And the school starts to prepare for expansion

We really are in an exceptional period of the school's history, with major changes to different aspects happening over the next few weeks. I will be blogging about each change, to keep a record of this time in the school's development.

The first organisation change is a move from two houses to the four we will have from now on as the school grows. The two original houses (Darwin & Einstein) will be supplemented with two more (Roddick & Ennis). The students were told in assembly today which house they were now part of, but before that, I spent some time explaining why we had chosen those people. Here is an extract of the assembly that I gave:

So, we are launching the new houses today. You will all find out which house you are in and get a small 'button badge' to wear to indicate this.

The new houses will have staff in charge of them, but these will be some of the new staff we are appointing over the next few weeks, so in the meantime, Mrs Simpson, Ms Mooney & Mrs Cooper will work with the houses. Diploma points already awarded will be re-distributed so that the new house totals will be displayed showing the four houses in the near future ... historic points will still count, as will negative points too....

But before we announce who's in which house, I thought it would be interesting to look at the four people our houses are named after.

Darwin House is named after Charles Darwin, the author of the book 'On the origin of Species', which first proposed that all living things have common ancestors and that life evolved through a process of Natural Selection. Charles Darwin was born in 1809, in Shropshire. The fifth (of 6) children of Robert (a doctor) and Susannah (housewife). Darwin went to University to follow his father and train to be a doctor, but found the lectures dull, so he studied taxidermy in his free time instead. Getting cross with his son's lack of study, his father sent Charles to a different university to train to be a vicar (as a poor alternative career in those days). However, Charles wasn't that interested in this either and preferred to go riding, shooting and beetle collecting (surprising popular then....). This gave him an interest in geology and through friends the opportunity to join a boat undergoing a trip to chart the coastline of South America came up. The two year journey ended up as five years at sea and Charles' interest in beetles and other animals led to him taking detailed notes about everything he found on the trip. This led to him eventually coming up with his famous theory.He died aged 73. Although he was born and brought up in the upper classes of the time, he was an ordinary person, who followed his passion and ended up doing something truly extra-ordinary.

Einstein House is named after Albert Einstein. Everyone thinks that they know this man, but there is much more to him than the myths. He was born in 1879, in Germany. The son of Hermann, a salesman & engineer and Pauline, a housewife. He left school when he was 15. He was, apparently, at school a very quick, bright young student and only left school when he did because his father's business failed and the family moved to Italy. He did go to school in Italy, but didn't get on with school there, later saying that the 'Spirit of learning and creative thought weer lost in a regime of strict rote learning'. Despite this, at the age of 17, he managed to pass the entry grades required to go to university for a maths and physics teaching diploma. He passed and spent two years looking for a teaching job, but ended up working at the Patent Office as a filing clerk. However, he carried on reading and thinking about Physics and was awarded his PhD in 1904. Visiting America in 1933 with his family, he decided not to return to Germany as Hitler had just risen to power. The rest is well known. Despite his current status as one of the most important scientists of all time, Albert was, quite genuinely, an ordinary person from an ordinary home, who did extra-ordinary things.

Roddick House is named after Dame Anita Roddick, the founder of The Body Shop, Human Rights Activist and Environmental Campaigner. A businesswoman of the Year among many awards, Ms Roddick is an inspiration to many people. She started the Body Shop from her kitchen table, as a way to make an income for herself and her two daughters whilst her husband was away in South America. That was in 1976. 15 years later, there were 700 stores around the country and in less than another 15 years, there were almost 2,000 stores worldwide, serving over 77 million people. 5 years ago, the company was taken over by L'Oreal. She died in 2007, aged 64. An ordinary person who did extra-ordinary things.

Ennis House is named after Jessica Ennis. Called the 'poster girl' of the olympics, Jessica is an ordinary young woman from Sheffield. She was born in 1986 and is only 27 years old. Her Father, originally from Jamaica, is a painter & decorator and her mother is a Social Worker from Derbyshire. Jessica didn't really get into athletics until she was 10 years old & her parents took her to a summer camp in Sheffield. Four years later, she was winning at national competitions. She continued through school and University & has a degree in Psychology whilst competing seriously in competitions.

