'A School for Adventurous Minds' - the Headmaster's Prizegiving Speech

Good evening, and a warm welcome to all of you to our annual Prizegiving ceremony. Can I add my thanks to those of the Chair of Governors to Mr Drury and our wonderful musicians, especially given the very eclectic nature of this evening’s repertoire. This is the second time in the space of three days that a large audience in this Sports Hall has been entertained by some very talented KES pupils; in Tuesday’s Whole School assembly, whose theme was “Why do humans sing?”, a group of very brave singers gave a stunning a capella rendition of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’. With a bit of beat boxing thrown in, it was an intriguing mix of Jeff Buckley and the Flying Pickets and no doubt somewhat nerve-wracking for the performers. It was also rather nerve-wracking for the Headmaster, as the video clip I was hoping to show to illustrate how singing can bind us tribally – namely Freddie Mercury’s memorable call and recall interplay with 72,000 Live Aid fans at Wembley all those years ago – failed to load. We waited … and waited … and – honestly – I was this close to doing the whole audience participation routine myself when, after what was probably only 30 seconds or so, but felt like 10 minutes – our fantastic IT technician, Luke, managed to resolve things. I was initially mightily relieved, as I suspect were the pupils and staff, but over the last couple of days that sense of relief has been replaced with a tinge of regret as I wonder: did I miss my ultimate moment of karaoke glory – or, more likely, karaoke infamy? I suppose what I am saying is, if I suddenly put on a crown, don a flowing ermine robe and a large false moustache and start strutting around with the microphone, shouting ‘dayoh’, I hope that you’ll understand the context and maybe join in ….

That mix of slightly worried excitement and nervous anticipation, with a good dose of adrenaline and joy thrown in, is, I am quite sure, something to which our guest of honour this evening is no stranger. Dr Gavin Bate is introduced on the front cover of your programme as Mountaineer, Adventurer, Social Entrepreneur and Philanthropist and Fellow at Oxford Brookes University, which sounds so much more impressive than my one word title, ‘Headmaster’. As someone who has climbed Mounts Everest and Aconcagua six times each, Kilimanjaro and Kenya over 100 times in total and led expeditions across the Sahara and to the North Pole, amongst other destinations, Gavin’s credentials as an adventurer are incontestable, and the social and moral focus that underpins his entrepreneurial ventures means that he is also often in demand as a speaker and adviser to businesses, NGOs and others seeking to develop ethical management structures and sustainable initiatives. But it’s in his capacity as the founder of the charity, Moving Mountains – and its travel arm, Adventure Alternative - that Gavin is known to us here at KES. In the last decade, over 160 pupils and staff have taken part in our 5 trips to Kenya and, in 2018, Tanzania in a partnership that has undoubtedly had a profound impact on everyone involved. What guides and motivates Gavin, apart from an evident social and ecological conscience and perhaps a desire to make a difference in the world, is, if I have understood his words correctly, quite a simple mantra, but one which I would strongly advise the pupils sitting here this evening to take on board. Gavin writes: "It seems to me that in my life I am either on an expedition or planning one. A lot of the motivation comes from wanting to see dreams come true. From crossing the Sahara on my own in the early days to running rehabilitation camps for hundreds of street children in the shanty towns of Kenya, to climbing Everest and having made such great and good friends along the way."

"Thinking back on all those small adventures, I recall so many moments that have become exceptional. They started off as dreams, idle thoughts that developed through long days and nights to become a Plan. I love the joy, the satisfaction and the sense of living when those dreams became reality, rolled into new experiences and eventually turned to memories."

I don’t know whether it was always his dream to be the Guest of Honour at King Edward’s School’s Prizegiving ceremony, but I hope that it’s an enjoyable new experience that eventually becomes a pleasant memory, and I do know that you have made some good friends along the way. Gavin – thank you for agreeing to be our Prizegiver, and we look forward to hearing from you later.

The tagline for King Edward’s this year is ‘The School for Adventurous Minds’, and so it is particularly appropriate to have someone with Gavin’s background as our Prizegiver. But do we deliver on the promise of that tagline?

