Prize Giving 2014: The Headmaster's Annual Review

Mr Chairman, Mr Duffy, Guests, Members of the Bablake community, ‘This moment is your life.’

It’s probably a sign of my advancing years that I enjoy listening to Radio 4’s ‘Thought for the Day’ just before I arrive in school in the morning – and it’s sometimes a source of inspiration for my own expression of the values which we cherish at Bablake. So those particular words of wisdom caught my imagination, and I recently Googled them. They come from Omar Khayyám, an 11th Century Persian polymath and philosopher. But if I thought I could use his words in an assembly for pupils, I soon realised the danger of quoting something out of context. This is the full version of what he wrote: ‘Drink wine. This is life eternal. This is all that youth will give you. It is the season for wine, roses and drunken friends. Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.’

Well, whatever your thoughts about how much or little life has changed down the centuries, the full version probably isn’t the message you as parents would like me to be giving your offspring. So let’s live dangerously and stick with the bit out of context: ‘This moment is your life.’ Our young people have only one chance at education, and that ‘moment’ will determine not only their life-chances but also their fulfilment as human beings whatever life should send their way. As parents and teachers, we share that responsibility of education, and our hope and expectation are that our children will grasp all the opportunities it brings.

The most significant and most confusing examination reforms for many decades are almost upon us, and we shall do our best to maintain an even keel as we navigate our way through those choppy waters. As a community we shall embrace change, but the bedrock of our education will remain those enduring values which mould our pupils into the gifted and generous young adults who leave us at the age of 18. So my message to pupils is always to make the most of their gifts and their opportunities, to make the most of every moment, as is reflected in our motto, ‘Spirit of Opportunity’. Alongside their numerous successes which we celebrate tonight, we also want them to be happy. In Khayyám’s words again: ‘Be happy for this moment.’ And in the words of a leaver who wrote to me last week: ‘Bablake is a very special place, and while I look forward to what lies ahead, I will never forget the experiences and relationships from my time at school.’ Of course those experiences were not necessarily always happy, and I am always amazed by the stoicism of some of our pupils in the face of adversity and the tragedies which may befall them. And that’s when those relationships, and the support of friends, staff and family are so important.

It’s why our inspection recognised the contribution of an ‘excellent rapport between teachers and pupils’ and the ‘self-confidence and resilience’ developed by pupils ‘within a culture of care and consideration for others’. And whilst inspectors found that ‘the overwhelming majority of parents expressed extremely high levels of satisfaction about all aspects of their children’s education’, they also judged that we were a school which was forever looking to do things even better: ‘The school has made significant progress since the previous inspection, underpinned by a culture of self-reflection and the desire for continuous improvement.’

Yes, we do a fair bit of navel-gazing, and it’s therefore very pleasing to have our qualities formally recognised in such a report. It’s healthy to be sceptical about statistics, but it’s also pleasing to break records according to objective measures. We were therefore delighted that our candidates obtained a record proportion of A* grades at A level, and of A*/A grades at GCSE – both measures used to judge the success of academically selective schools. And this was achieved in the first year without January modules and at a time of downward pressure on GCSE grades. Our encouragement of scholarship was perhaps best expressed by one of our Extended Project Qualification students in her presentation when she was asked what part of the project she had most enjoyed: ‘Sitting in Warwick University library and simply enjoying researching and reading about the Ottoman Empire.’ Or the comment made by a parent to me after they had transferred their child from another school: ‘He says that he can walk out of a lesson into break still discussing the lesson topic or the quadratic equation – which simply wouldn’t have been the cool thing to do in his last school.’

An unprecedented four of our pupils were selected for interview for the prestigious Arkwright Scholarship, and two of them won this award. (Award winners James Horton and Adam Keir spoke about this.)

It’s been a remarkably full and successful year for the Arts. Over 100 pupils participated in a slick and entertaining production of Bugsy Malone, whilst senior pupils have just returned from our 28th consecutive year on the Edinburgh Fringe. Music, Art, Drama and Dance were all included in an audit of our provision, which resulted in the award of Artsmark Gold status by the Arts Council England for our outstanding contribution to arts and cultural education. Pupils enjoyed workshops through our partnership with Orchestra da Camera, one of them led by renowned guitarist Craig Ogden, and House Music, the Cathedral carol service, classical concerts, the National Festival of Music for Youth and three charity concerts all provided further opportunities for harmonious performance. (Enya Bowe and Joshua Lowe then spoke about their musical year.)

Sport and co-curricular activities remain a very strong feature of Bablake life, and it was a joy to see so many former girls from as far back as the 1970s attending a charity netball reunion just before term began – handsome testimony to the enduring fun of playing sport at Bablake. Even if victory is sweet, I often say that we are not a ‘win at all costs’ school and that we place the emphasis on healthy and enjoyable teamwork. Well, there weren’t quite so many wins as some years, although several teams won through Coventry and Warwickshire finals to Midlands competitions, and there was notable success for our cross-country and athletics teams, as well as our senior chess players, who took all three local titles; the shelves of the trophies cabinet still sag beneath the weight of silverware! We have several pupils playing in Warwickshire’s elite cricket programmes, and some have just returned from a cricket and hockey tour of Sri Lanka. We had three pupils competing at international level, in wheelchair athletics, sailing and show-jumping. Whilst we can’t claim direct credit for nurturing their skills in these sports, it was surely Bablake which gave them that competitive spirit! Current Paralympic and world champion Hannah Cockcroft recently tweeted about Kare Adenegan: ‘Kare is a superstar! She’s going to be a champion one day very soon.’ (Kare said a few words about her exploits, and Ellie Lowson spoke briefly about life in the CCF this year, at its strongest numerically since its inception at Bablake.)

