Head Master’s Welcome – March 2021

The physical return of the school is nearly upon us and even though the Half Term break ended only ten days ago, that already feels a world away. It is exciting to think that many of the students will be back with us in only a couple of days (and we’re ready for them!) but we are also highly aware that for a significant minority it will not be possible to be back at Lancing this term. We will be making sure that ‘blending’ the experience of those who are here and those who are away is maintained in full and I give this a little bit of time in my Assembly this week, the link for which should already be with you. Alongside further practical details about how we will be operating in the next couple of weeks (further details can be found HERE), we will also be in touch early next week with further information about how quarantine will work before next term starts and that vital matter of the assessment structures we are putting in place for those taking GCSEs and A Levels.

Amidst the stress and downright peculiarity of this remote learning period, I have continued to be amazed by our pupils’ resilience and achievements. In this newsletter we have included some examples of how pupils and staff have continued to engage. This ranges from the intellectual to the digestible: our scholars have been meeting regularly and have taken advantage of the full programme of events; there have been charity challenges to traverse the (virtual) length of Britain; and quiz nights, online cook-a-longs and bake-offs have also been part of the seasoning the for daily academic diet.

At the conclusion of last term I was delighted to be part of the judging panel of Lancing’s Poetry Competition. The standard and variety of the entries was high – there was an interesting, not to say unusual, emphasis on the ballad form – and it was good to see fresh and rich seams opening in Lancing’s long-established tradition of creative writing. The three prize-winning poems are shared in this newsletter.

Amidst online rehearsals and performances our musicians are thrilled to be once again gearing up to face-to-face work in ensembles. If you have missed this term’s range of remote recordings, they are all available to view on the College’s Vimeo channel vimeo.com/lancingcollege and we will soon be adding a full film of the finalists in this year’s House Music Competition. With hundreds of entries of an extremely high standard each normal year, this is perhaps the hardest-fought of the many inter-House competitions. This year, despite being scattered around the UK and beyond, we had over one hundred remotely-submitted entries across the Houses and age groups; yet more testimony to the students’ commitment and creativity. We await the final external adjudication but in the meantime I am sure you will join with me in a virtual round of applause for all those who took part.

It seems fitting that the students are set to return just as spring arrives and the College is sprinkled with the brightness of daffodils, snowdrops and gambolling newborn animals; the lambs make for a particularly touching sight. I entirely share William Blake’s sentiment that the lamb is of ‘tender voice, making all the vales rejoice’ but it will be tremendous to hear the raucous and happy shouts of teenagers as they come back to reclaim the College space as their own.