Posted on: November 11th 2013
I had the pleasure of being invited to City of London School for Boys last week, for their Annual Prize Giving. It was held at the Guildhall Art Gallery, a spectacular building steeped in history, and impressive just to be able to sit in and marvel at some of the architecture in there.
I was a little bit like a proud mum when Sanjay, one of our ex-pupils, was announced to go up and receive his scholarship prize; not to mention how remarkable it was just to hear of the boys’ achievements, knowing that we send some of our pupils each year to such an amazing school. The ethos of the school is clearly of achievement through hard work and commitment to study, but there is an overwhelming sense of support and an encouragement to diversify; to seek out that which makes one curious and find those who are like-minded to enjoy and share those interests.
The traditional Head Boy’s speech on the legacy of John Carpenter, the founder of CLSB was equally inspiring; writing and speaking with such eloquence and confidence and captivating his audience, that you quite forgot he had just completed his A-levels, until he told us he was off to Cambridge.
Whilst I’m truly impressed by the Head at CLSB, David Levine, who’s such an interesting and bright man, not to mention an admirable leader, and who has worked hard for the past 14 years to get City to the school it is today, it is still predominantly the pupils who make the school what it is. And when David Levine moves on in the New Year, and his replacement – the first woman Head at City, incidentally - takes over, it will be a smooth transition, because it is the boys who will be constant.
The very next day, and throughout the week, I had impromptu visits from some of our ex-pupils who were still on half term. It was lovely to see how they’ve grown up so much already, and how confident and settled they were at their new schools, and it got me thinking about our pupils who have left us over the years. Lots of Senior schools have an Alumni, and although we are thrilled when our pupils go off on their new adventures, it’s such a shame that we don’t really know where they end up. It’s in its infancy, but I am looking to set up an alumni of our own; I can see the Old Norfolkonians, or something along those lines, having guest spots in our blogs and newsletters!
If you are reading this and your child who’s an ex-pupil would like to be on the alumni, then please do get them to email the school. Equally if you know of one of our ex-pupils who might like to, please do let them know about it! I think it could prove to be a very lovely idea!