Mrs O’Neill took over the school’s charity fundraising, setting the school the ambitious target of exceeding previous records; and remarkably we did, raising £24,800 for local, national and international causes. A group of Sixth Formers was particularly active raising money for Macmillan, and received this eulogy from the local organiser ‘I am going to miss them like mad; they are the best fundraising school group I have ever had in Coventry and Warwickshire.’ We have been increasingly active with our outreach programmes, with staff teaching music, science, design technology and language master classes in local primary schools. At the same time, we have sought to further improve the pastoral and spiritual nurture of our pupils and to celebrate the rich diversity of our community. We were awarded our International Cross of Nails in recognition of our commitment to peace and reconciliation both in and beyond school, and a Sikh and Hindu society as well as a Moslem Prayer Group have been established. (Sian Brahach and Simran Bansal, leading lights in the Sikh and Hindu Society, said more.) The success of our school community is underpinned by the dedication of support staff and teachers, committed to the progress, care and happiness of our pupils. Inspectors recognised excellent teaching and pastoral care and said that ’the extensive range of extra-curricular activities is a key factor in the development of pupils’ outstanding personal qualities’. Perhaps the highlight of the whole inspection for me was when an inspector passed me in the corridor on the last day and said simply: ‘I do love your school!’

We bade a fond farewell to several outstandingly loyal colleagues who have loved Bablake and its pupils and retired in the summer: Mrs Gail Timothy, Head of Modern Foreign Languages since 1998, was particularly keen to ensure that pupils enjoyed a ‘living’ experience of language-learning, and her form-members always benefited richly from her outstanding care. Mr Chris Mellers, Head of Religious Studies from 1992, saw the subject go from strength to strength. Beyond the department, he played a very significant role in the spiritual and pastoral life of our community. He organised community service, law extension, assemblies, the carol service and supported the Parents’ Association. In his final year he established the role of Chaplain. Mrs Chris Scott, teacher of Girls’ P.E. since 1988, always insisted on high standards and healthy participation, and was notably successful with her netball teams; she supported the work of the Careers Department, and as, Head of Third Year, worked tirelessly towards positive and practical outcomes for those in her care. Mr Simon Timothy joined us in 1987 to teach Mathematics and Computing. Asked to co-ordinate IT in 1993, he oversaw the school’s provision of computing courses during a time of exponential technological change. He was also a House Head, and latterly a highly respected Sixth Form Tutor. Mr Steve Jackson completed a remarkable 39 years’ service - a very successful career characterised by a passion for Geography and for the British weather. Establishing the Bablake Weather Station in 1977, he achieved national recognition for his expertise in this area and for his unique work with young weather-forecasters. Head of Geography from 1992, he was also involved in numerous other aspects of school life, including once bearing the enigmatic title Master i/c vehicles on school premises!

We wish all of these colleagues happy and healthy retirements, and I would ask you to join with me in showing your gratitude not only to them but to all the staff, teaching and support, whose relentless aim, with me, is quite simply to give our pupils the best possible preparation for life. I would also like to thank our Governors, who give generously of their time and expertise to advise us and to ensure the current and future well-being of the Foundation schools, especially Mr Atkins. He has somehow managed to maintain at least a modicum of sanity whilst juggling the demands of his work as a QC, of his own family and indeed of the family of Foundation schools, which he has served with great dedication and, I should stress, even-handedness despite his own mis-spent school days nearby. Mr Atkins, we are particularly grateful to you and hope that life will be just a little bit quieter next year! And a final ‘thank-you’ to you, our parents, for your tremendous support, and our Parents’ Association whose enthusiasm and hard work enable us to enhance the education we offer and to ensure that all parents are made to feel a part of our extended family.

It is now my great pleasure to welcome our guest of honour, Mr Ben Duffy. You have no doubt read his brief biography in your programmes and it is highly likely that you will have seen some of his very accomplished work in newspapers or on the covers of magazines. Its quality is far removed from my holiday snaps (which somehow never quite capture the moment) and from the craze for smartphone selfies! And, in a first for Bablake prize-givings, we are going to enjoy an illustrated speech. Although I’m sure it’s not all glamour, Ben clearly enjoys his work, as reflected in a couple of comments from the work blog on his website: ‘An afternoon of new ventures, sun and great camera chat, who could ask for more?….I love these jobs.’ When I spoke to him on the phone last Friday, he casually dropped into the conversation that he would probably be flying back on Wednesday or Thursday from a job in Barcelona. Someone you might have heard of: Lionel Messi! Well, Ben, we look forward to hearing and indeed seeing in due course! In the meantime, we would be honoured if you would present this year’s prizes…