Framlinghamian 2022 - Flipbook - Page 73
For a few years now it has been our aim
to prove that inclusion and excellence can
be happy bedfellows in sport. In terms of
the latter no story was more impressive
than that of our Under 13 girls who battled
against the odds to win the crown of
National Prep School Champions. But right
across the board the statistics tell their own
story of an unprecedented year of success:
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11 National Champions
32 National Finalists
12 Regional Champions
48 County Champions
41 pupils with County Representative
Honours
5 pupils with Regional Representative
Honours
1 pupil with National Representative
Honours
Total matches - 708
Total match teas - 5,703
Win percentage for all teams across the
year - 57%
Inclusion percentage for all pupils every
week across the whole year – 100%
Only last week we heard that we have been
shortlisted in the Independent Schools of
the Year awards for sporting achievement
both for the excellence achieved but equally
for the ‘no one on the bench’ principle that
we have espoused. We have asked more
of our sports department than ever before
and we are achieving things that no one
else is achieving. So, to the leaders of this
department, the team behind the teams,
who make the teas, prepare the pitches,
drive the buses, coach the children and
organise the fixtures, a big thank you.
In the art room and workshop we have
been blessed with some real scholarship
this year too. It’s rare indeed for one
child to be honoured with a whole wall
but the work Lizzy Davies has created has
really deserved it. The Hobbies’ Room
has provided a showcase for the next
generation who have been working so
hard on Saturday mornings to hone their
artistic talents. Saturday mornings at the
Prep School have become a real breeding
ground for excellence and the pathways for
children to achieve their very best across
the range of subjects are clearer than ever.
In drama too we have seen excellence and
inclusion crossing over with the magical
ensemble performance of Shakespeare by
Year 6. Back in November we enjoyed the
Senior production of ‘The Vackees’ with
a cast and crew not far shy of a hundred.
That was followed in the spring by an
equally entertaining grand scale Junior Prep
production of ‘Pantastic’.
In music we have enjoyed no less than
232 individual performances in recitals
across the year and achieved forty grade
exams with excellent results, many at or
above Grade 5. We have seen some quite
outstanding concerts too like the one we all
enjoyed earlier this week.
Our CE results improved yet again
this year with nine different candidates
achieving A or A* across all of the core
subjects. With 40% of candidates receiving
nothing less than a B grade and half of all
candidates achieving at least one A, this
year group really do have very exciting
careers ahead. With over 90% moving on
to the Senior School too we can expect
some impressive returns in national exams
in the future. Throughout the school the
academic ambition remains for every
single pupil to be the very best they can
be and we continue to monitor rigorously
the progress our children are making
against their potential. Academic scrutiny
at Framlingham Prep has never been more
rigorous and our expectations have never
been so high.
And high expectations come from great
teaching and we are lucky to have a team
that gets stronger every year, even if we do
lose a few real gems along the way. This
year we say goodbye to Mrs Atkin whose
calmness and kindness and inspiration has
so invigorated Humanities here and to Mrs
Russell who has built the Maths department,
championed darts and untangled many
a tight finish on Sports’ Day. Mrs Russell
shared some words with me this year
that have really stuck. About parents she
reminded me: ‘At the end of the day they
just need to know how much we love their
children’. And in both of your cases, Mrs
Russell and Mrs Atkin, there has been no
doubting how much you do.
This year saw the opening of our new
Early Years’ building and if you haven’t
been inside then please do find the time
to do so. It is an exceptional environment
for young boys and girls to explore and
discover and is the bridge to the great
outdoors that we so love at Brandeston.
It has also been the building we needed
to ensure that, even as the school has
grown, class sizes remain small and every
pupil is now tidily accommodated in the
locations that are best suited to their needs.
Building for children a safe, secure, family
environment in which to grow has never
been more important.
In preparing children for a shifting
world we must make sure they are less
afraid of change than those that have
gone before them.
That they are kinder than those they see on
television and in power and that they are
ready to speak up with courage but above
all, with respect, when they know things are
wrong. And, as anyone who watched world
politics unfold in recent years will know,
these qualities may well need to come from
within, because they will certainly not be
acquired through example.
And these are of course times of change
for Framlingham too. The steadying hand
of Paul Taylor slowly comes off the tiller
and the needle of the compass rotates and
slows and ends up pointing North.
That RAF story resonates with me because
that retired pilot had the benefit of decades
of experience, he had accumulated
vast swathes of knowledge, knew the
manual by rote and had been part of a
highly successful and world-renowned
organisation. He was an intelligent man but
he also recognised that learned intelligence
is nothing without creativity and instinct.
As we enter a new era, let us not forget
the hefty morals of that story. We are all
assembled with a common history and
a common knowledge. We are part of a
College family that has experienced great
success, that knows its ethos and rules
inside out and that is highly regarded and
greatly loved. We can’t hide from the fact
that the future is uncertain but we can
provide the conditions for our leaders and
our young people to adapt and to evolve to
face that future without fear.
I wanted to end with some words, attributed
to Mark Twain, which I hope will provide a
meaningful send off for Paul and Amanda
and to all our other leavers as they move
on with courage to the next stage of their
lives.
Twenty years from now you will be
more disappointed by the things you
didn’t do than by the ones you did do.
So throw off the bowlins. Sail away
from the safe harbour. Catch the trade
winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.
Discover.
THE FRAMLINGHAMIAN 2019
71