When I was a wee lad, I was intrigued by a phenomenon called pop culture. It has been defined as many things, among them, the culture that is “left over” when we have decided what high culture is. Have you noticed that now there is an altogether different ‘pop’ culture which has been newly minted by the service industry.
Go into a bank today and you will be invited to pop your plastic into their card machine. Need to enter into some communication? You will be asked to pop a letter in the post. Say you will come back later, and you will be requested to pop in whenever it suits. The idea of being urged to pop something into a machine, or even to hop up onto a doctor’s surgery bed is a device designed to reduce my pain; to make my life easy; to sugar my pill; to do me a favour.
It reminds me – as did watching my compatriot Andy Murray at the weekend – that nothing has ever been achieved without sustained effort. And that maxim applies when one considers the challenges faced by competitive runners and swimmers and all sportsmen and women.
So, before I invite you all to ‘pop’ into the School for our long awaited Christmas Fayre, I must just jot down some highlights of a great week of sport for Blue Coat.
What an end we had to last week! Our cross country runners really shone at the RGS Worcester Schools Cross Country event. We competed against schools such as Warwick, Bilton Grange and Bromsgrove to name just a few. Our children did amazingly well with a host of top three finishes in the individual events. Our U9 and U11 girls’ teams were crowned Girls’ Champions; an amazing achievement. I would like to thank the sports staff for preparing the children so well for this event.
In the swimming pool, we drew in a tense gala with Bromsgrove School. This was an event that we should have won. With a clear focus and organisation, I am confident that we will do so in the future.
Also worthy of note are the the impressive results for some of our swimmers and martial arts specialists outside school. A special mention to Maia for an amazing haul of medals at the Boldmere Open swimming event, to Fintan for his silver medal at the European Jiu Jitsu Championships and to Charlie for his silver medal at the British Championships for Taekwondo. There is certainly talent in abundance at the School.
Monday of this week saw the start of the ABRSM music exams in the Chapel. The examiner said that not only were the children well prepared but that they showed impeccable manners. As Christmas fast approaches, may I remind all children to work hard on any choral or instrumental pieces that they will perform in the many Advent/Christmas celebrations.
As I write, the Sports Centre is a hive of activity as our extremely hard working volunteers from the Friends transform it ready for Santa’s visit to the Christmas Fayre tomorrow. Please do come along and share some Seasonal Cheer! It promises to be a great day for the school and the wider community. Again a quick reminder; if you wish to support behind the scenes, please click on this link.
On Sunday at 4.00pm, the Chapel Choir will be singing at St Philip’s Cathedral as part of the annual Advent Processional. If you are in the vicinity, do come along and hear our outstanding choristers in full voice.
It has been so encouraging to speak to a good number of you over the last few weeks at parents’ evenings. It is clear we are a thriving school on an upward trajectory. Thank you for the positive comments and for helping us identify areas to develop. To reach the summit, even an excellent school must listen and act upon advice.
A special thank you to the staff in all areas of School life for their support and dedication to the children in their care.
NOEL NEESON | HEADMASTER
