Running naked in the shrubbery

Headmaster Mark Mortimer reflects on the School's core aims of encouraging its pupils to think creatively and intelligently challenge convention...

In 1933, just five years after Bryanston was established, the new Headmaster, Thorold Coade, decided that he needed to persuade prep schools that ‘the rumours of its free and easy ways were false’. I have to admit that I laughed out loud when I came across this during a recent rummage around the archive. Even though I’ve only been here a few months, it is clear to me that some of these misperceptions still linger almost 90 years later. Given my army background (no one has ever described me as ‘free and easy’), I reckon I’m just the person to challenge some of these inaccurate views. So here goes … 

Like any outstanding school, Bryanston has high expectations, high standards and expects much of its pupils. They are encouraged to enthusiastically give 100% in everything they do, to seize the many opportunities on offer here, to think big, to take calculated risks, to fail sometimes, then bounce back, adapt and go again. In that sense, they are being channelled while they are here; however, the corridor down which they are travelling is wider than at many more orthodox, traditional schools. We do not force them down a narrow passage of conformity. Of course, there are still clear boundaries, but there is also room to travel down the left-hand side, the right-hand side or even zigzag along it. This greater freedom allows pupils to focus on who they are and who they want to be, rather than what they want to do. It fits with one of the most cherished principles of Bryanston: the idea of the development of a community of individuals, with an equal emphasis on both. Another of my predecessors, Robson Fisher, summed it up beautifully in 1961:

‘We set our faces against producing a Bryanston type because we assert the uniqueness of each person and feel it would be an invasion of a boy’s personality to roll and pat him like a lump of butter into a shape indistinguishable from the next lump.’

This freedom, and the space to avoid conformity, is one reason why we have a dress code rather than a uniform, but I would argue that the greater choice that that presents is indicative of an approach that actually requires more structure and more self-discipline than a more restrictive approach. It makes different demands on pupils, but it also offers them the chance to think for themselves and to reflect on the purpose of rules, regulations and restrictions; this is closely linked to the core Bryanston aim of encouraging pupils ‘to intelligently challenge convention’. This doesn’t mean being obstructive or argumentative for the sake of it, but it does mean thinking about or looking at things from another perspective; creatively.

Creativity has long been a guiding principle at Bryanston, and we have been extolling its importance at the heart of the curriculum for many years. It’s much more than a skill – it’s the ability to see things differently, to use one’s imagination to create alternatives or new ideas. We are an imaginative species, and each of us has the potential for creativity in any subject or field, be it history, maths, physics, music, sport or business. What is vital, to give it power and purpose, is a focus for it – an area of interest that first sparks the imagination.

Our aim is to develop pupils’ creativity and enable them to think differently, intelligently break convention, challenge assumptions and possess a curious, flexible mindset. In short, we aim to make them as unlike a machine as possible, even more important today than in the 1930s.

Oh, and the shrubbery… The story goes that a prospective parent, looking around the School, came across an informally dressed man:

“Excuse me, do you work here?”
“Yes Madam, I do.”
“Tell me, is this the place where the Headmaster runs around naked in the shrubbery?”
“Madam, I gave up running years ago.”

Coade again; you can see what may have fuelled those misperceptions!

Celebrating difference

God made us all, each wonderfully different...

(Church of England, Common Worship service of Holy Communion)

School Chaplain Reverend Jo Davis reflects on the importance of seeking to understand the differences and similarities in everyone we meet whilst, above all, treating them with kindness as a fellow human being...

Since I arrived at Bryanston 10 weeks ago, I have been told many times that there is no Bryanston type. That our aim is not to fit everyone into a mould, but to support them to become a fuller, brighter version of themselves.

I believe that everyone in the world has an equal right to exist and have their own beliefs and opinions. As a Chaplain, it is my job to support and pastorally care for everyone in the school, religious or not. If their faith differs from mine, it’s my responsibility to ensure that they are supported in their faith.

You rejoice in our differences, yet we make them a cause of enmity.

