Category: Head’s Blog

19th October 18

There has been much in the media recently about the challenge presented by dyslexia. We have had a week dedicated to the subject. Vast strides have been taken in understanding its nature, and finding ways to circumvent the difficulties that it causes. Of course, the early identification of signs of dyslexia in the education environment…

12th October 18

‘What is this life,’ asked W H Davies, ‘if we have no time to stand and stare?’ This week, we made time. And I was reminded of another poem that I came across back a while, which has some great images and a Zen quality. Allow me to quote Norman McCaig in full. I took…

12th October 18

U11 Cross Country Meet at Abberley Hall Date: Thursday 11th October Result: Boys – 2nd place overall. 1st Place William Smallwood. Girls Overall winners. 1st place Bea Neeson, 2nd place Phoebe Jones. This was our first outing to Abberley Hall Cross Country. We work hard on Tuesday mornings before school and that seems to have…

5th October 18

Biological determinism is an interesting and challenging subject. How much of our achievement should we credit to our forebears, and how much of the credit can we take for ourselves? In other words, to what extent is our potential dictated and limited by our genes, and how much are we thwarted in our ambitions by…

14th September 18

How often have we heard – and indeed made use of – the expression, “Do as I say, not as I do”? It may be when we have just been late for a meeting, chewing a crafty Mars Bar and have found ourselves advocating the advantages of healthy eating, punctuality and thoughtful behaviour. Well this…

7th September 18

On the short walk from home to the School campus this morning, I heard the excitement of children chattering and speaking excitedly about the new developments around the School. This was gratifying. It is so important that the children feel inspired by the innovations that have taken place over the summer break. More significant still,…

13th July 18

MR NEESON’S PRIZEGIVING ADDRESS We all received childhood messages growing up. Some of them will have been positive. Doubtless some were negative. But whatever they were, as sure as eggs are eggs, those childhood messages will never go away. Mums and Dads first. What was your main message, I wonder? Was it the conservationist: “Waste…

22nd June 18

Winning is not everything. The desire to come out on top should surely never be so great that deliberate manipulation of the rules gives one competitor an unfair advantage over another. There is a measure of cynicism in top flight soccer – and, as Phil Mickelson’s US Open antics showed, in top flight golf, too….

15th June 18

Where do those political correspondents say that ‘The Devil’ is to be found? Why, in ‘The Detail’, of course. How often have we heard that tired idiom trotted out recently, especially when Brexit is under discussion. And – of course – when The Mighty Trump goes monosyllabic and hyperbolic to claim a mighty political tour…

8th June 18

It’s Panini time again. No, I am not referring to the flat, grilled, Italian bread roll with the yummy filling; no, I mean that ages-old sticker album craze which comes upon us all every four years. With the World Cup just around the corner, we can expect to see pupils huddled over in corners of…