blog - 12 October 2009

This time a week ago I was in Liverpool at this year’s HMC Conference. HMC - The Headmasters’ & Headmistress’ Conference - represents the Top 250 co-educational and boys’ public schools in the UK. Along with all the other Heads who attended, I was accommodated in The Adelphi Hotel, a Victorian masterpiece where the passengers on the Titanic stayed prior to embarking on their fateful voyage!

I had dinner last Tuesday evening with Ian Wilmshurst, Deputy Headmaster at RHS from 2005-2009 and now Headmaster at King’s School, Bruton, and Jeremy Gladwin, Deputy Headmaster at RHS from 1999-2005 and now Headmaster of St. Edmund’s, Canterbury. Both were in excellent form and sent their best wishes to the RHS community.

The conference consisted of a series of presentations and lectures, most notably given by General Sir Mike Jackson, former Chief of the General Staff who spoke in typically uncompromising fashion on leadership; Brian Barwick, former Chairman of the FA responsible for the appointment of Fabio Cappello as England coach, who spoke about the importance of sport in education; Ian Coull, former Director of Sainsbury’s who spoke on the subject of “What business wants from the education system”, and Roger McGough, one of Britain’s best-loved and well-known poets and host of Radio 4 Poetry Please who entertained a large crowd of Heads after dinner on Tuesday with a series of delightful poems.

It was an enjoyable and reassuring few days away from school. Enjoyable because I met up with a large number of old friends, and reassuring because it reminded me, as I reflected upon RHS from afar, that this really is a remarkable and unique school.

On Saturday afternoon, I watched our U15 girls’ hockey team play against Ipswich School - although we lost 0-3 I can report that the quality of play was first class (Jenny Myatt and Laura Brown were particularly impressive). On Saturday evening I attended a concert in the Burns Recital Hall given by two colleagues, Jenny Smith (soprano) and Christian White (piano). It was a stunning concert. Jenny sang beautifully and Christian’s piano-playing was truly fantastic.

And finally, we have had some rain at last and we are now playing contact as opposed to touch rugby!