Headmaster

Elementary my dear Watson

Monday 15 October saw Years 7,8 and 9 at the interactive science museum called @Bristol.  Forensic Scientists immediately got to work solving crimes and tracking down evidence. After lunch the planeterium revealed the secrets of the Autumn Sky.  Other highlights were a shadow room, a GIANT hamster-style water wheel, and an interactive TV studio.  It was a great day and Edgehillians did the College proud as usual with their typical enthusiam and courtesy.

Edgehill keeps Reuniting

In recent weeks we have enoyed hosting three Edgehill reunions: a small group visted from the Home Counties; a large group of sixty attended for a very full day for the "Nostalgia Lunch" and this weekend fifteen members of the Year Group of 1997 returned to Edgehill - the most distant visitor coming from Switzerland for the weekend.  There is clearly a great deal of affection for Edgehill College and we look forward to welcoming Edgehillians from any era.

There are plans to invite all Edgehillians to the official re-opening of our new facitlites in the new year and the idea of a 125th Anniversary Ball seems to be an exciting prospect for them too.

Keep an eye out for important dates!

How many languages?

Several recent visitors have assumed that we are a specialist languages school.  With five languages presented at this evening's Soiree you can see why people think this.  In fact Edgehillians specialise in many things, but the variety of skills seen tonight shows just how good languages are throughout the school - and they develop a range of skills through their languages: performance, self-confidence, organisation, teamwork, and so on, not just their fluency.

It was marvellous to see so many people taking part.  This is a real Edgehillian characteristic and it is one of the secrets of Edgehill’s success, because everyone flourishes as a result. 

A brilliant evening: well done and thank you to all those taking part and to all those involved in preparing all the performances.

The Great Year 8 (gr8 yr8?)

I am spending some time this week in year eight lessons.  So far, I've enjoyed art, biology and maths and I think year eight and their lessons are brilliant.  I'm hoping to get to English tomorrow...

Lesson 6: wines from Hungary and Romania

Monday evening saw the latest in our educational world tour of wine.  Mr Frank Johnson hosted an introduction to wines from Eastern Europe, which were almost unpronouncable, but tasted great.  This project has been running for three terms now and is increasingly popular with parents, although intended initially for sixth formers to develop an appreciation.  Keep an eye out for the next gathering, advertised as usual by Mr Fuller. 

London calling

Along with most of the major names in British Independent education, Edgehill was invited to a presentation at Bute House Preparatory School in London on Monday.  Two hundred families came to see representatives of forty schools and in the most crucial area, Edgehill was surely the best.  We took two of our sixth form students, Stephanie Brown and Amy Holleran, who were stars of the evening.  There is no doubt that the parents of every 11 year old girl there want their daughters to grow up like Edgehilliam sixth formers.  To our delight, even the distance to North Devon was not always seen as an obstacle and for some the attractions of Cheltenham Ladies College or St Paul's School paled in comparison to Edgehill and North Devon.  We look forward to these enquirers following up their initial interest with visits in the next few months.

Headmaster dragged into digital age

As of this afternoon I am offically a blogger, thanks to Mr Fuller's expert tuition.  Our hope (his hope is confident, mine less so) is that I can post regular updates about news at Edgehill without the formalities of mass communication by letter (which is costly on the environment and not guaranteed to arrive anyway) and with the benefit of immediacy and feedback.

I hope everyone has had a good start to the new term.

Mr N