A letter from The Head – 30 January 2026

Dear Parents,

The Gift of Schooling

Certain families protect their children from ugliness in the world for as long as possible. This “ugliness” is naturally subjectively defined depending on various personal experiences and beliefs.

Fortuitously and delightfully, we are all marginally unique – the sum of parts that come together to form our person. This unique combination of influences informs our way of being in this world, shaping the choices we make and the motivations we choose to honour and pursue. Some hold that the influences in our formative years are of greater import than those in later years, while others argue that we adopt new motivations as we make our way in the world, if we remain open to other ways of being.

A collection of teenage boys, gathered as a school, is a kaleidoscope of influence – beautiful to behold whilst being precariously delicate at the same time.

Making space for difference, for others, for expansion of thought and experience, must surely be a foundation of learning. And so, the age of innocence is an interesting concept when one considers the communal nature of a school – and especially a boarding school. When is exposure to a wider array of influences appropriate? When is one ready to engage and debate different ideologies or ways of being?

While some argue that exposure to divergent thinking should wait for a particular age, a more meaningful approach is to consider cognitive readiness instead. Here, we are all different. Cognitive readiness is better associated with maturity, which includes several fairly modern labels such as emotional quotient alongside intellectual quotient. If one adds spiritual awareness to the pot, attributes such as empathy, tolerance, inclusivity, and openness must translate into behaviours that can be mastered.

Schools are strange constructs in that we arrange ourselves primarily by age. Very few, if any, other institutions categorise by age. I often wonder whether this arrangement serves us best, but reimagining an entire system would necessitate wholesale unlearning and re-learning. Perhaps, one day…

By using age as a categoriser, we easily slip into comparing every 14-year-old to every other 14-year- old. Comparison can so easily be a destructive practice among humans as value is then measured in relation to another, rather than affording every individual the privilege of being valued alone, separate from the group.

Whilst the utopian world imagined by the idealists among us remains distant, we understand that a collection of young men will arrive with a wide range of lived experiences and, therefore, diverse opinions. It is this rich variety that enables growth both communally and individually.

In a world that seems determined to polarise into “us” and “them”, we should celebrate the coming together of young people – even if in age-cohorts – to learn and practise the art of understanding. The age of innocence and its distinct challenges can then be reimagined to reflect a great opportunity to engage across differences, to open oneself to new ideas and to consolidate those ideas about which one is convinced. This can surely begin as soon as one’s cognitive readiness allows.

School, with all its idiosyncrasies, still serves as a unique place for communal and individual growth; this is why it remains a precious gift.

Regards,