I think it’s fair to say that as far as the boys were concerned, they were slightly underwhelmed by Monday’s announcement of the co-ed Nursery. Maybe they were expecting the installation of a waterslide in the Quad, a VR golf simulator or better still a school dog as there seemed to be a collective shrug of the shoulders when they were told the news…at least one of those things will happen in the coming years boys, trust me. Thank you to all those that have emailed me their thoughts; I have been on ISI inspection duties this week on the south coast so it did feel rather that I dropped the announcement and then ran off to the seaside, but I have much appreciated the feedback, and, as I said in the letter on Monday, it will absolutely inform our school development going forward.
As I was on inspection, I missed our Remembrance Service on Tuesday which was a great shame as it is such a poignant and moving day in our annual calendar. Our school community, together as one, during a typical autumnal day in the Quad; well done, and thank you to all those involved in such a perfectly observed and reflective event. The Beacon is always at its best when acknowledging and commemorating a sense of occasion, and Tuesday encapsulated everything that is so impressive about our school.
A different occasion tomorrow when I, together with what seems to be a fair proportion of The Beacon community and the prep school world in general, will be descending on Twickenham for England versus the All Blacks. One of world sport’s great fixtures and the perfect curtain-raiser for what promises to be a great Ashes Series against our other antipodean cousins in the coming weeks. I’m predicting a tight 17-12 victory for England tomorrow and then bullishly, a 3-2 series win and a recapture of the urn in the cricket…you heard it here first…