In 2008, she suffered an injury that took 12 months to heal, resulting in her missing out on the Beijing Olympics, but she got back into training as soon as she could and the rest, as they say, is history. A gold medal in the London Olympics, and a CBE from the Queen for her athletics achievements.

An ordinary person who did (& is doing) extra-ordinary things.

Four ordinary people, from different times in history, who all ended up doing extra-ordinary things. There was nothing about any of them that would have made their teachers at school say that there was someone who would be known throughout the world for what they did. There is nothing stopping any of you here doing extra-ordinary things and being known by hundreds, thousands or even millions of people if you put your mind to it.

When you find out which house you are in, think about the inspiration the person who your house is named after: can you be an inspiration to others in the same way?

Ordinary people doing extra-ordinary things.

Collecting badges

We've had a bit of bother getting the badges we want to issue to students and the story is rapidly approaching a Homer-esk tragi-comedy! Well over a month ago, last term (& last year!) I ordered a set of badges from an online badge supplier (who I will refrain from naming, because we still need to talk to the about missing orders...!). Looking to increase the Student Voice element and to help our students gain experience of being responsible for aspects of school life, we invited applications for student responsibility posts. A Head Girl & Boy, Deputies, Form & House Captains and Prefects. Glittery, enamelled badges were duly ordered to be presented to the successful candidates as soon as possible. A parcel arrived, but damaged & badges were missing. The company were duly informed and promised to send replacements. Time passed and the end of term loomed, with no sign of the replacements. Over the break, a parcel did arrive but it only included badges that had been missed from the original order, not the replacements and still our students don't have their badges. We are hopeful, however, that this will be resolved soon & badges will be handed out, with appropriate hand shakes and clapping of hands in an assembly.

But on a more serious note, thinking about the whole process got me thinking about 'badge collection' in more general terms. You see it everywhere - websites, email footers and letters all with a string of logos along the bottom, saying that we've got this award, or that. We're good at investing in people (whatever that means), or do a certain amount of arty activities, so have an artsmark, and the collecting continues! One email I received the other day had seven different badges along the bottom of the email, shouting that the organisation was good at inclusion, healthy eating, investing in people, etc. . . . . Am I impressed?

Where does this desire to collect badges come from, then? We would probably all agree that from our childhood. Collect stickers from our primary school teacher - 'Can I have a gold star, please, Miss!?'. But where does it end? Should I give out gold stars to my staff when they do things well? Or do I expect that they want to do their best, because doing a good job and the satisfaction gained from doing so is reward in itself? (Although I do believe in saying think you and rewarding excellence. I write personal letters to people thanking them for going the extra mile. The quiet, unpublic thank you.)

The trouble is, there's an element where badge collecting can be harmful and it's the current examination system. We put our young people under enormous stresses, jumping through hoop after hoop in the chase for more and yet more GCSEs. Whilst the press bemoan the dumbing down and whinge about how easy they are to get. But I do think that GCSEs have become little more than badge collecting. What on earth does it show when a young person collects 10, 11 or 12 of them? Seriously, what does it really show? That they have the perseverance to learn an inordinate number of facts and regurgitate these in the appropriate manner in the marathon that is the summer exams. Hour after hour sitting in a intimidating room, either too cold or too hot & if you suffer from hay fever it's even worse.

In 1972, the school leaving age was raised to 16 and O-levels (& CSEs) were the national record of school achievement. A national school leaving certificate, if you want. And less than 7% went on to university. Now, however, the age at which a young person has to stay on in education or training is being raised to 18. And over 45% of young people go on to university.

Maybe GCSEs have outlived their purpose, therefore. They are no longer a leaving certificate, marking the point in a person's life where they leave school. And in a school they are so wasteful of time. Think about this: the current 'standard' model is for a GCSE to be a two year, 6 term course. But the whole of the last term is written off with first revision / cramming / exam practice then the actual exam itself. And there's coursework (or Controlled Assessments), which will easily eat up 4 - 6 weeks of time out of effective learning. That's another 1/2 a term. That amounts to 25% of the total course length spent on demonstrating what you've learnt. A full quarter of the time wasted.

