Usher, Mr Rose and Mr Cui all said the boys had a brilliant afternoon and really enjoyed their first experience of playing for the school teams. It was a bright start for these boys and I hope they look forward to their next encounter as much as I do.
Upcoming Events
Monday, 26 September 2022
19.00 NCSPA AGM
Wednesday, 28 September 2022
9.00 Chapel (Harvest Festival). Speaker: Marietta van der Tol
14.30 U11 A-E Football vs Summer Fields, Home
14.30 U13 A-C Football vs Summer Fields, Away
Saturday, 1 October 2022
U13A IAPS SF Festival Football vs Summer Fields, Away (tbc)
Monday, 3 October 2022
15.30 U13A ISFA Football vs Shiplake, Away
Tuesday, 4 October 2022
14.00 U9 A-C Football vs Summer Fields, Away
14.30 U8 A-C Football vs Summer Fields, Home
Wednesday, 5 October 2022
9.00 Chapel. Speaker: The Revd Hannah Cartwright, Assistant Priest, University Church
8.15 Charity and School Council meeting, library
14.00 U11 A-E Football vs Manor Prep, Home
18.00 Year 7 Parents' Evening, Sports Hall
Thursday, 6 October 2022
11.30 U11 A ISFA Football vs Elstree, Away
Saturday, 8 October 2022
10.00 Open Morning
Sunday, 9 October 2022
Start of University Term