Headmaster's Newsletter Friday 4 October 2024

We have been thinking about communities a lot this week at NCS. On Wednesday we had our Harvest Festival, with families of the NCS community thinking about our wider Oxford and community, making generous donations to help the Oxford Central Foodbank. Enormous thanks for all of these donations, and to Brett Morrison and his charity committee for coordinating our efforts. In her talk to the boys about Harvest Festivals around the world, and why different cultures converge to mark this central season in similar ways, Professor Meera Sabaratnam, Tutorial Fellow in Politics at New College, mentioned the key word ‘community’ several times. This week also saw the AGM of the NCS Parents’ Association, members of which volunteer and do a huge amount to organise and run headline events for the boys. Such events like the Christmas Fair, Summer Fete, Curry and Quiz Night, and inter-school socials for our older pupils, only happen because of the generosity and dedication of these parent volunteers who make them work. The events are, of course, enormous fun and highlights of the boys’ childhoods, but they don’t just happen. They require planning and on-the-ground administration. They also raise funds which the NCSPA can then kindly donate to buy little (or sometimes not-so-little) extras for the boys each year. At the core of all this activity is the importance of community, of civic involvement, and I would like to publicly thank all those who give their time and energies so generously, and I warmly invite any other parents who would like to get involved to join the fun (www.newcollegeschool.org/getting-involved). It was through looking at communities that Ronald Hutton could take an accurate measure of the Reformation, and it is by looking at our own community events that we can gauge the health of our thriving wider NCS family – but I draw the line at maypoles.

Have a great weekend,

Matt Jenkinson

Our next Open Morning is tomorrow: Saturday 5 October at 10.00-12.00. If any boys from Years 3-8 would like to be guides on that morning, please could their parents email office@newcollegeschool.org. Please note that all pupils attending school that morning (including OCCO pupils) should wear full school uniform. Prospective parents are asked to register at https://www.newcollegeschool.org/open-day-booking -- do please pass on this link if you know of any families who would be interested in joining our wonderful community. Although the morning is primarily for prospective parents, current parents, especially those from the Pre-Prep, are most welcome to get a further insight into the upper part of the school. Please also feel free to share/retweet the school's social media posts about the open morning:

https://www.instagram.com/newcollegeschool/

https://www.facebook.com/newcollegeschool

https://twitter.com/NCSOxford