Dear Parents,
And there you have it, the end of The Beacon School year of 2024-2025. A remarkable year in many ways but which year hasn’t been…it’s simply been more of the same here on Amersham Road. Thank you for your kind words about Speech Day on Wednesday. A number you have remarked to me that my speech must have taken weeks to write but it didn’t really; I started last Monday and had it pretty much finalised by Friday. Noting every boy from Years 4 and above might seem like a arduous task but it’s difficult to go under the radar at The Beacon and when you think of a particular boy, it’s a straightforward step to a number of different threads of association.
Eight weeks of holiday ahead but it’s non-stop on site with several capital projects taking place. The new cricket nets and wickets will be installed and we are taking delivery of a GPS line-marking machine; this really has to be seen to be believed and will add a further dimension to how our pitches are presented on Willsfield – trust me when I say you can have a lot of fun with a line-marking machine. With a local school closing earlier in the week due to the heat, there are no such problems here and the next phase of our air conditioning installation will continue in August along the Year 4 corridor, Year 3 and the Art Room. The refurbishment of many of the toilet facilities in the Pre-Prep and Prep school, as requested by School Council, will start next week and will be operational by the time the boys return in September – good shout boys. An obvious change for parents in September will be the restructure of the front office and welcome area. My office will become the main reception and no longer will you have to ‘buzz’ to enter the building. The ‘old’ reception area will become a Parents’ Meeting Room where I and my colleagues will host meetings with parents, looking out onto the happy tranquillity of the Quad, rather than the busy traffic on Amersham Road. Small changes but we think they will make a big difference to everyone’s experience at the school.
The Beacon does things bigger and better than anyone else, and always with a sense of fun, fellowship and a genuine heart and sense of decency in all that we do. For all of that I attribute to our teaching and support staff; these are our Beacon people – talented, industrious, creative, professional, hilarious – and there is no other group like them in any school that I have been associated with. My thanks to them for another sensational year and I cannot wait to see what they are going to come up with to educate, inspire and provide opportunities for our boys in September; they are all such a joy to work with.
As evidenced at our Summer Ball last Saturday, you, our parents follow the lead of the school and push the boundary for what can be achieved. Your support, enthusiasm, energy, excellent company and overall trust in The Beacon is so appreciated in our Common Room and it is clear that we are all on the same page with our vision for what we collectively feel is ‘Our Beacon’. Thank you for your enormous contribution to what has been such a fulfilling and enjoyable year for us all. To those families leaving us today, be assured you will always be part of us here and welcome to visit at any time. We are only eight years away from our Centenary…that will be some party…and you are all invited.
The Bakers are off to our house in Menorca for just over a month which will be hot but blissful. Initially with 17 year old Joseph and his friends for the first five days…which isn’t strictly what I classify as a holiday but I will run with it. Then as Joseph’s ‘lads’ go home, older son Patrick comes out with his girlfriend Mali – we being now a family of ‘five’ these days – and then some friends of ours join towards the end. All good fun, before we’re ready to go again for Beacon 2025-2026. All I can guarantee is that next year will be like this year…just even better…
Have a great summer,
Nick Baker