An Evening With William Shakespeare
Here at Saint Felix, we are continually looking for opportunities to stretch and challenge the students who excel in the performing arts. Last week, we saw the excellent Clough production of A Hint of Snow White whilst earlier this week, Casper B instigated, devised and hosted an outstanding evening around the works of William Shakespeare. From sonnets to musical adaptations, from some of the most notorious passages to those that focus on secondary characters, Casper managed to bring them all together with a potted history of the man himself. Not only did each and every one of us learn something new, for example the use of an original skull in the David Tennant production of Hamlet which had been donated to the RSC by an individual on their death, but we also had the pleasure to enjoy so many different performances from a broad array of students. They had organised themselves, held their own rehearsals, and thus it was a genuinely student led evening. We are all excited to see what else they might produce over the course of the next few years as there is so much talent, drive and enthusiasm amongst them.
On the theme of leadership, and after hustings and searching interviews, the new Heads of School and Deputy Head of School have been announced. I am delighted that Billy J and Dominica J will take on the Heads of School role; Billy will focus on sport, the co-curricular programme and enhancing the student voice, whilst Dominica will focus on academia and boarding. In what is a new position as Deputy Head of School, Theo M will work on community relationships and partnerships with an eye on service projects. As a team (which was the theme of our excellent assembly from Ms Hardcastle on Monday), I am confident they will help to drive forward the changes and initiatives that they talked so eloquently about in interview. A huge thanks to Thavisha R and Henry F for everything that they have done this year; we wish them all the best in their upcoming exams and there will be an opportunity to thank them properly at the end of this term on Parents’ Day.
This week has seen a number of visitors from Inspired Learning Group (ILG); I am often asked what it is like to work with a group that own the school and I wanted to pass on to all of you how beneficial it is to us and thus also to you, the parents, and your children. Their expertise across HR, compliance, operations, marketing, admissions and education in its more general terms is second-to-none, as is their warmth and deep-seated love for the school. Saint Felix was their first senior and boarding school acquisition and therefore has a special place in their heart too; if you ever see any of the ILG team around the campus, I know they would love the opportunity to talk about their plans for the future.
And with the future in mind, I will be sending out a letter and invite to my talk on the changes to the curriculum, shape of the day and week from September. In the meantime, please do pencil into your diaries the evening of Tuesday 4th June at 6.00pm to hear all about our exciting plans for the future.
What a glorious week of weather we have had to cap off three of the busiest weeks of the year; I hope that it stays in place for the Bank Holiday weekend and that you can all have some enjoyable time together as a family.
Yours sincerely,
Matthew Oakman
Head
