Football

Really proud of the 1st XI today. They played really well. 2-2 wasn't
a true reflection on the game. They dominated throughout, particularly
during the 2nd half.

The U9 teams continued their excellent run with an 8-0 and a 1-0 win.

Sent from my iPhone

Long Leave

The first half of term has flown by and I cannot believe that Long Leave begins on Friday. It seem like only yesterday that term started. We have all been so incredibly busy.

Last Thursday, the Sunningdale / Summer Fields meeting took place and it was a huge success. The speakers, Stephen Robinson and Rawle Beckles, were excellent and certainly thought-provoking and we have received some excellent letters from those who attended. It is such a good thing for us to be doing at Sunningdale and I so enjoyed hosting it in the new Army Hut Theatre which looked amazing.

Just another normal night in the dorms?!

Eton Assessment

Had a really good day at Eton today when I took 8 boys for assessment.
Eton were playing fives against Harrow and lots of our Old Boys were
playing on both sides.

I also bumped into former colleagues from Harrow who are now teaching
at Eton and many Eton beaks.

I managed to introduce the boys to the Headmaster and Registrar as
well so a good day all round.

Army Hut

Start of term

We have had an excellent start to the Michaelmas term. The new boys are all settled in and the football fixtures are well underway. The stars of the show so far are the U9 team who have won both their opening games.

We had a very successful Pre-Prep Football tournament and the standard was amazing.

The Army Hut is now finished and looks amazing and the Library is now well and truly underway. It is all very exciting!

Wellington interviews

Today sees the start of the public school assessment season. Boys are going off for interview at Wellington today. It makes such a difference to have them going on the same day as it gives us a real chance to prepare them properly. We have similar days arranged this term for Harrow and Eton.

First week of term

So the first week of term is under our belts and it has been a hectic and very positive start.

I spent the last five days with Form IVa in France. We had an excellent week. The weather was kind and the group of boys works very hard and learned a huge amount. We visited well known D-Day sites, we covered a great deal of new French and we found time for a swim in the sea!

At School the boys have already been involved in matches, both football and cricket and today we take on the auld enemy! Come on the 'Dale!

It makes such a difference to start the term with such fantastic weather and the boys are all in good spirits. The new boys have settled in and really getting involved in everything on offer, which is great to see.

Army Hut

Work continues on the Army Hut and they have got on so well. It really is going to be fantastic. The seats have been ordered and should be with us by the end of September so it will all be ready before the French Drama Evening for the parents to see it.

Super Saturday

What an amazing evening yesterday. I was watching in France and it was
so tense. Jessica Ennis was incredible and when Mo Farah was running I
could barely breathe. I am so proud of how well all our athletes are
doing and also so proud of what seems to be the most incredible
Olympic Games.

Come on Team GB!

Building works

The summer holidays is the best time of year for getting work done on the school and we are certainly making the most of that. Work continues on the library and we have already completed the refurbishment of the visitors' loo. We have also started work on the refurbishment of the Army Hut, our theatre. This is another very exciting project and we are hopeful that work will be completed on time for the start of term in September.

End of Term

We are approaching the end of term and getting ready for the summer holiday. Sadly, the miserable weather which has plagued us all term continues and I am now very worried about Sports Day on Saturday. The forecast is not good and we will have to wait and see.

On Sunday evening we held a dinner for the Leavers and their parents. It was such fun and a good chance for us to say thank you to the parents for all the support they have given to the school. 

Update

With all the Common Entrance results in and all the candidates having done so well, the Leavers have now gone of to France for the week to camp and do all sorts of different activities. We will keep the website updated with their news.

The rest of the school are now fully ensconced in exams. This is an excellent opportunity for them to show what they have learned throughout the year and will help us decide which form they should go into next term.

Common Entrance Results

The Common Entrance results are in and once again we have had a 100% pass rate. This year's crop have performed extremely well achieving 97% A-C grades. They have worked so hard and I am so pleased for them that they have done so well.