As an RS teacher, I have taught all six of the major faiths including atheism. I consider it a privilege to do so, but I also think it is hugely important. Just because I disagree with someone, it doesn’t mean that I do not need to understand their point of view. Learning about Islam to teach it to GCSE level has given me many opportunities to reflect on my own faith. If we don’t understand the opposing view to our own, how do we know that we don’t agree with it? We should seek to understand the differences and similarities in everyone we meet whilst, above all, treating them with kindness as a fellow human being.

This culminated on Wednesday last week in my attending a book signing with Richard Dawkins in Bath, accompanied by a group of A2 pupils. A man who, it could be said, has views diametrically opposed to mine, but I was still looking forward to it. 

When doing some research beforehand I was staggered to come across a video entitled ‘Love Letters to Richard Dawkins’ where he reads out some of the horrifically offensive emails he receives, many from people claiming to be Christian, but wishing him a horrible death and eternal suffering in hell. 

I could not believe it, and it spurred me on to attend the signing and be nice to the man. But I wanted to do more than that and felt called to show him a different side of Christianity, the faith that teaches me to love God, and love my neighbour as myself. Love is the most important command, and overrides everything else. I have recently discovered the Craftivist movement, which seeks to spend time and effort protesting positively, quietly and kindly through handmade items. I set about creating a gift for Richard that celebrated our commonality. Nothing inflammatory or that challenged his world view, apart from maybe what Christians were like. It was a challenge to find him after the Q&A session, but I managed it, and was able to shake his hand and pass over my letter and gift.



I was amazed to receive a personal email from him later in the evening, thanking me for the gift. 

This week I have challenged all the D pupils to investigate a view that is the opposite to one they hold, to do some research and look into their similarities and differences. Difference should be celebrated, not feared.

As a result, I’m really looking forward to Bryanston’s Craftivist Group, an extra-curricular activity (ECA) which I will be hosting from January. Craftivists aim to change the world through well-thought-out, quiet and kind acts of loving protest.

Learning the importance of decision making and accepting responsibility through outdoor education

Head of Outdoor Education Duncan Curry explains why outdoor education plays such a crucial role at Bryanston and how it goes hand-in-hand with the challenges pupils face in everyday life…

Just recently, someone complimented me for making ‘playing outdoors’ into a career. Although this was certainly never my intention at school, 14 years in the outdoor education sector have made me realise that it has indeed been the perfect choice for me. Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to witness the transformation of many pupils, from nervous, shy first years into powerful and confident sixth-form leavers.

I have always been sure of the benefits of outdoor education and spending time in the natural environment, which include but are not limited to: enhanced personal and social communication skills, increased physical health, enhanced mental and spiritual health, and an improved ability to assert personal control.

As a department, we believe that it’s often what happens outside the classroom that pupils remember most from their school days. That’s why we greatly value the outdoor education programme at Bryanston and work hard to ensure that pupils can transfer emotional strength gained during these activities and use their experiences to their advantage in meeting and overcoming the challenges they face in the classroom and everyday life.

Whether it’s striving for higher grades, forging supportive and productive relationships with others or engaging with the world around us, outdoor education makes us all stronger, more resilient and more likely to achieve our full potential.

In life we need role models. We can be taught the theory of action but until we see this in practice, we don’t fully understand what is required of us. Most of us are lucky enough to gather this information through our parents or siblings, but the older we get, the more challenging it is to find suitable role models.

The best role models work even harder in their absence. For my own, I created two figures sitting on each shoulder, the first my university tutor, and the second my head of department in my first job. Climbing high above the ground in the Italian Dolomites, leading pupils at 5,000 metres in the Indian Himalaya, or balancing along a ridge in the Scottish Highlands, Lee and Rupert would keep me on track. If I was about to rush a dangerous move, or take a shortcut with my rope work, they would immediately put me in place. Their words would echo back to me from a lesson learnt in the past, ‘Take your time, check that knot, tread carefully, stop, turn back or move fast’.

