Headmaster’s Notes: By endurance we conquer

A very happy New Year to you and I do hope you enjoyed a most relaxing Christmas with your immediate families.

It is often in times of national crisis that we take time to be inspired by those who have made a vital contribution to our national life and to our well-being. After the challenges we have all experienced this week, what better way than to celebrate the courage and endurance of Ernest Shackleton in Friday Prayers this morning. As we face risks and experience unconventional adversity, where at times we too may feel we have been set adrift floating on icebergs, we can marvel at and be inspired by the perseverance, determination, comradeship and mutual support shown by Shackleton and his team; characteristics I have witnessed in abundance over the last few days from so many members of our Prince’s Mead community.

In the meantime, our full complement of teaching staff have so enjoyed welcoming back pupils to their now rather familiar virtual environment to hear of their adventures as we embark on new ones in the coming days and weeks but where we will continue to commit our abundance of resources at your child’s remote learning to deliver the very best learning outcomes.

It has been a great pleasure to meet with so many of you this week to talk through our plans and I do hope you sense our utter commitment to your children. My sincere thanks go to the staff who have been so agile in switching to remote learning following that surprise Downing Street announcement 24 hours earlier. Thank you to you as parents for your support and sense of community spirit from afar too – it means so much to us all.

A warm welcome to all our new families this term. Whilst your children have joined us at an unsettled time for the nation, we have already felt how much your children have welcomed the structure and support on offer. I have no doubt, we can all look forward to a very exciting and happy 2021 where we will gather together as a school community once again.

Peter Thacker