Well, the pupils certainly encountered much last year that gave them food for thought and challenged their ability to cogitate, posit, argue and solve. A wonderful Wroughton Lecture, given by Professor Sir Christopher Frayling, reflected on ‘Frankenstein: The First 200 Years’ and invited us to contemplate Mary Shelley’s legacy from a literary, political, social and scientific perspective. Another successful MUN trip to Manchester was followed by the School’s best ever result at the Bath International Conference, bringing home 4 individual commendations, 5 highly commended awards and three gavels for ‘best delegates’. The team also won the overall ‘best delegation’ award, a superb achievement. The English department launched an exciting new journalism competition, whilst our online writers continued to produce considered and impressively wrought pieces on topics such as climate change, rare earth elements, the role of music in helping to treat dementia and the ethical implications of genetic engineering. There was even a critique of Game of Thrones.

Pupils won prestigious local competitions, such as Bath MP, Wera Hobhouse’s, Speech Writing Challenge, commemorating the centenary of women’s right to vote, as well as hotly contested national trophies, with ‘Fractal’ being crowned joint UK champions in the Land Rover 4x4 Challenge, having gained the awards for ‘best engineered car’ and ‘best presentation folder’. Sowing the seeds for such grand engagement down the line, KES also had two teams in the regional tournament for the First Lego (Robotics) League. And teams in the regional finals of the Geography World Wise Quiz; and the Royal Society of Chemists’ Young Analysts Competition; and the Salters Festival of Chemistry competition; they were multiple winners in Biology, Physics and Maths Olympiads; our pupils heard lectures from renowned Princeton University Professors of Classics and from leading experts in the field of Psychology; chatted with world authorities on the Philosophy of Religion; created their own successful Enterprise Group, the catchily named ‘Punk Panda; they wrote fairy tales …. in French, German and Spanish; and were runners-up in a UNESCO World Heritage Conference held in Suzhou in South East China. Year 9 members of our gender equality society, Aloud!, presented to their Sixth Form peers in assembly and collected pledges from the school community on International Women’s Day, KES Pride discussed the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, members of the Christian Union contemplated the concept of suffering in faith, whilst Socrates Club attendees discussed topics ranging from Brexit to the role of charity within society to the Cartesian assertion that the individual is a union of body and mind. A school for adventurous minds? I think so. And insofar as travel broadens the adventurous mind, so many school trips last year stand out as being engines of inspiration: language exchanges to France, Spain and Germany, a cultural tour to China, a Classics trip to Greece, a History and Politics visit to Berlin, Activities week adventures in Barcelona, Iceland, Paris and Holland, to name just some.

But these are not just adventurous minds. KES is also, without any doubt, a school for creative minds. Last year saw the launch of the 6th KES Anthology of Poetry and Short Stories, vast numbers of Creative Writing awards again at the Mid-Somerset Festival and several successes at a national level, with KES pupils winning the Worldwide Fund for Nature’s poetry competition, the BAAS Student Essay prize for a piece on the representation of women in early 20th century American literature and the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association’s Young Romantics prize for an essay on Byron’s ‘Manfred’. The Art and Photography department made great use of their fantastic new design suite, whilst another hugely impressive school exhibition was accompanied by a fascinating talk by Dr Chris Stephens, Director of the Holburne Museum, on his curation of the Tate’s 2017 record-breaking David Hockney show. It was another very busy year for our musicians; the Autumn Colours concert provided uplifting entertainment on a very cold evening. KES pupils also stepped in at the last minute to perform to an invited audience at the launch of the Holburne’s Gainsborough exhibition (whisper it quietly, but feedback from guests at the time suggested that the pupils were even more entertaining than the paintings!). There was a successful renaissance of the ‘Battle of the Bands’ competition, a continuation of our sectional masterclasses, in association with Bath Philharmonia and a new choral venture, with KES Men performing alongside the Gallery Singers (from London) in St Swithin’s Church. For the second time in the last four years, KES also had a representative at the Bath Young Musician of the Year event (and will have another next week). There was an inaugural Spring Colours concert, another superb Holburne Soloists’ concert and our now annual KES Soul charity concert. Mid Somerset Festival successes included the Senior Orchestra winning the Berryman Orchestral Cup with a wonderfully professional performance and KES Wind being awarded the Lamb Orchestral Trophy. The theme for our annual Gala Concert, again performed in the Guildhall in partnership with Bath Philharmonia, was ‘A Night at the Movies’; it went down a storm, and I’m sure that I wasn’t the only audience member of a certain age who delighted in being transported back to childhood memories of Steven Spielberg and James Bond. Another new venture saw a ‘Choral Extravaganza’, whilst KES Soul again wowed audiences at Bath’s ‘Party in the City’.

