Headmaster's Newsletter Friday 25 April 2025
Dear Parents,
Welcome back after what I hope was a restful and restorative break.
Last November there was a headline on the BBC News website: ‘Dispersal order issued ahead of Oxford v Millwall’. On the last Saturday of that month, Oxford United and Millwall were going to play each other at the Kassam Stadium, but the police were so worried about the fixture that ‘a highly visible and robust policing operation’ was underway ‘to ensure the safety of fans and Oxford’s communities’. Essentially, police would have the authority to break up groups of people in certain places around the city between 9 in the morning and 9 at night. Why? Because some Millwall fans, for quite a few years, have been famous for causing disturbances on match days. And, perhaps, there were fears that Oxford fans would respond in kind.
When I was growing up, occasionally I used to go to watch Gillingham playing home fixtures at Priestfields. A short drive to Chatham rail station, and just a stop or two on the train, and I could easily be at Gillingham’s stadium. The first time I went, I made the mistake of watching from the Rainham End: these were the diehard fans, the ones who lived for matchday, and whose behaviour was verging on the dangerous. It was my first and last time in the Rainham End. For all subsequent matches, I would go to the Gillingham End – which was also known as the Family End – which was a lot safer, and therefore a lot more fun. Some of Gillingham’s fans were well-known for being not particularly well behaved, which made it quite interesting one season, when they had to share their stadium with Brighton and Hove Albion. Some of their fans weren’t particularly well behaved either. Things were made even worse, then, when certain away teams came to play. One of those away teams was Millwall. Suddenly, we had the scenario where three of the football league’s worst-behaved fanbases were descending on one relatively small stadium in suburban Kent. I didn’t go to watch Gillingham that season; I thought it was best to stay away.
I have often wondered what causes certain football fans – or indeed, any sport fans – to behave in a way that is quite obsessive, to the point of bad behaviour. I am, as some of you may have realised, a Spurs fan. Being a Spurs fan is a rollercoaster of an experience, perhaps with more downs than ups. I have been a Spurs fan since the FA Cup final of 1991, so for 34 years. In that time, I have probably witnessed more defeats than victories. I have certainly witnessed infinitesimally small numbers of finals in which Spurs have been involved. I have barely seen them lift a cup. I have seen them go through many, many managers (and the current one probably has only a few weeks to go). I have seen them go through many more players. And I’ve seen many of their best players go on to bigger and better teams. But, as hard as it is to spend my Saturday evenings with my head in my hands after yet another defeat, I can’t let go.
So I have the beginnings of the feelings of the Gillingham, Millwall and Brighton fans – not that I would ever go to the lengths that some do to support their teams. I suppose it all comes down to one word: loyalty. Of all the values that we try to teach the boys at NCS, I think that loyalty is one of the most important. Loyalty means having a strong feeling of support or allegiance. There are many things that one may feel loyal towards throughout one’s life, and to which one may already feel loyal: a sports team, one’s family, one’s friends, one’s school, one’s community, one’s country. One day the boys also may feel loyal towards their university and to their workplace.
When managed sensibly, these can all be positive things. To be loyal shows that we value things beyond ourselves, and to realise that it is difficult to navigate this world alone. To be loyal to those around us in different forms can be really beneficial. When the boys play in a fixture, they are loyal to those on their team so they can work together, pull together, to have a good game and maybe hopefully win. When they are loyal to their school and their classmates, they are doing so because they are proud of their school community, and because they realise that working together is ultimately more beneficial than working just for oneself. That’s why there are generations of old NCS boys out there in the world who are still close friends, and who still have a close emotional bond with our community on Savile Road, even if they haven’t actually been on site for many years. To be loyal to our families and friends helps to maintain bonds that will stay with us for life. Sometimes those bonds will be tested, but they are what helps give us the strength to move forward in life, to navigate change, and to be as happy as we can be.
This Trinity term is an interesting one for our Year 8 leavers, as they start to think about moving away from friends and classmates they have had for nine years – the majority of their young lives. So this is a good time to think about the quality of loyalty. As those leavers start to look beyond the end of Savile Road, I hope that they take with them this important value, both to their current community and the future ones that they will encounter and enjoy. I am yet to meet someone who is celebrated for their disloyalty; yet I know many people who are adored for their loyal natures. We have to be careful about taking that loyalty too far – as in the case of a minority of football fans who may or may not support Gillingham, Brighton and Millwall – but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t think about, and value, it.
So, at the beginning of this final term of the 2024-25 academic year, I asked the boys in chapel Wednesday to think about this important value of loyalty: what it gives us in support, and what we can do to support others. We all live and work in different communities, and those communities survive and thrive because we are loyal to, and within, them. Those who look out merely for themselves, who ��have an eye for the main chance’, tend to end up isolated and alone. And that’s not what we wish for any loyal member of the NCS community.
Have a great Trinity,
Matt Jenkinson
The events at the end of last term, since I wrote my last newsletter, were truly spectacular. Those NCS boys who took to the stage in Tosca at the Oxford Playhouse did themselves very proud – it was a wonderful experience for them, and wonderful for us to watch them from the audience. Then, the following day, the ‘1592 Vespers’ concert in chapel was brilliant, and even merited a mention on Radio 3 the following morning. Then, to top it all off, I received really positive feedback from the choristers’ recording sessions over the Easter break. Just in case anyone thinks we’re resting on our laurels, evensongs resume in chapel this evening at 18.15 (as ever, NCS families are very warmly welcome to attend), and the whole school is turning its attention towards our Sheldonian concert at the end of this half term.
