The pupil body began the year with customary energy and has generated a new narrative. Many key moments have centred on the Greek Theatre, where we gathered for start of term services and Handshaking, for House singing on Goose weekend, for services to commemorate the life of the late Queen and to celebrate the coronation of her son, for the inaugural Golden Egg ceremony of sustainability, and for a fortnight of performing arts including a magical evening of jazz, a memorable Greek play and a high energy Battle of the Bands.
When Bradfield gathers in Greeker memories are made. This is true of collective experience throughout the College: of the steeplechase, of the dance show, of the carol services and concerts, of Remembrance, of TiB talks, of matches and more. All are underpinned by outstanding individual efforts. 830 pupils have their own memories of this year – of the collective and the individual, of their own performances and of the prowess of their peers.
In our digital age, more is recorded than ever before. This has the capacity to prolong memories but also to amplify anxiety. Living simultaneously in analogue and digital worlds is a challenge for us all. Teenagers have enough to be anxious about concerning relationships, expectations, climate change, hormones and exams. Negotiating the added pressures of looks and likes amplified by devices that delight and distract in equal measure adds a new layer of complexity to adolescence. We will continue to do our best to help Bradfieldians find a balance here, emphasising the lasting value of shared primary experience. We must maximise the potential of technology to support life and learning whilst reducing its capacity to undermine them.
The sudden advances in the application of Artificial Intelligence ask new questions of us all in this respect. In school, AI will make us question how we teach, learn and examine. Beyond school it questions how we live and work with a technology that is developing extraordinarily fast.
Living our values is essential. An acclaimed recent book likens AI to a child learning avidly in its early years from the online record of humanity’s words and deeds. It is therefore more important than ever that we model positive behaviours online as well as in person if we want this child to grow into an adult with whom we can coexist harmoniously.
Pupil achievements of the last twelve months show how individuals benefit from the team around them. Just as Olympic and Oscar winners regularly speak of ‘we’, rather than ‘me’, so do our pupils. In the last year these include outstanding concert soloists and successful medical school applicants. They include Film Studies award nominees and the stars of multiple plays. They include pupils studying at the Royal College of Music and contributors to the exceptional Art and Design Commemoration displays. They include leavers with offers from top British universities and those heading to leading institutions overseas. They include national finalists in tennis and squash and international cap winners in hockey, football, shooting, netball and real tennis. They include outstanding presenters at talks that truly do inspire Bradfieldians and the Saturday morning speakers who do the same for our future pupils.