Dear Parents
As I said to the boys in chapel on Tuesday, I was very lucky to have enjoyed an extra long holiday. So I have to thank Rob Riches who so ably managed the school in my absence. It really was a wonderful break and experience.
I returned home a few days before the end of the term and so was able to join the U13A Cricket side at the Selborne Cricket Festival in East London which, apart from some really hectic wind, was a very enjoyable three days. The boys acquitted themselves well, playing some good cricket and winning three out of their four games.
But being a teacher, what stood out even more for me was their behavior and interaction with others. After their first game the umpires looked for me to tell me what an absolute pleasure it was to spend 100 overs on the pitch with our boys. They were so impressed with their friendliness, the way they engaged with the opposition and their excellent manners. Host parents gave us similar feedback but the most unexpected comment was from a shop assistant in the mall where the boys went for lunch before flying home.
The boys had some free time before lunch and so strolled around the centre. When I went into one of the shops and came to pay at the till, the assistant, seeing the Bishops crest on my shirt, asked if I was with the group of boys that was in the centre and went on to tell me how polite they were.
This is what teachers and parents always hope to hear; that their boys are naturally polite without us standing over them exacting the behavior but rather that their interaction with others, essentially strangers, is naturally polite and friendly. Not manners as a duty or automatic ritual but manners as part of respect for others and engagement with them. And this is what we aim for with all our boys.
It’s good to be back. Best wishes for a good final term.
Kind regards
GREG BROWN
HEADMASTER |
