Headmaster's Newsletter
Friday 12 June 2026
Dear Parents, I think it’s acceptable to use the Overton Window for issues beyond politics, and to apply it to cultural issues as well. For those who don’t use it often, the Overton Window refers to the ‘range of policies or ideas acceptable to the mainstream population at any given time’. That window shifts over time. I pondered it recently when the BBC website ran a headline referring to ‘The parents using play to stop children being “trapped” by screens’. Another way of writing this headline would be ‘The parents who play with their children’. Which isn’t really a headline at all, or shouldn’t be. But it was, so I wonder whether the Overton Window has indeed shifted to suggest that parents playing with their children is newsworthy, out of the ordinary, because presumably many parents in wider society are not?
This week in school we have been thinking about having appropriate expectations of others. This has centred on fairly individual or localised issues: what is it appropriate to expect from one’s friends in the playground, for example? Is it appropriate to expect them to play with you one hundred per cent of the time? Is a dispute over a penalty in playground football really sufficient to cause huffing and puffing, Serie A-style conflagrations, and the undermining of otherwise strong friendships? Healthy relationships are built on clear boundaries and reasonable expectations, so although it might feel like a rather abstract concept, it is worth the boys getting used to it at a young age. It should save them a lot of time and heartache in adulthood.
But I also wonder whether the concept about appropriate expectations of one another should be applied more widely to society in general. What expectations do citizens have of one another, of their families, of schools, of their local government, of their national government? Are these expectations reasonable and appropriate? We hear a lot of talk about the unwritten social contract, the invisible ways in which we can reasonably expect society to function, based on realistic relationships with one another. We also hear a lot about how that social contract is breaking down, or being imperceptibly and corrosively rewritten. In one sense this is about, say, how people treat one another in public – with increasing instances of impatience or rudeness, intemperate emails, or loud boorish behaviour, very much suggesting that the Overton Window of ‘acceptable’ public behaviour has shifted.
In another sense, there is a ‘meta’ aspect to appropriate expectations: what can we reasonably expect others in society to do, to work for the present and future good of that society? And this applies to every element of our lives. It is impossible to escape the issue of childrearing when we talk of such things, and I would suggest that it should not be unreasonable to suggest that parents play with their children, rather than abrogating parenthood to YouTube or TikTok. Maybe I am reading too much into it, but the headline ‘The parents using play to stop children being “trapped” by screens’ seems to make what should be a basic and core element of parenthood somehow exotic. The alternative ‘Parents do what parents are meant to do’ might have been a little more inflammatory, but at some point society as a whole does need to push the Overton Window back, if we would like our children to grow up and function effectively in a healthy future society.
Have a great weekend,
Matt Jenkinson
On Tuesday the boys in Year 8 enjoyed a geography field trip to Westmill Wind and Solar Farm. They had the opportunity to stand underneath ‘Gusty Gizmo’, one of the five wind turbines, and learn about its engineering, energy output and how the site came to be a renewable energy spot. They were also shown the solar part of the farm and observe how the panels work, supply electricity to the grid and act as a shelter for some rather soggy sheep!
We have record numbers for Wykeham Day tomorrow. In advance, I would like to thank the NCSPA for all of their hard work in preparing the fete, and also to my colleagues who will be helping to run the stalls. We are delighted to welcome back violinist Timon Bergmann, a former NCS pupil, to give this year’s Wykeham Day Recital. The recital will take place on Saturday 13 June at 11am in The New Space. Wykeham Day then continues at 13.00 with the school fete in the playground and sports hall (until 15.00). There is then a special evensong in chapel at 17.45, to which current and former NCS families are very warmly invited. There is then a dinner at 18.30, in the medieval College dining hall, which is sign-up only.
For those looking for even more Wykehamy things on Wykeham Day, the Oxford Festival of the Arts New College Archives exhibition which will take place on 13 June in the College’s Conduit Room from 12.00 until 17.00. On display will be a wide range of signs and symbols, and one or two secrets, featured in the New College archives, with pride of place going to the college’s original seal, featuring the founder and many others ranging from King Henry I to Montgomery of Alamein, via such as Pope Innocent IV, Kirk Douglas and the Black Widows.
Our chapel service on Wednesday 1 July will begin at the same time as usual (9.00), but will be our ‘Year’s End’ service. It will last around 45 minutes and will follow the same structure as our Spring Service (and, indeed, the carol services on which that service’s structure was based). There will be appropriate readings from Years 3 to 8, some communal hymn singing, and some performances from choirs throughout the school. All parents are very warmly encouraged to attend, especially those Year 8 parents for whom this will be their sons’ last NCS chapel service. Handkerchiefs at the ready.
The theme for our annual SHTEAM Festival next Hilary will be ‘Communication and Connection’. We will be exploring this theme from many different angles across all our subjects, running talks and workshops, as well as incorporating the theme in our day-to-day lessons. If there are any parents, taking into account their specialist knowledge, who would like to offer a talk or workshop to the boys on an aspect of ‘Communication and Connection’, do please contact emma.krebs@newcollegeschool.org.
Upcoming Events
Saturday 13 Jun 2026 Wykeham Day 11.00 Wykeham Day Concert, New Space 13.00 School Fête, Playground (ends 15.00) 17.45 Wykeham Day Evensong, New College Chapel 18.30 Wykeham Day Dinner (sign-up only) Monday 15 Jun 2026 10.30 Years 3-5 Full Dress Run of 'The Talented Mr Wykeham' (auditorium) 14.00 Year 5 only Tech rehearsal, as needed 'The Talented Mr Wykeham' (auditorium) 17.15 Years 3-5 performance, 'The Talented Mr Wykeham' (auditorium) Tuesday 16 Jun 2026 9.30 Year 3 Natural History Museum Rock Stars 14.00 U9 A&B Cricket vs CCCS, Home 16.00 Year 8 - deadline for uploading Special Subject to AllShare 17.15 Years 3-5 performance, 'The Talented Mr Wykeham' (auditorium) Wednesday 17 Jun 2026 9.00 Chapel. Speaker: The Chaplain 14.00 U11 A&B Cricket vs CCCS, Home 14.00 U13 A Tennis vs Abingdon Prep, Home 14.00 U13 Cricket Training, Field Thursday 18 Jun 2026 9.00 Induction for new pupils and 'move-up morning' 14.00 Year 8 TED Talks, session 1 (auditorium) Friday 19 Jun 2026 Last day of VMT music lessons 10.00 Year 3 Shang Gallery Ashmolean, return 12.00 10.00 Pre-Prep Sports Day 14.00 Year 8 TED Talks, session 2 (hall) Saturday 20 Jun 2026 University term ends Sunday 21 Jun 2026 17.45 Last Evensong, New College Chapel Monday 22 Jun 2026 Activities Week begins Residential trips depart Tuesday 23 June 2026 Year 4 All Day Trip to Cogges Manor Farm Wednesday 24 Jun 2026 No chapel service Thursday 25 June 2026 Years 3 & 4 Rivers trip (all day) Friday 26 Jun 2026 Pre-Prep activities week outing