I'm not sure I have the answer, but something has to be done about this. Can we justify wasting so much of our students' precious time? Let alone put them under so much pressure? I am putting the details to our plans for what our post-14 curriculum will look like and, in keeping with everything else we're doing, it will be a fresh approach to education! If we start with the assumption that our students will stay with us to 18, we can look at a 4 or 5 year pathway to higher education, with the compulsory exams diluted in their impact. And that is where we are looking here at Sandymoor.

Reflection on the new year to come

Walking the dogs the other day, chatting about the Christmas holidays about to end & all our children, usually unwilling to agree on anything as a matter of principle, were unanimous about their intense desire not to go back to school. And that got me thinking ...

So, I've been a Headteacher (or Principal, as it's a Free School / Academy) for 'only' a term (not including the 6 months prior to opening), but I have been teaching for over 20 years. And I can say with certainty that I still absolutely love my job. Yes, there are times when it's hard & I feel overwhelmed, but on balance, I really do think I have one of the best jobs in the world. It is such a shame that the vast majority (if not the entirety) of young people under the age of 16 are today bordering on clinical depression thinking about the school run tomorrow.

I've heard and read a lot about the discontinuity that is the difference between a young persons' life outside of school and inside, highlighted by the immediacy of the Xbox, Internet and FaceBook. Watching my children over the last couple of weeks, I have noticed one thing - it's not about the currently popular modern technology-bashing phrase about short time spans! In fact, our two youngest have, at times, spent over 3 hours on task. Ok, it was an Xbox game (Minecraft, so no killing or blowing things up even ....!), but 3 hours, non-stop!! That's not a short attention span. And it's not even just modern technology. Over the break, we've taught the youngest to play backgammon. On a traditional board. And she will play two or three games in a row. Again, there's no short attention span there.

Reading, however, is different. I've just bought the eldest an ereader for Christmas and she's loving it. The youngest, however would, in her own words, rather "wait for the film to come out - so much easier and quicker!". And I don't blame her either. I've never read Les Miserables, but I've seen the stage show a number of times and am so excited about the film about to come out!

But back to school (& I can almost hear the national groans from households around the country). How can I, as a Head, do something to make school somewhere that my students want to be part of & enjoy like I do?

First of all, I would say that the vast majority of my students enjoy school the vast majority of the time, once they are there. In fact, it was lovely last term seeing the students coming in to school - none of them looked like they had to be forced out of bed to get to cool on time & they were not desperate to leave at the end of the school day either. This did not happen by chance. We focused, in the first term, on the personal. Seeing each student as an individual, rather than a herd. Getting to know them and understanding their individual personalities is important. In fact, I would say it's vital.

The other thing is relevance. Being an Academy, we can adapt the curriculum to make it relevant to our students. And we are. Yes, this is hard work, because it has meant that every teacher has been re-writing schemes of work to match the school. I know that I have an amazing team of staff with me, who have worked hard (& will have worked hard over the break) to bring this vision to reality, but it has also been essential. The students know that what they are being taught is relevant to them and has been crafted by teachers who care.

We also don't talk down to them. The environment is one where we encourage the students to see themselves as being in a workplace. This is the starting point of our behaviour policy too; students are held to account for their behaviour and asked to justify their actions in terms of what would be acceptable in the workplace.

And we seek to make the environment even more relevant to them, by engaging other people in our journey. Each student has a member of the local business community as a mentor to them and we bring in opportunities to reflect the students' excitement. This term, for example, we are looking to offer Sign Language lessons as an after school club, acting master-classes by a local, successful actress and links with an organisation that will develop reporting skills in a group of our students as an extra-curricular activity. The Reporters' Academy is a local organisation that has similar values to ours; giving young people real-life experiences of situations and giving them the skills to be successful.

I am excited about welcoming our students back tomorrow morning and while some may well be groaning about coming back to school, I am hopeful that once we get back into things, they will throw themselves into it all as fully as they did last term!

 

School Traditions

Friday's assembly was a special one: naming the first set of Student Responsibilities for Sandymoor:

One of the nice things about being part of a community is the chance to celebrate events and significant dates. In families, birthdays and anniversaries can be important times in the year, where the family gets together to celebrate these milestones. And at the big events, such as weddings, etc, it is a chance for the wider family to get together for a celebration, with members of the community meeting for the first time in a long time.