When I am asked what the best part of my job is, my answer is that I am able to work with the same pupils for five years whilst they are at Bryanston. This is a great deal of time to impart as much knowledge as possible and see significant developments. I now realise the important influence that a teacher can have on a young adult and I wonder how many shoulders I might now be sitting on? This is a powerful reality check and ensures that my lessons are succinct, clear and ultimately safe: perhaps the next time a pupil is tying into a rope, rather than having the luxury of a qualified instructor, they could be about to embark on a challenging adventure with a friend.

The beauty of the outdoors is there are very few rules. The freedom found when exploring, either by foot, by boat or through climbing, is huge. I remember being asked on Snowdon what time the rangers would be shutting the paths. Of course, this would never happen. Sunrise or sunset on Snowdon, when the crowds have disappeared, is certainly the best time to appreciate the mountain. It would be wrong for paths to be shut because of the apparent risk. Outdoor education, or adventuring in the outdoors, is one of the few environments left to us where we have to think for ourselves and accept the responsibility. If you walk into Coire an t’Sneachda in the Scottish winter and on to Carn Etchachan, you had better have a map and a good awareness of tough navigation. There will be no one to help you on the featureless Cairngorm Plateau as the early night draws in and you need to find your way home.

I believe outdoor education at Bryanston plays a crucial role in strengthening our pupils through their experiences. For young adults growing up in the present day, learning the importance of decision making and accepting responsibility for their own actions is a very valuable lesson. It is becoming more and more challenging to be allowed to make mistakes but only through our mistakes do we learn and develop. If a mistake can be made under a watchful eye, it can be a lesson learnt rather than one from which to run away. Once we have learnt these lessons under the guidance of a role model, we are then ready to experience them for ourselves.

Political education in schools is imperative and must become a priority

Head of Politics William Bridges reflects on the importance of political education in schools and how best to engage pupils in political discussion both in the classroom and at home… 

British politics. Is it broken?

If it’s not yet broken, it’s certainly creaking under immense pressure. So how do we solve it? How do we repair the division and return to the ‘normal’ British politics of the past (if that’s possible or even desirable)?

The answer is, perhaps, to quote Blair: “education, education, education.”

We’ve all done it. We’ve all got to the ballot with the intention to vote, only to get there, and not really know who to vote for. Some of us haven’t even made it to the polling station for the same reason. Many people only engage in politics through voting and there is the problem: if we don’t even know who to vote for, how can we even begin to solve the deep-seated ills that face British politics?

Who’s who? Who stands for what? What difference does my vote even make? These are some of the most frequently asked questions at the beginning of the A3 (lower sixth) Politics course. But they are also the same questions that are asked by D or C (Year 9 or 10) pupils in PSRE, in conversations in tutorials and by colleagues in the Common Room.

Pupils at Bryanston are enthused, engaged and willing to participate in politics if given the opportunity. The numbers of pupils studying Politics at A level continue to grow year on year; we have a thriving Model United Nations and Debating Society. New initiatives in D activities, The Cabinet (Bryanston’s first Politics magazine) and UK Parliament Week all give pupils more opportunities to participate in politics now than ever before.

As vital as this is, we must go further. In this increasingly volatile and dangerous world, where democracy appears to be under genuine threat, it’s the duty of all of us – teachers, parents and guardians – to be able to uphold the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law and tolerance. The real question is this: how can we be expected to uphold this if our own political education is poor or even non-existent?

I was recently lucky enough to spend three days in Parliament with 70 teachers taking part in UK Parliament’s Teachers’ Institute. Since its launch in 2006, the Teachers’ Institute has trained more than 800 teachers from across the UK, giving us a detailed understanding of the work of the House of Commons and Lords. Those selected to attend Teachers’ Institute go on to become UK Parliament Teacher Ambassadors for Parliament's Education and Engagement Service and train their students and colleagues about the role of the UK Parliament.

And this is where we can start to repair and rebuild our politics – in the classroom. We can’t just expect young people to respect democracy. We can’t just expect them to understand the rule of law. We can’t just expect them to accept parliamentary democracy as the form of government that works for them if they don’t know what it is or how it works.

How can you begin to fix a car that’s misfiring if you don’t even know what a spark plug is? You can’t - you have to learn what the spark plug is, what it does, and how to change it if it’s dead. More than that, you also have to learn that a misfiring car can be caused by more than a faulty spark plug. There isn’t just one answer to one problem.