As ever, it seems, our drama productions last year involved a cast and crew of thousands. OK, maybe a slight exaggeration, but definitely hundreds, with double casting again the order of the day to try to ensure that as many pupils as possible were able to take part. Brecht’s ‘Caucasian Chalk Circle’ was colourful, engaging, in many ways uplifting and certainly powerfully thought-provoking, a hard-hitting reflection on political and social inequality and the abuse of power by a privileged few. No, you’ve not just switched on Channel 4 news – I really am still talking about Brecht. The Lower School production of ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ featured not only ingenious casting and vibrant acting of the highest order, but a truly amazing set in the round and undoubtedly – in the form of Aslan the lion – one of the greatest pieces of puppeting wizardry to grace the Wroughton Theatre; he was every bit as magnificent, graceful and the same time terrifying as you might have imagined him to be. One of the highlights of the year for our Drama department – indeed for the whole school – was the opening of our new Centre for Drama, The Rose, with the marvellous Tom Morris, Artistic Director of the Bristol Old Vic, cutting the ribbon on a venue equipped to the highest professional standards for curriculum teaching and learning, performance and, of course, our growing and very successful LAMDA programme. A school for creative minds? Most definitely. And it’s not just me who thinks so; in recognition of our inspiring opportunities and wide range of high quality offerings in Music and Drama, King Edward’s was last year acclaimed by the Independent School Parent magazine – I hope you have a copy on your coffee table – ahead of quite a few very well known establishments as the Performing Arts School of the Year.

So, a school for adventurous and creative minds. What about a school for healthy bodies? Well, I’m glad you asked. It was, undoubtedly, one of the most successful years of sport at KES that I can recall, not just in terms of results and individual and team successes, but perhaps more importantly in terms of participation, with around two thirds of the pupils regularly representing the School across a range of sports over the course of the year. But the results were also pretty good: our rugby ‘A’ teams won over 70% of their fixtures on a deliberately challenging circuit; this included an unbeaten season for the U12s, who also won the Port Regis 7s tournament, and, in the form of a 62-5 demolition of Bryanston, possibly the best 1st XV performance I have seen in my 14 years at the School.  Outstanding progress was shown by the U13s, who were victorious in all but one (very close!) of their fixtures, including significantly reversing some results from last year to inflict defeats on several previously unbeaten sides. They also won the Clayesmore 7s tournament. The boys in that year group also finished third in the Hockey regional finals, having been runners-up in their county tier competition. The U14s almost followed suit, finishing 3rd in their section, whilst the 1st XI and U16s both made it through to the last 16 of their tier in the national competition, beating the likes of Millfield and Cheltenham College along the way. In over 100 block hockey fixtures, KES teams won or drew nearly ¾ of their matches. In girls’ hockey, a young 1st XI team performed impressively without necessarily always gaining the results that their play deserved, however the A teams for the U12, U13, U14 and U15 won or drew almost two thirds of their block fixtures, reflecting the significant progress made in girls’ hockey in the last few years. The U13s, U14s and U16s all progressed as county champions or runners-up in their ‘tiers’, whilst the U18s were crowned county indoor champions. The U14 and U16 netballers made it through the District matches to qualify for their respective County tournaments, whilst the U19s were County Champions for the fourth year in a row and the sixth time in the last 8 years! They also performed superbly at the regional finals, finishing 3rd in their group and so narrowly missing out on the chance to qualify for the national finals. They were very nearly unbeaten again in block fixtures, losing just once in the season; that makes just 13 defeats in over 150 matches in the last 13 years! The U13s enjoyed a successful mini tour to Exeter, and it was also a great pleasure to welcome to KES one of England’s finest netballers (indeed, one of the best players in the world), Serena Guthrie, who gave a series of coaching masterclasses to girls from Year 5 upwards and who also spoke in inspiring tones to a packed whole school assembly. One of the highlights of the cricket season was seeing the girls, who have progressed up through the ages in recent years, play their first ever senior 1st XI match for King Edward’s (which they won resoundingly). With a mixed programme now firmly embedded in the summer term and a good blend of hard and soft ball being played, there will surely be many more to come. The boys again showed their talents with ball and bat, including a KES century in an U13 game, a remarkable achievement, whilst at the upper age end the 1st XI enjoyed a successful pre-season tour to Dubai and another outstanding cricket week, competing well against the MCC and pulling off a nail-biting last wicket victory against a very good touring side from Sydney, Australia. Along the way, they also convincingly won the Bath Schools T20 cup, played in glorious sunshine at Bath Cricket Club.

