Today we celebrated Comic Relief. A big thank you to our Heads of School for organising this event. Again it was great to see the whole School community focusing on people less fortunate than themselves. We all love dressing up, do we not? It seems to me that men’s fashion has gone a bit dull in recent times. In the Elizabethan era, to be a colourful, snappy dresser was not frowned upon, rather looked upon as a testament to a sense of flair and individual style.
Yes, in Walter Raleigh’s day, it was fine to be considered a dandy. Now, if you are called a ‘popinjay’, you are thought to be a strutting, supercilious fellow. On the subject of popinjays, I learned from a waiting room magazine lately that my word of the week is the old-fashioned name for a parrot. And that it was abbreviated to ‘jay’, to denominate that brightly coloured member of the crow family, the one which, curiously, was responsible for the might of the English fleet over the centuries. Apparently, fond of acorns, the jay collects them, stores them in the ground and – with a remarkable sense of orientation – returns in winter to dig them up feed. Many get left in the ground, and, of course in the fullness of time, become oak trees. In turn, the wood produces oak trees. And from them our great British navy was built.
History lesson over, Comic Relief outfits stowed away for another year, red noses shelved, we look ahead to our very own domestic major charity event next week; St George’s House day. Bags of hard work is going on in preparation, and bags of hard work clearly went into preparation for the Heats for our annual BCS Young Musician of the Year Event. Feedback from Mr Nicklin was extremely positive. I must thank him and all the children who are taking part in this musical showcase. Please can I encourage Pre-Prep and Prep parents and children to come along to the Gala Concert which takes place next Wednesday evening at 6pm.
This week and next, BCS will be the host school for the ESSA and IAPS National Swimming heats. These prestigious events have never been held at the School before. Teams from across the county will compete for places in the National finals at Sheffield and Olympic Swimming Pool in London later in the year. A big thank you to all the Sports and Estates staff for making these events happen.
I must mention that last Sunday our cross country team competed in the Nationals at Malvern College. All the runners represented the School with great determination and pride. Well done to all!
Last week’s winner of my World Book Day Quiz were, The De Bono Family and The Longworth Family. They received their chocolate treats at Chapel this morning. The answers to ‘Writers of Seven Famous First Lines’ were: Harry Potter (J.K.Rowling), David Copperfield (Charles Dickens), Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte), Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll), The Twits (Roald Dahl), Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen), Rebecca ( Daphne du Maurier).
This Friday afternoon I donned my BCS tracksuit to coach the Under 8 D team. I was proud of those lads! They worked their socks off. Well done to all our young stars for their hard work. I was honoured and proud to see them play with such enthusiasm.
Finally, do please check your calendar for a very busy few weeks ahead. Have a great weekend. Will the saltyre be flying high on Monday or will it be at half mast! The Scots are certainly due a win at Twickenham. It’s been a long 36 years….!
Mr Noel Neeson | Headmaster