Common Entrance

Common Entrance is well and truly underway. As I write this the boys
are sitting Chemistry on the second morning of exams. They all seem in
fairly good spirits after yesterday's papers so I hope that bodes
well.

Common Entrance is an excellent set of exams for most boys. There will
scarcely be another time when they are examined in such a wide range
of subjects and it brings their prep school academic life to a very
good conclusion. I know that they enjoy the focus that it gives them
and when they have finished their exams and hopefully done well, their
is a real sense of achievement.

There have been quite a few detractors of CE recently, most of whom
seem to be pushing for a dumbed down version. I cannot agree with
this. If we lower our expectations, we will lower the achievement of
most pupils. One only has to look at what has happened to public exams
in this country. Even the creators of the 'Prep School Baccalaureate'
state that it particularly suits the middle or lower ability pupils.
Is that really where we should be setting our sights?

e-Safety

This morning we had the good fortune to listen to Karl Hopwood, an expert on the subject of using the internet safely. We split the school into seniors and juniors and he adapted the talk accordingly. He was quite hard hitting with the senior boys and the message certainly got through. Karl then spoke to a small number of parents who had come to listen. All present agreed that it was an extremely valuable talk and I certainly learned a good deal. 

I think that every school should have a talk of this nature. The internet is everywhere and we cannot hide from it. We need to embrace it and all that it offers but make sure that we give today's children the skills to use it sensibly and safely.

Jubilee Weekend

What a wonderful weekend that was. It made me very proud to be British and very proud of our Queen!!

Summer has arrived!

I can't tell you the difference it makes having some sun! Sunningdale is a wonderful place to be when the sun shines, the rhododendrons are out and we get to play cricket, athletics and tennis without freezing!

The last ten days have been fantastic. The cricket teams having been playing really well, including four wins out of six against Woodcote. The  athletes also managed to win against Hall Grove and Bishopsgate although yesterday's match against Hall Grove was a bit tough. We have our first tennis match this afternoon.

Yesterday evening saw the first round of the house debating competition. It was such as success and the motions, very well selected by Mr Verey, certainly provoked some interesting questions which were well handled by all sides. 

Dorm Challenge

Further developments to the dorm challenge!

Team Matron!

This a great idea from the matrons that has really got the boys
working hard to have the tidiest dorm!

Prep Schools taking pupils up to 16

There is a very interesting article in the Times today about prep schools taking pupils up to 16 instead of them leaving to go on to senior school at 13. Over the last few years a number of parents have suggested to me, probably not being too serious, that we should consider doing the same thing. 

It is a very interesting argument. The Times article indicates that the reason parents are keen on this is so that their children can be shielded from negative influences at senior schools, that they can be wrapped in cotton wool. The article mentions nothing about the quality of education or the range of opportunities on offer. In my experience, when boys come to the end of their time at Sunningdale, they are ready to move on. They need a new challenge, they need to broaden their horizons and they need to meet new people. I can see that it may be lovely and cosy for them to remain in a school which they know well and with people they feel comfortable with but is that really what is best for them?

The History of the World

Radley

I had a very good day at Radley yesterday. It really is a lovely
place. We had a very good Oxford Group meeting and the lunch which
gave us a chance to meet lots of the Social tutors.

Parents Meeting

We had a very positive parents meeting yesterday. It is always such a
help to discuss things with the parents so that we are singing from
the same hymn sheet.

Revision Talk to CE candidates

This morning the Common Entrance candidates were all guided through
how to revise and which techniques they could use. Let's hope it
works!

BSA Conference

I am currently at the Boarding Schools Association conference in Bristol. Although I do not enjoy being away from school, it is good to talk to other Headmasters of boarding schools who share the same sorts of issues. There are also some excellent speakers. Yesterday Libby Purves spoke very well indeed about boarding from a parents perspective and John Timpson of Timpson's the shoe menders was also very interesting.

