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While to call it ‘business as usual’ might be stretching a point, this Advent Term feels remarkably normal. That is not to say that our shifted and Covid-safe modes of dining, House and year group bubbles, blending of physical and remote learning etc do not feel new and different but rather that everyone has taken the changes in their stride. The energy and determination of the student body to get stuck into every possible opportunity remains very much the same as usual. They have been both cheerful and careful and the need for continued care is something I emphasised to the whole school this morning. Everyone knows it is their duty to maintain safe routines and that applies whether here in school or outside with family and friends over the Half Term break.
There is currently a great deal of speculation in the media about future actions in relation to the pandemic and its impacts. Please rest assured that even over the break we will be keeping a close eye on any pronouncements from the Government and will be in touch directly with you if necessary. At every turn we will be acting with caution and with the safety and wellbeing of everyone at Lancing uppermost in our minds.
Assembly this morning was packed with news and announcements. Headlining it all was the announcement of the Metacognition Prizes for Independent Learning. A junior version of the Sixth Form ‘Heresy’ Project (of which more in another newsletter), this is part of learning how to discover and interrogate the world of knowledge beyond direct instruction. These are skills we seek to nurture and reward, particularly in an age so rich with both information and misinformation. Prizes are awarded to the current Fourth Form for work completed at the end of last year; they are beefy projects and require careful attention and assessment. I thought you might like a taste of some of the topics, all chosen entirely freely by each student. Anyone for considerations of the future of Olympic sport, reflections on terrorism, or perhaps violent video games - to ban or not to ban? What are the ethical conundrums thrown up by Artificial Intelligence? Should we be reintroducing wolves to areas where they have long been absent? Will commercial supersonic travel ever return to aviation ...? I could list many more. Each piece was carefully researched, well-wrought in argument, and pursued with vigour; it was a delight to celebrate these examples of the independent learning we treasure so much here at Lancing.
Covid-safe inter-House sport at the weekends (with the bonus addition of a pitch-side ice cream van) has made for a festival feel and the pop-up performances of the long-rehearsed production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream were met with resounding and well-deserved applause. Rarely can there have been a more magically apt stage for Shakespeare’s faerie kingdom than the wooded dell of our Open Air Theatre. Donald Trump and Joe Biden – or at least their representatives – have given us some feisty entertainment of a different order in Lancing’s very own Presidential debates. Well-informed, policy-driven but not without drama and an edge of comedy at points (the incumbent attended with a full detail of dark-glasses and earpiece-wearing ‘Secret Service’), it was a strong simulation of the real thing, though, it should be said, rather more courteous. The floor vote went to Biden on the night, but not without some hefty jabs from Trump. We will be hosting a school-wide Presidential vote on 3 November: watch this space for the results.
The debate included questions from an online audience as well as those in the room; a positive product of facing the pandemic has been a very active engagement with online platforms to supplement and enhance face-to-face events. This applied to our first Head Master’s Lecture of the term too, where Professor Robin Shattock spoke to a large audience in school and hundreds of others all around the world. Professor Shattock (a Lancing old boy) leads the Imperial College team racing to provide a vaccine for COVID-19 and his talk was by turns enlightening, sobering and inspiring. I recommend it in the strongest terms: if you missed it you can still catch up via a recording made on the night.
The Lancing Foundationers programme is a central part of how we define who we are and what we do: a Lancing education is a precious thing and it should be shared as widely as possible. I am hugely grateful to everyone in the Lancing community who has continued to support the campaign in the past months. With 14 Foundationers currently at the school, our focus remains strongly on fundraising to be able to offer the same opportunities to more young people in the coming years. In November, as we approach the three-year anniversary of our fundraising campaign, the College will take part in a national event called the ‘Week of Giving’. The funds raised will be used to further support the campaign; more on the Foundationers can be found in this newsletter.
The second half of term and the onrush of the Christmas season awaits, but in the meantime the students are thoroughly deserving of their break. I look forward to seeing them – raring to go once again – in a couple of weeks. It still feels fantastic to have them zipping around the campus.
With my best wishes and in the hope that you remain safe and well,
Dominic Oliver