Headmaster's Newsletter Friday 6 October 2023
Dear Parents,
There is a great poem by Paul Muldoon called ‘The Noctuary of Narcissus Batt’. The poem begins one November night in the home of one Narcissus Batt, Esquire, who is, as his name suggests, an anthropomorphised bat. The opening lines effectively conjure an image of Batt sitting, probably dozing, by a fireplace. All of a sudden a piece of ‘falling log or coal’ startles Batt, making him jump ‘as if out of his own skin’. This skin, worn with age, becomes a piece of vellum on which Batt writes down his night thoughts – his noctuary, or night journal. These thoughts follow a course of imagined animals, which appear in alphabetical order, from A to Z, ass to zebra. The animal that appears next generally depends on something that has been said by the preceding animal. So a dog appears when a cat says ‘I’m no dog in the manger’; a ferret appears when an elephant says ‘all sorts of riffraff’ must be ‘ferreted out’; a kangaroo appears when a jackal says he does not want to be ‘dragged yet again/before some kangaroo-court’. Once Muldoon has got through the alphabet of animals and it appears that an ass is going to appear again, Batt ‘jumps up’ and flaps his wing, the inkiness of which has made it ‘blue-black and blotted and botched’. We return to our original scene, with turf falling once again, as Batt follows his nocturnal instincts and ‘turns in for the day’. It is a wonderful poem, and one which appeals to both children and adults – it’s worth checking it out. (If you’re struggling to find a copy, it appears in How Poems Work, edited – ahem – by a couple of NCS heads, past and present.)
I thought about Muldoon’s poem this week because we have been thinking about animals and poetry – not necessarily at the same time, but within a day or two of each other. On Wednesday one of our governors, Professor Christiane Timmel, spoke in chapel to the boys about the gargoyles and grotesques which have now appeared from behind their scaffolding on our new building. Some of you will already know that these pieces of stonework – thirty plus of them – have been chosen to represent the importance of biodiversity. Staring at me now through my study window is a stone gecko; if I were to crane my neck I’d see an eagle and a bush baby. A bull frog squats above the pre-prep playground.
Then, on Thursday, we celebrated National Poetry Day, starting with an assembly by Elizabeth Hess on the day’s theme of ‘refuge’, followed by a series of events in the library – most notably our eagerly anticipated annual poetry slam. Regular readers of these newsletters may remember that I can be prone to waxing lyrical about the importance of poetry. (I would: I was an English teacher and I’ve written one or two books in which poems keep appearing.) But it is worth reiterating why we celebrate poetry, and why the boys should take seriously what can so easily appear as ephemeral and irrelevant in a world which increasingly prefers hard data and algorithms to similes and metaphors. On a basic level, reading and hearing beautifully constructed lines is good for us, in much the same way that we enjoy listening to music. Learning poems by heart, a dwindling art, is good for the brain, especially in childhood. Learning how poems are put together and how their techniques ‘work’ is good for our analytical skills, which can always be transferred elsewhere. And, now speaking with my historian’s hat on, if we want to gain an insight into the societies and politics of the past, we should be prepared to engage with an artform which was frequently used to navigate those politics and social issues. As it has done for centuries, poetry continues to help us navigate what it means to be human – and that is one of the core things that schools should be doing too.
Have a great weekend,
Matt Jenkinson
Parents may enjoy reading a couple of reviews of NCS which have come out recently:
Good Schools Guide: A world-class school due to the quality of its teaching, music and creative programmes – all of which it achieves with curious, eager-to-learn boys … We watched top-drawer teachers at work, immediately alert to any inattentive pupils while keeping everyone perfectly on task … Parents eulogise about them … [Music] is really superb … Other schools flock here to learn from NCS … School’s moto - ‘manners makyth man’ (from William Wykeham, the founder) - was raised repeatedly by parents for being ‘not just a label but a guiding principle’ … Strong pastorally too - several parents praised the school’s immediate and in-depth response when issues had arisen … ‘Standards are very high, but they wouldn’t make anyone unwelcome,’ said one parent. ‘It’s a great place for a curious and sparky boy. We have been so lucky to be here.’ … A school that knows what makes boys tick and gives them, as one parent put it, an ‘academically rigorous and musically brilliant foundation to go off and do other things’.
