As we are hopefully emerging from the wettest period in memory at Bradfield, I am pleased to report that the weather has neither dampened the positivity nor the achievements of Bradfieldians over recent months. The spirit of the College was exemplified on a dark evening in February by the wonderful support for the victorious 1st XI Football team at Stadium MK, when we were on the edge of our seats up to the final whistle. The article on sporting excellence in this Bradfieldian explores a culture that enables success at all levels.
The cover story of this edition focuses upon the St Andrew’s Study Centre, which is open following a ribbon-cutting on the first day of the current term. The beauty of the conversion and the impact of these new spaces on the way our pupils live and work have already been noted by many people. As explained by our Head Librarian, the life of the mind at Bradfield will be enhanced by this project for generations to come.
The breadth of College activity and the spirit of innovation are evident in many articles. Bradfield Science Week was a new initiative led by the Science Department to increase engagement with the sciences, a first step towards greater things. The Tech Networking collaboration saw pupils, parents and alumni benefit from the opportunity to meet and share experiences. We also celebrated 20 successful years of Film Studies at the BFI. Bradfield was amongst the first schools to offer this subject; it is wonderful to see the legacy of this foresight and to read the grateful memories of so many alumni. In another exciting venture, Bradfield is proposing an alternative to GCSE Music with a school-based syllabus available from September 2024.
Taking a step further, Bradfield has developed its own Virtual Reality education platform ‘Campus-XR’ which has huge potential for education within and beyond the College. The entrepreneurial spirit is similarly espoused by the subject of our OB article and reflected in many of the supporters of our Horizons and Bradfield Society events. In another feature, building on the historic insight included in the last edition, we learn more about The Bradfield Club of today, how it supports its local community and what we can do to support it. Further afield, academic trips to the USA and Italy have seen pupils benefit from the real-world insights that only direct experience can provide.
Little could the Reverend Thomas Stevens, our founder, imagine in 1850 how his Church or his school might develop over the next 175 years. I hope and trust, however, that he would have enjoyed reading both this Bradfieldian and the new history whose launch is the precursor to a year of celebrations.
Dr Christopher Stevens, Headmaster
