Brentwood Preparatory School Magazine

Brentwood School Preparatory 14 It is with great pleasure and a huge amount of pride that I welcome you to this Prize Giving ceremony, one of the major events of the school year; an event in which we come together as a community to reflect, to recognise achievement, and to look ahead to the future. There is no doubt that this is an extra special occasion as we mark 125 years of educational excellence at Brentwood Prep. Prize giving is always a very special occasion in the Brentwood calendar and we should all have a sense of pride at what has been achieved during the last year. Before I begin, I would like to reiterate what I have already told all the children and congratulate each and every one of you. You cannot all come up to the stage this morning as prize winners but you can all feel immensely proud of what you have achieved throughout the year. You are all equally valued and all as equally important to our school as any pupil receiving a prize here today. With all that is going on in education in 2017 and the fact that we are celebrating 125 years of success, one cannot help but ponder what the nine Victorian pupils of 1892 would make of what we offer today. The pupils at that time would have been in awe of the many Victorian inventions and examples of ingenuity such as photography, steam power and even Karl Benz’s and Goetleb Daimler’s first recognizable automobile of 1884. From the reminiscences of an Old Brentwood who was at the Prep during WW2: during fire practice (under the supervision of the Fire Brigade), boys used to sit in a canvas sling and hold onto a half inch rope while it was lowered from a 3rd floor window. No fire escapes in those days of course! Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip visited the school 60 years ago in 1957 and they were both mightily impressed by the then boarders who talked proudly about their regimented day from how they brushed their teeth to their strict bedtime routines. The reality is that there are still many similarities between now and then – the focus upon the 3Rs in the curriculum and the wider guidance provided by our wonderful school motto of Virtue, Learning, Manners. We have spent much time analysing the past 125 years but what of the future? We owe our pupils the best that is on offer and we are very keen to bolster our provision of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM), make more of our Modern Foreign Languages whilst ensuring that traditional skills in literacy and numeracy are also given priority. We have so much to be grateful for but we live in difficult times and it is our duty to the pupils to try and rationalize the terrible recent events in both Manchester and London. Unsurprisingly, it is the pupils who have led the way in this and a recent RE lesson allowed pupils of all faiths to come to terms with the events and to raise meaningful and mature questions. Let us be clear, we are absolutely resolute in the pursuit of happiness for our pupils. Pastoral care is outstanding at Brentwood Prep and every barometer we have to measure this fully backs up this claim. Everything we do is for the children and for the further enhancement of their education both in and out of the classroom – they are Brentwood. Thank you. Extract from the Headmaster’s speech Prize Giving