Mr Spanswick's Words Summer 10

During this morning’s assembly I showed our boys a video clip of Derek Redmond’s 400 metre Olympic final race from the 1992 Olympics. I thought it may be an apt theme for our Sports Day today. For those of you who might be unaware of this quite epic display of courage, Derek Redmond tore his hamstrings badly with 150m to go and broke down in pain. However, so determined was he to finish the race that he, with the help of his Dad who came sprinting onto the track, crossed the finish line some 3 minutes after the last competitor.

Your sons watched in awe and in stunned silence as I asked them to consider who the real winner of the race was, who did they have most respect for, and whether this altered their perception of what a gold medal is for. My video finished with words ‘Failure does not define you’, and the boys agreed with me that courage and integrity were the two greatest values that they saw in this race. Over the course of the last 21 years where I have taken hundreds of assemblies, I cannot remember a group of boys who were lost in thought so genuinely, and who were so moved by the images they saw. As a teacher, it was one of those moments when you remember vividly why you chose this profession!

And success has come in many formats this week, from our Year 3-6 swimmers outstanding performances at a Gala last night, to our Reception boys wonderful work at Forest school. Our school is a very busy place as well, with concerts to prepare for, prize givings to sort out, and for teachers, the small matter of reports to write! With so much activity going on in school, I hope you find our text message reminders helpful, and they allow you to keep up to date with all of the events that are on the horizon.

Our Summer Fete last week was a tremendous success and many thanks to Ana Sidders and her brilliant team who organised such a lovely community event. The weather was kind to us, the boys excelled in their efforts to raise money (and spend money!), and a large sum has been raised which will go directly towards the pupils’ education. Thank you very much to all of you who were able to attend.

On Wednesday I was relieved of my duties as Headteacher…….Max and Jack Terry were the school’s Heads for the day, and they put me to shame with their outstanding running of the school. Please do look at our news for some photos of them - they have both certainly got a talent for education, and Max very clearly stated to my teachers at the staff meeting (which they ran) that Pokemon cards should be allowed in school, and should not be banned! Well done boys, you are welcome back any time!

I hope you all enjoy your weekend, and I look forward to seeing you in school at one of our events soon.

Justin Spanswick