There’s something in that view of the Cathedral Spire that takes your breath away – it still happens to me even after 25 years of coming in to school through the Exeter Street Gate. The arresting immediacy of the spectacle, the improbability of such a thing rising above the city centre. I travel around to a lot of different schools these days to talk to youngsters about the prospect of joining Year 12 to study A levels here, and one of the things that I invariably do for students and parents is to sketch a verbal picture of that view. Bishop’s is, to my knowledge, the only state school in the country to be sited within a cathedral close; there are plenty of private choir schools that share living space with various deans and chapters across the UK (Worcester, Gloucester, Ely, Westminster and so on) but no other maintained school has such a privilege. We are very, very lucky.
That’s one element of my introduction that I will be giving at tomorrow’s first whole school cathedral service of this academic year. Apart from Prize Giving some of our students will not have experienced being in the Cathedral before for a collective worship event and, given the increasingly secular character of British Society I suspect that many of the congregation will not have been in a church for a long time save for the odd carol service or perhaps a family event. Tomorrow will be different – not just a church, and not just an annual milestone, but an event of some significance. I often think of these regular services as part of the glue that holds us all together and they really have significance in a post pandemic world, as it was such gatherings which were absolutely ruled out when the virus held sway. This event is special too, as much of the heavy lifting – the singing, the lessons, the sermon and the prayers - will be led by the senior students for everyone. The processions will be led by students too, so if there is a detour around one too many pillars we will all know whom to blame…!
Though these services are about societal cohesion, there are other reasons that make them an essential part of the school’s life. The nature of Bishop’s is given away well by the ‘TEAM BWS’ emblazoned across the shoulders of all of our sports kit. There is something very powerful there about belonging, about working towards a shared goal, dare I say it about us all being in it together. We are – and that’s a good thing. Cathedral services make that tangible as there’s that message that everyone needs to play their part. We will be sung to by our choir, hear from our colleagues in our cathedral. And then there’s the connection with history that is so strong and so important. Communities need roots to grow, and these services each month give us all the chance to re-engage with those roots. After all Bishop John’s memorial lies at the West end of the nave, and that morning view of the spire has greeted Bishop’s boys and girls at the end of their journey to school for over 130 years.
Acclimatisation to a new school takes time. My hope is that spectacle of the spire (albeit often mantled now in autumn mist), together with our services in such an inspirational setting will help another generation of young people to understand just why this is such an extraordinary place to live and learn.
SDS