The Teachers’ Institute taught us the importance of political education as a tool to help heal the divide in politics, and the importance of working with colleagues across a range of schools in order to achieve this.

But it isn’t just in the classroom where we can begin to fix these problems. Engaging pupils in discussion at home, probing their thoughts on the news and asking their opinions about the goings on in our country and across the world is as important.

Discussion lays a foundation stone of engagement that will later become participation. And if Brexit has told us anything, it is that young people have the potential to be a very powerful force in British politics. They may, in fact, even hold the solutions to release the pressure on the political system.

Choosing the right path for the Sixth Form

In our latest blog, Head of Sixth Form, James Ralphs gives us his top tips for identifying which academic route is right for you...

The Sixth Form is a wonderful part of school life. It is a chance to widen your horizons from both an academic and co-curricular perspective. Even before you step through the threshold of the lower sixth, you are asked to select what you are going to study.

So, where do you start?

A levels, IBDP or IBCP?

At Bryanston we offer three different academic routes for the Sixth Form: A level, the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) and the International Baccalaureate Career-related Programme (IBCP).

	A level	IBDP	IBCP
No. of subjects	Minimum of 3	6 (3 at higher level and 3 at standard level)	Cambridge Technical and 2 Diploma subjects

For some pupils, the idea of being able to study a broad range of subjects through the IB is an exciting one. For others, having to learn English, Maths and a language, even at standard level, is a non-starter and therefore A levels would be the appropriate path to take. Although there is overlap between the subjects offered at IB and A level, the course content can vary considerably. Therefore, a careful consideration of each subject and programme is essential. Talk to your current teachers and make the most of the information available to you. Bryanston pupils attend a Sixth Form choices fair in the spring term of Year 11 as well as having access to the Sixth Form choices guide, which gives a detailed breakdown of each subject.

What are your strengths?

Although not a perfect science, performance at GCSE does have a correlation with progress made in the Sixth Form. Choosing subjects in which you have a particular strength would be wise. At Bryanston, all heads of department will be looking for a 6 or higher at GCSE in order to access the A level or IB higher level subject content. The step up in workload, per subject, is considerable from GCSE to Sixth Form. Having a particular interest in your choices will make the work outside the classroom a lot easier. It is important that you have a desire for deeper learning, and a willingness to read around each of your chosen subjects in order to give yourself the best opportunity to succeed. Are you somebody who would benefit from less weighting on exams? Choosing a subject or programme with coursework would spread deadlines throughout the year.

What is your next step?

What you choose can have an impact on your options after school. One of the ultimate goals for studying in the Sixth Form is to qualify for entry into whichever route you would like to go down next. If this is university, then you will want to choose subjects which give you the best opportunity of achieving top grades. Some degrees will have specific pre-requisite subjects. For example, studying Medicine usually requires both Chemistry and Biology (at higher level for IB) and the majority of the top Economics degrees require Mathematics. If you don’t have a particular degree or career in mind, pick subjects which complement each other and play to your academic strengths.

The decision of what to study in the Sixth Form shouldn’t be taken lightly. Discuss the advice above with your tutor throughout the rest of the autumn and spring terms. Speak to older pupils about their courses but ultimately ensure that the choices you make are right for you.

A uniquely human and humanising activity: a reflection on why music education matters

After an insightful Music Education Conference at Bryanston yesterday, the Director of Music, Stephen Williams, reflects on why music education matters...

Even during the high-octane political turmoil of recent weeks, news about the decline of music education made it onto the BBC News at Ten. The BBC’s theme – that the serious underfunding of music provision will have an impact for generations – is supported by an increasing amount of evidence. No one is immune; the effects are being felt in independent and free schools, in academies, in the maintained sector and in the county music hubs. Two of our leading institutions, the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music, have issued a joint statement: This is a matter of significant importance not only for the higher music education sector but also for the pipeline of musicians of all types for this country and beyond.

