Headmaster's Newsletter Friday 9 May 2025
Dear Parents,
Sixteen or seventeen years ago I was teaching some Year 8s when I was puzzled by the reaction of one of them to a fairly simple statement I’d made. I forget the exact context, but my sentence finished with the words, ‘don’t worry, I trust you’. The pupil looked a bit surprised, not sure why, but he beamed and walked off, carrying himself as if he were a foot taller. To my mind, I couldn’t fathom why the pupil thought I might not trust him; nor could I really understand why the word ‘trust’ might have come as a surprise — he was a rather trustworthy young man. Anyway, I’ve never forgotten how powerful that word ‘trust’ can be, and it is something we have been thinking about this week as our wellbeing theme has been centred on ideas of trust and honesty.
A recent study by Professors Paul Harris, Li Zhao and Kang Lee has concluded that we can promote honesty in children simply by expressing our trust in them. Focusing on over three hundred children of kindergarten age, Harris and Lee assessed whether they were less likely to cheat on a counting accuracy test if an adult had expressed trust in them beforehand. This expression of trust could be something as simple as allowing the children to hold house keys, with a signal that they would be allowed to do so again in the future. Li Zhao notes that ‘We were surprised by how powerful an effect a simple expression of trust had on children's subsequent honesty ... It seems that even at a young age, children understand the value of trust and are willing to behave more honestly in response to feeling trusted by others’. While Kang Lee argues that the experiment strongly suggests that children ‘are acutely attuned to social cues of trust from a very young age ... fostering an ethos of trust rather than distrust could be pivotal for supporting children's character development in their formative early years’.
Presumably the flip-side of this would be true: that expressing a lack of trust in a child would increase their chances of cheating and being dishonest, or at least not reduce them. As the world of AI grows exponentially, the opportunities for dishonesty increase. Anti-cheating software like TurnItIn is already under threat from AI which will, theoretically, be able to disguise the fact that AI-produced work has indeed been produced by AI. The children in the above study are years away from consequential assessments; goodness knows what opportunities for potential dishonesty there will be by the time they get to that stage. So we have to front-load the situation by fostering honesty and integrity from a very young age, hence our wellbeing theme, and hence the importance of simple expressions of trust. As Li Zhao puts it: ‘Our results point to the promise of using trust — rather than threats or punishment — to nurture integrity in children’.
Have a great weekend,
Matt Jenkinson
This week we have also been thinking about the eightieth anniversary of VE Day. On Wednesday, in chapel, Robert Quinney spoke eloquently about the positives of peace and the miseries of war (along with a side-disquisition on the misuse of the word ‘fortuitous’). Then, on Thursday, Jan Alden led our assembly on the actual anniversary of VE Day, showing the boys footage of the weekend’s celebrations. On Thursday at midday the school took part in the national silence to commemorate VE Day and to remember the fallen.
Many congratulations to the choristers who sang brilliantly at the ‘Bach 1725’ concert in the Sheldonian on Wednesday evening. The event marked the arrival at the Bodleian Library of Bach’s rare original manuscript of his 1725 Ascension Day cantata, Auf Christi Himmelfahrt allein. The choristers were joined by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under the baton of Professor John Butt, with the Vice Chancellor in attendance.
Do come and join us at this year's Town and Gown event in the University Parks where we will be cheering on over 30 of our boys and 5 brave staff members who will be running in the event. We will have a gazebo and refreshments available. We wish them all well! If you would like, please do sponsor them on our Just Giving page: https://sportsgiving.co.uk/sponsorship/group/5681. Runners should meet at our gazebo in the schools’ area at 8.40am in their t-shirts with their official bibs fixed on them. Official timings are as follows: 8.50am – Junior 3k warm-up, 9.05am – Junior 3k runners walk to start on Banbury Road, 9.15am – Junior 3k start. Adults' timings: 9.30am – 10k warm-up, 9.35am – head to start pens, 9.45am – 10k runners walk to start on Banbury Road, 10am – 10k start. See you there!
The whole school photograph will take place on Monday 12 May at 9.30. Please could all boys arrive at school in full uniform that day? There will be an opportunity for those who have Games later in the day to get changed after the photograph.
We are looking forward to the junior recital on Monday 12 May at 17.15. As ever, parking is available in the playground from c.17.00 once it is clear of pupils going home after their enrichment activities.
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.
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!