It was also a pleasure to witness fantastic levels of participation and success in a number of our so-called ‘minor’ sports, with regional and national qualification for many individuals and teams coming through in Swimming, Biathlon, Showjumping and Tae Kwondo, where one KES pupil won bronze and silver medals at the World Championships. We also had 4 pupils representing Avon at the South West Schools’ Cross Country championship, with 3 going on to compete at English Schools level and two of those also being crowned regional indoor 1,500m champions. Our tennis programme is always a careful balancing act involving a short summer term, a full cricket schedule and the small matter of those pesky exams, however I believe I’m on safe ground when I say I don’t think we have ever before at KES had a span across the age groups of so many talented tennis players, including several who are part of the LTA’s academy pathway up at the university; I look forward to seeing how they progress in the coming years. Meanwhile, although KES football supremo, Jürgen Chapman, confessed that it was “not a vintage title-winning season”, there were plenty of goals and lots of entertainment on offer, including a 6-4 victory for the 1st XI against Dauntsey’s and a penalty shoot-out win for the 2nd XI against the same school which was apparently celebrated with – and again I quote – “the biggest pile-on in KES history.” I must confess, I didn’t know we still had those …. Amongst many additional individual sporting accolades, KES pupils were selected for Team Bath Netball Performance League squads, signed junior contracts with Reading FC Academy, represented Somerset County Cricket Club’s senior 2nd XI, played for England Rugby U18s and signed professional contracts with Bath Rugby. 
So, yes, definitely a school for healthy bodies, but not just in a sporting sense. There was plenty more on offer last year to challenge our pupils physically, as well as mentally, with around 150 pupils engaging in the different levels of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme and often having to cope with very tricky conditions in areas such as the New Forest or the Brecon Beacons. Last year also saw a number of KES pupils complete their Gold award whilst still at school, previously always a tough ask because of timing and other commitments. Two teams of KES pupils successfully covered a combined total of 80 miles of Dartmoor hills and bogs as part of the Ten Tors challenge, whilst our intrepid CCF cadets were put through their paces on exercises such as ‘First Chance’, as well as at a very successful summer camp and demanding promotional course. Of all those adventures that broadly come under the umbrella of ‘outdoor pursuits’, perhaps the most challenging was undertaken not by KES pupils – although I know that last summer’s high altitude trek in Ladakh in the foothills of the Himalayas was no stroll in the park – but by a KES member of staff, as Mr Laney bravely – I think that’s the right word? – and successfully took on the Dragon’s Back Race, a 315 kilometre self-navigated journey from north to south Wales. It took him 5 days, he raised a significant amount of money for the School’s charity and I believe he was heard to cross the finishing line muttering the words ‘never again.’

So, a school for adventurous and creative minds and healthy and adventurous bodies. I can see the Marketing team getting a bit worried. But I’m going to suggest a couple more. The first is ‘the school for compassionate souls’. What do I mean by that? Well, that fantastic level of engagement with the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award that I mentioned included more than 2,000 pupil hours of voluntary work in the local and wider community. The intrepid CCF cadets that I mentioned played their part in a moving Remembrance Day parade by carrying the replica ‘hurricane lamp’ into the Abbey during the commemorative service. They also gave up their time to support the ceremonial unveiling of a memorial to victims of the Bath Blitz over 75 years ago.

