Speech Day
The Chairman of the Governing Body, Anthony Townsend, welcomed us all to the first-ever July Cranleigh Speech Day, though he was fully aware of the irony that it resulted in one of only two, I think, truly wet Speech Days in the last quarter of a century. After welcoming the Guest of Honour, Mr Townsend announced the launch of an important new charitable organisation, the
Cranleigh Foundation, which has been set up with the particular aim of supporting both Cranleigh School and Cranleigh Preparatory School. He explained that over the coming years, the Foundation will make financial grants with two main purposes in mind:
- to provide awards at 11+, 13+ and 16+ for pupils from low income backgrounds who have academic, sporting, artistic or musical potential
- to assist with the capital development of both Schools.
The Trustees of the
Cranleigh Foundation and the Members of the Cranleigh Governing Body will be working together in close partnership for the benefit of both Schools.
In his own speech GdeWW reflected on his ten years as Headmaster, emphasising his thanks to the ‘truly outstanding Bursarial staff’ as well as Common Room (for their commitment), parents (for their support) and Cranleighans themselves (for their enthusiasm). In paying tribute to the leavers from Common Room, the Headmaster focused in detail on AJW, TJU, AJM, SDC, RMD and CJA (see tributes below) and went on to highlight the closer links now forged with Cranleigh Preparatory School under its Master, Michael Roulston.
GdeWW went on to re-state the Cranleigh ethos as ‘being based on four firm foundations:
- active Christian principles;
- a strong and responsive partnership with parents;
- a commitment on the part of our pupils to being involved in a wide range of activities, especially in performing art, creative art and sport;
- a belief that self-discovery comes from such involvement and that this self-discovery, in turn, teaches and encourages pupils to be active in pushing back the boundaries of their own intellectual development.’
He then out-lined how the development plan of ten years ago grew from a vision to establish this ethos and highlighted Cranleigh’s successes in the new millenium: 92% of pupils going to their first-choice university and exceptional sporting success in cricket, rugby, lacrosse, hockey and riding.
The Headmaster described the
Cranleigh Foundation as ‘a hugely significant initiative’ and directed the listeners in the Trevor Abbott Sports Centre to the Foundation website, on which the full text of The Headmaster’s Address can be read. He went on to add that Speech Day also saw the ceremonial opening of work on the new Academic Centre, imaginatively designed by architects Pringle Richards Sharratt, which in September 2008 will accommodate the Science, Modern Languages and Mathematics Departments. He out-lined the plan, with support from the Foundation, to move straight on with the ambitious plans for an Art and Design School which will lead on from the current parallel project, the Woodlands Workshop.
Ending his focus on the School’s future, GdeWW stated that the September 2008 intake would bring to Cranleigh its largest-ever number of pupils and concluded: “Make no mistake, the very best pupils are here at Cranleigh… and I, like you, am very proud of what they’re achieving. And as they face the ever-increasing pressures of growing up today, it seems only right to give them every opportunity to reach the potential they so richly deserve”.
The Guest of Honour was Major General ARD Shirreff CBE, who has served in Ireland and Iraq, as well as commanding the 8th Armoured Brigade in Kosovo, for which he was awarded the CBE. A former Chief of Staff HQ LAND Command, he assumes command of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps in 2008. After awarding the prizes, General Shirreff took as his theme, words by T E Lawrence from his ‘Seven Pillars of Wisdom’ and urged Cranleigh pupils to make their own luck in life by being bold, taking the high risk route rather than the safe line. He urged the young listeners not to be afraid of failure, as a measure of a man or woman is how he or she copes with this failure.
He related, amongst other examples of raw courage, the inspiring and moving story of an 18-year-old medic serving in Iraq, who continued to tend to the facial wounds of her commander, despite being under heavy fire, thus saving his life. She became the first woman serving in Iraq to be awarded the Military Cross. Major Shirreff added that, though most members of the infantry have not had the advantages of an education such as Cranleigh provides, above all they have courage, described by Winston Churchill as: “ the first of human virtues because it is the quality which guarantees all others.” He looked to Cranleighans to aspire to be future leaders and to have the spark or charisma needed to be inspiring leaders and earn the trust of those they seek to lead, adding that only by wanting to serve, which means putting other people first, can they truly lead.
In response to this address, Senior Prefects Charlie Barker and Sarah Hudson-Phillips took as their themes self-belief and inspiration. Charlie echoed the General’s idea that a test of a man is how he rises after a fall and argued that self-belief release the inner potential of an individual. Sarah pursued this by asserting that self-belief is the true source of inspiration and ended with famous words from Shakespeare’s Polonius: “to thine own self be true”.
The day’s programme of events was partially affected by the weather but there were still so many things on offer that visitors could only sample a few. They included an open rehearsal by the two choirs of music for their Barcelona tour; two art exhibitions featuring work of talented painters, sculptors, textile designers and ceramicists from three year groups; the second design exhibition of the term; two concerts of music for strings; an exhibition of the best entries for the annual poetry competition; two drama workshops, a presentation on the epic Devizes-Westminster canoe race and the ceremonial cutting of the turf to begin work on the new Academic Centre.
PJL