Dear Parents,
The sun is shining and we are back for the Summer Term with the familiar trundle of many a cricket bag rolling through the school gates these past few days. Welcome back to everyone, particularly our five new boys – Ollie, Zidan, Dilhan, Saran, Robin – and their families, and also to our new member of staff, Mr Ed Barnett, who joins us on the Games staff from Caldicott. Judging by the many postcards, Beacon boys (and staff) have enjoyed the holidays at home and abroad and are suitably refreshed and energised for an exciting term full of trips, visits and events. The Bakers did not venture far from our home in Berkhamsted; Patrick was back from University and has managed to secure a job at the local golf driving range – good attitude, though currently net negative with family finances as even though he is a earning a few pounds, it’s cost me a few hundred on a new set of clubs he claims he needs to maximise the benefit of working there for an extended period of time…
The Summer Term is, for many, the most enjoyable but it will be bittersweet for a number of our boys and families for whom this will be their last, before departing for their senior schools. For some of these boys, they will have been here for nine years since Reception, and for their parents, an even longer connection if this is the youngest of brothers that have previously been through the school. On Tuesday and on behalf of The Beacon, I attended the funeral of Kris Rose, the school secretary here who spanned three decades in the 70s, 80s and 90s. She considered The Beacon so significant in her life, that she requested the boys sing her favourite hymn, ‘God Be In My Head’, at the service; something we were more than happy to record before the end of last term and sounded sublime when played at the ceremony. With dozens of former staff members, governors and alumni in attendance – the vast majority of whom I did not know – it was moving and very humbling to hear about the school’s impact on Kris and many others in a bygone era. The characters, personalities and stories were all new to me, but the affection for, and spirit of, The Beacon I could absolutely relate to in the present day. These Beacon years truly are golden years and all boys, particularly those leaving us this term, can look forward to a most memorable, and ultimately cherished, next nine weeks.
Have a good weekend,
Nick Baker