Those talented KES musicians that I mentioned played, as KES Baroque, to staff, patients and their families at the RUH to mark the start of a new fundraising initiative in collaboration with Art at the Heart and The Forever Friends Appeal to help raise funds for the new Dyson Cancer Centre that will be built there. It is anticipated that over the next few years, KES pupils will lend their musical talents to events to help raise funds for a piano that will reside in the new Cancer Centre.

KES pupils also again did a fantastic job organising the 11th BANES Youth Climate Conference, attended by over 100 pupils from different Bath schools. They put together a very engaging programme of workshops and speakers, including the renowned environmentalist, Jonathon Porritt, highlighting the importance of reflecting on our environmental future and focussing on solutions to the current crisis.
Meanwhile, our 6th Form Community Service programme went from strength to strength, with over 40 pupils last year volunteering in local primary and infant schools, in care homes such as the Peggy Dodd Centre, and at the RUH.

KES pupils also threw themselves into raising both awareness and money for our new Senior School charities last year, the World Wildlife Fund and the Bath based Mental Health charity, Off The Record. These followed on from the School’s support for two cancer charities (Cancer Research UK and MacMillan) between 2016 and 2018. By the final reckoning, over the last three years, KES pupils, parents and staff had raised well over £40,000 towards these good causes. We were also delighted to be able to host a Fashion Show in the Wroughton Theatre in support of Ethiopiaid. Speaking of Ethiopia, two KES pupils headed off there last year to take part in the Women First 5km run in Addis Ababa as part of their fundraising campaign to raise money for a local school for blind children. Despite the scorching heat, they finished in an impressive time and raised well over £20,000 in the process. And it’s not just our pupils leading the way. Inspired by the School’s link with Moving Mountains, Miss Perries returned to Kenya to the Embu Rescue Centre and spent several weeks teaching music to the local street children, often in classes of 50 or more, whilst Mrs Bruton’s latest wonderful novel, No Ballet Shoes in Syria, was launched in the Wessex Building not just to great critical acclaim, but also to help raise funds and awareness for Mr B’s bookshop’s partner charity, Bath Welcomes Refugees.

Having heard all of that, I trust that my suggestion of ‘the school for compassionate souls’ makes clear sense.·

I hope that my final offering isn’t too controversial: King Edward’s, a school for clever children. Or, as it’s apparently still known in some quarters, the academic hothouse. Well, let’s examine the evidence. Last year was the seventh in a row in which the Headmaster was able to utter that beloved phrase ‘record breaking exam results’. These included over 30% A* grades at A Level, a new high, and over 60% A* and A grades for the seventh year running. Over 40% of pupils gained only A* or A grades in all their subjects. Those results allowed nearly 90% of our leavers to progress to their first choice course and university, many to some of the top institutions in the country. Indeed, a third of KES pupils starting their degrees this year are doing so at the top 10 ranked UK universities, according to the recently published Times Higher Education guide. Another impressive GCSE year saw close to half of entries being awarded an A*, 9 or 8 grade, with nearly a quarter of the pupils gaining 8 or more of those. So yes, a school for clever children, to which the ranks of prizewinners here before me this evening in part testify. But not just clever: hard working, motivated, ambitious, well supported, pastorally as well as academically, both at school and at home. And, as you’ve probably worked out by the fact that I’ve left this section to the end of my speech, that academic success which I will unapologetically celebrate is clearly not at the expense of all those other points of engagement that help to make KES pupils the interesting, caring, thoughtful, well-rounded and very personable characters that they are.

As I’ve been gathering epithets during the course of my speech, I think I’ve realised that I may have gone too far. “The school for adventurous and creative minds, healthy and adventurous bodies, compassionate souls and clever children” doesn’t quite trip off the tongue as I’d hoped. Like the rebranding of my home town’s football ground as the University of Bolton Stadium, it’s got too many letters to fit on the signs. So perhaps we should stick with the school for adventurous minds, which encompasses most of the others anyway and which, as I hope I have shown this evening, is, at the very least, absolutely true.

I’d like to finish by thanking everyone – parents, grandparents, friends, Governors and, of course, our wonderful teaching and support staff – for all that you do to create the environment in which KES pupils can thrive and be happy. And to all our pupils, including the very deserving prizewinners here tonight but also to those who are not here, I say well done, keep aiming high and, in the words of Freddie Mercury …..