Donald Rumsfeld: “Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tend to be the difficult ones.”

When my departure was announced last September, I said that the school would continue in the same way this academic year – full steam ahead – and I would be just as interested in detail and no less keen to support Pilgrims’ boys.  I must run hard before handing the baton to Dr Sarah Essex.  Therefore, please do not misunderstand the reflective tone of this article. 

As I left the first sitting of James Shone’s talk yesterday, a parent said: that talk will make writing your Pilgrims’ Way article easy.  Indeed!  James is a remarkable character: a highly respected teacher and leader, he was diagnosed with a brain tumour when he underwent a medical after being offered the role of Headmaster of Monkton Combe School in Bath – a position he was then unable to take.  Years of rehabilitation followed.  James quoted the great line that ‘in adversity we have a choice’.  One soon sees past his disabilities, such is his impressive personality; James is clever, witty, articulate, engaging – and a man with profound understanding of how human beings work.

From Boys to Men Part I

In my back-catalogue of Pilgrims’ Way articles, the aim has always been to give an interesting take on the operation and thinking of the school.  My endeavour is to aid common purpose rather than be controversial.

Blockbuster.  No, not Blockbusters, the game show hosted by Bob Holness (I cannot help but add, as everyone does, the second man to play James Bond), but the video rental shop.  Today’s boys are unlikely to experience the excitement of browsing rows of videos before negotiating an agreeable title with friends, for there is only one Blockbuster left in the world, in Oregon, USA.  This is the Netflix age.  And yet there was a time, in 2008, when Blockbuster turned down the chance to buy Netflix, then a DVD mailing service, for (in retrospect) a bargain $50 million. Netflix is now worth $150 billion.