Violin and piano concert

What an incredible evening. We were so lucky to have the incredibly talented Diana Galvydyte and her accompanist Christopher Guild to perform at Sunningdale yesterday evening. Diana has played all over the world at some of the most prestigious venues and won many prizes. Christopher was the winner of the gold medal at the Royal College of music and has played all over the UK and on the radio.

The concert was breathtaking  and all the boys sat enthralled throughout. They played pieces from a variety of different composers and introduced each piece with a bit of background.

It was a very special evening indeed. They are due to perform at the Wigmore Hall in November which gives you an idea of just how lucky we were.

Come on sun!!!

Term has started very well but the weather is proving to be a real bore. Our first matches tomorrow look in jeopardy which is a real shame. 

Thankfully we have been able to use the pool, indoor nets and astro turf to keep the boys active!

Start of term

Term is under way and with a few new boys we are bursting at the seams but there is a great buzz around the school. The boys are all on great form and looking forward to a successful summer term. I don't want to speak too soon but the early signs from the cricket teams are very encouraging. The only downside at the moment has been the weather but we can't do anything about that!

Arabian Nights

Last week saw two fantastic performances of the musical 'The Arabian Nights'. Every boy in the school took part in this impressive production and they all did themselves proud. The singing was first rate and the whole cast came together to produce what was a very memorable show.

Well done to all involved.

Operation Archie

Earlier on in the term we raised over £19,000 (including Gift Aid) for Operation Archie. Archie has now had his operation and the long process of rehab has started. I checked on his blog this morning and it is amazing to see what he is now capable of. He is an outstandingly brave little chap.

You can see his blog here: http://www.operationarchie.com/archies-blog/

Cross Country

The success continues. Our cross country runners headed off to Horris Hill yesterday to compete in their competition and against some tough opposition, two of our boys came in first and second! Come on Sunningdale!!!!!!

More rugby

The 1st XV continue their excellent run of form. On Tuesday they took on a Ludgrove side which had only lost one game. It was a very tense game but Sunningdale scored the only try of the match and emerged narrow victors by 5 points to 0!

Yesterday the 1st XV and the U9s travelled down to Northbourne Park in Kent. They were extremely well hosted and the games went very well with both our teams securing victories.

Saturday sees a new fixture against Lockers Park - watch this space!

Rugby

The rugby this term has been so exciting, most notably at the senior level.

The 2nd XV are still undefeated after some outstanding performances. They will be severely tested this afternoon against Ludgrove but I am sure that with the spirit they have shown thus far they can do it.

The 1st XV have also been terrifically successful. Last Wednesday they notched up an impressive win against Horris Hill and on Saturday took on Woodcote who had beaten them early in the season. In what was a very close encounter, Sunningdale emerged victorious by 26 points to 21!!!! It was a terrific performance and they all deserve huge credit.

Update

First of all an apology. I have been hopeless at updating the blog this term and I will try to do better.

We are thick in scholarship season at the moment. Two boys have already been successful, one with an art scholarship to Tonbridge and one with an academic scholarship to Stowe. We are waiting on other news and two more boys still have to sit their scholarships. Fingers crossed for a record haul!

Operation Archie

Earlier this term the boys raised money to help send a little boy to America to have a life-changing operation to combat the effects of cerebral palsy.

Today we received the most up to date total and with the aid of Gift Aid we have managed to raise £19,040. This is an astonishing amount and I am very proud of the boys for making such an effort to make this happen.

Archie has just had the first major operation and I am delighted that all seems to have gone well. You can follow Archie's blog here: http://www.operationarchie.com/2012/02/day-of-surgery-update/

Sunningdale walks for Archie

Today, the whole school took part in a sponsored walk to raise money for Archie. Archie is at a local school and he suffers from cerebral palsy. His family needs to raise £50,000 to pay for an operation that could change his whole future. 

Every boy, and a number of parents walked six times around the grounds, a total of about 4 miles. Some boys finished very quickly and walked an additional four laps! Hot chocolate with chocolate chip cookies was on offer for the boys after they had completed half the distance.

The whole atmosphere was fantastic and we will have raised a sizeable amount towards the cost of Archie's operation.