Page 6 - Old Ratcliffian 2020 Edition

NEWS FROM THE COLLEGE

THE HEADMASTER’S INTRODUCTION

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that,
when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So, let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed,
you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” – James 1:2-4
Dear Old Ratcliffi ans and friends of Ratcliffe College,

The past year has been a time of great uncertainty, dominated by our collective and individual responses to the global pandemic. All
of our lives have been affected in some way. Our school community has shown great resilience, overcoming the challenges that have
arisen from this most rude and unwelcome interruption to our daily lives.

I am immensely proud of the way in which we have all pulled together, demonstrating patience, empathy, and fortitude to successfully
adapt to new expectations and routines. I would like to pay tribute to the students, teachers, support staff, governors, and the parent
body for their unstinting loyalty and support, which has enabled Ratcliffe to continue to provide a fi rst-class education for all. At the
time of writing this introduction, the country is in the midst of a ‘second wave’ of infections, and the sense of uncertainty is palpable.
Despite this, I fi nd myself feeling optimistic about the weeks and months ahead, buoyed by the relentless enthusiasm and energy
of the community around me, daily. The national lockdown was hard to bear, but we endured; the public examination season was a
fi asco, but we ensured that no one was disadvantaged; our return to the College has been a challenge, but we have prevailed; and I
am confi dent that we will continue to thrive, because our school community is one which is born of faith and an unquenchable desire
to deliver its mission and vision for the students in our care. And so, as we look back on a unique academic year, we should do so with
great pride at a job well done. We should celebrate the many and varied achievements of the students, both in and out of class, and
remember that, “when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow”. What follows are excerpts from my Exhibition Day
address. Although written at the height of the pandemic, I believe that the message for the school community is just as relevant now
as it was then.
A ‘PENSIEVE’ LEGACY CAN LEAD TO POSITIVE CHANGE

With a tenuous nod to the Harry Potter novels, the Potterhead reference in the title of my address is to something belonging to Albus
Dumbledore, the legendary headmaster of Hogwarts School. He calls it a ‘Pensieve’ – a large stone bowl into which he drops thoughts
and memories, swirls them around with his wand, and tries to make sense of them. My message to you is a kind of Pensieve, aiming to
refl ect on where we have come from over the past academic year, where we are today, and where we may be heading in the future. So,
as we peer into our own Pensieve, we can see where we were. On March 20th 2020, schools across the country closed. Everyone went
home, closed their doors, watched and waited. Lockdown was declared, and we quickly learnt to wash our hands multiple times a day
while singing ‘Happy Birthday’, to shop online, or to join a long, snaking queue with face coverings and gloves. We learnt that some
of us had to ‘shield’, while others had to ‘self-isolate’. Apart from our brave NHS staff, care workers, and other key workers, including
the teachers who came into schools, the majority of us worked and learnt at home. We established new routines, and we watched with
horror as the numbers affected by COVID-19 rose daily.
During lockdown, we learnt to ‘fail fast’. Together, we learnt to Google Meet, and to complete, submit, and receive feedback online, as
we got to grips with Google Classroom. It was then, I believe, that Ratcliffe’s mission and values, encapsulated in our vision statement,
Strength of Mind, Strength of Values, Strength of Purpose, came to the fore. Students rose to the challenge, demonstrating

6 The Old Ratcliffi an 2020