These events are part of what holds the family together; the joint celebrating of the good times.

And in school communities, it is important to mark specific things as well. That is why we have the birthday celebrations in school, as a community we are celebrating each and every one of our personal milestones. . .

That was why we celebrated the school’s official opening the other week – and from here on in, the first Friday after half term will be a celebration event in the school calendar. We will meet, formally, as a community to celebrate what the past year has held for us and look forward to the coming year.

And traditions are important to communities too. I don’t know about you, but in my family, there was, for example, always a present left under the tree to be opened on Boxing Day (because my parents didn’t want all the excitement to be over on the one day!). And, of course, it’s always important to leave a carrot for Rudolf on Christmas eve ….

The formality of a community’s traditions are part of what helps to define the community. Those who take part in the tradition are a stronger part of that community. And so in a way, Founders’ Day will become a tradition here at Sandymoor. Something that helps us understand who we are as a community.

And today we start another tradition. Student leadership roles. These are posts people have applied for and some people have been disappointed by not getting the post they wanted. We have selected a team of student leaders who will have the opportunity to have a real impact on Sandymoor school, taking responsibility for clear and specific parts of how the school works as well as having an input into how the school grows and develops.

Before I announce the post holders, however, I do want to stress the responsibility that these people will have. Each person I announce now will have to promise to try their hardest to lead by example, to hold the school and the reputation of the school.

It is a huge honour to be given the responsibility, but with that honour comes the serious business. Each and every one of these people will be given specific jobs to perform and they will have to show us that they can do this.

But without any further rambling, I am pleased to appoint the following:

Head Girl:                            Rebecca Edwards

Deputy Head Girl:            Jamie To

Head Boy:                          James Laff

Deputy                               Jack Kirkbride

Form Captains:                 William Webb (Yr07)
                                            Alfie Rowland (Yr08)

House Captains:               Tyler Willcott (Darwin)
                                            Rowan Hobson (Einstein)

Prefects:                            Annie Hilton     
                                            Eleanor Watson
                                            Sophie Betteridge
                                            Georgia Coakley
                                            Aaron Davies
                                            Chantelle Stewart
                                            Sydney Cato
                                            George Stoddart
                                            Daniel Fenelon
                                            Sean Poutney
                                            Connor Whitmore

Charity Prefects:              Nicole Smith & Callum Thornton

Sports Prefects:               TJ Robertson & Rebecca Fenelon

Arts Prefect:                     Jessica Rooney

School Newspaper:        Chris Harrop

Well done to every one of them! I will be meeting with the Head Boy & Girl to discuss the specific roles for the prefects next week, and the Head boy / girl & deputies, form & house captains will form the school council as well.

Another Sandymoor tradition has begun.

Friday assembly - National Anti-Bullying week

This week has been National Anti-Bullying Week. In fact, the whole month of November has been Anti-Bullying month.

 

In the student survey most of you completed, 60% of you said you have never been bullied here at School. And while that is a high number, it does mean that 40% of you have experienced bullying here. And that saddens me. What is interesting is that 91% of you say that you have never bullied someone. So either it's a very small number of you who are bullying the rest, or there is a difference of opinion about bullying. I think it is the latter; you have different opinions about what bullying is.

 

So, simply put, bullying is any behaviour that is intended to cause distress or harm. It can be physical, or mental. It can be subtle, or full on. It can be online, or whispers in the corner.

 

It is not disagreeing with someone else and having an argument or falling out over something.

 

Bullying is usually about power. It is when someone feels that they can make themselves feel better by making someone else feel worse.

 

When you have an argument with someone, or fall out over something, you can say nasty things, or even be physical towards them. This is not bullying. It is not good, and people get hurt when they fall out, but there is still the chance and willingness to put it right.

 

The thing about bullying is that it is one person having power over someone else. In the extreme, it is a bully physically threatening the victim & causing harm. Persistent, real, physical harm.

 

But it's also the more subtle control. Making someone feel small, or making them doubt themselves. Making their successes feel like nothing.

