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Upper Commemoration

Teachers are, as you know, fond of compiling lists of the howlers that their pupils make in exam papers or in interviews. Many are widely known and oft quoted and some fall into the You’ve Been Framed category of having been so obviously contrived that they are clearly works of fiction. But there is an exact opposite to the slip of the pen howler which is when a pupil says or writes something which is not quite what they mean, but which is truer and cleverer than they can possibly realise. For example consider these: “Sir Walter Raleigh is famous because he started smoking”. “The Greeks were a highly sculptured people” and with perhaps even greater complexity of double meaning “Democracy in Athens enabled the people to take the law into their own hands”. “Romeo’s last wish was to be laid by Juliet” (which true in every sense). Or this from an Oxford philosophy entrance paper: “John Stuart Mill wrote that the higher pleasures are mental but the lower pleasures are sensational”. Also from an Oxford entrance paper: “Even atheists recognise the right to practice religion”. I trust that candidate was offered a place to read English in order to learn the meaning of paradox. On the subject of English, Dr. Emma Smith, Tutor in English and Tutor for Admissions at Hertford College, Oxford advises prospective candidates that Oxford interviews are not like Who wants to be a Millionaire: we are not interested in what you know, but in how you think. But knowledge and thought are not mutually exclusive: they are necessary bedfellows because you need to know about something in order to know how to think clearly about it. In other words, despite the evidence to the contrary from the House of Commons, you cannot express thought clearly if you don’t know what you are talking about.

Commemoration Programme

It strikes me that as a nation we have got ourselves into something of a pickle in our approach to education. Our exam system is now wholly based on the notion that the candidates who write answers that most closely correspond to the examiners mark scheme gain the highest marks. Exam success is therefore achieved by learning the template that the marker is using to mark the paper, and from which the marker is not allowed to deviate. In order to win a place at University our pupils have to have very high scores in these exams so to do that they have to spend hours and hours learning and reproducing the templates and model answers in order that they can gain the highest marks. Teachers are responsible for delivering the curriculum specification, which makes them sound like postmen, and helping pupils learn how they can score marks by meeting assessment objectives. We all know it is nonsense yet we have no choice but to go along with it and do it as well as we can. The exam process may require tactical awareness and good technique but it rarely requires much thought and in some cases precious little knowledge either. But then, when the pupils have done exactly what the system requires of them to gain the highest grades, even more nonsensically the system pulls the rug from under the feet of our pupils because whilst we have been processing them through the factory of the school exam system, module by module, through GCSE, AS and A2, we have not, in that examination system prepared any of them for an encounter with the likes of Dr. Emma Smith at Hertford College who wants to know how pupils think. It is not that our pupils can’t think; it is a question of their rarely being asked to do so and so not really knowing how to. So typically a pupil who may have flawless exam scores and can answer questions on prepared topics very competently comes unstuck when asked, for example, ‘Would history be worth studying if it didn’t repeat itself?’ or ‘How would you calculate the inter-atomic spacing of the particles in this room? Or ‘Is any one language better than another?’ and my favourite, ‘What happens if you drop an ant?’ Those are all genuine questions asked by Oxford and Cambridge interviewers. Such questions readily sort out those who can think and who know something. Thinking is not just a luxury, a kind of add on extra for the best University candidates but a necessity for life and a necessity in the workplaces of tomorrow. If you want confirmation of that ask employers what they are looking for when they recruit graduates. So Mr Michael Gove, I set you this challenge. If thinking is so important, then why have we constructed a school exam system that almost wholly militates against it? In all the chatter about categories of school, of Free schools and Academies perhaps Mr Gove should stop listening to trendy headmasters who grab his attention and headlines by throwing away all their library books in the pursuit of happiness, or those who are politically motivated to see education as the last battleground of the class war, and focus instead on what we think as a nation we are doing in educating our young people. The famous Liverpool manager Bill Shankley once said, “Some people think football is a matter of life and death. They are wrong: it’s more important than that”. So is education. At Clifton we make no secret of that, and make it clear that education no less than a matter of the characters and personalities of our pupils. We want to ensure that they grow into the best possible version of the people that they already are; we want them to be able to think for themselves, almost in spite of the exam system, and thereby leave Clifton liberated to do brilliant things with their lives.

Today we celebrate the many brilliant things that our leaving pupils have already done in their lives at Clifton. In preparation for the Inspection in March we catalogued and itemised all of those things. We would be here for a very long time if I listed them all but as you may have read, the inspection report described the school in the most glowing language available to bureaucracy and our music and art as exceptional. In music no fewer than 41 pupils have achieved grades 7, 8 and above in the last year. There are no fewer than 26 group rehearsals each week ranging from Flute quartet to Rock workshop, as well as regular concerts and recitals. The quality of the art you can see for yourselves and few schools send so many pupils on to Art School. Over 50 current pupils have played representative sport at County level or above. The performing arts flourish, as you will know if you saw any of this year’s productions including some truly remarkable House plays. The record of excellence goes across a whole range of activities, trips, tours, expeditions and visits abroad, all of which offer our pupils life-enhancing experiences. But of course it is the issue with which I began, an academic education, and education of the mind, that matters most. Of course the outcome matters too. 80% of those Cliftonians who applied in 2010 were offered places at the Russell group or 1994 group of Universities, that is to say the most prestigious ones, some 5% ahead of comparable schools according to data supplied to us by UCAS.

