Welcome from the Headmaster

29 January 2010

Recent news is that places at The Perse School have been offered to fifteen children in Year 8 – I am delighted that they have done so very well. I look forward to hearing how everyone has fared in the recent Leys assessments; there was a lovely drama and music teatime recital on Tuesday at which scholarship candidates presented their performances.
Parents will be interested by the letter Mr Elliott, the Head at The Perse, wrote to me on Wednesday. ‘… In future the likely 13+ applicants to places ratio will be 2:1. This is a very similar ratio to Year 7 (11+) entry, and there is certainly no advantage to students in applying at 11 rather than 13. We continue to believe that good quality prep school applicants are best advised to remain in their prep schools and apply to us at 13.’
I’m not sure whether he refers to good quality applicants from prep schools or applicants from good quality prep schools, but I am inclined to let that pass. Either way I think he’s referring to us, and I am sure that his comments have a more general application than just to Perse aspirants.

The swimming gala against Bedford on Tuesday was something of a personal triumph for Charlotte W, who beat the 50 metre freestyle record set a few years ago by Charlotte SR, and for Ella H, who beat the U13 25 m Butterfly record. Ella, Charlotte, Nick G and Jamie W smashed the U13 medley relay record and Ella, Charlotte, Nick and Ethan H, who has recently joined the school, beat the U13 freestyle relay record. Congratulations to everyone on their victory over Bedford.

Congratulations, too, go to eleven children who have been invited to play County hockey following their successful training at a Junior Development Centre and their assessment for the Junior Academy Centre. They are Ellie, Charlie, Hannah, Edward, Nicholas, Ella, Caroline, Yumann, Luke, William S and William W.

We were very pleased with the quality of children who came for our Year 3 assessment last Saturday and look forward to welcoming a goodly number into the school in September.

We were delighted to hear recently of the successes of two Old Fidelians. Grace Petkovic, who left us at the end of Year 8 for Perse Girls’ School and went through to the new Stephen Perse Sixth Form College has been offered a place to read Natural Sciences at (I think) St John’s College, Cambridge. Alexandre Kite, elder son of our Head of Mathematics, who moved from Year 8 at St Faith’s to The Perse, has a place at Jesus College, Cambridge, to read ….. Maths! If you want to know how to do it please come to the ‘Mathematical Magic’ evening for Year 5 – 8 parents on February 4th from 7 pm until 8 pm in Ashburton.

I mentioned in the newsletter on January 15th the death of Michael Harper, a distinguished Old Fidelian who spent his prep school years evacuated to Ashburton in Devon before going on to Gresham’s. There was a most interesting obituary notice about him in yesterday’s Times, with a photograph. Michael was the ‘onlie begetter’ of two wonderful reunions of Fidelian evacuees in Ashburton on Dartmoor over the last seven years.

I am not sure yet what the Chaucer House Chocolate Sale raised for its charity on Tuesday, but I know for a fact that a whole lot of chocolate was purchased and consumed. Thank you very much to Chaucer House, once again, for this very enjoyable money-making extravaganza.

The School Council met on Monday and decided to make a donation of £1250 to the Haiti disaster appeal. This grant comes from the trust fund which the School Council manages and which is topped-up from time to time with the proceeds of discos and such things. This grant reduces the balance in their account to about £750.00 and I was pleased that they recognised that the Haiti appeal was so very urgent and compelling that they should donate well over half the balance in their fund to support the aid and reconstruction efforts in that poor country.

You will have seen posters for Quiz Night in School House and elsewhere. Forms will be available from Monday so that you can book your tickets. Even as I write Dr Boyle is thinking up wonderful questions to fox you with.

STOP PRESS - CHAUCER CHOCOLATE SALE!
Mr Critchley would like to say a huge thank you to Chaucer House pupils and their parents who made delicious chocolate cakes and biscuits or donated chocolate. The sale has raised a magnificent £300 for Riding for the Disabled Association. On Tuesday in assembly Mr Critchley talked to the pupils about how this charity has changed the lives of young people with physical disabilities.

Stephen Drew
Headmaster