 

Or there's the bullying by excluding. Making someone feel like no-one wants to play with them or be with them.

 

You've all had many talks from different people about bullying, and yet it still goes on. A significant number of you have said that you feel like you are being bullied. And so it is going on.

 

There's three things I want to say about bullying. One thing aimed at anyone who has been bullied and two things to everyone.

 

To anyone who feels bullied:

It is hard to imagine it, but it can and will stop. You can make it stop. First of all, in the short term, a piece of advice:- No-one can make you feel small, inferior, without you letting them have that control over you. It is you and who you are, and you can choose how to respond.

Now, you may well say to yourself; what does he know? He's the head teacher - no-one bullies him. I know more than you realise. I was bullied at school, by a significant group of other students. I do know how you feel.

Also, you can take control. Don't lash out and fight the bully, because that will only get you into trouble as well. I know about that too - I did lash out once & got into a lot of trouble because of it.

Instead, tell someone. It will not make things worse. The bully wants you to believe that, so they can go on bullying you! Instead, tell someone. An adult.

 

In the same survey you took, a quarter of you said that you wouldn't speak to anyone if you were bullied. And I can appreciate that, but if you don't do something about it, nothing will change. And that is a horrible place to be, mentally.

 

Here in school, you can talk to any adult you trust and feel will listen. In an ideal world, you would tell your form tutor, Mrs Simpson if you are in year 8, or Ms Mooney if you are in year 7, but if they are not around, or you would rather talk to someone else, that's absolutely fine! We are also creating an email address, so you can report the fact that you are being bullied when you feel safe to do so, without seeming to go to talk to an adult. And you can come and talk to me at any time too.

 

To everyone else:

First of all, you all have the potential to be a bully. Anyone can find someone weaker than themselves & use that person to make them self feel better. But how sad is it to rely on putting someone else down to make yourself feel better?! Do you really value yourself so little that you have to make someone else feel bad in order to feel ok yourself?

 

We've had a few instances this week of behaviour that falls below what I expect of you and that saddens me. It's not always been bullying, but aggressive, hurtful behaviour is never acceptable. And it's not just the physical that saddens me either - there has been a number of occasions where some of you have really upset others by what you've said, or how you've behaved.

 

Sometimes it can be hard, because you get frustrated with someone else, but that's what it's all about - being tolerant and understanding that some people see things differently to you. It is important to be humble enough to accept someone else for who they are. Even when (no, especially when) they are annoying you with how they are.

 

If you want to be 'big' or impress others, do it by showing how tolerant and accepting you can be of others. That's the really impressive thing.

 

And finally, to all of you, we are a community. That means we all accept responsibility for everyone else. Not one of you can look me in the eye and say that the bullying is nothing to do with you. If any of you allow someone else to hurt another member of the community, you are no better than the bully yourself. That may sound harsh, but it is true. We all need to look out for each other.

 

Founders day speech 2012

Founders day was an amazing success! Thank you to everyone who turned out at 3pm to see Graham Evans, MP perform the official opening ceremony and unveil a commemorative plaque.

The dining hall has full to bursting to hear the Chair of Governor's report & the Headteacher's report! Then everyone enjoyed the tour of the school, the amazing travelling zoo and finally the fireworks. Sandymoor school is well and truly open...

The Headteacher's report is reproduced below:

They say in politics that you judge a government by the first 100 days. Well, interestingly, counting back 100 days and we get to the 1st August! So what has happened since then?

Well, by the 1st August, it was the summer holidays. I had already visited over 30 potential parents in their homes, attended numerous meetings and events, and was looking forward to spending the summer getting ready to open the school. 

The site was still an empty field, although it did have temporary security fencing around it (which had been up since early July and the Summer Fair. I don't think I had ever been more excited by fencing than seeing the fencing that surrounded our site...

But all our staff had been appointed and everything was still on schedule. Although the weather was not kind, things were still progressing. During the summer, we had training days with all the staff and further planning meetings. Dave Guest from the BBC did some filming in preparation for their 'features' on the school. 

