Headmaster's Newsletter Friday 12th November 2021
Dear Parents,
In the early 1980s, a member of the Walsh family of Witney was ferreting through a skip to see if there was anything that had been thrown out that was worth preserving. They came across a small case with a cache of letters in it, letters that had been written by George ‘Charles’ Tyrrell during World War I. Liam Walsh, a schoolboy at the time, used the letters in a school project, then they were put away to one side for forty or so years. In a remarkable example of serendipity, Liam went on to work alongside George’s great-nephew, Geoff, and was able to return George’s letters to the Tyrrell family a century after they had first been written and sent.
This extraordinary story is of particular relevance to us here at NCS because George Tyrrell was a schoolboy, a chorister, here. He was born in August 1895 and, after his schooling, he went on to become a junior clerk for a solicitor on Cornmarket, before working at Barclays (now Quod) on High Street. Having joined up with the Ox and Bucks Light Infantry towards the start of the war, George was sent to Hebuterne in northern France in the summer of 1915. He died just half a year or so later, at the age of twenty, on New Years’ Eve in 1915 – one of the group of young Oxford men who did not return from the front, and became known as the ’66 Men of Grandpont’. George had only just returned home to Oxford for Christmas, and had only just returned to the front.
We are lucky, thanks to the generosity of Geoff Tyrrell, to have copies of George’s letters in the NCS archive. George’s name was also read out, of course, during our Act of Remembrance in Wednesday’s chapel service. While it is a careful balancing act to get across the gravity of Remembrance, without causing too much distress among young children, it is no bad thing for the boys to be reminded that the names they see on memorials, or read out ceremonially, were more than names: they were real people with real lives, families and friends. We talk a lot in school about the importance of our rights, our freedoms and our democratic processes, so it is also important to highlight that those things were defended in wars. And when you have a school that has been going for 640 years, that necessarily means that we have had six and half centuries of intermittent warfare in which generations and generations of NCS old boys have been involved. This should be a poignant realisation rather than a distressing one. Next time you are in Quod, think of George working on that spot, before he made the ultimate sacrifice for subsequent generations.
Best wishes,
Matt Jenkinson
We have had a wonderful week of Julius Caesar performances in chapel. The Year 7 and 8 boys did a brilliant job, and we are very proud of all of their hard work and dedication which, combined with their talent, made for some very memorable evenings. Thank you to all those parents, siblings and family friends who supported the boys in preparing for the production, and to the many colleagues who assisted in the production in so many ways: Dr Gausden for his co-direction; Mr Neal and Miss Rose for the wonderfully atmospheric music; Miss Krebs and Mrs Hess for the costumes (including the purchase of emergency sandals because the boys’ feet have got a bit too big for our existing collection); Mr Mulford and Mr Bustin for the staging; Mr Morrison and Mr Hanson for helping to supervise and corral the boys; and Mr Cui for the video editing. It was a wonderful team effort, and we are all rather sad it is now over!
We are looking forward to our senior recitals (17 November) and our junior recitals (22 November). Please note that parking is available, first come first served, in the playground – but that parking is not available until 17.15 because we want to get the boys departed safely from their activities if they are not staying for the recitals. When arriving c.17.15 please be very careful of any boys who may still be crossing the playground; the same goes, of course, when you are departing. Refreshments will be available in the sports hall 15 minutes before each recital.
This week we have been joining in with Switch off Fortnight, a national campaign that takes place every November to encourage schools to switch off lights and electrical appliances when not in use. The goals for schools are to help them save energy, and to monitor the impact of changing behaviour on the school's energy use. We are taking meter readings and the eco reps have been checking classrooms and offices every lunchtime to check we are doing what we can to support the campaign. It would be great to take our energy saving a step further and to try to reduce energy consumption at home in as many ways as possible over the remainder of Switch off Fortnight. Do think about turning down your thermostat and making that extra effort to switch off lights if not in use. Thank you to those who have supported the eco shop over the last few weeks as well. Next week we will be having a special promotion and all items will have 50% off. Please do encourage your sons to bring some change to purchase items to stock up their pencil cases!
The NCSPA would like to remind parents that there will be a sale of second hand uniform in the playground on Monday 15 Nov from 3.15 to 4pm. We will be able to take cash payments and also have a card reader machine for electronic payments. We would also like to remind you to bring your donations for the Christmas Fair toy tombola and secret present room to the school office any time in the next three weeks please.
Parents may be interested to hear about one of our alumni, Ed Irwin-Singer, who has (along with his bandmates in Glass Animals) secured a Billboard singles record in the US: their ‘Heat Waves’ reached the top 10 in its 42nd week in the Billboard charts, making it the longest trip to the top 10 in the chart’s 63-year history!
Upcoming Events
Monday, 15 November 2021
National Anti-Bullying Week begins
14:00 U12&13 Football House Matches, Home
18:00 Pre-Prep Chorister Information Evening (Virtual)
Tuesday, 16 November 2021
14:00 U8 A-C Football v MCS, Home
14:00 U9 A-C Football v MCS, Away
Wednesday, 17 November 2021
9.00 Chapel. Speaker: Mr Alastair Chirnside, Warden, St Edward's, Oxford
8.15 School Council Meeting, library
14:00 U11 A,C&E Football vs Cothill, Home
14:00 U10 A&B Football vs Cothill, Home
14:00 U11 A-C 9 Football vs Cothill, Home
17.30 Senior Recital Pt 1 (Years 6, 7 & 8), Sports Hall
Refreshments beforehand at 17.15
18.30 Senior Recital Pt 2 (Years 6, 7 & 8), Sports Hall
Refreshments beforehand at 18.15
Thursday, 18 November 2021
14:00 U8&9 Foorball House Matches, Home
16:00 U9 VI & U10 VI Chess vs Dragon, Home
Saturday, 20 November 2021
10.00 Orchestra workshop with Bjorn Bantock and Dominic Childs (Saturday Music School)
Monday, 22 November 2021
14:00 U13 B-D Football vs Cranford House, Home
17.30 Junior Recital Pt 1 (Years 3, 4 & 5), Sports Hall
Refreshments beforehand at 17.15
18.30 Junior Recital Pt 2 (Years 3, 4 & 5), Sports Hall
Refreshments beforehand at 18.15
Tuesday, 23 November 2021
14:00 U8&9 Football vs Sibford, Away
Wednesday, 24 November 2021
9.00 Chapel. Speaker: The Chaplain
8.15 Eco Committee meeting, library
14:00 U11 A&D Football vs Sibford, Away
16:00 Inter-school debate (New College) with dinner
17.30 Governors' Meeting, McGregor Matthews Room
Thursday, 25 November 2021
14:00 U8&9 Football Hour Match Finals, Home
Friday, 26 November 2021
14:00 U10&11 Football Hour Match Finals, Home
Sunday, 28 November 2021
16.00 New College Advent Carol Service