From the Headmaster:

For those of you who have been able to join us at the school over the last few months, I hope you would agree that there is something of a buzz in the air. Over the summer we received notification of the best set of A Level results we have achieved in recent history. We were delighted to find that this had placed us as the highest achieving boarding school in the North West. This magnificent result is testament to the St Bees community of teachers, hardworking pupils and highly supportive parents and former pupils. I mention former pupils as there is no doubt that the support offered by members of the Society to the school in so many ways is an integral part of all that leads to such superb accolades. I am also delighted to be able to report that we have seen the school roll grow for the first time in a few years and we welcomed over ninety new pupils this September.

Many of you will have read about the recent news of the government’s deciding to promote the benefits of boarding. Well once again, St Bees has been ahead of the curve and I’m delighted to announce that our decision to offer weekly boarding places to a select number of day pupils has meant that all four boarding houses are full, and indeed we now have a waiting list for weekly boarding places.

Probably closer to the hearts of many members of the Society will be the welcome news that following extensive work on the Crease over the Summer holiday, we have been able to host a full set of fixtures back at the school this term and it has been a real pleasure to look out on a well-cared for rugby pitch rather than a boating lake! Following the flooding last year we have also seen a great deal of refurbishment going on around the site with a new Food Technology Area and significant improvements to the Fox Music school. The Bursar and his team have also been hard at work painting and decorating large areas of the site, all of which helps to make the place look so much better. A visiting old boy commented that it looked ‘loved’ again, I thought this was rather a wonderful way of expressing things. Many of you will know that Mr Nigel Halfpenny has been working as our Bursar since last December and I would like to thank him most sincerely for all his hard work over the last twelve months. There is no doubt that having a former pupil as a Bursar is a real advantage and I know all of those who have come into contact with Nigel comment on his absolute passion for the school.

We have welcomed a number of new staff and I am delighted to say that they are doing a magnificent job and making a dramatic impact on the quality of teaching and extra-curricular activities we offer to our pupils. Sadly there isn’t time to list them all here but it was a particular highlight to welcome back Amelia Warne (nee McWilliam) (G/L 88-95) as Head of Classics. It speaks so highly of all that St Bees stands for that a former Head Girl would want to come back and teach in her former school. Those who were able to attend the superb Newcastle Dinner had the opportunity to meet our new Deputy Head, Miss Alexia Taylor. Miss Taylor comes to St Bees with a background in raising the quality of teaching and learning in her previous schools and it has been a real pleasure to work with her in reviewing and enhancing what goes on in the classrooms here. In changing times it is also wonderful to have appointed our first ever female Deputy Head. You’ll be aware that there are a great deal of changes happening in education at the moment and it is inspiring to be able to work with someone as knowledgeable as Miss Taylor as we help to maintain and enhance the high quality of education we provide.

On Saturday 21st September we celebrated Old St Beghians’ Day and it was a real pleasure to be able to meet so many members of the Society and to hear about their memories of their time at school. The highlight of the day was of course the presence of Stuart Lancaster, the England rugby coach. I don’t think our rugby team will ever forget his inspirational words to them and it was fantastic to see such a large crowd of people supporting the day’s sporting events. That evening those of us who were able to secure tickets were treated to a spectacular black tie dinner. My thanks to all of those involved in making this evening such a success. Stuart was able to share with us a most entertaining and motivating speech on his journey from St Bees to becoming England’s coach. It was fantastic to hear him talk about the values that he learnt from his time here and how they have helped him as he has taken on this iconic role. As a consequence of the raffle and auction we were delighted to be able to award our three chosen charities with cheques to the value of £15,500. Representatives from the Calvert Trust, Cash for Kids and St Bees RNLI came to the school last week and Pam Rumney, David Milner and I were able to hear from them how they will use the funds generated by our dinner to support much needed charitable work in the local community. Thank you to everyone who gave prizes and to those who offered bids; I can assure you that your generous donations are being put to excellent use.

At the end of the last academic year I travelled out to Nigeria to discover what was happening in this newly emerging market for British boarding schools. I was struck by the tremendous warmth of welcome from the people that I met and how highly they valued all that a St Bees’ education meant. There is a great deal of competition for the best Nigerian pupils, not only from the UK but also from schools in America, Canada and Australia. However, I am confident that it will not be too long before we are once again able to welcome pupils here from Nigeria. I am very grateful for the support that has been offered by a number of members of the Society who are now working in Nigeria. There is no doubt that personal recommendations are invaluable in helping us to attract new pupils.

Last month saw Jane Hawley travelling out to Bulgaria to meet prospective families in what is becoming another new market for the school. I am delighted that we now have three Bulgarian pupils here and Jane has built a very personal link with these families who are now helping her to spread the word about St Bees. Whilst Jane was in Bulgaria, I travelled out to Moscow to meet current parents and to attend a fair for families who are interested in sending their children to the UK. We both then attended an event held in London where over the course of the weekend we were able to discuss the school with a whole host of agents from across the globe. Almost before the Christmas pudding goes cold, I will be flying off on New Years’ Eve to China and Hong Kong to meet parents and pupils along with agents and prospective pupils.

Closer to home we were delighted to have a record number of people attending our Autumn Open Day; there is no doubt that there is a great deal of interest within the local community. We will therefore be organising a series of further open events with a Sixth Form Information Evening on the 30th January, an Open Week from the 3rd-7th March and our summer Open Day on the 26th April.  Continuing to promote the school both at home and overseas is a large part of my job and there is no doubt that when I meet with former pupils they are all very willing to help in anyway that they can. It would therefore be wonderful to build up a list of former pupils who are now working abroad so that we can put prospective pupils in touch with people who can tell them what the school did to help them. There is no doubt that such contacts are invaluable in helping us to attract the best pupils from abroad to come and study here. If you are able to help please could you send me an e-mail with your details to - james.davies@st-bees-school.co.uk

On a similar note I am very grateful to a small number of members of the Society who have been willing to organise and host social functions for friends, clients and colleagues who are interested in finding out more about us. These opportunities provide an opportunity for me to meet people in a smaller setting and to talk about the benefits of the school for their children. Again if this is something that any members feel they could help with, I would be delighted to hear from you.

St Bees School is on an exciting journey at the moment and my colleagues and I are fully committed to enabling St Bees to lead the way in the provision of independent education in West Cumbria and beyond. In order to do this we need the help and support of everyone in the St Bees’ family and I very much appreciate the personal support that has been shown to me by members of the Society since I took over my role. I look forward to meeting with you at various Society and school events over the next few months and in the meantime I would like to wish you and your families a very happy and peaceful New Year.

 

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The St Beghian Society,    St Bees School,    St Bees,    Cumbria,    CA27 0DS.
         Tel: (01946) 828093      Email: osb@st-bees-school.co.uk      
Web: www.st-beghian-society.co.uk