So many of our pupils excel in so many areas of their lives; one of the purposes of a day like this is to recognise and celebrate their achievements. As is right and proper we will begin with those who have achieved particular intellectual distinction in their studies and then move on to those who have excelled in other areas of school life. The President, Mr Nick Tarsh, will present the prizes.

Prize Giving

The Gordon Hazell Trophy is awarded to a Cliftonian who exemplifies the qualities of dedication, loyalty, generosity and gentleness. The inscription on the plate reads “Sacred thy body even as thy soul”.

What a Clifton education really means is embodied in the pupils themselves. Ladies and gentleman, the current Head of School, George Kinsey.

The Head of School

We pay tribute to the teachers who are moving on although this year, there are relatively few leavers from the Common Room. At Easter we said farewell to Dez Futak who taught Physics, part-time, for 16 years. The reason why Dez worked part time becomes abundantly obvious if you Google him. There his profile describes him as an entrepreneur, internet marketer and astronomy buff. Those interests, particularly his internet marketing company and his beloved Galileo project, an online observatory, have come to demand more and more of his time and so he has decided to relinquish his teaching in order to focus on them. Also retiring from part time teaching at Clifton is David Oyns who has worked for eight years in the Design and Technology department. Like Dez he has outside business interests running a light engineering firm called Trac-access and he has used that expertise to enable many Clifton pupils to compete for and win prestigious Arkwright scholarships in Design. He has also been generous with his time in the RAF section of the CCF. Nicola Bright came to teach Biology in 2007 and has been in charge of Personal, Social and Health education, as well as Assistant Housemistress in Hallward’s. Her husband has been appointed Associate Professor of Maths at the American University in Beirut and so Nic leaves to begin a new life on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea where the University has its own private beach. Not that Nic will be spending much time there; she is a hard worker and will want, I suspect, to further her teaching career there.

Rob Morris came to teach English in September 2004. A Bristol Grammar schoolboy and English graduate Rob returned to Bristol having done a variety of jobs, from working in the professional theatre as a writer and performer to lecturing at Salford University as well as teaching in independent schools. After a while it became quite clear that although a literary but by no means bookish man, live theatre was his first love and Rob moved from English to Drama. His productions here at Clifton, such as The Canterbury Tales crackled with innovative and exciting ideas. I think it is fair to say that Rob had exacting requirements of those who wanted to work with him but the rewards were there for those who could see the benefit of the self-discipline and single-minded dedication to the craft he emphasised was essential. His swansong this term, the Third Form players’ performance of “Our Town” a week or so ago, saw Rob sign off from the Redgrave Theatre on a high note. I enjoyed sitting next to him for all of the House plays each year, particularly when he was so enthused by what he saw that he indulged in his trademark crocodile clapping and his stentorian voice boomed out his specially written poems in the interval of the Oscars ceremony on the Friday morning after the shows. Earlier in the year Rob gave an assembly about his travels in Morocco and his interest in other cultures was apparent so it is perhaps no surprise that Rob is heading off to run Drama at a British International school in China and will no doubt use the opportunity to travel widely in the Far East.

Olivia Boyer, who retires this term, was appointed by the then headmaster Stuart Andrews in 1988 and has therefore worked at Clifton for 23 years. Part-time at first then full time from 1992 Olivia has had a variety of roles but one thing has remained constant: during all of that time Olivia has been a Tutor in Worcester House, which must be some kind of record. Originally employed to teach English, which she still does, Olivia set up the department for English as a Second Language and retains the now anachronistic title of Master in charge of International students. Along the way she has become a qualified Inspector of schools, Associate Tutor for the Bristol University Teacher Training course and helped in the Marketing and Admissions department, as it was called back in the days when those two things were of necessity closely related. So Olivia has seen and done a great deal at Clifton. Pragmatic and sensible in all that she does, Olivia has decided to takes a well-deserved retirement and heads off for some of the year at least to her home in Turkey. So leavers from Clifton are moving to the Lebanon, China and Turkey but one person who will be staying in Bristol in Chris Gardiner who retires from the Maths department after 28 years.

Photo Gallery

Another Stuart Andrews appointment, Chris came from teaching maths in comprehensive schools in London to be master in charge of technical activities and to teach Maths. Like Olivia, Chris has had many roles including: Examinations Officer, Head of Careers, Section Head of the RAF and Master in charge of Educational Visits. Unlike Olivia he has been a Tutor in a number of houses namely North Town, Polack’s, East Town and Watson’s. Like all good schoolmasters he has acquired an affectionate nickname and year on year he has produced very good maths results. His contribution has been considerable. His wife Nicky who many of you will remember retired from teaching in Butcombe last year; not surprisingly and very sensibly Chris has decided to join her.

Let us wish them all well in their various new ventures and thank them all for all that they have done for Clifton...

