Close
I hope you enjoy this first e-newsletter of the new academic year and I am sure those more familiar with the school will join me in offering a particularly warm welcome to all those joining the Lancing community for the very first time.
Buoyed by the glorious late summer sunshine, our year has started with real energy and a buzz in the air: the school is refreshed and raring to go. The opening festival of last weekend’s Malawi Walk and family barbecue started it all with a bang and a real sense of community was evident as we came together to support our Malawian partners. The day was enjoyed by over 1,200 pupils, staff and parents – bravo to those who completed the walk on the hottest day of the year. Another red-letter day will take place on Sunday with our first whole school eucharist. You will, of course, be very welcome to attend and enjoy this central and celebratory element of College life. Please book HERE.
As you may know, the academic year 2023–24 marks the 175th Anniversary of the founding of the College. The celebrations started with the unveiling of our Lancing Portraits exhibition. The installation will be in the Dining Hall all year and I hope that you all can view this at least once over the course of the year. In the meantime, do enjoy finding out more about it here in this newsletter. More events will be announced in the coming weeks as we recognise and enjoy this special landmark.
Do look out for the first of this year’s special Head Master’s Lectures. Parents are most welcome attendees at these events. We kick off with a talk from Dr Mary Ann Lund of the University of Leicester: How to be melancholy: mental health in the age of Shakespeare. At a point where we are more concerned than ever about understanding and promoting individual well-being, Dr Lund will give us a fascinating insight into the early modern mind and what is different – and what is the same – in attitudes to mental health across the ages. An expert, skilled, and entertaining communicator (she is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4) she promises to give us a fascinating lecture full of details about the past and reflections on the present.
A core Lancing goal is to widen opportunities for all and at the end of August, 22 young pupils and three members of staff from Eastside Young Leaders Academy (EYLA) participated in our annual residential Summer School. Many Lancing College staff were integral to the programme too. We have a strong and long-term relationship with Eastside and they are instrumental in our Foundationers programme, sharing our ambitions to broaden access and opportunities. You can read more about the summer school, the Foundationers, and our wider programme of social engagement in our latest Impact Report.
Some practical news: across the summer the final touches have been added to our new Parent Portal. This is a completely new system which we have been trialling with our two prep schools since the spring and it has proved very popular and successful. This will be your new access port to academic information such as your child’s timetables and reports. Watch out for your invitation to sign up next week.
Enabling inspired, happy and successful learning lies right at the heart of our educational mission and it is always a delight to acclaim the just rewards won by Lancing pupils as a product of all their determination and hard work. Both nationally and individually there was much anticipation of how the return to the rigours of the 2019 regime would impact results in this year’s public exams. However, results day at Lancing was hugely positive. Amidst a UK-wide picture of disquiet and a national downturn in grades, we bucked the trend at both A Level and GCSE and are celebrating our best results in over a decade. Links in this newsletter will take you to more detail, but in Lancing’s 175th anniversary year it is wonderful to be able to make a noise about our continuing academic success.