Tatler Schools Guide: Dating back to 1379, NCS is one of the oldest continuously functioning schools in the world – but fusty and overly traditional it is not. Besides an excellent reputation for music and academics, head Dr Matthew Jenkinson’s ‘youth, enthusiasm and willingness to challenge orthodox thinking’ has proven most attractive to parents. On his watch, the ancient prep has introduced weekly wellbeing lessons, unveiled a multi-million-pound development and replaced the CE with the progressive Pre-Senior Baccalaureate, for which topics include ‘liberalism versus authoritarianism’ and ‘Can science disprove the existence of God?’. Fun and games come in the form of Minecraft and Lego engineering clubs, trips to Sicily and France, and playing with Artemis the gecko.
From the Charity Committee: Last week the Charity Committee met for the first time this year. The members received their badges and came armed with suggestions for charities to support. In Michaelmas we support a charity with an educational focus. From the nominations the Charity Committee selected Core Arts, a Hackney-based charity which promotes positive mental health and wellbeing through a college-like environment of creative learning. It provides quality education, training, employment, and social enterprise initiatives that enable people who experience mental health issues to overcome barriers, fulfil their potential and participate fully in their community. The Charity Committee were especially impressed by the creative education made available to those who might otherwise not have the opportunity to benefit from education in these areas. Charity Week will be held in the week prior to the half-term break, 16 – 20 October. Pupils will be invited to bring in cakes to sell to help raise money at morning breaks. As we have varying dietary requirements within our community, if you do help with baking goods please provide an ingredients list. Please also remember that NCS is a nut-free school. The Golden Spoon is presented in Pre-Prep, Years 3-5 and Years 6-8. Winners are selected by the catering team who value the pupils’ efforts in the kitchen!
The first evensong of university term is this evening, 6 October, at 18.15 in New College chapel. All NCS families are very warmly invited to the service, and indeed all subsequent services in College, details of which can be found at https://www.new.ox.ac.uk/chapel. The choristers have already been in action this term, singing at graduation and gaude evensongs last weekend. They are in excellent voice!
Our Open Morning is tomorrow, 7 October, at 10.00-12.00. If any boys from Years 3-8 would like to be guides on that morning, please could their parents email office@newcollegeschool.org. Please note that all pupils attending school that morning (including OCCO pupils) should wear full school uniform. Prospective parents are asked to register at https://www.newcollegeschool.org/open-day-booking -- do please pass on this link if you know of any families who would be interested in joining our wonderful community. You should already have received, via your son's schoolbag, a poster and a leaflet advertising the event. Although the morning is primarily for prospective parents, current parents, especially those from the Pre-Prep, are most welcome to get a further insight into the upper part of the school. We would really appreciate it if you could display the poster in a prominent place such as on notice boards at: nurseries and girls' schools (so as not to offend other local boys’ schools); Oxford colleges, Brookes University and other educational institutions; hospitals and health centres; churches, local shops and community centres; your car or house window. Please pass the smaller leaflet onto any friends who may be interested. Please also feel free to share/retweet the schools social media posts about the open morning:
https://www.instagram.com/newcollegeschool/
https://www.facebook.com/newcollegeschool
The New College School ‘Welcome to the Foundation Service’ will be on Wednesday 11 October in New College Chapel. The service will begin at 9.00 and will take a little longer than our usual Chapel. This is the occasion when all new members of the school, boys and staff, are formally welcomed to the New College Foundation by the Headmaster and the Warden of New College, the school’s chair of governors. We would like to encourage all families of new boys to attend this important occasion if you can. Parents of new boys will be directed to seats at the altar end of the chapel, so they get a good view of the ceremony!
The theme for our annual SHTEAM Festival next Hilary will be ‘The World of Water’. We will be exploring this theme from many different angles across all our subjects, running talks and workshops, as well as incorporating the theme in our day-to-day lessons. If there are any parents, taking into account their specialist knowledge, who would like to offer a talk or workshop to the boys on an aspect of ‘The World of Water’, do please contact emma.krebs@newcollegeschool.org.
Congratulations to NCS alum, Alex Ansdell, who has been nominated for an ‘Offie’ (OffWestEnd Theatre Award) for his newcomer role in Strangers In Between at the Golden Goose Theatre!