The UK’s recorded music industry has contributed over £5 billion, in music exports, to the UK economy since 2000. We have some of the finest orchestras, soloists and choirs in the world; we are an undoubted international leader in all forms of music-making.

Music has a positive impact on the well-being and mental health of the nation and stimulates the developing brain in the way that no other activity can. Not just that, it represents a refuge for those who live with dementia and Alzheimer’s; singing and playing should clearly be prescribed.

We have just hosted a national Music Education Conference. Delegates came from around the UK to hear specialists talk about the ways that we can stem that decline. Jimmy Rotherham is the remarkable music teacher at Feversham Primary School. Set in an impoverished area of Bradford, and after many years in special measures, the school took the bold decision to saturate the day with music; singing in assembly, sums to a tune, a staff choir, literacy through singing, percussion work for co-ordination and composure. The results were remarkable and led the school to achieve ‘outstanding’ status. Behaviour, attainment and attendance were all transformed.

Three of the speakers talked about that popular myth of being either intrinsically (genetically?) ‘musical’ or ‘unmusical’. It is in fact the case that every one of us absolutely can make music. Indeed, research into the origins of our species shows that our larynxes were designed initially for song rather than speech. We, musicians, need to hold up our hands and recognise that we have a crucial role in discouraging the negative feedback that leads young children to believe that they are either unmusical or unable to sing.

We believe that ours is a uniquely human and humanising activity. With that in mind, the whole D year group (Year 9) are learning songs from Les Misérables to sing in the London Concert on 25 October. Their focus and singing have been remarkable and their conversations about the themes of those songs – love, loss, alienation, rejection, injustice and compassion – have been powerful. Words and music are such a potent mix; meaning and emotion coalesced. At this week’s Musicians’ Showcase we witnessed Honey H creating a uniquely compelling silence as she communicated the text of her song. Every week we are fortunate, as music teachers, to witness these special moments.

Simon Toyne spoke at the conference about his work as Executive Director of Music in 34 academy schools. Echoing earlier speakers, he talked about the impact on behaviour and achievement across all of those schools and the civilising influence of music even on the pupils who hear it as they walk past morning rehearsals.

A 25% drop in the number of pupils taking GCSE Music nationally over the past ten years and a consequent reduction of A level numbers by 40% is sobering and that is mirrored in a reduction in those who take part in music ensembles. At the same time our understanding of the deep, positive and lasting neurological impact of music on our sons and daughters increases every day. Every teenager in the UK undertakes several subjects and activities that they wouldn’t otherwise choose to study. As the research into the developmental importance of music gathers pace, perhaps we will soon make it our universal practice to include ensemble singing and playing in that compulsory portfolio of subjects.

Life is the adventure

A few weeks ago I spoke at my last Speech Day as a Head of Bryanston School. A leitmotif of my final chance to hold forth to a full Greek Theatre was of not outstaying one’s welcome and knowing when it is the right time to stay or to go. I used one of my favourite poems, which I quoted on my first Speech Day at Bryanston 14 years ago, as part of the text. 

Ithaka

As you set out for Ithaka

hope your road is a long one,

full of adventure, full of discovery.

Laistrygonians, Cyclops,

angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:

you’ll never find things like that on your way

as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,

as long as a rare excitement

stirs your spirit and your body.

Laistrygonians, Cyclops,

wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them

unless you bring them along inside your soul,

unless your soul sets them up in front of you.

Hope your road is a long one.

May there be many summer mornings when,

with what pleasure, what joy,

you enter harbors you’re seeing for the first time;

may you stop at Phoenician trading stations

to buy fine things,

mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,

sensual perfume of every kind—

as many sensual perfumes as you can;

and may you visit many Egyptian cities

to learn and go on learning from their scholars.

Keep Ithaka always in your mind.

Arriving there is what you’re destined for.

But don’t hurry the journey at all.

Better if it lasts for years,

so you’re old by the time you reach the island,

wealthy with all you’ve gained on the way,

not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.

Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.

Without her you wouldn't have set out.

She has nothing left to give you now.

And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.

Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,

you’ll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.

