Headmaster's Blog

Posted Tuesday, 31 January 2012  /  Written by Justin Chippendale

I came home this evening to a collection of boarders filling the sitting room.  This is the second Tuesday they have come around as Claire has invited anyone who wanted to do some sewing: they are working on making a fabric flower, as it happens, but the idea is to give them a new skill and have a chat as they go along.

It is not just the girls who have taken up the offer and I noticed a county cricketer and a 1st XV rugby player amongst them all: eyes narrowing as they thread the needle and then set about cutting out as neat a shape as possible.  In general, the girls seem to naturally take more care over the tension of their stitching but there is no mistaking that the boys are keen to complete the job properly.

I just went about making sure there were enough logs in and rekindled a fading fire before engaging in conversations ranging from whether the captain of the Concordia was as much at fault as the media portray to whether the snow will fall in earnest on to plans for half term coming up at the end of next week.

Claire and I (and Eliza, Joss and Hettie) are also in the throes of welcoming boarders round for supper.  We have six nights booked and so far we have had (very good) sausages and then sticky toffee pudding, a creamy carbonara followed by banana splits with ‘the works’ sprinkled or squirted all over for toppings - of course, the children had to have a little bit of everything leaving the poor banana easily the smallest proportion of the dish - and tomorrow we will be having a Mexican evening.

It’s wonderful to see the children ‘out of school’ and they are without exception good company and entertaining as well as polite and helpful. I am very much looking forward to the next four.

Posted Tuesday, 24 January 2012  /  Written by Justin Chippendale

Over the Long Weekend break I went home on Friday after the boarders parents evening looking forward to ‘feet up in front of the fire’. In fact, each of my three children had a friend for a ‘sleepover’ and I was straight into rolling out the dough for a pizza-fest: it was great fun and everyone was on terrific form.

The next day I headed off with 5 other Dads to watch Bath play their final game of the Heineken Cup against Glasgow (interestingly enough the train we caught from Taunton was destined for Glasgow - thankfully the game was at the Rec!). The train was inevitably busy and amongst the throng I bumped into Rick Gore (an old boy of King’s) who was headed in the same direction with his own group.  When I started at King’s College aged 13, Rick was my House Captain and seemed like a demi-god. There was another ‘boy’ in the upper sixth who had huge shoulders, propped the 1st XV, swam butterfly lengths in one stroke and was one of the fastest sprinters in the school: as a third former he was definitely ‘Superman’ and to cap it all, at a time when surnames were the normal form of address, his name was King!

Just before the game, another coincidental meeting was with a chap called Chris Howard with whom I had played many games for Bath Youth nearly 30 years ago.  We had also played some cricket for a mutual friend’s team but I hadn’t seen him for at least 15 years. It really is amazing how quickly a decade or two can pass and you are left looking back at a time that seems to come from a completely different life.

Bath played pretty well with Tom Biggs impressive in defence for a little bloke and we drifted back to Taunton.  It was then time to smarten up for a 40th birthday party at Augustus, a lovely little restaurant in The Courtyard off St James’s Street. It was a terrific evening with a very bubbly atmosphere and a loud hubbub of animated chatter and laughter.  The food was lovely and most certainly a good time was had by all.

Sunday was a much quieter affair with at least three members of the family challenging themselves to spend all day in their pyjamas - whether they went on the trampoline or not! A little bit of marking, some preparation but mainly R & R that included quite a lot of Sequin Art.

This week has kicked off with PSHE talks about Internet Safety, Year 3 exploring Reversible and Irreversible Reactions with mainly consumable items heated over an open fire in the woods, we had our first CUB4 Lunch concert and Cross Country matches abound.  We are into Scholarship season now and all those involved should be very proud of themselves.  Merely taking part is an achievement and the outcome will take care of itself: well done to all those Year 6 who were involved in either the academic, sport or music awards over the last week.

Posted Tuesday, 10 January 2012  /  Written by Justin Chippendale

Happy New Year!

I started this term by telling the children at the first assembly that my car had started making very terminal noises and was at the garage - true. Claire was full of hope as the possibility of a newer car began to creep over the horizon and I asked the children to keep an eye out for a delivery over the next few days.

Disappointingly for Claire, the second part of the story was a way of setting up the arrival of a BMW 640 as part of an art project for the first half of term.  BMW have produced 17 official Art Cars since 1975 when Alexander Calder was asked to design one by his friend Hervé Poulain to race in the 1975 Le Mans 24 hours race.  Since then the likes of Lichtenstein, Warhol, Hockney, Penck and Stella have all been involved.  Thanks to the involvement of a parent, Jon Cooper, King’s Hall children have the chance to have their own design put onto the 640.  It is currently sitting pretty in the Outer Quad with the number plate KH 1.  It is fittingly in white representing a blank canvas awaiting the imagination and inspiration of a child to become its livery. There is much excitement about this project which extends into the Pre-Prep and all sorts of ideas are pouring out already.

We have welcomed six new children to the school this term and it is very good for all concerned to have new faces and new influences around them.  I have seen some very happy newcomers amongst our youngest in the Nursery where one was giggling so much it seemed almost impossible to breathe and further up the school Lottie had the confidence to answer questions from our Chaplain in her very first assembly.  It is wonderful to see their enjoyment and enthusiasm - so much potential just waiting to be drawn out.

Here’s to a happy term and a fulfilling 2012.

Google BMW Art Cars or click on this link for more background.