From Craig Bishop: Firstly, I’d like to congratulate the U13 first team on their efforts and achievements; they took part in the annual IAPS regional tournament at Summer Fields on Saturday afternoon and I had the pleasure of watching them in action. Mr Potts and I were both so proud of all they achieved and he has the following to say about the day: “The IAPS Qualifier Tournament was a 7v7 format, with two groups of six teams, giving us five fixtures and the opportunity to try to take one of the two places available for the final's day. Our first fixture against Yateley Manor School was a very close affair ending in a 0-0 draw. This was followed by a 2-0 defeat against the hosts, in a game that we really could have got something from. Our style of play was very pleasing with the boys gaining confidence in each game, playing out from the back confidently and attacking well; we just couldn’t find the goal we had deserved in the first two games. Our third outing against Cranford House did provide us with a goal but unfortunately, we were on the wrong end of a last-minute winner, with the game finishing 2-1. With all three games being so close, and us not being outplayed by any of our opponents, the boys entered the fourth game high in confidence against a Cheam team who had won all three of their games so far. This was comfortably our best performance of the day and we finished with a 1-0 win. Being fifth place in our pool, we earned a chance to play in the Bowl Final. After a tight 0-0 draw the game went to penalties, finishing in a 3-2 defeat. The boys should feel very proud of their performances through the day, more that matching some much bigger schools and playing some fantastic football. Well done to all involved.”
On Tuesday I had the pleasure of taking the U9s to Summer Fields to play in three very exciting games. The boys all played some excellent football and they fought extremely hard to stay competitive and put up performances they can all be very proud of. I would like to congratulate the following boys for their efforts in particular as they are deservedly named players of the match. In the C team game Luke S was the pick of the boys as he simply never stopped working for the good of the team. In the B team game Sam P was again fantastic and is working really hard to play some super passes from midfield to attack. In the A team game, making his U9 debut was Charlie R from Year 3. This was an amazing first outing for the team and he was rightly nominated as player of the match for both NCS and Summer Fields by the SF coaches.
The final word this week again come from Mr Potts as he reports back on the first of hopefully many Fixtures with Church Cowley St James Primary: “On Tuesday afternoon NCS Year 3 mixed with CCSJ Years 3 and 4 to create six combined teams of nine for a 7v7 football festival. Mixing the teams allowed for the children to play with others that they haven't played with before and all of the children came together brilliantly. Each team played five games with the emphasis on trying to play great football rather than the result. On Wednesday Years 5 and 6 from both schools played with the teams split into A-F for each school. The teams were very even and allowed for some great football to be played in all six matches. Lots of goals were scored and all players got lots of opportunities to improve their football skills and match understanding. The remaining children from CCSJ will come to NCS in November and we will run the same games again. Hopefully this will be the first of many sports fixtures between the two schools”.
Saturday, 7 October 2023
10.00 Open Morning
U11 A Football vs Danes Hill IAPS, Away (time TBC)
Sunday, 8 October 2023
Start of University Term
Monday, 9 October 2023
NCS Road Awareness Week
Tuesday, 10 October 2023
14.15 U8 A&B Football vs CCCS, Away
14.15 U9 A&B Football vs CCCS, Home
Wednesday, 11 October 2023
9.00 Welcome to the Foundation Service, Chapel. Speaker: The Warden
14.15 U11 A-D & A-C 9s Football vs Bruern Abbey, Home
14.30 U13 A-C Football vs Cothill, Away
Thursday, 12 October 2023
14.15 U8 & U9 House Cross Country, Uni Parks
9.30 - 12.45 Year 1 to Botanic Garden
Friday, 13 October 2023
14.15 U10 & U11 House Cross Country, Uni Parks
Monday, 16 October 2023
Charity Week Begins
12.50 Sustainability Club: Talk with Cllr Anna Railton
Wednesday, 18 October 2023
Orders issued
9.00 Chapel. Speaker: Mr Lyndon Chen, former NCS pupil
14.30 U11 A-E Football vs Cothill, Away
Friday, 20 October 2023
Years 5-6 French Day
Home Clothes Day
Half term break begins at end of school day