We also said farewell after a long and distinguished Clifton career to the Head Groundsman Nigel Peacock. During his time Beggars Bush has been transformed from an open space of rocky fields into one of the finest sports and leisure facilities for miles around. The new Head Groundsman Andy Matthews started at the beginning of April. He came to us from Harrow and had been at Taunton before that, and one can see his handiwork as you step from this marquee: I am sure that you will agree with me that The Close has never looked so good. The first XI has responded to that in fine style, winning all of their matches so far this term.

When the facilities are as good as they are the pupils raise their game, their games, to match. Yet again a girls hockey team went to the National Finals: this year it was the turn of the Under 14s. Hockey at Clifton is now established at a new level. Many of you were present on March 4th for the opening of the new international standard water-based hockey pitch at Beggar’s Bush. Hockey is not the only game the girls excel at. In March Lucinda Piggott won the first ever girls racquets open competition at Queen’s which means she has won her place in history; not only that but the final was an all Clifton affair with Lucinda beating Emma Powell in a final that was Clifton 1 v. Clifton 2. Also in racquet sports Clifton won the Real Tennis schools doubles competition. Elsewhere the footballers had their most successful season since football was introduced in 1959 at the insistence of a pupil by the name of John Cleese who successfully petitioned the Head Master to allow it. Cleese was you wont be surprised to learn a very persistent and articulate advocate. The next project at BB will be a high quality first X1 football pitch next to the 3G pitch and two superb cricket squares on Whitehead, which is the area above the new hockey pitch on the Failand side as it were. There are on-going discussions and architects’ plans for further development at BB too, although these are at the early stages of conception but the long-term plan is to create matchless facilities at BB.

We have an ambitious development plan to bring all of our facilities for teaching and learning up to the highest standards. By September we will have a dedicated Sixth Form Centre in the building behind me currently occupied by the Health centre and the Chaplaincy. The Chaplain is moving to new accommodation in Worcester Terrace, which is opposite the front entrance of Wiseman’s and the Health Centre will move into the Chaplaincy. This creates space for classrooms and offices for the teaching of Sixth Form only subjects: specifically it will house the Psychology department and some Economics teaching, together with Mr Greenbury, Head of Sixth Form’s office and all of the resources our Sixth Formers need as they focus on Careers and University choices and applications. Smaller rooms will allow for quiet study and for research as well as interview training. The most ambitious new project of them all is a Centre for the Performing Arts on the site of the existing Redgrave Theatre and the Chateau. But before you get too excited, these plans are at a very early stage and face considerable hurdles in terms of planning, design and indeed financing. But if we want Clifton to be one of the very best schools in the country we need to press ahead. Some of these projects will need financial support beyond the reach of the College’s current resources and to that end we have set up The Clifton College Development Trust which Mr Ross briefly referred to in his speech. This is a separate charity with eight founding Trustees, seven of whom are Old boys and the eighth, its Chairman, is a current parent. To ensure particularly joined up thinking and planning, the Chairman of The Old Cliftonian Society (who is also a current parent) is one of the Trustees. As we all work together for the future of Clifton, the purpose of the Trust is to help us to accelerate our Development Plan. This is not just about buildings and facilities, but is also about bringing together the best pupils and the best teachers in the best school of all, as George reminded us.

As you may have heard at the Pre Commem yesterday, in September 2012 two brand new Pre day houses will open on The Avenue and Guthrie Road opposite Butcombe. 2012 marks the 150th anniversary of the founding of the school on September 30th 1862, with 60 boys, thirty of whom boarded and 30 of who were day boys. Clifton is highly unusual in having been founded as, and always having been, both a boarding and day school and the diverse mix of pupils that results is one of the schools great strengths. There will be much to celebrate in 2012 and numerous events, far too many for me to describe to you now but I do need to draw your attention to a couple. Next year Commen will be at the end of the Summer Term. Pre Commem will be on Friday July 6th followed by a concert in the Catholic Cathedral and a specially commissioned Son and Lumiere will tell the story of Clifton’s history in light and sound as dusk falls on The Close. We hope to enlist the help of some famous OC actors, producers and directors, subject to their very busy schedules. Upper School Commem will be on Saturday July 7th with a special 150th Anniversary Ball in the evening. In the week leading up to Commem, there will be a host of events so mark your diaries now. On the weekend of the 29/30th of September we will mark the exact anniversary of 150 years with the Clifton v Marlborough rugby match, the oldest schoolboy fixture of them all. On the Sunday there will be two commemorative Chapel Services. Mrs Hallworth will be masterminding the year’s events and I have no doubt that she will be in regular communication with you all. On the subject of communication; as you leave the marquee in a few moments do have a look at the new Clifton App. This mobile phone application will be available, free to download, from the Apple Store, on June 28th. This will give you live calendar information from the school direct to your phone, interactive maps, a gallery of photos, and a quick link to the website; we hope you will find it really useful. Ladies and gentlemen I hope you will gather from this that Clifton is a school in very good order yet always striving to be even better in all that it does to give our pupils the very best experience. Now let us adjourn for a very pleasant experience: drinks in the quad.

21 June 2011

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