Another reminder that the school’s Attendance and Registration policy can be found on the NCS website at https://www.newcollegeschool.org/page/?title=Attendance+and+Registration&pid=111. The school’s Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) policy can be found at https://www.newcollegeschool.org/wellbeing-and-happiness. If you have any questions about the latter please be in touch with brett.morrison@newcollegeschool.org or myself.
Our next open morning is on Friday 16 May, 10.00-12.00. All families are welcome to join us to view the school in action, chat to pupils, staff, and current parents and find out more about an NCS education. Places can be booked via https://www.newcollegeschool.org/open-day-booking. Do please pass on this information to any families you think might be interested in joining our special community. Keep an eye out for our adverts on social media too (www.facebook.com/newcollegeschool, www.instagram.com/newcollegeschool/) and don’t be shy when it comes to pressing the ‘like’ and ‘share’ buttons. Almost 80% of respondents in our community surveys report that they first heard about NCS through word of mouth, so do please keep spreading the word. Many thanks!
On Wednesday 14 May there will be a talk by Karl Hopwood on a ‘smartphone free childhood’. https://www.childnet.com/who-we-are/staff-and-trustees/trustees/karl-hopwood/ This is scheduled to start at 18.00 in the auditorium, and there will be an opportunity for parents of different years to meet, chat, and share ideas after the talk. Karl will provide an overview of what children and young people are doing when they are online, utilising the latest research, before focusing on the real risks and challenges that they face, and then looking at solutions which are both technical and practical things that parents and carers can do to help their children. There will be discussion of the safe use of online technology, and getting the best out of it, while doing all we can to make sure that children are accessing age-appropriate material. Please note that, as there will be some sensitive issues discussed, this talk will not be appropriate for children to attend.
I enjoyed speaking to Years 6-8 this Wednesday during their Wellbeing lesson, giving them tips on ‘how to prepare for assessments while staying happy and healthy’. Too much of the educational world focuses on the first bit, while ignoring the second. It is perfectly possible to do both, and that’s what decent prep schools should be doing – preparing (the clue is in the title) pupils for assessments that become more and more consequential as they get older, getting them into good habits from the beginning, so there are no nasty surprises when they get to public exams. If only there were exam league tables that took into account such preparatory work in pupils’ first schools!
Also on Wednesday we had huge fun with Year 7 during our leadership evening. This is a chance for the boys to practise their leadership skills through a variety of activities covering teamwork, public speaking, and short chats with the SLT. I have also enjoyed reading the boys’ letters to me in which they have reflected on leadership, what it means to them, and – very touchingly – what the school means to them as they wistfully approach their final year with us. We are keen for all of our senior boys to get the chance to exercise leadership in various forms, especially during Year 8, and the evening helps us put together a ‘portfolio’ for each pupil.
A separate Parentmail has been sent regarding the arrangements for this year’s Wykeham Day. The Wykeham Day Concert will feature the world-renowned tenor, and former NCS pupil, James Gilchrist, with our very own Robert Quinney at the piano. The concert will take place in the ‘New Space’ (in the basement of the College side of the new Gradel Quads) on Saturday 14 June, 11.00-12.00. Tickets are free for under 18s and £10 for over 18s, available via https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1277884850989?aff=oddtdtcreator
Upcoming Events
Sunday, 27 April 2025
Start of university term
All Week: Year 3-8 NGRT and NGST in ICT Suite
Tuesday, 29 April 2025
14.00 U9 Cricket v Summer Fields, Home
Wednesday, 30 April 2025
8.50 Charity and Eco Committee Meeting, CLC
9.00 Chapel. Speaker: Mr Aidan Vine KC, NCS Safeguarding Governor
14.30 U13 A Cricket v Cokethorpe, Home
14.30 U13 B Cricket Softball v Cokethorpe, Home
Thursday, 1 May 2025
8.30 Junior Mathematics Challenge (until 9.30)
13.30 U8&9 A-D Cricket 5 Pairs v St Michael's Primary, Home
Friday 2 May 2025
14.30 8S teaching pre-prep science lessons
Monday, 5 May 2025
Bank and school holiday
Tuesday, 6 May 2025
All Week: Year 3-8 PTM in ICT Suite
9.00-11.00 Thomas Franks workshops with pre-prep
14.00 U9 Cricket v CCCS, Home
14.00 U8 Cricket v CCCS, Home
Wednesday, 7 May 2025
8.15 School Council Meeting, CLC
9.00 Chapel. Speaker: Dr Szabina Patel, Ordinand, Wycliffe Hall
14.15 U11 A&B Cricket v MCS, Away
14.15 U13 A&B Cricket v Bruern Abbey, Home
14.15 U11 A & U13 A Tennis 3 Pairs v Bruern Abbey, Home
Chorister Bach concert in Sheldonian
Friday, 9 May 2025
13.3 U11 A-D Cricket 5 Pairs v St Michael's Primary, Home
Sunday, 11 May 2025
U11-13 IAPS Judo, Bishopsgate School
10.3 U11 A4 & U13 A6 Radley Tennis Tournament, Away (ends 16.00)