Text of speech at HM's retirement bash 21 June 2024
25 years here is quite a long time – though not, of course, as long as some others here have been in residence…! Being in one place for that long means that you can see the pendulum of time and fate swing, see the story develop; I thought that I would talk about some of the things that I have seen happen since I arrived all those years ago as a rather callow deputy head in my mid-thirties from Gloucester in April 1998. It makes for a good playscript and like most good plays I envisage this one in five Acts - it is certainly a history, but by turns it may also have trajedic and comedic elements too...
Act I (1998-2002) – saw a strengthening of academic monitoring, intervention and a consequent dramatic increase in examination performance - pure coincidence in my view! The BWS/SWGS Sixth Form collaboration began with PE only, but grew rapidly over the ensuing years to a total of 17 A level subjects. Those that have been here at the time will recall that thought there were plenty of girls on site then, though of course they were emphatically not Bishop's Girls - they were always guests from Stratford Road, always somewhere else when you wanted them here, never fully committed because they couldn't be. I knew from that time that we needed a coeducational, larger sixth form in due course, and I guess that is the clearest example of the 'vision' thing that I can think of. My experiences then drove my decisions a decade later - I wanted girls to be able to experience leadership, sports, music and the rest, but they had to be here to do it. The buildings were atrocious though there were very recent improvements to Bishopgate (the additional staircase) and the Library (addition of a mezzanine floor). The BWS School website was launched in 1999 and it's amazing to think when we consider the digital envornment in which we now co-exist. Clive Barnett and I launched the parental gift aid appeal scheme in 2000. Since then it has raised north of £2million for the school.
Act II (2002-2008) – my first job as Head was to ensure that major building projects ran on time and on budget – the E Block, the Sports Hall and the Art Block with all of the associated infrastructure. Bishop’s became a Language College in 2004 and then adopted a second specialism in Science in 2008, bringing additional funding which was used in part to completely refurbish all of the laboratories and add further accommodation for teaching in Science. We looked at the International Baccalaureate seriously towards the close of this period, but grim financial projections ruled this out eventually.
Act III (2008-2016) – this period was all about national austerity, redundancies, cutbacks and retrenchment to keep the financial ship afloat. There was development too though, the Sixth Form Block was built to allow for expansion in due course and Bishop’s became an academy and other developments on site included moving Reception from No11 to the new building at the Exeter Street entrance, the reconstruction of the DT facilities and the building of the Cookery Room.
Act IV (2016-2022) – the fourth act was dominated by expansion in numbers primarily, together with co-education in the Sixth Form from 2020 – the planning, implementation and growth of Bishop’s to be what it is today. The successful bid for funds to build the Maths Block was based on growth of numbers on roll, and the creation of all-weather play surfaces and covered areas around the site prepared the school for the test of the pandemic. The launch of MS Teams early in summer 2020 proved to be a game-changer in providing a platform for learning both during and post Covid.
Act V (2022-2024) – the final part brings us to where we are now; what I would probably call the plateau. Others occasionally refer to the sunlit uplands, but I won’t go there! Instead it is worth saying that for the past two years we have been adjusting to a bigger school, more complex processes and lots of girls! The school is now the size that I had envisaged back in 2014 when LT first started planning expansion and now that growth is complete we now have to ensure that all the component parts of the school work well.
And the Epilogue – the difficulty of setting a balanced budget for 2024-2025 suggests that we may be entering another period where funding (or rather the lack of it) is a significant issue – though there is the small matter of an election in a couple of weeks’ time! On the plus side the levels of applications are embarrassingly good at both 11+ and 16+ and academic standards are strong. Those are both down to the calibre and effectiveness of the group of staff here; because of the hard work and inspiration of all of the staff here Bishop's is seen as the golden ticket, and reputation and word of mouth have become our most effective recruiting officers. I do not sense any threat to selection locally, and I have not seen anything at a national level to suggest that grammar schools are at risk either. There remains much to do for Matthew when he arrives however. Bishopgate. A fuller Chapel and symbiotic relationship with the Cathedral. Disposing of the remaining mobiles and building a Dining Hall that is fit for purpose. Proper facilities at Britford Lane. Fund raising to create revenue security and capital potential. Even higher levels of aspiration, achievement and leadership for our boys and girls. Building our regional and national reputation for educational quality and leadership. And a school entwined in the life of our cathedral city, as our Founder always intended. Matthew will need your support, especially in the early days, but he’ll be great.
There are some things that I will miss. The camaraderie, the impromptu cups of tea, Friday fruit cake, the car park chats, the campsite BBQs, euphoria of results days, the cold and wet touchlines and cross country courses and the fieldwork. I won’t miss the occasional opinionated parent or two, the land mines buried in the email inbox, the occasional exclusion crises, the complaints from Southwestern Railway, the periodic irate emails from neighbours, commuters and clerics, the tricky navigation of staff and governor issues and the endless litter picking and checking of the toilets!
But most of all, at the very heart of everything lie all those extraordinary, infuriating, lovable, funny, gifted,
unpredictable, energetic, utterly eclectic and bright youngsters. All 1200 of them. I will miss seeing Bishop’s Boys & Girls develop into amazing young men and women – whatever their provenance, whatever their background, whatever their direction of travel.
25 years here actually feels like a lifetime – but I cannot think of anywhere I would rather have been! So – a huge thank you from me; keep doing what you do best. I wish you luck.