C. P. Cavafy

(Translated by Edmund Keeley)

For me this is the most remarkable poem, and for many reasons. It talks of life as something one shouldhope will be an adventure, a road full of discovery. It talks about the monsters you will find onyour way: the Laestrygonians, Cyclopes, and even an angry Poseidon. It talks too of summer mornings and the many harbours you will find where you can buy fine things. Of visiting Egyptian cities to learn (and go on learning) from their scholars. It talks of perhaps,and if so, only finally, finding Ithaka, your homeland to which you will return, and of not being disappointed if she seems now poor after your life well-travelled. Because the point of life is the travel: the point of life is the adventure.

I don’t think I quite knew what I was taking on 14 years ago; I find that Cavafy means just as much or more to me now, as I push off from this harbour and move on to the next. I shall not pretend that I have not met my fair share of Laestrygonians and even the odd Cyclops in my time here. I like Cavafy’s point that we tend to bring these monsters with us; it’s how we respond to the travelling, the adventure, those monsters, and the joyful engagements that life is all about. 

But, oh how the wonderful moments far outshine these monsters. And these wonderful moments are mainly, but not completely, formed around our pupils. That’s why people join the teaching profession: being involved with growing minds and their nurture is the greatest privilege. 

Kairos esti. More Greek, this time ancient. It’s the right time. That sense that, although one’s job may never be fully completed and although there’s always more you can do, that you still love a place and its people, that the mission is as clear as ever, it is, nevertheless, time to move on. It is for me and it is too for our departing A2s. Most of them joined us five years ago and, boy, they’ve grown along the way. Zeynep, our wonderful Head Girl, dancing her socks off here, learning how to stretch right outside her comfort zone, and off to study History of Art and to continue to excel. Some of that is predictable, but I might have expected her to settle for merely being an international skier: not Zeynep. Then Cameron, our Head Boy, who joined us just two years ago in the sixth form, who is my first Head Boy who joined in A3. Cameron’s drive, energy and passion to get things done and done right is a lesson to us all. Together he and Zeynep have led a superb group of prefects and I could not be more proud of all of them. Or of Kate and Amadea off to top music schools in London. Or Sumei off to Durham perhaps, for Modern Languages, to be followed by a Masters in Music, I hope: with a voice like Sumei’s, surely she must! Or Freddie winning not one but two organ scholarships to two prestigious universities and a further one to St Paul’s Within the Walls, Rome and still loving a good suit and a proper cup of tea. Or Luca and his outstanding music and contributions to it all. Or Clara and her remarkable drama. (Will I ever get over her portrayal of me?) Or Callum and his ability to lead, drive, and succeed. Or Molly; wherever she chooses to go to university she’ll be brilliant, and then on, no doubt, to run a small country somewhere. Or Frankie off to Loughborough via Singapore.   Do they represent the hope of our prospectus? To produce well-rounded 18-year-olds ready to go out and contribute to the world. Yes, they do. Is that what we all hope for our children? Lord, I hope so. I want all the A2s to be able to move on and do something. To keep doing and be happy. To be involved and engaged. To know their real worth and what they can bring to the enterprise, whether that’s a ski season in Japan or linguistics at Oxford, I don’t mind. But I do think they should be equipped to deal with this world and to do so in a way which will bring them joy, as Cavafy promises us, on their own road to Ithaka.

As our departing A2s leave to travel along that road, I commend to them first these famous words of Tennessee Williams:

The world can be violent and mercurial and always has been. It will have its way with you. We are saved only by LOVE. Love of each other. Love that we pour into the art that we feel compelled to share. By being a parent, being a writer, being a painter, being a friend.

And finally in my own last words to all A2s: Go out and spread the Bryanston message. The world needs it. Be wonderful. Be an aardvark, a flamingo or a tiger. But, whatever you do, be yourself. And don’t be a sheep. BAAA!

We would like to thank Sarah Thomas for her outstanding leadership of Bryanston throughout her 14 years as Head. We wish Sarah and her family all the best as they set out on the next part of their journey to Ithaka. The next edition of the OB Magazine will include a full valete to Sarah.