And then on the 21st August, the buildings arrived on site. With just two weeks to go, it was all hands on deck & at times the building site looked like something from Challenge Anica, with up to 60 workmen on the site at some points!

Monday, 3rd September and we open! I can now confess to being incredibly nervous that morning, after a completely sleepless night, standing at the school gate, waiting for our first students to arrive. The first student walking towards the school, in the Sandymoor uniform .... what an amazing sight!!

And it's been non-stop since then. We opened with no mains electricity (running on generators), water from a temporary supply and mobile phones our only communications. With 19 students when we started, we are now at 37, with a maximum capacity of 45 this year. Our intake is truly comprehensive, with a significantly greater percentage of Free School Meal students and students with special educational needs than Halton's average. 

On our open events, we had over 150 different families come and visit the school and we have high expectations of being full for September 2013. Sandymoor School is most definitely going from strength to strength!

One good milestone to see, just in the last couple of days, is work beginning on Wharford Lane, where the site for the new school is. To quote from the building company's brief:

"To enable the delivery of Sandymoor Free School".

This first Founders' day has been a true celebration of an enormous amount of hard work and determination by a lot of people. We would not be where we are today without a group of five ordinary people, like you and me. Like your parents. They decided to say that they wanted to make a difference & start a school here, in Sandymoor. Because they wanted to provide more choice for the people in this part of Runcorn. 

And I am so excited to be leading such an inspirational team of people in making a difference. It has been an incredibly tough journey for every member of staff here, and I want to publicly thank them for all the hard work they have put in to helping me make the vision a reality. They all inspire me. Thank you.

It is about you, however. This is all about you. Our students. Everything about us, and all the planning, long nights and heart-aches, it's all about you. 

This is all about giving you the best possible opportunity we can give to help you become the very best you can be. That is what education should always be about and it's a shame that it sometimes isn't, because politics or personal ambition gets in the way. But I promise you here and now that here, at Sandymoor, that is what it is all about. You. And helping you become the very best you can be.

First Founders' Day Assembly

It has been a long time since my last post, but things have been a little busy recently! Anyhow, like buses, you wait for ages, then two turn up in short succession ....

Today, 9th November, 2012, Sandymoor School celebrates it's opening with it's first Founders' Day. There's lots of exciting things going on during the day and the official opening is at 3pm, with speeches, food, drink & fireworks.

And there is a lot to celebrate. Two posts today, the first being the Assembly I gave this morning to the school. I will follow this later with my official speech for the opening ceremony.


Today is a special day. Why? Why not!

But today we celebrate the founding of the school. Today we celebrate what we have here and what we have achieved.

 

Why today? Again, I say why not! We chose today for a lot of reasons, none of them, in themselves, special. Today is the first Friday after 1/2 term. It was the date a VIP said they could make. That's about it.

 

It's a birthday for some people. In fact, around the world, for quite a lot of people! Apart from Jess, here, it's the birthday of a hero of mine: Carl Sagan. He actually died in 1996, but if he was still alive today, he would be celebrating his 78th birthday today. Carl Sagan was sort of the Brian Cox of my youth. When I was your age, he had written a book which was turned into a TV series called Cosmos & it blew my mind away! It was one of the things that made me want to go into Science. He recalls a similar experience. To quote from him:

 

I went to the librarian and asked for a book about stars ...And the answer was stunning. It was that the Sun was a star but really close. The stars were suns, but so far away they were just little points of light ...The scale of the universe suddenly opened up to me. It was a kind of religious experience. There was a magnificence to it, a grandeur, a scale which has never left me. Never ever left me.

 

For all his life, Science was a passion, that excited him and inspired him to do his best.

 

The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be counter-intuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be consonant with what we desperately want to be true. But or preferences (our wants) do not change or determine what is true.

 

But back to today, here, and now. Today is a celebration of what we have achieved. What we have done, together. And it's no small thing.

 

18 months ago, a group of ordinary people decided to have a go. They had a desire to do something big, something grand, something special. They didn't think that at the time (& probably don't to this day), but that is what they did. A group of five ordinary people, like you and me. Like your parents. They decided to say that they wanted to make a difference & start a school here, in Sandymoor. Because they wanted to provide more choice for the people in this part of Runcorn.

