One of the things that we still do at Sunningdale is to ask the boys to write letters home on a Sunday morning. I think that this is such a valuable thing to be doing because people are writing far fewer leters than they used to.
Communication is now so easy with mobile phones, email, Skype etc. This means that there is far less reason to write a letter which is a huge shame. We have letters from some of the greatest figures in history and they provide such a rich insight into life in previous eras. Some of the greatest romances can be remembered through published letters. I remember writing childish letters to girls I liked with SWALK on the back! Now communication is by email or, even worse, text message.
I think that parents love to receive letters from their sons. My mother has kept the ones I sent home from school. I also know that the boys here love receiving letters. I also remember very clearly being handed a list by my father to write down presents I received at birthdays or Christmas and my parents checked that I had written the letters. If we spend Christmas with my parents now we still get a list and a pencil!!
The art of writing a letter, and addressing an envelope properly is high on the agenda here at Sunningdale and that is how I believe it should be.