Moving on

There is change in the air here at Bryanston. At the end of term, a cohort of our pupils and some long-serving members of staff will be leaving for pastures new. Many of the pupils will have spent two, three, four or five years at this most amazing of places to live and work.

In many ways change can be unsettling. We ask ourselves ‘What is it going to be like?’ or ‘Will it be the same?’ At times of change we might look to the future with a sense of uncertainty or anxiety.

But there is no need to worry. Schools are experts at change. Every year at least one fifth of our cohort leave and another vast number, thanks to our amazing Registrar, Anne Megdiche, prepare to join us. Our academic curriculum at Bryanston is constantly changing; it is dynamic, and it is adapted and improved on each year. More often than not, exam boards themselves make significant changes to their syllabus. Our co-curriculum is similarly adaptable, with new opportunities being presented as requested, desired and/or according to staff expertise and interests. It is in the DNA of schools that they must and should adapt and change. Any organisation not willing to change is not fit for purpose.

Of course, there are things that do not change: things that will still be familiar to those leaving now as when they come back on their 10th, 20th or even 70th anniversary reunions. The main school building and the vastness of our grounds will remain the same. At a recent OB event, the significant building programme that has been undertaken over the past decade was noted but there was also a recognition that the positive ethos of the School remains unchanged.

The idea of change is embedded in our school motto: et nova et vetera. It reminds each of us that we should retain all the good about the old, and embrace the future with welcome arms.

Having et nova et vetera at the heart of our school community ensures that we prepare our most valuable asset, our young people, to be able to embrace change and be resilient when faced with it. This will equip them for life beyond these school grounds.

For me, the example of Jesus Christ is the ultimate role model when it comes to embracing change. He constantly challenged those around him to examine and re-evaluate the reasons behind the values and traditions of his time. As I write, the Church has just celebrated Whitsun, or Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus’ disciples. From that moment they stopped becoming disciples or followers, and became apostles, teachers of the Good News of Jesus and the love of God. They helped change, transform and enrich (for the most part) the lives of countless people. Without embracing the Holy Spirit, the message of Jesus would probably not have spread so far and so quickly.

Whatever you may or may not believe spiritually, I am sure you appreciate the importance of being willing and able to face change, adapt and, where possible, make the most of any new opportunities that may arise.

After 11 very happy years at Bryanston, it is time for the Haviland family to embrace a significant change. We have been asked a number of times if any of us are anxious or nervous about leaving: it would be foolish to say we weren’t. However, we are also looking forward to a new challenge in a different context. To be Chaplain to a community like Bryanston has been very special. To be able to be alongside people at significant times in their lives is a huge privilege that I have never taken for granted. Building relationships has been key and moving on from these will be a massive wrench: I have got to know well many amazing people. In the school church, in these last 11 years, over 500 members of our community have been confirmed, 105 have been baptised, about 50 couples have been married or had their marriage blessed, and there have been a number of significant funerals or memorial services. For each one of these, I have had the chance to get to know each person or family really well. As important has been the valuable time spent being around for others in our community – to smile, chat and encourage where I can. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your lives.

Life as Chaplain is thoroughly enjoyable, but also demanding. I could not have carried out the role without the support and encouragement of the Bryanston community, led by Sarah Thomas. This has allowed me the professional time and space to carry out my duties. Just as important has been the love and care I have received from my wife, Jo, and my three boys, George, James and Charlie. Thank you.

Like all in our community who are leaving at the end of this term, the Havilands leave with many happy memories acquired here at Bryanston. These will stay with us in our new life beyond the school gates and we will cherish them. The vibrant Bryanston alumni community, which all leavers are invited to join, will allow us to continue to be connected with the wider Bryanston family.

So, let us embrace the change that is coming with hope, wherever it will take us. Rest assured that Bryanston is in good hands. The Revd Jo Davis will be taking the baton from me as Chaplain in September. I commend her to you. With those who are staying and those who are arriving, the School will continue to go from strength to strength. And may God continue to bless this community with His love, joy and peace.

Et nova et vetera!

Andrew
The Reverend Canon Andrew M J Haviland
The Chaplain, Bryanston School
June 2019