 

Now, starting a school is not a simple task! They had to pass a huge number of tests set by government, to ensure that the school is fit for purpose. And that, in itself, is good, because we don't want anyone opening up a school.

 

After all, you are the future of this country. Of this planet! And your experience in school will shape how you go on into adulthood.

 

And so these parents, just like your parents, with busy lives, things to do, jobs, kids, and everything else, took on another task. Founding Sandymoor School.

 

Countless meetings long into the night, sometimes overnight, many long trecks to Sheffield, Leeds and London to meet with officials, and here we now are.

 

I've said this before, but it is worth saying it again. These five ordinary people, through determination and persistence, have achieved something extra-ordinary. And as an inspiration for a school, I could not wish for better. It proves that any of you could, in fact should aim to, go on and do something extra-ordinary!

 

But we have also had to turn the dream, the idea, into reality. I know a lot of you were looking at this site during August and wondering how the school would be ready! But as you know, it was. We were running off generators to start with, with water in a temporary supply (in fact that is only being sorted today), and only mobile phones, but we opened.

 

And to me that also tells us something; it's not about fancy buildings or things like that, but people who make a difference.

 

And I am so excited to be leading such an inspirational team of people in making a difference. It has been an incredibly tough journey for every member of staff here, and I want to publicly thank them for all the hard work they have put in to helping me make the vision a reality. They all inspire me. Thank you.

 

It is about you, however. This is all about you. Our students. Everything about us, and all the planning, long nights and heart-aches, it's all about you.

 

This is all about giving you the best possible opportunity we can give to help you become the very best you can be. That is what education should always be about and it's a shame that it sometimes isn't, because politics or personal ambition gets in the way. But I promise you here and now that here, at Sandymoor, that is what it is all about. You. And helping you become the very best you can be.

 

And now I am going to apuse and read a poem. One of my favorites, by a poet called Louise MacNeice and it is called 'Prayer Before Birth'.

 

I am not yet born; O hear me.

Let not the bloodsucking bat or the rat or the stoat or the

club-footed ghoul come near me.




I am not yet born, console me.

I fear that the human race may with tall walls wall me,

with strong drugs dope me, with wise lies lure me,

on black racks rack me, in blood-baths roll me.




I am not yet born; provide me

With water to dandle me, grass to grow for me, trees to talk

to me, sky to sing to me, birds and a white light

in the back of my mind to guide me.




I am not yet born; forgive me

For the sins that in me the world shall commit, my words

when they speak me, my thoughts when they think me,

my treason engendered by traitors beyond me,

my life when they murder by means of my

hands, my death when they live me.




I am not yet born; rehearse me

In the parts I must play and the cues I must take when

old men lecture me, bureaucrats hector me, mountains

frown at me, lovers laugh at me, the white

waves call me to folly and the desert calls

me to doom and the beggar refuses

my gift and my children curse me.




I am not yet born; O hear me,

Let not the man who is beast or who thinks he is God

come near me.




I am not yet born; O fill me

With strength against those who would freeze my

humanity, would dragoon me into a lethal automaton,

would make me a cog in a machine, a thing with

one face, a thing, and against all those

who would dissipate my entirety, would

blow me like thistledown hither and

thither or hither and thither

like water held in the

hands would spill me.




Let them not make me a stone and let them not spill me.

Otherwise kill me.

 

A prayer, or a cry out, for us to do everything we can to make this world a safe place, a good place, for all children.

 

Which leads me to another reason why today is special. Or at least Sunday. Because Sunday is the 11th November. The 11th of the 11th. In most of the world also known as Remembrance Sunday. The day where we remember those people who have lost their lives in conflicts around the world from the first world war up to today and soldiers losing their lives in Afghanistan. It's not about glorifying war, but remembering those people who paid the ultimate sacrifice for just what that poem by Louis MacNeice is all about - trying to keep the man who is beast or who thinks he is god come near innocent children.

 

And so I would like to end with a traditional act or remembrance. I am going to say a short poem and then I would appreciate it if we could then hold a minute's silence in honour of everyone who has died in conflict or war:

 

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

(Silence)

Thank you. Now, let's have fun today!