Charity Week 19 - 23 May: During Trinity, the Eco and Charity Committees are joining forces to support a cause that champions sustainability. This year, the boys have chosen to support the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), a charity well known to many in our community, especially those who participate in the annual birdwatch. We’ll be raising funds for the RSPB through a variety of fun and engaging activities: Bake Off Competition – Delicious treats will be on sale for £1 each; Home Clothes Day – Taking place on Thursday 22 May; Birdsong Competition (identifying not making hopefully) – Held during form time; Tennis Competition. Thank you in advance for your support and enthusiasm. A gentle reminder: we aim to be a nut-free school, so please ensure that all baked goods are nut-free and accompanied by a full list of ingredients to help us manage allergies safely.
On Saturday 24 May (19.30), Natalie Bath will be singing in the ‘Music in Quiet Places’ festival, at the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Church Lane, Mursley, Bucks. The programme will include Mozart, Mahler, Haydn and Handel. Tickets are £15 and available from andrewcowell@hotmail.com.
A separate Parentmail has been sent regarding the arrangements for this year’s Wykeham Day on Saturday 14 June. 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
Sport roundup: The start of the new term has been glorious, with warm, sunny weather welcoming the boys back to school and allowing for quality training from day one. The usual April drizzle was nowhere to be seen, and what a difference it has made to our match preparations. In our opening fixtures, the 1st and 2nd XI teams played two very entertaining matches against Cokethorpe. The boys performed well, showing good control with the ball and some impressive hitting with the bat. The 1st XI lost by six wickets, but on the 2nd XI pitch, the boys managed a well-deserved win, thanks to a very impressive and testing bowling display. More recently, the U8 and U9 boys combined their talents to form three teams to face Christ Church. In three brilliant matches, the NCS teams once again proved a little too strong for our guests, recording three wins out of three. It was a fantastic afternoon for NCS cricket, with the boys thoroughly enjoying their batting, scoring a great many runs—including a few maximums as the ball sailed over the boundary rope!
To cap off such a pleasing start to the term, the U11 A and U13 A teams played two excellent matches on Wednesday afternoon. The U13s secured an impressive home win against the always-tough Bruern Abbey. It was a close contest, but in the end, the NCS team held their nerve to clinch a fifteen-run victory—resilience at the death proving key! Across town, I had the pleasure of overseeing the U11 team as they faced MCS. It was a great batting display, with several boys reaching double figures. NCS posted a total of 126 runs—an impressive and somewhat daunting score for a first match! With the ball, NCS were equally outstanding. There was some superb bowling on show such that, in the final over, our hosts needed twelve runs to win but could only manage five—securing another excellent NCS victory.
Upcoming Events
Sunday, 11 May 2025
U11-13 IAPS Judo, Bishopsgate School
10.3 U11 A4 & U13 A6 Radley Tennis Tournament, Away (ends 16.00)
Monday, 12 May 2025
9.30 Whole school photograph
14.00 U13A Tennis 5 Pairs v d'Overbroeck's, North Oxford
17.15 Junior Recital (Years 3-5), Auditorium
19.00 NCSPA Meeting, CLC
Tuesday 13 May 2025
Year 7 Geography Field Trip to Sarsden (all day)
14.00 U9 A&B Cricket 4/5 Pairs v Chandlings, Home
14.00 U8 A&B Cricket 5 Pairs v Chandlings, Away
Wednesday, 14 May 2025
9.00 Chapel. Speaker: Mr Peter Brathwaite, Distinguished Visitor, Queen's College
14.15 U11 A&B Cricket v Summer Fields, Away
14.15 U13 A&B Cricket v Summer Fields, Home
18.00 Smartphone-free Childhood talk by Karl Hopwood, Auditorium
Friday, 16 May 2025
Open Morning
14.00 U11 Yr 5&6 Cricket House Matches, Home
Monday, 19 May 2025
National Walk to School Week
Charity Week
Years 3-4 form assessments start
Pre-Prep QED Week begins
14.00 U13 Yr 7&8 Cricket House Matches, Home
Tuesday, 20 May 2025
Year 6 Geography Field Trip to Wendover Woods (all day)
Wednesday, 21 May 2025
9.00 Whole-school rehearsal for Sheldonian Concert, Sports Hall (finish 11.30)
No chapel service
14.15 U13 A&B Cricket v Bruern Abbey, Away
14.15 U11 A&B Cricket v Bruern Abbey, Home
14.15 A11 A & U13 A Tennis 3 Pairs v Bruern Abbey, Home
17.30 Governors' Meeting, McGregor Matthews Room
Thursday, 22 May 2025
Home clothes day
Friday, 23 May 2025
9.00 Whole-school rehearsal (all day), Sheldonian Theatre
17.00 Sheldonian Concert. All pupils to remain in school at end of day; collection from Sheldonian c. 18.15
Orders in Years 3-8 issued
Half term break begins at end of Sheldonian Concert