To be a Pilgrim is to be inspired, Episode 25
I am continually inspired by Pilgrims: their conversation, sports prowess, musical ability, intellectual curiosity, energy, engagement, friendships, their care for others and kindness. Each boy is different and unique, of course, but they share so many of these talents and values. So far this term I have been inspired in particular by four groups of boys.
To be a Pilgrim is to build community, Episode 24
Our community, made up of Pilgrims and their families, staff, the Cathedral and the College, and the wider community in Winchester is very important to the boys and the School. It is also important that both individual boys and the whole School contribute to the local community, nationally, and to the wider world. We do that through charity, of course, but also in other ways such as through links with other schools, through sports and other interschool or national competitions, and in events like the Mountbatten Festival I mentioned last week. We are always looking to make more community connections.
To be a Pilgrim is to learn together, Episode 23
It has been wonderful to welcome Pilgrims and staff back to The Pilgrims’ School after the Easter holidays. We especially welcomed seven new Pilgrims from Year 2 to 7 and also Mrs Hunter who is teaching 3G, and Mr Schultz and Miss Owen who are joining Mr Nelson and Miss Jones this term as GAPs. It has been lovely to see a good number of boys return who were not able to do so when we re-opened on 8 March since they were overseas during lockdown.
To be a Pilgrim is to be together, Episode 22
This morning we held our End of Lent Term Celebration Assembly and Service by Zoom.
We reflected on the term, celebrated the boys’ efforts, awarded prizes and said thank you and goodbye to Alice Goodthwaite and the School Accountant, Alison Higgins. This was:
To be a Pilgrim is to make the world a better place, Episode 21
A couple of weeks ago, Mrs Short and I were having an admissions call with the mother of a four year old who registered her son for the School when he was about one. We were talking about the ethos of the School and I described how I hear Pilgrims regularly describe themselves as looking to “treat others as they would like to be treated themself”. The mother told me a lovely story. At that time, long before COVID-19, she, her husband and son came to tour the School. It was a school day. She said she and her husband were impressed about lots of things about the School but her lasting memory is how as they walked around Pilgrims’ with their little boy in his push chair (on the grass by the river bank, round the Quad, on the gravel by the Puddle perhaps) eight different Pilgrims offered to help them with the push chair! How wonderful. That makes me so proud. Pilgrims definitely make the world a better place. Pilgrims make a difference. Pilgrims make me smile. Oh that reminds me of something…! I digress.
To be a Pilgrim is to Challenge inequality, Episode 20
Re-opening the physical Pilgrims’ School on 8 March
It was wonderful to welcome the boys and staff back into on Monday! With enormous thanks to staff, parents and of course the boys who have made this happen. Thank you so much to the PPA for bringing two huge buckets of daffodils for the staff. So kind and thoughtful of you to think of staff at this time. There has been palpable excitement all week, purposeful learning in classrooms across the school, the wonderful sounds of boys’ chatter and giggles everywhere, and so many games of cricket on the quad and yard both in daylight and at dusk, as well as breaktimes. Music practice is again to be heard from the windows of the Priory and ensembles are back together making music. Year 7 and Year 8 boys have had two lateral flow tests, all taken in their stride, and they seemed to get down to their exams well this week. We welcomed back on the ‘screens’ those boys who are still further away and who were not able to get back this term due to travel restrictions or because it would be too onerous to quarantine for three weeks in school.
To be a Pilgrim is to look forward, Episode 19
Pilgrims are, like children all over the country, looking forward to being back in School, to seeing their friends and teachers, and to resuming education in person on Monday – something until the past year we have all taken for granted. We, teachers and staff, are really looking forward to seeing and hearing boys in the School again. The School without boys is a strange place; not exactly the Marie Celeste, but it certainly does feel deafeningly quiet in large parts.
To be a Pilgrim is to Grow (Part ii), Episode 18
It was wonderful to hear Prime Minister Boris Johnson announce on Monday that Pilgrims’ can reopen our gates and our classrooms for boys and teachers and return to physical lessons on 8 March! Despite the very real challenges of the lockdown and the pandemic that we feel every day, I sense that change and growth is definitely in the air. For example, not only is School reopening, but it really is starting to feel like Spring, the days are suddenly noticeably longer after half term, there are crocuses and hyacinths sprouting around the trees the Close, and we are in the season of Lent, a time of preparation.
To be a Pilgrim ... is to celebrate, Episode 17
Happy New Year! Today, 12 February, is Chinese New Year’s Day and I am delighted to wish all who are celebrating today a Happy New Year! In Pilgrims’ Virtual School this week the boys have been learning about Chinese New Year and we were thrilled to watch a lovely short film made by our boys who celebrate it. The link to this film follows the PPA Chinese New Year report further down the newsletter.
To be a Pilgrim … is to express yourself, Episode 16
More than a calendar month in, this lockdown feels as if it has been quite long now. I want to pay tribute to our boys, parents and all the teachers for your effort, hard work, resilience, positivity and sheer determination to keep learning and teaching going and get our wonderful school through lockdown. Those of you parents who are medics and are working so hard to help all of us through this pandemic, thank you – thank you for your enormous care and dedication!
To be a Pilgrim … is to grow, Episode 15
Education is a right for all…
Sunday, 24 January, was the United Nations International Day of Education. Here at The Pilgrims’ School, every day is a day when we celebrate and strive for the highest standards education but Sunday and, specifically Monday when we marked the UN Day of Education as a whole school, were different. On Monday, we remembered that access to an education is a right for all children in the world in order to develop their personalities, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential. António Guterres, Secretary General of the UN, paid tribute to “the resilience of students, teachers and families in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic”. The pandemic is thought to have exacerbated the attainment gap between less and more affluent children as the former are more likely to be constrained by lack of access to technology, individual tutorship and stable learning environments. But on Monday, the UN Secretary General also reminded us that even before the pandemic a massive 258 million children and teenagers in the world did not have access to education - the majority of whom are girls. António Guterres encouraged all countries and economies to address this issue saying, “Education is the foundation for expanding opportunities, transforming economies, fighting intolerance, protecting our planet and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.” It is not negotiable.
To be a Pilgrim … is to endeavour, Episode 14
As an educator, one of the most important values to me is endeavour. It is an essential behaviour for any learner. I also think it is fitting for this weekend as we have now completed almost three weeks of The Virtual Pilgrims’ School in this lockdown. Well done, everyone! Boys, staff and parents have all endeavoured to keep exceptional learning happening all over our (virtual) school and to keep things as normal as possible in this challenging situation.