Headmaster's Newsletter Friday 3 October 2025
Dear Parents,
Here are some interesting statistics from the National Literacy Trust: almost 50% of 8 to 16-year olds in England currently engage with poetry in some form (reading, writing, listening, performing); approximately 17% of those aged 14-16 engage with poetry in their free time, compared to almost 49% of those aged 8-11. Assuming that the first statistic takes into account schooltime as well as free time, this infers that half of children in England are not getting any poetry in the classroom. The final statistic is a little more heartening: in a world of attention-sapping computer games and mobile devices, almost half of 8 to 11-year-olds are engaging with poetry without being forced to by their teachers (though, I concede, it could be parents doing the forcing). The drop-off by 16 is fairly predictable, considering the aforementioned devices, though one might think that 16 is the prime age for writing song lyrics or other forms of poetry that engage with the tribulations of teenagerdom.
I concede that poetry is an increasingly hard sell to young people. At first sight, it can seem remote, inaccessible, fairly pointless. This is especially the case when children make the transition from tongue-twisting nonsense verse to the more serious and foreboding stanzas offered by metaphysical poets, or modernists, and the like. The theme of this year’s National Poetry Day, which took place on Thursday, was ‘Play’. I get why they have done this: it is to grab the attention of those who would rather play games than read poetry, and this is underlined by the Minecraft-inspired logo that was chosen to advertise the day. But ‘play’ can be interpreted in many different ways, and one of the most powerful ways to think about poetry is that it involves playing with language, and this play can be extraordinarily free. I used to teach a lot of poetry and it was always fun to counter pupils’ preconceptions about poetry by showing them, for example, e.e. cumming’s grasshopper poem. Capable of writing the most beautiful verse about love, he was also capable of playing with letters, line lengths, punctuation, to present unusual things on the page.
The National Literacy Trust’s study concluded that those young people who engaged with poetry identified ‘significant benefits for their wellbeing, confidence, aptitude for learning and empathy’. This is not surprising, considering that being creative, and enjoying the creativity of others, clearly has benefits for mental health. Performing poetry, like performing anything, gives young people the opportunity to develop their public presentation skills. Deciphering meanings and analysing techniques of different poems, which increasingly involves learning some funky technical vocabulary, is clearly good for our brains. Reading and hearing about the cares and concerns of generations of poets is a good way to get an insight into the experiences of people and communities apparently remote from our own, but who are processing the same themes and interests as ourselves. All of which is to say that it is a real shame if engagement with poetry really is dropping off as young people go through their teenage years. I hope that the grounding NCS boys get in poetry, both in the day-to-day curriculum and during special events like National Poetry Day, helps to ensure that they don’t rank among the number who discard poetry as they get older. My thanks to Elizabeth Hess for taking the lead with our National Poetry Day activities, making sure the library was a poetic hub over the course of the day.
Have a great weekend,
Matt Jenkinson
National Year of Reading: On Thursday, we celebrated National Poetry Day. In her assembly, Elizabeth Hess encouraged boys (especially those in Years 3 and 4) to pop into the library and pick up some books by Alex Wharton. Wharton has just finished his term as the Children’s Poet Laureate of Wales. His short poems (found in collections such as Doughnuts, Thieves and Chimpanzees and Daydreams and Jellybeans) are very funny. However, the poems are also arranged by poetry type. So, whilst chuckling about ‘The Horse on the Loo’, boys will also learn what limericks, haikus, and even ekphrastic poems are!
Shameless plug: if you are looking for a good introduction to poems and how they work, do take a look at https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Poems-Work-Meanings-techniques/dp/1911382942/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1RC9VZRLYKXHG&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.efrwGJ1Lu_8OlfpnfU17Bp7H5oHdL-IxtqHG2YJOujY7dJj2qxJegp1Du01e3xkC6LU00b8Q0V0xDq4zj7UGQ0GEmNST8oNSNfdG4YrX8uGm-rgD4FTODWRi76UEZaNSWw-zFcbFLXGkIXVY0ZI_xg.6FrhBy3PwexdybO7c0l0rKLIaJIL0FaNhJGrl1ixb50&dib_tag=se&keywords=how+poems+work&qid=1758899720&s=books&sprefix=how+poems+work%2Cstripbooks%2C76&sr=1-1
Many thanks to all those families who donated so generously to our Harvest Festival collection on Wednesday, and to Emma Barnes and her charity committee who were so helpful in organising the logistics.
Our next Open Morning is on Saturday 4 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. Please also feel free to share/retweet the schools social media posts about the open morning:
https://www.instagram.com/newcollegeschool/
https://www.facebook.com/newcollegeschool
The New College School ‘Welcome to the Foundation Service’ will be on Wednesday 15 October in New College Chapel. The service will begin at 9.00 and will take a little longer than our usual Chapel. This is the occasion when all new members of the school, boys and staff, are formally welcomed to the New College Foundation by the Headmaster and the Warden of New College, the school’s chair of governors. We would like to encourage all families of new boys to attend this important occasion if you can. Parents of new boys will be directed to seats at the altar end of the chapel, so they get a good view of the ceremony!
The theme for our annual SHTEAM Festival next Hilary will be ‘Our Green Planet’. 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 ‘Our Green Planet’, do please contact emma.krebs@newcollegeschool.org.
On Sunday 14 December at 6pm, the New College School Chamber Choir and Choral Society will present their annual Christmas concert in New College Chapel. This year, we are performing alongside members of The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra in a festive programme including Respighi's Lauda per la Natività del Signore and Britten's Ceremony of Carols.
Tickets are now on sale at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ncs-christmas-concert-respighi-britten-tickets-1741687266499?aff=ebdsoporgprofilee. Tickets at a discounted rate are available for NCS parents: simply use the promo code 'Respighi1379' at the checkout.